Aug

29

Science Online London 2010: How is the Web Changing Science?

August 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Science Online London 2010 ConferenceNature, Mendeley, and the British Library present Science Online London 2010, September 3-4, 2010 — British Library. How is the web changing the way we conduct, communicate, share, and evaluate research? How can we employ these trends for the greater good? This September, a brilliant group of scientists, bloggers, web entrepreneurs, and publishers will be meeting for two days to address these very questions.

In addition to a number of keynotes and talks, Science Online London is about community, and is an experience that you can shape. Exchange ideas with others like you. Propose and take part in un-conference sessions, ignite talks, two tours through the Royal Society, a Fringe-Frivolous Rooftop Debate with free drinks and discussions (limited to 50 attendees), or a trip to the Diamond Light Source Synchrotron.

See also the Science Online London Blog for more information and use the Wiki to give your suggestions.

Jul

30

Ingenuity Answers Alpha for Biological and Chemical Questions

July 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Ingenuity Systems, the makers of IPA (Ingenuity Pathway Analysis), have just launched Ingenuity Answers (still in alpha version). Ingenuity Answers is an advanced search tool that enables you to quickly and reliably answer specific biological and chemical questions by identifying lists of genes (or other biological and chemical objects) that satisfy particular biological criteria. Ingenuity Answers leverages the Ingenuity Knowledge Base to allow you to ask highly focused questions involving biological details on multiple levels (genes, chemicals, cells, domains, pathways, diseases, and more) and provides answers based on demonstrated and accurate biological relationships, so you have confidence in your search results.

Just enter a keyword or type a question about genes, proteins, chemicals, drugs, cells, tissues, pathways, biological processes, diseases, biomarkers, or clinical trials. You’ll access detailed summary information and explore reported relationships and interactions between objects. You can also drill down into the supporting literature to see evidence for the results.

Jul

29

Another Stunning Graphene Experimental Surprise

July 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Graphene, the extraordinary form of carbon that consists of a single layer of carbon atoms, has produced another in a long list of experimental surprises. In the current issue of the journal Science, a multi-institutional team of researchers headed by Michael Crommie, a faculty senior scientist in the Materials Sciences Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor of physics at the University of California at Berkeley, reports the creation of pseudo-magnetic fields far stronger than the strongest magnetic fields ever sustained in a laboratory – just by putting the right kind of strain onto a patch of graphene.

“We have shown experimentally that when graphene is stretched to form nanobubbles on a platinum substrate, electrons behave as if they were subject to magnetic fields in excess of 300 tesla, even though no magnetic field has actually been applied,” says Crommie. “This is a completely new physical effect that has no counterpart in any other condensed matter system.”

Crommie notes that “for over 100 years people have been sticking materials into magnetic fields to see how the electrons behave, but it’s impossible to sustain tremendously strong magnetic fields in a laboratory setting.” The current record is 85 tesla for a field that lasts only thousandths of a second. When stronger fields are created, the magnets blow themselves apart. The ability to make electrons behave as if they were in magnetic fields of 300 tesla or more – just by stretching graphene – offers a new window on a source of important applications and fundamental scientific discoveries going back over a century. This is made possible by graphene’s electronic behavior, which is unlike any other material’s.

A carbon atom has four valence electrons; in graphene (and in graphite, a stack of graphene layers), three electrons bond in a plane with their neighbors to form a strong hexagonal pattern, like chicken-wire. The fourth electron sticks up out of the plane and is free to hop from one atom to the next. The latter pi-bond electrons act as if they have no mass at all, like photons. They can move at almost one percent of the speed of light. The idea that a deformation of graphene might lead to the appearance of a pseudo-magnetic field first arose even before graphene sheets had been isolated, in the context of carbon nanotubes (which are simply rolled-up graphene). In early 2010, theorist Francisco Guinea of the Institute of Materials Science of Madrid and his colleagues developed these ideas and predicted that if graphene could be stretched along its three main crystallographic directions, it would effectively act as though it were placed in a uniform magnetic field. This is because strain changes the bond lengths between atoms and affects the way electrons move between them. The pseudo-magnetic field would reveal itself through its effects on electron orbits.

In classical physics, electrons in a magnetic field travel in circles called cyclotron orbits. These were named following Ernest Lawrence’s invention of the cyclotron, because cyclotrons continuously accelerate charged particles (protons, in Lawrence’s case) in a curving path induced by a strong field. Viewed quantum mechanically, however, cyclotron orbits become quantized and exhibit discrete energy levels. Called Landau levels, these correspond to energies where constructive interference occurs in an orbiting electron’s quantum wave function. The number of electrons occupying each Landau level depends on the strength of the field – the stronger the field, the more energy spacing between Landau levels, and the denser the electron states become at each level – which is a key feature of the predicted pseudo-magnetic fields in graphene.

Describing their experimental discovery, Crommie says, “We had the benefit of a remarkable stroke of serendipity.”

Continue reading the press release Graphene Under Strain Creates Gigantic Pseudo-Magnetic Fields at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s News Center.

Jul

16

OECD on Risks and Benefits of Nanomaterials

July 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Innovation can bring benefits, but possible risks too. The emergence of nanotechnology, which manipulates barely visible materials for industrial purposes, is a case in point, and policymakers are taking a close look.

All kinds of nanomaterials are now found in common household items, from sports gear and sunscreens to socks and dresses, from beds and shampoos for pets to mobile phones and computer processors. Like any innovative technology, nanotechnology has the potential for producing unimagined benefits–and unintended risks. The OECD has been at the forefront of international efforts to minimise those risks since 2005. These days, co-operation is intensifying as nanomaterials become part of our everyday landscape.

Continue reading the OECD Observer article Nanomaterials: Getting the measure.

See all the information about OECD Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials. Research and development in nanotechnologies is directed toward understanding and creating improved materials, devices, and systems that exploit these new properties. Such properties have been found to be very useful for an increasing number of commercial applications, for example: protective coatings; light-weight materials; self-cleaning clothing, to name but a few.

But different properties mean that nanomaterials are differed from conventional molecules with respect to human health and environmental safety. The traditional testing and assessment methods used to determine the safety of traditional chemicals are not necessarily (fully) applicable to nanomaterials. There should be a responsible and co-ordinated approach to ensure that potential safety issues are being addressed at the same time as the technology is developing.

OECD Database on Research into the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials. This database is a global resource which collects research projects that address environmental, human health and safety issues of manufactured nanomaterials. This database helps identify research gaps and assists researchers in future collaborative efforts. The database also assists the projects of the OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) as a resource of research information.

See also all the Publications in the Series on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials.

Jul

9

Just to Remember: Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry

July 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry:

  1. Prevention
  2. Atom Economy
  3. Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses
  4. Designing Safer Chemicals
  5. Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries
  6. Design for Energy Efficiency
  7. Use of Renewable Feedstocks
  8. Reduce Derivatives
  9. Catalysis
  10. Design for Degradation
  11. Real-time analysis for Pollution Prevention
  12. Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention

A more complete version can be found at EPA’s site: Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry.