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Searching for Planets in Clouds of Dust

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2012Sciencecircumstellar dust, circumstellar environments, earth like planets, exoplanetary systems, possible planets

A UA astronomy research team was awarded a $600,000 grant for technology development under NASA’s Explorer mission program. The mission would send a space telescope high above Earth’s surface to watch how planets around other stars form and evolve

There has been much talk about possible Earth-like planets discovered by the Kepler space telescope launched just two years ago in the search for life outside our solar system. So far, it has discovered more than 2,326 possible Earth-like planets, and the number keeps growing. (more…)

New Device Removes Stroke-Causing Blood Clots Better Than Standard Treatment

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2012Health, Scienceblood clot, catheter tube, covidien, elad levy, Europe, experimental device, flow restoration device, jeffrey l saver, merci retriever, raul nogueira, reza jahan, solitaire, stroke patient, swift, thrombectomy, tissue plasminogen activator, tudor g jovin, ucla stroke center, united states

An experimental device for removing blood clots in stroke patients dramatically outperformed the standard mechanical treatment, according to research presented by UCLA Stroke Center director Dr. Jeffrey L. Saver at the American Stroke Association’s 2012 international conference in New Orleans on Feb. 3.

The SOLITAIRE Flow Restoration Device is among an entirely new generation of devices designed to remove blood clots from blocked brain arteries in patients experiencing stroke. It has a self-expanding, stent-like design and, once inserted into a clot using a thin catheter tube, it compresses and traps the clot. The clot is then removed by withdrawing the device, thus reopening the blocked blood vessel. (more…)

Passion for Pattern

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2012Culture, Generalalexander graham bell, amber billings, bill magdalene, chewing gum, david mendolia, design, figure drawing, gate, gifted and talented education, graphic design, happy, melon remix gum, orbit, orbit gum, orbit pack, professional art, square module, telephone, university of minnesota

*Design fuels the whole world, says Amber Billings*

This past spring, Amber Billings competed nationally with other college students to design a pack for Orbit gum. The second-year U of M graphic design student was named one of the eight contest winners. She received $5,000. And her design and signature appear on limited edition packs of Orbit’s Melon Remix gum through February 2012.

Recently, Amber Billings discussed what inspires her design work. (more…)

New Molecule Has Potential to Help Treat Genetic Diseases and HIV

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2012Scienceamy rhoden smith, austin, base molecule, brent iverson, cells, chromosome, DNA, dna sequence, double helix, garen holman, georgetown, hiv, kenneth johnson, legos, maha zewail foote, molecule, naphthalenetetracarboxylic diimide, ndi, protease inhibitors, sequence of genes, southwestern university, spiral staircase, university of texas, viral dna

AUSTIN, Texas — Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that’s so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before the DNA liberates itself, much longer than any other molecule reported.

It’s an important step along the path to someday creating drugs that can go after rogue DNA directly. Such drugs would be revolutionary in the treatment of genetic diseases, cancer or retroviruses such as HIV, which incorporate viral DNA directly into the body’s DNA. (more…)

Aquatics Center: Brown Dives into Solar Energy

By Guest PostFebruary 12, 2012Environmentaquatics center, boston, brown, chris powell, electricity from sunlight, environmental initiative, generate, glycol, hudson, hybrid, hybrid panels, hybrid solar panels, katherine moran coleman aquatic center, michael intrieri, photovoltaic strip, power, renewable energy, rhode island, roof, solar energy, solar installation, sundrum solar, sunlight solar energy, sustainable energy, thermal energy, thomas p, tip o neill, united states

The 168 rectangular panels on the roof of the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatic Center will generate enough power to keep the lights on and enough thermal energy to heat the million-gallon pool. The center, due to open April 13, will be Rhode Island’s first hybrid (heat and power) solar installation — also the largest in the nation and the first on a college campus.

Brown is diving into solar energy. (more…)

Focus on Self-Improvement Benefits Young Athletes

By Guest PostFebruary 12, 2012Sportsclimate, co exist, daniel gould, ego climate, larry lauer, philosophy, player competition, ryan flett, scale 2, self improvement, west virginia university, youth athletes, youth experiences

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Underserved youth athletes report more life skill and character development when their coaches place greater emphasis on creating caring climates instead of focusing on competition, according to research from Michigan State University’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports.

Playing in an atmosphere that focuses on player self-improvement versus player competition creates a sense of teamwork and develops initiative, social skills and a sense of identity, report the authors of the study from the Department of Kinesiology institute. (more…)

Hydrogen from Acidic Water: Berkeley Lab Researchers Develop a Potential Low Cost Alternative to Platinum for Splitting Water

By Guest PostFebruary 12, 2012Scienceacidic, acidic water, artificial photosynthesis, berkeley lab, catalyst, catalytic hydrogen generation, christopher chang, elizabeth montalvo, emission, hemamala karunadasa, hhmi, hydrogen gas, jeffrey long, low cost alternatives, marcin majda, microdomains, molecule, molybdenite, molybdenite crystals, molybdenum disulfide, natural gas, pentapyridyl ligand, petroleum, photocatalytic systems, platinum, py5me2, reduction, sulfur, sulfur dioxide, water, yujie sun

A technique for creating a new molecule that structurally and chemically replicates the active part of the widely used industrial catalyst molybdenite has been developed by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This technique holds promise for the creation of catalytic materials that can serve as effective low-cost alternatives to platinum for generating hydrogen gas from water that is acidic.

Christopher Chang and Jeffrey Long, chemists who hold joint appointments with Berkeley Lab and the University of California (UC) Berkeley, led a research team that synthesized a molecule to mimic the triangle-shaped molybdenum disulfide units along the edges of molybdenite crystals, which is where almost all of the catalytic activity takes place. Since the bulk of molybdenite crystalline material is relatively inert from a catalytic standpoint, molecular analogs of the catalytically active edge sites could be used to make new materials that are much more efficient and cost-effective catalysts. (more…)

Bird Count

By Guest PostFebruary 12, 2012Naturebackyard feeder, baltimore oriole, bird count, bird nerd, boreal forests, charles shattuck, chris williams, delaware nature society, derek stoner, kennett square, laysan albatross, margo mcdonough, pine siskins, red breasted nuthatches, red clay creek, screech owl

*Birds aren’t flocking to backyard feeders this winter*

What’s in short supply this winter? If you said snow you guessed the first (and obvious) answer. But you may not have noticed what else has been scarce — birds at backyard feeders.

“Our customers are talking about the fact that fewer birds are coming to feeders this winter,” says Charles Shattuck who, with his wife, Kathy, owns Wild Birds Unlimited in Hockessin. “I’ve heard reports of fewer birds at feeders across the East Coast.” (more…)

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