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Scientists build thinnest-possible LEDs to be stronger, more energy efficient

By Guest PostMarch 31, 2014Sciencebekaempfung der korruption, cold period, cultural chasm, david cobden, energy-efficient, Germany, graphene, juristin, karin seyfried, korruption, korruptionsstrafrecht, leds, one atom, problemfall, raf rios, rice basket, terry quinn, university of manchester, university of washington

Most modern electronics, from flat-screen TVs and smartphones to wearable technologies and computer monitors, use tiny light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. These LEDs are based off of semiconductors that emit light with the movement of electrons. As devices get smaller and faster, there is more demand for such semiconductors that are tinier, stronger and more energy efficient.

University of Washington scientists have built the thinnest-known LED that can be used as a source of light energy in electronics. The LED is based off of two-dimensional, flexible semiconductors, making it possible to stack or use in much smaller and more diverse applications than current technology allows. (more…)

Updating Air Pollution Measurement Methods with UMass Amherst Air Quality, Health Effects Research

By Guest PostJanuary 12, 2014Environmentair pollution exposure, air pollution measurement, air quality, amherst, arnico panday, capital city, development, electrocardiogram, elemental carbon levels, environmental, Germany, icimod, kabindra shakya, kathmandu, levels of pollution, nepal, organic, particles in air, petri dish, potsdam, rick peltier, toxicity, united states, university of massachusetts, xray fluorescence spectrometry

AMHERST, Mass. – Launching a natural research experiment in Kathmandu, Nepal, this month using advanced monitoring methods to assess health risk from air pollution, environmental health scientist Rick Peltier at the University of Massachusetts Amherst hopes to demonstrate for the first time in a real-world setting that air pollution can and should be regulated based on toxicology variables rather than simply on the volume of particles in the air.

Recent technological advances in air quality measurement methods now make it possible and practical to monitor air pollution in a much more sophisticated way than before, Peltier says. Researchers now use X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to measure air pollution metal content, ion chromatography to identify other chemicals and other tactics to assess organic and elemental carbon levels. (more…)

German speaking Jews were force behind European unity

By Guest PostJanuary 7, 2014Politicsanti semitism, atlanta, austria, berlin, cafe central, cathy gelbin, eduard bernstein, elfriede jelinek, emory university, european identity, European Union, european unity, german industrialist, german speaking jews, Germany, identity as european, jewish culture, jewish zionists, literature winner, nobel prize, political theorist, politicians, prague, sander gilman, stefan zweig, university of manchester, vienna, walther rathenau

A little-remembered Jewish culture in Germany and Austria between the 1870s and 1930s was a hotbed of ideas which drove the formation of the European Union, according to new research.

Literary and film scholar Dr Cathy Gelbin from The University of Manchester says cosmopolitan German speaking Jewish intellectuals, many of whom met in the coffee houses of Berlin, Vienna and Prague, were among the first to see their identity as European.

Her co-author on the Arts and Humanities Research Council funded study is the eminent cultural and literary historian Professor Sander Gilman from Emory University in Atlanta. (more…)

El Niño tied to melting of Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier

By Guest PostJanuary 6, 2014Environmentalfred wegener institute, antarctic ice sheet, Antarctica, british antarctic survey, climate condition, computer model, el niño, eric steig, floating ice shelf, Germany, jen de rydt, korea, ocean circulation, paul holland, pierre dutrieux, pine island glacier, qinghua ding, topography, tropical pacific ocean, university of washington, warming global oceans

Pine Island Glacier is one of the biggest routes for ice to flow from Antarctica into the sea. The floating ice shelf at the glacier’s tip has been melting and thinning for the past four decades, causing the glacier to speed up and discharge more ice.

