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EPA announces plans to regulate cancer-causing 'forever chemicals'
The EPA on Monday announced a three-year roadmap for regulating PFAS chemicals which have been linked to cancer and thyroid disease.
Plastics breakthrough could improve your car's mileage
A new thermal engineering process could make it viable to use lighter plastic product components in things such as vehicles, LEDs and computers. Until now, the material has been overlooked for certain applications because of its limitations in dissipating heat, but scientists from the University of Michigan have found a way to change plastic's molecular structure, making it as thermally conductive as glass. This advanced plastic could make products lighter, cheaper and more energy-efficient, and would be particularly useful in electric vehicle manufacturing since weight has a direct bearing on range.
Researchers discover a better way to make ammonia
For the past century or so, we've been making ammonia the same way that Nobel-prize winning chemist Fritz Haber did: by smashing hydrogen and nitrogen gas together at 250 atmospheres and heating them to nearly 1000 degrees F. But a new method developed at the University of Utah turns that process on its head.
UW-Madison researchers invent a metal-free fuel cell
The development of fuel cell technology has been hamstrung by the need for expensive and difficult-to-manufacture catalysts like platinum, rhodium or palladium. But a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison believe they've found an ingenious alternative that employs a molecular, rather than solid, catalyst.
iPhone 5 chemical study shows a green Apple, leaves room for improvement
Eventually, that shiny new iPhone 5 will have to meet its untimely end, whether it's in a landfill or (preferably) a recycling company's machinery. When it does, you'll at least be glad to know that Apple has kept the toxin levels down. HealthyStuff and iFixit have dissected the extra skinny smartphone and put it in the same "low concern" category for potential harm that's normally occupied by phones wearing their green credentials on their sleeves. Lest anyone rush to tell Greenpeace about the feat, just remember that there's a difference between proficiency at excising dangerous chemicals and getting rid of them completely: HealthyStuff still found small traces of bromine, chlorine, lead and mercury in the iPhone 5's construction, which could pose risks if the handset is ever broken apart or melted for scrap. Some concern also exists that the x-ray fluorescence spectrometer doesn't reveal the full extent of any toxic materials. Whether or not these remain sore points for you, the new iPhone is at least easier on the eco-friendly conscience than most of its peers.
NASA looks to send landers to Europa in 2020, wants to break the ice
There's still a lot of mystery surrounding Jupiter's moon Europa, but researchers at NASA seem fairly certain that there's a watery ocean lurking beneath its icy exterior. Their theories may finally be put to the test later this decade, thanks to a concept mission crafted by astronomers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. According to Space.com, JPL researchers have come up with a plan that would send a pair of landers to Europa by 2026, in the hopes of finding out whether the rock has ever supported life forms. The endeavor certainly wouldn't be easy, since Jupiter blankets its moon in heavy radiation, but researchers think they can mitigate these risks by sending in an extra lander as backup, and by keeping the mission short and sweet. Under the plan, each 700-pound robot would use a mass spectrometer, seismometers and a slew of cameras to search for any organic chemicals that may be lodged within the moon's ice. Neither craft will sport a protective shield, so they'll only stay around the planet for about seven days, so as to avoid any radiation damage. At this point, the mission is still in the concept phase, though the JPL is hoping to launch both landers by 2020. JPL researcher Kevin Hand was quick to point out, however, that this would be a "habitability mission," and that NASA doesn't expect to find any signs of current life on Europa. Lars von Trier was unavailable for comment.
Watson now hunting down patent trolls, plans Ken Jennings' elaborate demise
The Watson supercomputer used its speech recognition, natural language processing, machine learning and data mining abilities to crush puny human Ken Jennings' dreams of winning at "Jeopardy!", but now Big Blue has it chasing down medical patent trolls for fun. Incorporating the Strategic IP Insight Platform, IBM has now programmed Watson to scan millions of pharmaceutical patents and biomedical journals to discover, analyze, and record any info pertaining to drug discovery. SIIP can then look for the names of chemical compounds, related diagrams, the company and scientist who invented and works with the compounds and related words to determine a patent's rightful owner. The SIIP function can also highlight which patents could be targeted for acquisition by trolls looking to control a property via a lawsuit or licensing agreement. Click past the break for a video outlining the project, along with Watson's announcement of its engagement to "Skynet".
The Air Force will give you $150,000 to blast its weeds with a laser
With the holiday season just around the corner, the Air Force has been busy compiling its yuletide wish list, and it's got some pretty strange requests. Included on its latest call for small business innovations is a curious proposal for a project called "Floral Disruptor – Directed Energy Weed Abatement and Prevention Tool." According to Air Force documents, this project calls for "a device that uses directed energy technology to prevent and abate unwanted plants (weeds) in areas that require control or defoliation." Translation: a ray gun to blast weeds. Turns out, the Air Force spends a handsome chunk of cash each year on weed control -- so much so, in fact, that it's willing to pay $150,000 in grant money to anyone whose device can "deter, disrupt, deny, or degrade the desired objective." Private companies have already begun testing devices that annihilate weeds with lasers, microwave radiation and even sound, which is why the Air Force feels confident that the approach can bear fruit. But before you start entertaining fantasies of mass botanical killings, keep in mind that the government will only accept solutions that don't "target personnel or wildlife." As a Force rep explained to Wired, the idea is to develop an eagle-eyed contraption that lessens its dependence upon costly chemicals and pesticides. Besides, have you seen the Army's front lawn? It's immaculate.
