A type of device called a "lab-on-a-chip" could bring a new generation of instant home tests for illnesses, food contaminants and toxic gases. But today these portable, efficient tools are often stuck in the lab themselves. Specifically, in the labs of researchers who know how to make them from scratch. University of Michigan engineers are seeking to change that with a 16-piece lab-on-a-chip kit that brings microfluidic devices to the scientific masses. The kit cuts the costs involved and... Read Full Story

According to a press release from HRL Laboratories, LLC  today: HRL to Develop Innovative Graphene-Based Electronics to Bring Higher Speed and Lower Cost to Military Systems "HRL Laboratories, LLC, will apply its world-class research-and-development capabilities to create a new generation of carbon-based, radio-frequency (RF) integrated circuits as part of the Carbon Electronics for RF Applications, or CERA, program. The work, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency... Read Full Story

BBC today reports on a plan by HP to fix our ailing planet "Hewlett Packard is up to two years away from starting to build a "central nervous system for the earth", known as CeNSE.  The man leading this ambitious project is Dr Stan Williams who runs HP's Information and Quantum Systems Laboratory. "The motivation for this work is realising and understanding the planet is sick and the disease is us," he told BBC News. "As information technology people, we are not going to be the ones... Read Full Story

The weather in Toronto and and right across Canada is getting more extreme.  July had record rainfalls in Toronto, while Vancouver had record drought. For the first time in my life, I saw a 6 foot water geyser spouting out of the sewer for about 10 seconds after a flash rainfall and flooding streets.  Too much water in the sewer system all at once. A funnel cloud created a rare waterspout over the St. Lawrence River at Montreal Harbour on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.  This traditionally... Read Full Story

Abstract Contrary to some previous claims, a paper by economists at Indiana and Duke universities finds no correlation between nations' resource endowments and the quality of their institutions. Full story A paper co-written by an Indiana University economics professor takes issue with the widespread idea that there is a "natural resource curse" that puts countries with oil or mineral wealth at a disadvantage when it comes to economic growth. The paper also shows that a common... Read Full Story

What do sports drinks, recombinant DNA, search engines, the PSA test, and nicotine patches have in common? Each of these product breakthroughs were initially developed outside of their corporate labs, at universities or independent labs, and then transformed into household names by some of the world’s leading companies. But what about the other half of the equation—getting products out of research and development phases and to the market? Where do companies such as Kraft Foods, P&G  Nokia... Read Full Story

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report that-one of the reasons people on low-carbohydrate diets may lose weight is that they reduce their intake of fructose, a type of sugar that can be made into body fat quickly In a study appearing in a current issue of the Journal of Nutrition, the researcher's findings suggest that the right type of carbohydrates a person eats may be just as important in weight control as the number of calories a person eats. Current health guidelines... Read Full Story

Scientists keep telling me that when I drive my car, I have a huge carbon footprint from the green house gases ( C02) that are produced, but I raelly have no sense of how bad I really am. According to the US Department of Energy, one US gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. "It seems impossible that a gallon of gasoline, which weighs about 6.3 pounds, could produce 20 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) when burned. However, most of the weight of the CO2 doesn't come from the... Read Full Story

According to the  Physics & Society, the journal of the American Physical Society, the debate on climate change ( man-made or natural, warming vs cooling ) is long from over. It has published a story "Climate Sensitivity Revisited," a debate.Physics & Society says: “There is a considerable presence within the scientific community of people who do not agree with the IPCC conclusion that anthropogenic CO2 emissions are very probably likely to be primarily responsible for the global warming that... Read Full Story

USGS, California and UC Davis begin large-scale Delta “carbon farm” Project will study best ways to capture atmospheric CO2, reverse island subsidence Imagine a new kind of farming in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta – “carbon-capture” farming, which traps atmospheric carbon dioxide and rebuilds lost soils. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the University of California, Davis plan to make it happen. DWR has awarded USGS and UC... Read Full Story