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Science & Technology

Viral structure design used to improve batteries

By CONNIE CHANG | November 15, 2013

Early 2013, scientists at the MIT have developed a new efficient candidate electrode for rechargeable lithium-oxygen batteries, which could potentially change the future of batteries and decrease their overall cost. Li-O2 batteries have been gaining popularity over the years for its high specific energy densities, meaning they can store a relatively large amount of power. During use, the battery undergoes a chemical reaction involving Li+ reacting with oxygen to produce Li2O2 and an electrical current. Then, the batteries can be easily recharged and used again. To recharge, the inverse reaction operates, converting Li2O2 back to Li+ ions. The convenience of Li-O2 batteries has spawned great acceptance of rechargeable batteries all around.

Samsung slowly opens up its plans to investors

By JOEL PALLY | November 15, 2013

As the next wave of court hearings over patent disputes between Apple and Samsung rage on, investors are growing tepid over Samsung stock, which lost one fifth of its value from June to to mid-July. But it’s not Samsung’s viability that has some investors worried; the Korean handset maker currently makes 1 out of every 3 phones sold worldwide. It sells more than twice as many as its next closest competitor, Apple.

Tissue engineers create organs with biological ink

By MARK STUCZYNSKI | November 15, 2013

What if you could print your own bandages? Or skin grafts? How about a new liver? Living in the future is a strange and interesting place, and it grows more interesting by the year. Scientists at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology are advancing the field of tissue engineering—developing biologically-derived tissue replacements—by automating tissue replication through the use of inkjet printers.

Gene enhancers fine-tune craniofacial development

By SAMHITA ILANGO | November 7, 2013

During the search for our doppelgangers in the world, we may miss the question that eludes many of our minds: What exactly makes each face so distinct? It’s common sense that we have eyes, a nose, and a mouth, but how is it possible that we can recognize between hundreds of our friends solely from these features? Geneticist Axel Visel of Berkeley Lab’s Genomics Division has made discoveries in the field that allow us to better answer this question.

The Arctic hasn’t been this warm in centuries

By TONY WU | November 7, 2013

Over the past decade, the scientific community has agreed that the average global temperature is rising. Some attribute this increase to the production of greenhouse gases; others believe that the rising temperatures are part of a bigger cycle, consisting of warm and cold periods. Nevertheless, there is an evident rise in temperatures. Recently, a research team from the University of Colorado Boulder presented convincing evidence that global warming is a result of greenhouse gas emissions.

Oldest galaxy provides Big Bang insights

By MELISSA STALEY | November 7, 2013

Astronomers from the University of California, Riverside, working in collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin, the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, and other institutions nationwide have discovered what they believe to the be farthest known galaxy to date.

Avoid the ‘roid: juicing muscles lasts a lifetime

By REGINA PALATINI | November 7, 2013

The next time you’re watching that baseball player hit a mammoth home run or that defensive linesman crushing the quarterback, or even that cyclist sprinting up an almost vertical hill well ahead of the competition, don’t only wonder if the athlete is on steroids, but also wonder if he or she has ever been on steroids.  A new paper recently published in The Journal of Physiology written by researchers from the University of Oslo suggests that exposure to performing enhancing drugs (PEDs) may have a memory effect, i.e., the drug may produce its intended effect long after it is initially taken. This is in direct contrast to the current thinking that PEDs lose their effects shortly after administration. These findings can have serious implications with regard to drug testing policies.

441 species discovered in Amazon rainforest

By ELIZABETH LIU | November 7, 2013

The Amazon rainforest is filled with the sounds of chirping, buzzing, and howling. However, there is one sound you might not have expected. Purring. From a monkey. This monkey, the Callicebus caquetensis, is one of more than 440 new species discovered in remote parts of the Amazon rainforest, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Bioethics Corner: Organ transplants

By SAAD ANJUM | November 7, 2013

According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, the agency that oversees the allocation of this scarce resource in the United States, the number of waitlist candidates for organs is 118,634 as of 2:47 PM on the 11th of July, 2013. The top three organs on the list: kidneys, livers, and hearts.

Live 3D microscopy reveals secrets of micro-world

By MELANIE LEVINE | November 7, 2013

Researchers at NIH have been tackling problems in biological microscopy with the development of two new microscopes. The new technologies will allow researchers to see fast moving organisms at higher resolutions and to capture three-dimensional images with minimal light damage to the cells.

Lexus car uses art to show speed, rpm and hybridity

By KELLY CARTY | November 7, 2013

What is art?  Tolstoy said it is a means of union among men.  Fellini thought it was autobiography.  Oscar Wilde defined it as the most intense mode of individualism the world has seen.  Lexus, trying its hand at aesthetic philosophy, thinks art is motion.

Batman brain: The nighttime vigilante in your noggin

By MARU JAIME GARZA | October 31, 2013

Coffee, energy-shots and sugar drinks are faithful companions for those who cannot afford to sleep the required seven to nine hours a day. It is quite common for those with busy lifestyles to try to cheat sleep. But why do we need sleep to begin with? Taking up roughly 1/3 of our lives, sleep has been an intriguing phenomenon to scientists and philosophers alike ever since the late 400s BC.

Bitcoin use in question after Silk Road drug bust

By MIKE YAMAKAWA | October 31, 2013

For two years, the Silk Road was an online, underground marketplace for narco-traffickers and other criminals: an eBay for customers interested in purchasing all sorts of illegal drugs and miscellaneous merchandise, including firearms and contract killers. While most commercial websites, such as Amazon, require some form of registration, the Silk Road didn’t require any personal information. The anonymity of Silk Road was the key to attracting thousands of criminals to the online market. Fortunately, after two years of operating in impunity, the FBI was able to shutdown the site on Oct. 2.

Google adds focus on sustainability, not productivity

By JOEL PALLY | October 31, 2013

The transformation in the mobile industry in the past eight years has been truly extraordinary. Phones have evolved from tools for simple telecommunications to mobile computing powerhouses. Mobile phone brands pride themselves on their commitment to continually to improve on their products; they manage to make their products slimmer, sleeker and faster year after year. And almost just as miraculously, demand in the mobile phone industry remains strong despite near market saturation in developed nations.

Mad scientists could create a new creature

By JOSH SCARALIA | October 31, 2013

The first successful instance of genetic modification came in 1973 when Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen successfully modified an E. coli to produce a Salmonella gene. Since then, the area of genetic engineering has taken off, producing new and different genetically modified organisms every year.

Bioethics Corner: Who is responsible for lowering healthcare costs?

By SAAD ANJUM | October 31, 2013

The Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Jon C. Tilburt et al., a former Greenwall Fellow at the Berman Institute, entitled “Views of US Physicians About Controlling Health Care Costs.” I sat down with Matthew DeCamp, MD, PhD, an Assistant Professor at the Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, to talk about the results of the survey.

New prosthetics incorporate sense of touch

By JOSH SCARALIA | October 26, 2013

You’ve made it to the final round in a million dollar competition! There is one last challenge you must complete, and it seems elementary; they present two cups to you, and, while blindfolded, you must determine which cup has hot water and which cup has cold water. They blindfold you, and you put your hands out. You grab both cups and feel that one is hotter than the other. You have made your decision! Congratulations! You won!

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