Samsung study finds no link between cancer and work conditions, might not be released in full
Samsung has finally wrapped up that investigation into alleged cancer risks at its chip facilities, but it might not share the details with the rest of the world. In the study, which the company commissioned last year, researchers from US-based Environ International Corp. found that cancers affecting six semiconductor employees were unrelated to any chemicals they may have been exposed to on the job. Of those six workers, four have already died and five of the families are currently pressing charges. Last month, a South Korea court determined that two of the cases could be linked to toxic chemical exposure -- a ruling that Environ's report clearly contradicts. Samsung, however, is reluctant to disclose the results in full, for fear that doing so may reveal some proprietary information. Environ's Paul Harper declined to say how much Samsung paid for the investigation, due to client confidentiality, while confirming that the research was carried out in consultation with a panel of independent experts. Semiconductor exec Kwon Oh-hyun, meanwhile, denied that the company commissioned the study in order to use it as evidence in the ongoing court case, in which Samsung isn't even listed as a defendant.
Blast at Intel's Arizona plant injures seven, investigation under way
Yesterday afternoon, a blast occurred at Intel's Arizona plant just outside Phoenix, injuring seven people with one suffering from severe burns. According to Phoenix Business Journal, the incident took place in a solvent waste treatment room at Fab 22 -- not far from Fab 32 which will be manufacturing 22nm chips -- but Intel Vice President Josh Walden assured us that "there was no damage or release of chemicals to the community," and production has already resumed in both facilities. The company is currently looking into the possible causes of this accident -- you'll know it when we have an update, and we wish the victims a quick recovery. [Image courtesy of neepster]
Scientists stumble upon bomb-sniffing laser with a boomerang effect
You might think of a laser as light forced into a single, directed beam, but scientists have recently discovered that if you fire a laser in one direction, the air itself can fire another right back. Using a 226nm UV laser, researchers at Princeton University managed to excite oxygen atoms to the point that they emit infrared light along the same channel as the original beam, except this time pointed back where it came from. Since the return beam's chemistry depends on the particles in the air to generate the return beam, the "backward laser" could potentially carry the signature of those particles back to the source and help identify them there. That seems to be the entire goal, in fact -- the project, funded by an Office of Naval Research program on "Sciences Addressing Asymmetric Explosive Threats," hopes that such a laser can ID bombs from a distance by hunting for trace chemicals in the air. Sounds like the perfect addition to our terahertz specs, and one step closer to the tricorder of our dreams.
Study shows love for music relates to brain chemical, not to My Chemical Romance
It would make sense that people listen to music for the sheer pleasure of it, right? That's what we thought, but apparently there's a scientific reason for this. Scientists have discovered that when Earthlings listen to pleasurable music, one particular chemical is loosed in the gord. The study, conducted by Robert Zatorre and Valorie Salimpoor of McGill University in Montreal, concluded that when the participants tuned into instrumental pieces they were familiar with, their brains released dopamine into the striatum -- an area of the noggin linked with anticipation and predictions. According to PET scans, the members of the study unleashed the chemical 15 seconds before a climaxical moment in a song, signaling the possibility that humans may actually release it in anticipation and not as a reaction to a wailing solo. Bonus point? Chopped and screwed tracks unleashed forty times more dopamine. Just kidding, but it's probably true.
Dry water absorbs greenhouse gases, boggles the mind
Apparently, something called dry water has been kicking around since 1968, although it wasn't until recently that scientists at the University of Hull and, later, the University of Liverpool, have begun to take it seriously. It's made by encasing a water droplet in sand that's been modified to be hydrophobic -- that is, it won't absorb water, giving this "water" the consistency of powdered sugar. There seem to be a gazillion potential uses for the stuff, all of which our friends who are chemical engineers will undoubtedly find fascinating, including: soaking up carbon dioxide (it's three times more effective at absorbing the greenhouse gas than "wet" water), storing methane, and as a catalyst to speed up production of succinic acid, which is used to make a wide array of drugs, food ingredients, and consumer products.
GE lands $6.3 million DARPA grant to develop 'bio-inspired' sensors
Do butterflies hold the key to the next generation of chemical sensors? DARPA apparently thinks they might, and it's just awarded GE a $6.3 million grant to further develop a project that the company's research division began three years ago. That project was sparked by the discovery that the nanostructures from the wing scales of butterflies have acute chemical sensing properties, which GE has since been working to replicate in a sensing platform that could instantly detect a wide variety of chemical threats. What's more, GE says that it's sensors could eventually be made in "very small sizes, with low production costs," which would let them be used for everything from emissions monitoring at power plants to food and beverage safety monitoring at home. Full press release is after the break.
