SciTech News Articles Archive Page 18 from Mon 07 Mar 2011 to Sat 26 Mar 2011

''Feathered Helmet'' opens door on earliest vertebrates

Posted Sat, 26 Mar 2011 16:33:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

A new fossil find in China shows in unprecedented detail an ancient sea creature which scientists hope will help them find how the earliest vertebrates evolved. Researchers from China, Leicester and Oxford found the fossil, which for the first time shows the soft tentacles of primitive creatures called pterobranch hemichordates, which sheds new light on an important group of primitive sea creatures.

''Feathered Helmet'' opens door on earliest vertebrates

SuperHomes are Open to Visitors

Posted Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:21:00 GMT by Julian Jackson

Spring Opening for old houses that have been transformed into super low emissions properties. What is a SuperHome and does it wear a cape? The answer to that is fairly clear: no it doesn't; in fact a SuperHome looks pretty much like an ordinary home, except it may have solar panels on the roof. It is inside that it is different. SuperHomes are homes that have reduced their their carbon emissions by at least 60%.

SuperHomes are Open to Visitors

Skinny worms provide new approach for obesity drugs

Posted Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:31:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Chemicals tested on worms may be of use in human medicines say a team of American researchers, and it's a major breakthrogh in designing new drugs. Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco have found a new way to understand human obesity in the unlikeliest of animals - the traditionally long and thin worm.

Skinny worms provide new approach for obesity drugs

Neutron probe reveals bacteria's light-gathering secrets

Posted Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:50:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

The power of neutrons have been bought to bear on the delicate structures of light-gathering bacteria, in new research published in the latest issue of biophysical Langmuir. It shows that chlorosomes in the bacteria are stable under conditions that could be employed in biohybrid solar cells - so opening the door to more efficient solar power, inspired by nature.

Neutron probe reveals bacteria's light-gathering secrets

Technology sees the way to tackle lameness in horses, the Lameness Locator

Posted Wed, 23 Mar 2011 07:41:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Lameness is the bain of the equine world and very hard to spot. Now, scientists are using the latest motion sensors to do a better job than the human eye. Horse lovers, horse owners even horse racing followers the world over would love University of Missouri equine veterinarian Kevin Keegan's new ''Lameness Locator'' - a novel way of diagnosing the most common equine ailment of all - to be a roaring success

Technology sees the way to tackle lameness in horses, the Lameness Locator

Biofuel boost from modified microbes

Posted Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:07:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

A bit of genetic tweaking has produced a tenfold increase in the amount of biofuels bacteria can produce, pushing the process towards commercially viable levels of output. Bacteria produce the fuel and James C. Liao, UCLA's Chancellor's Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, who led the team managed to produce 15 to 30 grams of n-butanol per litre of culture medium by genetically modifying Escherichia coli (E. coli).

Biofuel boost from modified microbes

Molasses proves a match for ozone-depleting chemical

Posted Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:23:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Using molasses to encourage beneficial microbes could help to replace a chemical which damages the ozone layer. The USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are seeing if a system that uses the treacle to stimulate beneficial bacteria in the soil and so does away with the need for Methyl Bromide.

Molasses proves a match for ozone-depleting chemical

'Pompeii' like fossils of Trilobites found in real-life situations

Posted Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:01:01 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Sudden death and burial by hurricane-displaced sediments has frozen ancient creatures in real-life situations which allow scientists to try and decipher how they behaved. University of Cincinnati palaeontologist Carlton E Brett says colonies of ancient sea creatures have been caught in mid-orgy by sudden downpours of fossilising sediment catching snapshots of life in the way that the eruption of Mount Vesuvius did at Pompeii.

'Pompeii' like fossils of Trilobites found in real-life situations

Bacteria tests offer green fuel hope

Posted Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:01:00 GMT by John Dean

Researchers at an American university have devised a way to dramatically increase the production of butanol - an environmentally-friendly alternative to diesel and gasoline - from bacteria normally seen as harmful to humans.

Bacteria tests offer green fuel hope

KATWARN project: Preparing for the unexpected

Posted Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:32:00 GMT by Michael Evans

A German project to provide an early warning system for unexpected emergencies. The KATWARN project, from the original German for Catastrophe Warning for Every Eventuality. KATWARN employs various warning channels to reach people affected by disasters. They use classical warning channels like email, text messages and fax. In addition new technologies for important future warning infrastructures are being tested within the project.

KATWARN project: Preparing for the unexpected

British soldiers to go solar powered

Posted Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:12:00 GMT by Nikki Bruce

A new project is underway to provide soldiers with energy efficient power packs. It has been announced that scientists from the Universities of Glasgow, Loughborough, Strathclyde, Leeds, Reading and Brunel in conjunction with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) are currently developing a new personal power pack for British troops. Filed in environmental issues: Solar/Science & Technology.

British soldiers to go solar powered

Don't bin that banana skin! It's a water purifier

Posted Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:07:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

Banana skins can serve as more than just fodder for the compost heap, and for purveyors of slapstick humor. A new study into their effectiveness at filtering heavy metals shows minced banana peel to be one of the best materials to use, to remove these harmful toxins from drinking water. Filed in environmental issues: water purification - science

Don't bin that banana skin! It's a water purifier

Georgia Tech develop early warning system for tsunamis

Posted Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:09:00 GMT by Michael Evans

A system developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology is able to give coastal residents a 20 to 30 minute warning of a tsunami. It is caused by a wave from an under-sea earthquake, spreading outwards until it reaches land, usually without warning. As the depth of water decreases the wave's pent-up energy creates a devastating wall of water that hits the coastal area, causing massive destruction and often a considerable loss of life. Filed under environmental issues: Tsunamis/Technology.

Georgia Tech develop early warning system for tsunamis

Newly discovered mature galaxy cluster, revised big bang theory?

Posted Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:01:00 GMT by Tamara Croes

A recently discovered mature cluster of galaxies seems to be a rare phenomenon - or could the universe have developed differently from what is currently thought? Scientists working from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile have recently discovered the furthest mature cluster of galaxies away from us which we can still see. Filed under: Science - Technology.

Newly discovered mature galaxy cluster, revised big bang theory?

Can the leopard change its spots?

Posted Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:11:00 GMT by Michael Evans

Research at Harvard University has identified the gene that governs colour patterns in mice. Two of the great wonders of Nature are its diversity and its mystery. Why, for instance, do leopards have spots and why do zebras have stripes? Scientists at Harvard University have come a little closer to answering this age-old question.

Can the leopard change its spots?

Pity the poor worm; struggle for Phylum Annelida survival more complex than previously thought

Posted Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:04:00 GMT by Nicolette Smith

The immune system of the Nematode worm and how it can help us to manage dangerous infections. Not many people would confess to an admiration for the worm species, and yet a recent study backed by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has shown that worms are the ultimate gamblers; a type of worm known as a Nematode plays a high-risk gamewith disease resistance.

Pity the poor worm; struggle for Phylum Annelida survival more complex than previously thought

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