http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org) —Increases in ground-level ozone, especially in rural areas, may interfere not only with predator insects finding host plants, but also with pollinators finding flowers, according to researchers from Penn State and the University of Virginia. http://phys.org/news284122427.html Space & Earth Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:53:54 EST news284122427 The Obama administration is expected to propose new rules Friday that would slash the amount of sulfur in gasoline, one of the most significant steps the administration can take this term toward cutting air pollution, said people with knowledge of the announcement. http://phys.org/news283777182.html Space & Earth Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:30:01 EST news283777182 Eight European Union countries exceeded the bloc's air pollution limits in 2011, down from 12 the previous year, the European Environment Agency said in a report published on Monday. http://phys.org/news282850931.html Space & Earth Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:00:01 EST news282850931 Fujitsu today announced the industry's first in development of a water-based paint for use on the plastic chassis of servers, personal computers, and other ICT equipment. The new water-based paint is used on the front panels of the SPARC M10-4 and SPARC M10-4S in the SPARC M10 series of UNIX servers available in 2013. http://phys.org/news281607428.html Technology Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:17:24 EST news281607428 (Phys.org)—Scientists have identified the chemical 'fingerprints' given off by specific bacteria when present in the lungs, potentially allowing for a quick and simple breath test to diagnose infections such as tuberculosis. http://phys.org/news277058434.html Chemistry Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:00:03 EST news277058434 (Phys.org)—As gas prices rise around the world, researchers are seeking a potential solution from endophytic fungi—fungi that live inside plants. http://phys.org/news276935052.html Biology Wed, 09 Jan 2013 06:24:21 EST news276935052 Industries across Europe are threatened with shutdown as European Union emission rules for Volatile Organic Compounds are tightened. Now an air cleaning invention from the University of Copenhagen has proven its ability to remove these compounds. And in the process they have helped a business in Danish town Aarhus improve relations to angry neighbors. http://phys.org/news275916499.html Space & Earth Fri, 28 Dec 2012 13:00:01 EST news275916499 Artificial logs that create a cheerful and welcoming blaze in your fireplace can be made from a perhaps surprising source: grass clippings. http://phys.org/news272204293.html Biology Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:18:21 EST news272204293 An international team of scientists working at the Plasma Technology research unit at Ghent University, Belgium, has determined for the first time the absolute density of active substances called radicals found in a state of matter known as plasma, in a study about to be published in European Physical Journal D. These findings could have important implications for medicine—for example, for stimulating tissue regeneration, or to induce a targeted antiseptic effect in vivo without affecting neighbouring tissues. http://phys.org/news271940697.html Physics Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:05:04 EST news271940697 (Phys.org)—New models are being developed to predict how changing land use in the tropics could affect future climate, air quality and crop production. http://phys.org/news268898658.html Space & Earth Mon, 08 Oct 2012 07:04:25 EST news268898658 (Phys.org)—Like a talented escape artist, this atmospheric performer has managed to hide its modus operandi—until now. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of California-San Diego have exposed the antics of an organic or carbon-containing compound and how it reacts with water in the atmosphere to complete its escape act. Documenting the particle's MO gives scientists a way to track this atmospheric player and has implications for understanding its warming and cooling effects on the climate. Their research was recently published in Aerosol Science and Technology. http://phys.org/news267873072.html Space & Earth Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:11:27 EST news267873072 (Phys.org)—A three-way collaboration between Japan-based Rohm, Aquafairy, and Kyoto University has resulted in the development of a smartphone-charging fuel cell—a compact, high output, portable hydrogen powered fuel cell that can generate electricity by producing hydrogen. This is achieved through a chemical reaction between calcium hydride sheets and water. The fuel cell can generate five watt hours of electricity, to charge an average smartphone within two hours. The fuel cell will be promoted for a variety of uses, from charging a smartphone to serving as a 200-watt portable generator delivering backup power. http://phys.org/news267502762.html Technology Sat, 22 Sep 2012 04:20:01 EST news267502762 The spiralling use of chemicals, especially in developing countries, is inflicting a rising bill by damaging people's health and the environment, according to a UN report issued on Wednesday. http://phys.org/news266047227.html Space & Earth Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:00:41 EST news266047227 The notoriously smoggy skies of Los Angeles are a little bit cleaner than you might expect, at least in one respect. According to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the levels of certain vehicle-related pollutants in Los Angeles have dropped by 98 percent since the 1960s. The study has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres but is not yet available online. http://phys.org/news265304374.html Space & Earth Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:20:07 EST news265304374 Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are carbon-based compounds, many of which are hazardous to humans' health. EU-funded researchers coordinated efforts to apply nanotechnology to the capture and sequestration of these compounds. http://phys.org/news264152076.html Nanotechnology Tue, 14 Aug 2012 08:38:48 EST news264152076 Researchers from the University of Sheffield's Faculty of Engineering measured air quality inside and outside three residential buildings with different types of energy use (gas vs. electric cookers). They found that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels in the kitchen of the city-centre flat with a gas cooker were three times higher than the concentrations measured outside the property and well above those recommended in UK Indoor Air Quality Guidance. These findings are published online in Journal of