Tue 27 Jul 2010 Position-Based Quantum Cryptography: New Method for Securing Location-Sensitive Data. A research group led by computer scientists at the UCLA has proved that cryptography -- the practice and study of hiding information -- that is based solely on physical location is possible by using quantum mechanics. Such a method allows one to encrypt and decrypt data at a secure location without pre-sharing any cryptographic keys that can be used to lock or unlock sensitive information. The idea behind location-based cryptography is that only a recipient at a precise geographic location can receive an encrypted message -- the location itself acts as the credential required for generating an encryption key.more

Sun 25 Jul 2010 New Quantum State of Matter Discovered in Heusler Compounds: Applications in Spintronics, Quantum Computing and New Physical Effects. For many years, scientists at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany have been researching Heusler compounds, which are an important material class for the use in spintronic applications. Over the past few years, new application areas have emerged in the field of renewable energy, such as solar energy and thermoelectrics. And now Heusler compounds are also being considered for future technologies such as quantum computers.

Sun 27 Jun 2010 Novel radiotracer shines new light on the brains of Alzheimer disease patients. New trial tool could aid in diagnosing Alzheimer’s, tracking disease progression and developing therapeutics. A novel radioactive compound readily and safely distinguished the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients from healthy volunteers on brain scans and opens the doors to making such imaging available beyond facilities that can manufacture their own radioactive compounds. The results could lead to better ways to distinguish Alzheimer’s from other types of dementia, track disease progression and develop new therapeutics to fight the memory-ravaging disease. Previously, the only way to peer into the brains of Alzheimer’s patients was through autopsy or the use of another radiotracer, known as Pittsburgh compound or PIB. PIB is drawn to a protein known as beta-amyloid, which accumulates abnormally in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. However, PIB has a half-life of only 20 minutes, meaning that half of the substance degenerates every 20 minutes after it is made. Consequently, PIB’s use is possible only at a few hospitals or academic medical centers with facilities to manufacture it since this compound degenerates so rapidly.
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Mon 21 Jun 2010 Enhancing the power of batteries. MIT team finds that using carbon nanotubes in a lithium battery can dramatically improve its energy capacity. They found that using carbon nanotubes for one of the battery’s electrodes produced a significant increase — up to tenfold — in the amount of power it could deliver from a given weight of material, compared to a conventional lithium-ion battery. Such electrodes might find applications in small portable devices, and with further research might also lead to improved batteries for larger, more power-hungry applications. more

Wed 2 Jun 2010 PET and SPECT Biomedical Imaging Techniques Combined into VECT. TU Delft and Molecular Imaging Labs (MI Labs) have succeeded in combining two forms of medical imaging techniques into one piece of equipment. These techniques are particularly useful for cancer research. The two techniques are known as microPET and microSPECT. SPECT and PET can be performed simultaneously and they give a higher resolution than traditional microSPECT and microPET. The new device is known as the VECTor (Versatile Emission Computed Tomography) and is designed for use in fundamental research into the functioning of cells and organs. It can show functional details smaller than half a millimetre.more

Thu 27 May 2010 Organic Solids in Soil May Speed Up Bacterial Breathing. Oxygen-free, or anaerobic, environments contain microbes sometimes described as "mineral-breathing" because they use iron oxides and other minerals in the same way we use oxygen. This bacterial respiration may be accelerated by solid organic compounds in the soil. A new research shows that iron oxide-breathing bacteria can do the same with insoluble organic substances, formed when plants and other organic materials biodegrade in soils and sediments. During respiration, the bacteria release electrons that interact with nearby substances, a process called reduction. Reduction of large organic molecules -- called humics and familiar to gardeners as part of planting soil -- represents a new pathway for electrical charges to move around in the environment, with implications for understanding soil chemistry and environmental contamination.more

Wed 26 May 2010 Physicists Develop a Quantum Interface Between Light and Atom. The quantum interface which connects light particles and atoms is based on an ultra-thin glass fiber and is suitable for the transmission of quantum information. This is an essential prerequisite for quantum communication which shall be used for secure data transmission via quantum cryptography.more

Thu 13 May 2010 Stem Cells: In Search of a Master Controller. With thousands of scientists across the globe searching for ways to use adult stem cells to fight disease, there's a growing emphasis on finding the "master regulators" that guide the differentiation of stem cells. New research from Rice University and the University of Cambridge suggests that a closely connected trio of regulatory proteins fulfills that role in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), the self-renewing cells the body uses to make new blood cells. Bioengineers Oleg Igoshin and Jatin Narula created a computer model that accurately describes the observed behavior of the three regulatory proteins that are collectively known as the "Scl-Gata2-Fli1 triad." more

Wed 12 May 2010 New project aims for fusion ignition. MIT-led Ignitor reactor could be the world’s first to reach major milestone, perhaps paving the way for eventual power production. Russia and Italy have entered into an agreement to build a new fusion reactor outside Moscow that could become the first such reactor to achieve ignition, the point where a fusion reaction becomes self-sustaining instead of requiring a constant input of energy. The design for the reactor, called Ignitor, originated with MIT physics professor Bruno Coppi, who will be the project’s principal investigator. The key ingredient in all fusion experiments is plasma, a kind of hot gas made up of charged particles such as atomic nuclei and electrons. In fusion reactors, atomic nuclei — usually of isotopes of hydrogen called deuterium and tritium — are forced together through a combination of heat and pressure to overcome their natural electrostatic repulsion. When the nuclei join together, or fuse, they release prodigious amounts of energy. more

10 Apr 2010 Carbon based Solar Cells devised. Large sheets of Carbon available for light collection have been devised using an unusual solution by IU-Bloomington -- attach what amounts to a 3-D bramble patch to each side of the carbon sheet. Using that method, scientists were able to dissolve sheets containing as many as 168 carbon atoms. Carbon is cheap and abundant, and in the form of graphene, capable of absorbing a wide range of light frequencies. Graphene is essentially the same stuff as graphite (pencil lead), except graphene is a single sheet of carbon, one atom thick. Graphene shows promise as an effective, cheap-to-produce, and less toxic alternative to other materials currently used in solar cells, namely, Silicon and compounds containing Ruthenium.more