Tag: chemistry
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Boron Added to Carbon Nanotubes Produce Super Oil Sponge
Materials scientists at Rice University in Houston have devised a material that can absorb large quantities of oil by adding the element boron to carbon nanotubes. The Rice researchers, joined by colleagues in the U.S., Belgium, Japan, Spain, and Mexico published their findings Friday in the journal Scientific Reports. Rice graduate student Daniel Hashim (pictured…
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Challenge Seeks Atmospheric Benzene, Butadiene Monitors
A new challenge on InnoCentive seeks a process or technology that can quickly detect benzene and 1,3 butadiene gases in low concentrations in the air. The challenge has an award of $30,000 and a deadline of 4 June 2012. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts is a company the conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing competitions for corporate and organization…
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Biotech Licenses Brain-Nervous System Treatment Technology
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel says it has licensed a technology from its labs that crosses the blood-brain barrier to deliver drugs for treating disorders of the brain and central nervous system. The V-Smart technology, as its called, was licensed exclusively to Lauren Sciences LLC, a privately held biotechnology company in New York.…
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Graphene Materials Faster, Cheaper at Cooling Electronics
A materials scientist at North Carolina State University in Durham has created a new way of cooling high-temperature electronic devices with composites made of graphene. The work of Jag Kasichainula, a professor of materials science and engineering at NC State, appears in the journal Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B (paid subscription required). Graphene is a…
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Database Reveals Food Ingredient Fraud Hazards
A study drawing on a database of reports on fraud and economically motivated adulteration in food shows that olive oil, milk, honey, and saffron are among the foods found most often with adulterated ingredients. The research appears online in the April Journal of Food Science (paid subscription required) that draws on a database offered by the…
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University Licenses Research to Detect Airborne Toxins
University of California at Riverside is licensing an engineering professor’s research on detecting airborne toxins to a local company that plans to take the technology to market. Nano Engineered Applications Inc. plans to develop the research of chemical and environmental engineer Nosang Myung (pictured right) into handheld detection devices that can spot harmful substances in…
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BASF to Boost R&D Spending, Staffing
The global chemical company BASF in Ludwigshafen, Germany says it plans to increase its research and development spending to €1.7 billion ($2.3 billion) in 2012, and align its R&D programs more closely with high-growth business fields. The company also announced plans to increase its research staff, particularly in Asia and the Americas. The €1.7 billion…
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European Patent Office Filings, Awards Gain in 2011
The European Patent Office, based in Munich, says the number of patent applications and awards increased in 2011, with applications from Asia now making up about a third of the total. The largest single technical field among applications was medical technology, which had almost as many filings in 2011 as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology combined. EPO…
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Process Developed to Convert Polyethylene into Carbon Fiber
Materials scientists at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee have developed a technology for converting polyethylene, the material used in plastic bags, into carbon fibers engineered for specific applications. The findings of Amit Naskar and colleagues from Oak Ridge and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill appear today online in the journal Advanced Materials…
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Virginia Tech to Establish Auto Tire Research Center
Virginia Tech in Blacksburg is setting up a new research center devoted to the study of vehicle tires. The Center for Tire Research, which will involve collaborations with other institutions and tire and auto companies, gets its initial funding from a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. The tire research center is expected to focus on…