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How Butterfly Wings Can Inspire New High-Tech Surfaces

By Guest PostNovember 11, 2012Nature, Scienceaircraft, bacteria, bharat bhushan, butterfly, butterfly wings, catheter, coated, crude oil, electron microscope, fluid flow, giant blue, gregory bixler, high tech surfaces, iconic butterfly, industrial powder, jo mcculty, medical equipment, micrometer scale feature, microscopic texture, morpho butterfly, morpho didius, nano channel, Nanotechnology, Nature, ohio, ohio state university, oriza sativa, pipelines, plastic surface, rice leaves, silicon carbide powder, south american, watercraft, wings

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A South American butterfly flapped its wings, and caused a flurry of nanotechnology research to happen in Ohio.

Researchers here have taken a new look at butterfly wings and rice leaves, and learned things about their microscopic texture that could improve a variety of products.

For example, the researchers were able to clean up to 85 percent of dust off a coated plastic surface that mimicked the texture of a butterfly wing, compared to only 70 percent off a flat surface. (more…)

Saving Storm-Damaged Photos

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012General, Science, Technologyart conservation, cellulose acetate, debra hess norris, film negative, heather brown, humidity condition, hurricane sandy, marsh grass, msnbc, news clip, photo album, photograph, photos, phyllis, save my photograph, saving, staten island, storm damaged, superstorm, von stein, wedding gown

UD conservators triage to provide advice, resources

In a news clip on MSNBC, Phyllis, a 62-year-old grandmother from Staten Island, clutches a black-and-white photograph of her mother in her wedding gown. She found the family treasure strewn among the muck and marsh grass where her shattered home ended up in Hurricane Sandy’s wake.

If you have recovered photographs or photo albums that were damaged by the superstorm, don’t throw them out. There is hope for saving storm-damaged photos, according to Debra Hess Norris, professor and chair of the Department of Art Conservation at the University of Delaware. (more…)

Crystals for Efficient Refrigeration

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012Sciencecrystals, electrical polarization, electrocaloric effect, ferroelectric crystals, material changes, paraelectric state, temperature

Washington, D.C.-– Researchers at the Carnegie Institution have discovered a new efficient way to pump heat using crystals. The crystals can pump or extract heat, even on the nanoscale, so they could be used on computer chips to prevent overheating or even meltdown, which is currently a major limit to higher computer speeds. The research is published in the Physical Review Letters. (more…)

Improving Batteries

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012Sciencebattery systems, block copolymer, conducting membranes, conductivity, delaware, doctoral student, improve, innate properties, kipp gutshall, lightweight, lithium battery, mechanical strength, membrane, nanoscale, structure, temperature stability, thermal properties, thomas epps, university, wei fan kuan

UD doctoral student studies ways to improve lithium battery performance

Lithium batteries are used in many devices such as cell phones, computers and cameras, among others.

University of Delaware doctoral student Wei-Fan Kuan is investigating ways to improve membranes used in lithium batteries by capitalizing on the innate properties of block copolymers.

It is work that he believes will become increasingly important as the components in electronic devices continue to get smaller. (more…)

Folding Funnels Key to Biomimicry

By Guest PostNovember 9, 2012Sciencebiomimicry, kinetic traps, nanoscale synthesis, protein folding, protein folding funnels

Berkeley Lab Finding that Protein Folding Funnels Also Apply to Self-Assembly Should Benefit Biomimicry and Nanosynthesis

Proteins are able to self-assemble into a wide range of highly ordered structures that feature a diverse array of properties. Through biomimicry – technological innovation inspired by nature – humans hope to emulate proteins and produce our own version of self-assembling molecules. A key to accomplishing this is understanding how protein-folding – a process critical to the form and function of a protein – is extended from individual proteins to complex assemblies. (more…)

Saber-toothed Cats and Bear Dogs: How They Made Cohabitation Work

By Guest PostNovember 8, 2012Sciencebear dogs, extinct mammals, mammalian predators, saber toothed cats

ANN ARBOR — The fossilized fangs of saber-toothed cats hold clues to how the extinct mammals shared space and food with other large predators 9 million years ago. (more…)

Studies: Pigs Look Healthy But Test Positive for Flu at Fairs; Flu Transmission Seen Between Pigs and Humans

By Guest PostNovember 6, 2012Scienceandrew bowman, cdc, flu positive, genbank, h1n2, h3n2 virus, h3n2v, human illness, illness, immune system, influenza a, influenza strain, jacqueline nolting, ohio, ohio county, pig virus, pigs, respiratory tract, richard slemons, sarah nelson, sign, state university, swine origin, viral infection, virus

COLUMBUS, Ohio – More than 80 percent of pigs that tested positive for influenza A virus at Ohio county fairs between 2009 and 2011 showed no signs of illness, according to a new study.

Ohio State University researchers tested 20 pigs each at 53 fair events over those three summers and found at least one flu-positive pig at 12 fairs – almost a quarter of fairs tested. (more…)

Advancing the Digital Humanities

By Guest PostNovember 4, 2012Scienceadvanced visualization, consumer based technology, devices for consumption, digital humanities

Bryan Carter, a UA assistant professor of Africana studies, is among faculty members in the arts and humanities more readily employing consumer-based technologies in educational, creative, interdisciplinary and engaging ways

Take a guess – what are the most common uses for devices like smartphones? (more…)

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