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Get the Light, Beat the Heat

*Berkeley Lab Researchers Develop New Infrared Coating for Windows*

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have unveiled a semiconductor nanocrystal coating material capable of controlling heat from the sun while remaining transparent. Based on electrochromic materials, which use a jolt of electric charge to tint a clear window, this breakthrough technology is the first to selectively control the amount of near infrared radiation. This radiation, which leads to heating, passes through the film without affecting its visible transmittance. Such a dynamic system could add a critical energy-saving dimension to “smart window” coatings. (more…)

Politicians Have Less Influence Through News Media

Media, Politics

EAST LANSING, Mich. — News coverage of Washington politicians and their rhetoric appears to have less influence on the American public compared to other news coverage, according to a study by a Michigan State University political scientist.

Instead, citizens are more apt to be swayed by news stories about grassroots protests and local events, said Corwin Smidt, assistant professor of political science. His study appears in the research journal Public Opinion Quarterly. (more…)

Can Scientists Look at Next Year’s Climate?

Environment

Is it possible to make valid climate predictions that go beyond weeks, months, even a year? UCLA atmospheric scientists report they have now made long-term climate forecasts that are among the best ever — predicting climate up to 16 months in advance, nearly twice the length of time previously achieved by climate scientists. (more…)

The Next Generation of Ice Cream: One Bite, Two Flavors

Science

*MU researchers develop “flavor release” ice cream with two distinct flavors*

COLUMBIA, Mo. — As the spoon slides into your mouth, you feel the freshness of the ice cream cool your mouth with a rich vanilla flavor. Yet, as you dig your spoon in for more, the vanilla changes, ever so slightly at first, but then to a distinct second flavor as you begin to taste cherry just before you swallow that first bite. The two-flavor, or “flavor release,” ice cream is an experimental ice cream that is being tested by researchers at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

Using a process known as “micro-encapsulation,” Elizabeth Fenner, a food science graduate student, and Ingolf Gruen, associate professor and chair of food sciences, developed the ice cream that starts as one flavor and — after immediately breaking down inside the mouth — releases a second flavor. (more…)

A “Jumping Gene’s” Preferred Targets May Influence Genome Evolution

Science

Baltimore, MD — The human genome shares several peculiarities with the DNA of just about every other plant and animal. Our genetic blueprint contains numerous entities known as transposons, or “jumping genes,” which have the ability to move from place to place on the chromosomes within a cell. (more…)

Parents’ Behavior Linked to Kids’ Videogame Playing

Health, Technology

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Children who think their parents are poor monitors or nag a lot tend to play videogames more than other kids, according to a study by Michigan State University researchers. (more…)

Developers Tune In to Microsoft’s Channel 9

Technology

Channel 9 has been broadcasting from inside Microsoft’s labs and offices since 2004, giving a large community of developers an insider’s view of the people behind the company’s products and technologies

REDMOND, Wash – Passengers on United Airlines flights have long turned their in-flight entertainment dials to Channel 9 to hear what’s happening in the cockpit. For more than seven years, developers have had a similar opportunity to get inside the mind of Microsoft. (more…)

First Global Picture of Greenhouse Gases Emerges from Pole-to-Pole Research Flights

Environment

*Three-year series of scientific missions from Arctic to Antarctic produces new views of atmospheric chemistry*

A three-year series of research flights from the Arctic to the Antarctic has successfully produced an unprecedented portrait of greenhouse gases and particles in the atmosphere.

The far-reaching field project, known as HIPPO, ends this week, and has enabled researchers to generate the first detailed mapping of the global distribution of gases and particles that affect Earth’s climate. (more…)