Science

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Wet Electronics Open Door to New Possibilities

Gadgets, gizmos and wireless wonders must be fastidiously protected from moisture today, but researchers using circuitry with the consistency of Jell-O claim that the smarter electronics of the future will be all wet.

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A 2-by-2 array of crossbar switches where memory-resistors at each crossing operate like synapses in the brain.

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NASA's Dawn's Spacecraft Views Dark Side of Vesta

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NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on July 23, 2011.

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A Physical Route to Highly Crystalline Graphene

From sensors to solar cells, graphene has a range of exciting applications. Most rely on the ideal 2-dimensional structure of graphene, composed entirely of carbon hexagons, which gives graphene its excellent electrical and chemical properties.

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Google Stages E-mail Intervention After Microsoft Gmail Man Strikes

Microsoft uses the Gmail Man to bludgeon Google's messaging efforts, while Google stages e-mail interventions to lure users from Microsoft Live Hotmail and Yahoo Mail.

Google and Microsoft have just completed another salvo in their ongoing Web-based e-mail war.

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Encouraging News on the Scientific Front; Moving It Forward to Policy and Programs

For those of us who have been working in this field for some time — which in my case is about 30 years — the mood in Rome was positive, with a palpable sense of encouragement. This was largely fueled by two things: new evidence of the long-term benefits of antiretroviral treatment efforts to date, and new scientific breakthroughs regarding the benefits of treatment for prevention. These developments are transforming the way we think about AIDS.

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Gig.U to Extend LAN Speed Among Schools

Universities nationwide are banding together to extend the gigabit per second speeds typical of modern local-area networks to long-distance connections among signatory educational institutions.

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Universities nationwide have signed onto Gig.U by soliciting ideas for how to extend gigabit per second local-area network speeds over long-distance connections.

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Smarter Robots to Inspect Aging Nukes

With valves and pipes being allowed to leak up to 20 times their original limits by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), according to a recent Associated Press report, smarter robotic inspectors are being proposed to detect underground leaks before they release radiation into groundwater.

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A spherical robot equipped with a camera is being proposed to navigate underground pipes at nuclear reactors to locate potential cracks that could leak radioactive water.

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U.S. Renewables Outpace Nuclear Power

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that renewable energy sources in total have surpassed nuclear power, and are likely to widen the gap unless new nuclear plants are built.

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Renewable energy passed that of nuclear power in March 2011 (in quadrillion BTUs).

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Astronomers Find Largest, Most Distant Reservoir of Water

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This artist's concept illustrates a quasar, or feeding black hole, similar to APM 08279+5255, where astronomers discovered huge amounts of water vapor.

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Oracle Must Curb Android Damages Claim Vs. Google

Oracle has to lower its starting point for damages versus Google to $100 million, but it gets to interview Google CEO Larry Page to help the court determine whether Google willfully infringed on Java patents Oracle now owns.

Oracle received some bittersweet news July 21 in its patent infringement case against Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) over Android.