Understanding this ice shelf is a key for predicting sea-level rise in a warming world. A paper published Jan. 2 in the advance online version of the journal Science shows that the ice shelf melting depends on the local wind direction, which is tied to tropical changes associated with El Niño. (more…)

Fatty Acids Crucial to Embryonic Development

By Guest PostDecember 20, 2013Scienceacs, acsl4, acyl coa synthetases, bmp signaling pathway, different tissue types, early embryo, embryo implantation, embryonic development, enzyme, fatty acids, fruit fly, Germany, metabolism, polyunsaturated fatty acid, rosa miyares, steven farber, university of cologne, uterus development

Baltimore, MD— One classical question in developmental biology is how different tissue types arise in the correct position of the developing embryo. While one signaling pathway that controls this process has been well described, unexpected findings from a team led by Carnegie’s Steven Farber reveal the importance of polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism in this process. It is published online December 12 in Developmental Cell.

Fatty acids serve as sources of energy, the building materials of cellular membranes, and as signals for sending messages between cells. Enzymes are needed to activate free fatty acids so that they are useful for cellular processes. The enzymes that perform this function are called acyl-CoA synthetases, often shortened to ACS. (more…)

Study Offers Economical Solutions for Maintaining Critical Delta Environments

By Guest PostDecember 20, 2013Environment1954, age of humans, Anthropocene, black sea, bulgaria, Chernobyl, danube river delta, deforestation, delta environments, economical solutions, floodplain, frequency, Germany, historic data, hungary, iron gates dams, liviu giosan, main european waterway, nuclear bomb testing, nuclear reactor, radiocarbon analysis, radioisotope cesium 137, rising sea level, romania, sandy barriers, sea level, warming climate, wave dominated deltas, whoi

Millions of people across the world live or depend on deltas for their livelihoods.

Formed at the lowest part of a river where its water flow slows and spreads into the sea, deltas are sediment-rich, biodiverse areas, a valuable source of seafood, fertile ground for agriculture, and host to ports important for transportation.

At least half of the deltas around the world are so-called “wave dominated deltas” – open to the sea and under the impact of wave erosion. And many more deltas will come under wave dominance as dammed rivers carry less and less sediment. In a warming climate, sea levels are rising and storms are increasing in frequency and severity, posing threats to these deltas and the people and habitats dependent on them. (more…)

IBM Scientists Demonstrate Quantum Phenomenon for the First Time Using a Plastic Film

By Guest PostDecember 10, 2013Science, Technologyalbert einstein, bec, big data, bose einstein condensation, bosons, computer systems, energy efficient lasers, exabytes, Germany, ibm research, johannes d plumhof, lijian mai, luminescent polymer, macroscopic quantum phenomena, macroscopic scale, nanometers, non crystalline, optical switches, particles, petabytes, picoseconds, plastic, polymer film, polymeric layer, quantum mechanical phenomenon, quantum simulations, quantum world, rainer f mahrt, satyendranath bose, smartphones, thilo stoferle, ullrich scherf, university of wuppertal

Originally predicted in the 1920s by Satyendranath Bose and Albert Einstein, applications could include energy-efficient lasers and optical switches, critical components for future computer systems processing Big Data

ZURICH – 10 Dec 2013: For the first time, scientists at IBM Research have demonstrated a complex quantum mechanical phenomenon known as Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC), using a luminescent polymer (plastic) similar to the materials in light emitting displays used in many of today’s smartphones.

This discovery has potential applications in developing novel optoelectronic devices including energy-efficient lasers and ultra-fast optical switches — critical components for powering future computer systems to process massive Big Data workloads. The use of a polymer material and the observation of BEC at room temperature provides substantial advantages in terms of applicability and cost. (more…)

From Mercury to Morocco, and onward to Yale: a meteorite’s tale

By Guest PostNovember 27, 2013Scienceanthony j irving, asteroid, chromium, comet, csi solar system, derek briggs, earth, Germany, greenish space rock, magnesium, mars, mercury, meteor, meteorite, moroccan desert, morocco, natural history, northwest africa, nwa 7325, peabody museum, planetary meteorites, solar system, Space, stefan ralew, university of washington, yale

Talk about a precious stone — the largest piece of the only known meteorite from the planet Mercury has found its way to Yale, where it is now on display at the Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Known as NWA 7325, the fist-size, greenish space rock is a rarity among rarities: there just aren’t many verified planetary meteorites. Scientists know of about 70 from Mars and, until now, none from any of the other planets in Earth’s solar system. There are about 180 known meteorites from the moon. NWA 7325 is the first believed to be from Mercury. (more…)

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