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Integrated Exploration Methods Urged for Oil and Gas
Researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel have combined several surveying methods to develop an integrated prospecting technology for oil and gas. The methods proposed by geophysicist Lev Eppelbaum and zoologist Youri Katz appeared earlier this year in the journal Positioning. Eppelbaum and Katz created detailed structural-tectonic maps of Israel and surrounding areas from an…
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Insomnia Costs U.S. Employers Billions in Lost Productivity
Researchers from universities, hospitals, and companies in the U.S. and Europe calculated the lost productivity of Americans suffering from insomnia at an annual cost of $63.2 billion to employers. Their findings from the study, funded by the pharmaceutical company Merck, appear in the 1 September issue of the journal Sleep (paid subscription required). The team…
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NSF, Industry Consortium Fund Advanced Chip Research
Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond has received two grants totaling $1.75 million from National Science Foundation and the Semiconductor Research Corporation to create more energy-efficient computing devices. Semiconductor Research Corporation is an international technology research consortium of member companies and university research programs. The grants fund research to translate theoretical work on replacing traditional transistor-based…
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Improved Cellulose Processing Developed for Biofuels
A team of university and industry researchers in Europe and the U.S. have developed a process to hasten the breakdown of cellulose in waste plant matter for conversion to ethanol. Their findings appear online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists with the company Novozymes in Davis, California, and Bagsvaerd, Denmark,…
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Manufacturing Process Devised for More Economical LEDs
Materials scientists at University of Florida in Gainesville have developed a new manufacturing process for light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, used in flat-panel displays and solid-state lighting. The process is described in an article now appearing in the journal Nature Photonics (paid subscription required), and has been licensed to a company for commercialization. Two research teams…
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Computer Model Tests Effects of Heart Rhythm Drugs
Researchers at University of California in Davis have led the development of a computer model to test the effects of medications for arrhythmia — abnormal heart rhythm — before they are given to patients. The work of the team led by biophysicist Colleen Clancy is described in the 31 August issue of the journal Science…
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Eight Teams Funded for Research on Gulf Oil Spill Impact
The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GRI) announced it will fund eight research groups to investigate the effects of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The grant awards, selected by GRI’s research board, total some $112.5 million over three years. The GRI grants, supported by BP, will fund research…
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More Planning Needed for Water Use in Biofuel Crops
An overlooked factor in planning for prairie grasses as biofuel feedstocks is their use of water, according to a new study by researchers in the U.S. and Germany. Their findings appear this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required). Engineers Praveen Kumar and Phong Le at University of…
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Nanotech-Enhanced Graphene Can Propel Optical Communications
Physicists and engineers from the universities of Manchester and Cambridge in the U.K. have devised a method for improving graphene devices as photodetectors in future high-speed optical communications. Their findings appear in the 30 August issue of the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). Graphene is a two-dimensional layer of carbon atoms arranged in a…
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Engineers Build Compact, Inexpensive Microscope
Researchers at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have built a compact, light-weight microscope that uses holograms instead of lenses. The device is described in a paper published today in the journal Biomedical Optics Express, and a company has been formed to take it to market. The team developing the microscope is led by…