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(Rice University) Rice students put calculations by German physicist Gustav Mie, made in 1908, to the test when they decided to look at the optical properties of single nanoparticles.

(Washington University in St. Louis) Nanocages that efficiently convert light to heat are the basis for a targeted form of phototherapy that would destroy tumors without making cancer patients sick.

(Elhuyar Fundazioa) A team of engineers from the CEIT-IK4 technological center and doctors from the University Hospital of Navarra have designed a new tool for operating on the inner ear with maximum precision, reducing the possibility of damage to the auditory function during the surgery. This is the first micromanipulator specifically for operations involving cochlear and middle ear implants, of which about a hundred are carried out in this hosp... More

By combining 3D-stack-architecture of multiple cores with hair-thin, liquid-cooled microchannels, IBM and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich hope to extend Moore's law for another 15 years. 3D chip stacks with interlayer cooling overcome the bandwidth bottleneck between core and cache memory and allow for systems with a much higher efficiency, so supercomputers won't consume too much energy to be affordable. To solve the cooling challeng... More

High-quality, intense sound can be generated when vertical arrays of nanotubes ("forests") are struck with laser light modulated by sound, University of Texas At Dallas researchers have discovered. The nanotubes absorb energy from the laser light, inducing variations in the pressure of the air around the nanotubes, which are perceived as sound (the thermo-acoustic effect). No electrical contact with the nanotube speaker is required, making them wi... More

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have created a molecular image of a system that moves electrons between proteins in cells, obtained using x-ray crystallography.The study could provide insights to minimize energy loss in other systems, from shrinking electronic circuitry to a more efficient electrical grid. More info: University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences (Source: )

Past events leave unique "memory traces" in the hippocampus of the brain that can be distinguished from one another in fMRI brain scans, a study at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London has found. While inside an fMRI scanner, volunteers were asked to recall each of three films they had just seen. A computer algorithm then identified which film the volunteer was recalling purely by looking at the pattern of their ... More

A consortium of European universities has added more functional hands and legs to the iCub robot, built to test theories about how children think, learn and develop.(Tony Kyriacou/Rex Features) (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18634-robot-toddler-gets-an-upgrade.html)

(University of Minnesota) Researchers at the University of Minnesota have created a molecular image of a system that moves electrons between proteins in cells. The achievement is a breakthrough for biology and could provide insights to minimize energy loss in other systems, from nanoscale devices to moving electricity around the country.

(Arizona State University) Arizona State University scientist N.J. Tao and his colleagues at the Biodesign Institute have hit on a new, versatile method to significantly improve the detection of trace chemicals important in such areas as national security, human health and the environment. Tao's team was able to detect and identify tiny particles of the explosive trinitrotoluene or TNT -- each weighing less than a billionth of a gram -- on the rid... More

(University of Wisconsin-Madison) Materials scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have designed a way to harvest small amounts of waste energy and harness them to turn water into usable hydrogen fuel.

Two research teams have independently decoded the entire genome of patients to find the exact genetic cause of their diseases. The approach may offer a new start in identifying the genetic roots of major killers like heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's.Geneticists said the new research showed it was now possible to sequence the entire genome of a patient at reasonable cost and with sufficient accuracy to be of practical use to medical research... More

By 2013 the installed base of smart phones and "superphones" will exceed the installed base of PCs, and those web-surfing devices will be mobile, says Rob Glaser, chairman of RealNetworks. (Source: http://gigaom.com/2010/03/10/rob-glaser-defines-the-superphone-and-predicts-the-mobile-future/)

The U.S. could source 10 percent of its electricity from solar power by 2030, up from just 0.1 percent in 2008, according to a report produced by the independent environmental group Environment America. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news187445269.html)

The brain's main job, like that of a scientist, is to generate hypotheses about what is going on in the outside world, a Max Planck Institute for Brain Research study suggests. It takes less effort for the brain to register predictable than unpredictable images. (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research) (Source: )

The Electric Power Research Institute and the Department of Energy have identified grid-scale storage as a key need for the rapidly diversifying electricity system, and compressed-air energy storage looks like the cheapest option available. In the last four months, four compressed-air projects have gotten new funding. (Source: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/03/compressed-air-plants/)

(Complete Genomics) Complete Genomics Inc., a third-generation human genome sequencing company, today announced that the Institute for Systems Biology employed Complete Genomics' human genome sequencing service to sequence a family quartet to determine the depth of genetic information possible in analyzing a full family's sequence, and to verify the gene responsible for Miller syndrome, a rare craniofacial disorder. Results from this collaboration... More

Pupil dilation may be evidence of decision-making, Olivia Carter, a neuroscientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, has found. That might make for a low-tech way of reaching out to people who cannot communicate due to brain damage or paralysis: responses to yes/no or multiple-choice questions could be inferred from pupil dilation.(Adam Hart-Davis/SPL) (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527504.000-decisionmakers-betrayed... More

Stickybits, a new iPhone and Android app that lets you scan any barcode and attach a geo-tagged message to that physical object, has been launched by Stickybits.The barcode in a greeting card, for instance, could trigger a video message from the sender. One on a box of medical supplies could inventory what is inside. A business card with a code on it could link to a resume or LinkedIn profile. The app lets you follow people and see their object s... More

Particles derived from the Cowpea mosaic virus that can carry anti-cancer agents to cancer cells have been developed by researchers at Norwich BioScience Institutes. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news187386357.html)

Google Translate can now "listen" to speech and provide translations in a computerized voice for English, Mandarin and Japanese on phones that run Google's Android operating system.It can also translate text to and from more than 50 languages. (Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-google-translate10-2010mar10,0,3347088.story)

Regenerative Sciences in Broomfield, Colorado provides its patients with the Regenexx procedure, an adult stem cell transplant that uses your own cells (autologous) to treat joint injuries and bone damage.Human stem cell therapies like this one aren't approved by the FDA. (Source: http://singularityhub.com/2010/03/09/colorado-doctors-skirt-fda-jurisdiction-to-provide-human-stem-cell-therapies-video/)

Martin Aircraft in New Zealand has announced the first commercially-available jet pack, priced at $86,000 and due on the market in a year (training required). (Source: http://www.gizmag.com/first-commercially-available-jetpack/14423/)

"Fiber-wireless" (Fi-Wi) networks are overcoming problems with wireless congestion, providing high-speed connectivity (faster than 1 Gb/s) by combining fiber (for connection to a central office) and 60 GHz signals (for local high-speed wireless inside a house or office), Christina Lim from the University of Melbourne and her coauthors explain. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news187346128.html)

Sensecam, which contains a digital camera and an accelerometer to measure movement, can be used for life-logging and as a memory aid for people with Alzheimer's and other memory disorders. (Microsoft Corporation) (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/health/09memory.html?ref=science)