Question of the Week
Will humans be extinct in 100 years?
This week's question concerns the world-renowned Australian scientist Professor Frank Fenner - who helped to wipe out smallpox - and his prediction that humans will probably be extinct within 100 years. His reasoning includes overpopulation, environmental destruction, and climate change. Fenner stated that...
Question of the Week
Does your online persona accurately reflect who you are in the real world?
This week's question concerns our online "personas". While social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook encourage members to use their real identities, a recent study on the usage habits on these sites has shown there's little correlation between how people act on...
News: Energy
A new process for storing and generating hydrogen to run fuel cells in cars has been invented by chemical engineers at Purdue University. The process uses a powdered chemical called ammonia borane, which...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, working with the DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), has made a critical step in the development of...
Question of the Week
Should CO2 emissions be regulated?
This week’s question concerns the EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Last Thursday, the US Senate failed to pass legislation that would have prevented the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating CO2 emissions from large factories, electric power companies, and automobiles.
...News: Green Design & Manufacturing
A technique originally applied to monitor the flow of contaminants into shallow groundwater supplies has been repurposed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers to monitor carbon dioxide...
News: Energy
A thin film solar cell must be thick enough to collect a sufficient amount of light, yet it needs to be thin enough to extract current. Boston College physicists found a...
Question of the Week
Should Google be liable for "bad" directions that lead to injury?
This week's question concerns a recent news item about how a Utah woman injured by a motorist while following a Google Maps route has filed a lawsuit claiming Google supplied unsafe directions (the motorist is also named in the lawsuit). The woman used her phone to download...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
A low-noise current controller developed at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was recently licensed to Wavelength Electronics Inc. (Bozeman, MT). The device...
News: Lighting
Funding Opportunity for R&D in Solid-State Lighting
DOE recently announced two solid-state lighting (SSL) funding opportunities. DOE will select projects to receive up to $25 million to advance research, development, and market adoption of SSL technology. Up to $15 million is available for core technology research, and up to $10 million for...
Question of the Week
Does synthetic biology cross an ethical line?
This week's question concerns synthetic biology research. A study published online by the journal "Science" details how scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute recently developed the first viable cell controlled by a synthetic genome. According to the researchers, the cell is called synthetic...
News: Government
On behalf of the DOE’s Building America residential research program, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP). Building America research...
News: Energy
To lower the fuel consumption of airplanes and ships, it is necessary to reduce their flow resistance, or drag. A paint system from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and...
Blog
Who Says You Can’t Go Home?
“It doesn’t matter where you are, it doesn’t matter where you go,
If it’s a million miles away, or just a mile up the road.
Take it in. Take it with you when you go.
Who says you can’t go home?”
So says New Jersey-born rocker Jon Bon Jovi in a hit song he penned several...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
Auxin is a powerful plant growth hormone that tells plants how to grow, where to lay down roots, how to make tissues, and how to respond to light and gravity. Knowing how to...
Question of the Week
Is time travel possible?
This week's question concerns the concept of time travel. Usually the topic of science fiction books and movies, two of the world's most respected physicists, Stephen Hawking and Michio Kaku, assert that time travel could become a scientific reality. In a recent AOL Science article, both scientists cited Einstein's...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
According to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist, algae could remove nitrogen and phosphorus in livestock manure runoff - giving resource managers an eco-friendly option for reducing the...
News: Energy
The U.S. Departments of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA) jointly announced up to $33 million in funding for research and development of technologies and processes to produce biofuels, bioenergy,...
News: Energy
Purple bacteria are single celled microscopic organisms that were among the first life forms on Earth. The tiny organisms live in aquatic environments and use sunlight as their source of energy. Neil...
Question of the Week
Should the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico affect the President’s energy plan?
This week’s question concerns the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. After a rig leased by BP Plc exploded and sank last week in the Gulf, many have indicated that the President may experience a setback in his plan to expand offshore drilling. The plan is...
News: Energy
John Morgan, an associate professor of chemical engineering at Purdue University, is leading a portion of a federally funded effort based at Iowa State University aimed at creating genetically...
News: Energy
The water fern salvinia molesta is extremely hydrophobic, surrounding itself by a flimsy skirt of air that prevents the plant from coming into contact with liquid. This inconspicuous plant could allow...
Question of the Week
Will digital actors ever replace humans in Hollywood?
This week's question concerns the concept of "digital actors." They've appeared in "Avatar," "The Matrix," and "The Lord of the Rings," to name a few. And with the recent surge of 3D technology in filmmaking, it appears that digital actors will be working a lot more in Hollywood.
What...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
Researchers with Berkeley Lab and the University of California, Berkeley have discovered an inexpensive metal catalyst that can effectively generate hydrogen gas from water.
News: Energy
Oregon State University researchers have made an important breakthrough in the use of continuous flow microreactors to produce thin film absorbers for solar cells - an innovative technology that could...
Question of the Week
Should broadband providers be required to provide network neutrality?
This week's question concerns "net neutrality" -- providing equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over networks. Supporters of net neutrality argue that a policy is necessary to prevent providers from favoring or discriminating against certain Web sites and online...
News: Energy
Fraunhofer researchers are engineering wheel hub motors, which are integrated into a car's wheels, and could become the accepted drive concept for electric vehicles. The scientists are testing these...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
Stanford scientists have harnessed a tiny electrical current from algae cells. They found it at the very source of energy production – photosynthesis - and it may be the first step toward generating...
Question of the Week
Should human genes be patentable?
This week's question concerns the issue of gene patents. While some in the scientific community believe that human genes should not be exploited for commercial gain, others argue that a patent is a reward for years of expensive research that moves science forward.
What do you think? Should human genes be...
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Question of the Week
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Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Energy
Unveiling Trends in the Battery Industry: Insights from Third-Party Testing
Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace
From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness
Upcoming Webinars: Energy
April Battery & Electrification Summit
Upcoming Webinars: Transportation
Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...