912,185 articles

UCSB physicists move one step closer to quantum computing

Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have made an important advance in electrically controlling quantum states of electrons, a step that could help in the development of quantum computing. The work is published online today on the Science Express Web site.

Vt. nuke critics renew campaign against relicense (AP)

AP - Hoping to sway lawmakers, two of the state's most famous residents and one of its former governors joined groups opposed to the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in announcing a push for Town Meeting Day votes on whether the plant should keep operating past...

Flax and yellow flowers can produce bioethanol

Surplus biomass from the production of flax shives, and generated from Brassica carinata, a yellow-flowered plant related to those which engulf fields in spring, can be used to produce bioethanol. This has been suggested by two studies carried out by Spanish and Dutch researchers and published in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.

Using superconducting probes to get a picture of what it's like inside CNTs

(PhysOrg.com) -- "Carbon nanotubes are exciting for fundamental physics, and for potential technological applications," Nadya Mason tells PhysOrg.com. "However, we are generally limited in the way that we can study them. Many of these limitations have to do with controlling tunneling, or the way electrons move on and off the nanotube." In order to overcome this limitation, Mason, a scientist at...

New Pogoplug 'Personal Cloud' Does Social Networking

On Friday, Cloud Engines released its newest version of the Pogoplug, a small "multimedia sharing device" that connects hard drives to the Internet and allows a user to access the files remotely. The company described Pogoplug as "your own personal cloud that broadcasts safely from your home." You connect Pogoplug to your router by Ethernet, attach hard drives or USB flash drives, and then...

Astronauts Await Word of Baby Girl on Earth

Atlantis' astronauts anxiously awaited word on the birth of one crewman's daughter Friday, as they moved more supplies into the International Space Station and geared up for another spacewalk. Astronaut Randolph Bresnik was about to become a father for the second time. His wife, Rebecca, was due to give birth Friday back home in Houston. They already have a son who is 3 1/2. Bresnik, 42, a...

University of Georgia Bulldog Mascot Dies at Age 4

From the University of Georgia: Uga VII, the legendary Georgia mascot who roamed the sidelines at Bulldog football games, died unexpectedly Thursday morning in Savannah. He died of heart-related causes according to owner Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler. He was four ...

Pennsylvania residents sue over gas drilling (Reuters)

Reuters - Residents of a small rural Pennsylvania town sued Cabot Oil & Gas Corp on Friday, claiming the company's natural-gas drilling has contaminated their water wells with toxic chemicals, caused sickness and reduced their property values.

Scientists identify DNA that regulates antibody production

(PhysOrg.com) -- When foreign invaders trip the immune system`s alarm, antibodies need to be specially sculpted to attack them head on. New research now shows that gene segments called enhancers control the reshuffling of antibody genes that makes such a precise and coordinated attack possible.

Trust Linux!

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers has implemented support for 'trusted computing' in a commercially available version of the open source operating system Linux, breaking new ground in the global drive toward more secure computing environments.