Jan
29
ASP: The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures Podcasts
January 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment
The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures Podcasts - Audio Recordings of Recent Non-technical Talks by Noted Astronomers. ‘Founded in 1999, the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are presented on six Wednesday evenings during each school year at Foothill College, in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. Speakers over the years have included Nobel-prize winners, members of the [...]
Jan
28
New Distillation Process Improves Energy Efficiency of Corn Ethanol Production
January 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Carnegie Mellon Engineers Devise New Process To Improve Energy Efficiency of Ethanol Production. ‘Carnegie Mellon University chemical engineers have devised a new process that can improve the efficiency of ethanol production, a major component in making biofuels a significant part of the U.S. energy supply. Carnegie Mellon researchers have used advanced process-design methods combined with [...]
Jan
28
Using Bosons to Test String Theory
January 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Theoretical Physicists Develop Test for String Theory. ‘For decades, many scientists have criticized string theory, pointing out that it does not make predictions by which it can be tested. Now, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University; the University of California, San Diego; and The University of Texas at Austin have developed a test of string theory. [...]
Jan
28
Finding Chemical Information on the Internet by Rich Apodaca: A Must Read
January 28, 2007 | 2 Comments
How to Find Chemical Information on the Internet: Why Open Source, Open Access, and Open Data Matter. ‘The Web may be the most effective information-delivery platform ever created. Unfortunately, a variety of barriers, both technical and cultural, restrict the use of the Web for chemistry. In the last few years, three powerful forces for change [...]
Jan
26
Graphene Atomic-Scale Balance
January 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Graphene resonator is one atom thick. ‘Physicists in the US claim to have made the world’s thinnest resonators using sheets of carbon as little as one atomic layer thick. Paul McEuen and colleagues at Cornell University suspended graphene sheets over micrometre-sized trenches to create devices that vibrate at their own natural frequencies. According to McEuen, [...]
Jan
26
ERAWATCH - European Research Database
January 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
ERAWATCH provides information on national research policies, structures, programmes and organisations. The aim of this service is to support policy making in the research field in Europe, by facilitating a better knowledge and understanding of national research systems, policies and the environments in which they operate. Currently 37 countries are covered. With the service’s evolution [...]
Jan
26
European Comission Supports Open Access
January 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Brussels drafts guide for closed world of science journals. ‘The European Commission is preparing new guidelines for the €3 billion a year European scientific publishing industry that could put pressure on major firms such as Elsevier or Oxford University Press to give free access to articles based on EU-funded work.
The EU should consider establishing a [...]
Jan
25
Life and Health Sciences Tufts OpenCourseWare (OCW)
January 25, 2007 | 1 Comment
Tufts OpenCourseWare is part of a new educational movement initiated by MIT that provides free access to course content for everyone online. Tufts’ initial course offerings demonstrate the University’s strength in the life sciences in addition to its multidisciplinary approach, international perspective and underlying ethic of service to its local, national and international communities.
OpenCourseWare [...]
Jan
24
EPA’s High Production Volume Information System (HPVIS)
January 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment
The High Production Volume Information System (HPVIS) provides access to select health and environmental effect information on chemicals that are manufactured in exceptionally large amounts. Information in this database are submitted through EPA’s High Production Volume (HPV) Challenge Program. HPVIS allows users to search for summary information, test plans, and new data on high production [...]
Jan
22
Richard Felder: Resources in Science and Engineering Education
January 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Richard Felder: Resources in Science and Engineering Education. ‘College teaching may be the only skilled profession for which no preparation or training is provided or required. You get a Ph.D., join a faculty, they show you your office, and then tell you “By the way, you’re teaching 205 next semester. See you later.” The result [...]
Jan
22
Using Dendrimers to Detect Apoptosis of Cancer Cells
January 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Sensing Cancer Cell Death with Dendrimers. ‘Taking a critical step toward the development of a multifunctional nanoscale anticancer agent that can detect cancer, treat it, and then report on the success or failure of that treatment, investigators at the University of Michigan have developed a nanoscale sensor of cell death. This sensor is built on [...]
Jan
22
A New Class of Aluminum-Hydrogen Compounds
January 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Researchers Create New Class of Compounds. ‘Findings may have applications in solid rocket fuel and/or the hydrogen economy.
Researchers have synthesized a new class of aluminum-hydrogen compounds with a unique chemistry that could lead to the development of more powerful solid rocket fuel and may also, in time, be useful for hydrogen-powered vehicles or other energy [...]