Researchers work to replicate bacterial communication, add a bit of chaos to transmissions
Up until now, most scientists felt that the uncertainty introduced by Brownian motion would lead to unwanted disruptions in the reception of information, particularly when talking about transmissions within computers. But do we really need all that certainty when using CPUs to solve alien mysteries? According to researchers at the University of Toronto, the answer is a probable "no." Recent discoveries over at the institution involving the replication of bacterial communication have paved the way for future investigation of using molecular communication in computing, but we're obviously a good way out from liquid cooling merging with liquid processing. Update: Sachin Kadloor, a current graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, worked on this while a graduate student at the University of Toronto. Prof. Ravi Adve from the University of Toronto, and Prof. Andrew Eckford from the York University, Canada are continuing to work on this problem.
Scientists create sweat-monitoring underwear, break them in (video)
Biochip bracelets be damned -- nanoengineers at UC San Diego want to put sensors in your skivvies. Researchers have begun prototyping a pair of tighty-whiteys coated with the requisite carbon electrodes to make electrochemical computing a reality, as it turns out the nether regions are a prime place to measure chemicals excreted in one's sweat. Until recently, there was some question whether the enzyme sensor solution would handle the stresses of daily life, so to speak, but these briefs were up to the task -- subjected to a torturous gauntlet of bending and stretching, a treated elastic waistband was still able to adequately measure chemicals as required. Funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, project leaders envision "smart underwear" that measures a soldier's sweat for warning signs and automatically trigger an appropriate medical dosage. We think they might be getting a wee bit ahead of themselves, though -- we don't yet know how they handle detergent, let alone a quality color-safe bleach. Video after the break, but don't expect any footage of the underpants actually being worn.
Fuel cell-powered Chem-E-Car tears its way through the halls of Cooper Union
If you've been near Astor Place in Manhattan lately you might've noticed the absolutely stunning bit of architecture that comprises the new Cooper Union building, and we had a visit the other day to check out a few end-of-year projects by students. One that particularly caught our eye was the competitive Chem-E-Car, from a team lead by Anthony Tantuccio. The team won the national competition in 2007, is advancing to nationals again this year, and has sunk quite a bit of tech into its vehicle. At the competition the contestants are given a distance and a payload on the spot and given an hour to prep their vehicle -- through the tweaking of gears and the shuffling of chemical reactions -- to hit that distance. Follow after the break to see how they do with about 15 minutes to work out some Engadget-prepped figures. %Gallery-94401%
German researchers develop biotech sensor bracelet, disposable blood lab
Biochips -- flexible, disposable plastic circuits that "compute" via chemical reaction -- have been nearing reality for over a decade, but for obvious reasons we don't always pay attention. German research institute Fraunhofer IZM has just convinced us it's high time we did. This week, the organization announced that it's on the verge of creating a lab-on-a-chip that can diagnose deep vein thrombosis from a single drop of blood, as well as a wristband that can measure body temperature, skin moisture and electromagnetic radiation using plastic chips and sensors only micrometers thick. Impressive, yes, but the real news is the production process -- these gadgets can be printed in reels and sheets. The organization imagines the tools will be so cheap they'll be disposable; rather than wait for lab results, worried individuals will just take one out, test and toss to feel confident about their bloodwork, before hopefully going back to their normal lives.
DNA computer solves logical problems, inches closer to practical use
The world of biomolecular computing is hardly a lonely place: bacteria, enzymes, and all manner of chemicals have already been used to perform basic automated tasks. DNA computers are arguably the most advanced organic form of "autonomous programmable computing devices," with one already boasting a pretty tight game of Tic-Tac-Toe. The latest, put together by the Israeli Weizmann Institute, advances things with its ability to correctly respond to problems of logic. By feeding molecular rules and facts into the system, the researchers are able to program DNA strands to produce yes and no answers to basic questions. Programming is said to be technically identical to that used in electronic devices, with a robot compiler converting the programming language into molecular-level information. The ultimate aim of the project is to produce miniscule disease-fighting bots that can battle infections within the human body -- provided the DNA-programming drones don't go all Yul Brynner on us.[Thanks, Karl]
Video: Scientists create walking goo, Steve McQueen put on alert
Who needs servos and a degree in robotics? The real threat to humanity is brewing in the distillation columns of chemists at Waseda University in Tokyo where researchers have developed a chemical gel that walks like an inchworm. Really, just check the video after the break. The color-changing, motile gel reacts to chemicals in its environment to create its own oscillating locomotion without the need for electrical stimulation. The idea is to augment the electronics in future robotics with these "self organized" chemical systems to avoid additional circuitry complexity and external controls. Our advice? Run.