Indoor and Built Environment. http://phys.org/news258892325.html Space & Earth Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:32:13 EST news258892325 (Phys.org) -- A UK company has developed an electronic nose that the company says can make a real difference, as a fast-acting device for detecting harmful substances in the environment. Peratech claims its electronic nose can pick up the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) quickly and that its fast-acting sniffer has a large response signal (change in electric charge). The company also says its sensors have low power requirements that could be supplied by a small dedicated power source integrated into clothing. http://phys.org/news256020717.html Chemistry Sat, 12 May 2012 05:52:10 EST news256020717 (HealthDay) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday issued the first national standards to curb air pollution linked with the controversial practice of "fracking." http://phys.org/news254024307.html Space & Earth Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:18:43 EST news254024307 (AP) -- A woman says state environmental officials refused to do follow-up tests after their lab reported her drinking water contained chemicals, but it's unclear where the pollutants came from. http://phys.org/news249330508.html Space & Earth Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:28:38 EST news249330508 Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on industrial animal factories can stink up an entire county, due to ammonia, and a smorgasbord of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Jeppe Lund Nielsen of Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark, et al. report that biofiltration with microbial filters can remove most of the butyric acid, dimethyl disulfide, and ammonia from the exhaust air, along with other smelly compounds. The research is published in the December 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. http://phys.org/news243246101.html Biology Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:50:01 EST news243246101 Adding a charred biomass material called biochar to glacial soils can help reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists. http://phys.org/news242997987.html Space & Earth Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:26:37 EST news242997987 The metabolism of lung cancer patients is different than the metabolism of healthy people. And so the molecules that make up cancer patients' exhaled breath are different too. A new device pioneered at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and Nobel-Prize-winning Technion University in Haifa, Israel uses gold nanoparticles to trap and define these molecules in exhaled breath. By comparing these molecular signatures to control groups, the device can tell not only if a lung is cancerous, but if the cancer is small-cell or non-small-cell, and adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. http://phys.org/news240747256.html Nanotechnology Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:14:31 EST news240747256 Scientists are reporting the development and successful tests in humans of a sensor array that can diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) from exhaled breath, an advance that they describe as a landmark in the long search for a fast, inexpensive and non-invasive test for MS -- the most common neurological disease in young adults. Their report appears in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience. http://phys.org/news238859287.html Chemistry Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:48:21 EST news238859287 Spas that offer massage therapy using fragrant essential oils, called aromatherapy, may have elevated levels of potentially harmful indoor air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ultrafine particles, according to an article in Environmental Engineering Science, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. http://phys.org/news238328662.html Space & Earth Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:24:28 EST news238328662 (PhysOrg.com) -- Predictions of the ground-level pollutant ozone will be more accurate in future according to research published today by environment scientists at research centres including the University of Birmingham in the journal Nature Geoscience. http://phys.org/news236243298.html Space & Earth Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:27:01 EST news236243298 Molecules in their breath, sweat and skin have been used to detect humans in a simulation of a collapsed building, raising the prospect of portable sensors for use in real-life situations, such as the devastating aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and more recent disasters in New Zealand and Japan. http://phys.org/news234965647.html Chemistry Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:00:01 EST news234965647 Formaldehyde is a major contaminant of indoor air, originating from particle board, carpet, window coverings, paper products, tobacco smoke, and other sources. Indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde can contribute to allergies, asthma, headaches, and a condition known as ''sick building syndrome". The concern is widespread; a 2002 report from the World Health Organization estimated that undesirable indoor volatiles represent a serious health problem that is responsible for more than 1.6 million deaths per year and 2.7% of the global burden of disease. http://phys.org/news228065941.html Biology Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:39:15 EST news228065941 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), George Mason University and the University of Maryland has made nano-sized sensors that detect volatile organic compounds -- harmful pollutants released from paints, cleaners, pesticides and other products -- that offer several advantages over today's commercial gas sensors, including low-power room-temperature operation and the ability to detect one or several compounds over a wide range of concentrations. http://phys.org/news227935695.html Nanotechnology Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:28:45 EST news227935695 A new kind of sensor could warn emergency workers when carbon filters in the respirators they wear to avoid inhaling toxic fumes have become dangerously saturated. http://phys.org/news223446745.html Nanotechnology Sun, 01 May 2011 05:32:42 EST news223446745 Programs that allow facilities to buy and sell emission allowances have been popular and effective since they were introduced in the U.S. two decades ago. But critics worry the approach can create heavily polluted "hot spots" in low-income and minority communities. http://phys.org/news220675474.html Space & Earth Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:45:14 EST news220675474