Womanspace : Nature. Single molecule nanocar takes its first spin - 09 November 2011. THE tiniest car in the world has gone for a drive. Made of a single molecule, the "vehicle" has four wheel-like paddles that rotate in the same direction when zapped with a beam of electrons. "The molecule is autonomous," says Syuzanna Harutyunyan, a chemist at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands who worked on the mini motor vehicle. "You don't need to touch it. Just give it energy and it's capable of converting that energy into movement.
" The nanocar could be used to transport miniature loads of cargo and to help unravel why tiny motors in nature tend to be so much more efficient than large-scale ones. To create the nanocar, Harutyunyan and her team designed a molecule with a long central body and one pivoted paddle at each of four corners. Ordinarily they arrange themselves so as to minimise crowding with the central body, as this costs the molecule the least amount of energy.
It's a slow road trip: it takes 10 pulses of electric fuel to move the vehicle 6 nanometres. OPERA Confirms Faster Than Light Neutrinos And Indicates Ultra Superluminal Small Initial Jumps. Fresh results from the OPERA collaboration once more confirm the faster than light neutrinos indicated by MINOS. The new findings, available here, also further strengthen a particular scenario: The neutrinos do not travel with superluminal velocity all the way. They only ‘jump’ a small initial distance shorter than 20 meters, after which they settle back and travel as usual with speeds below that of the speed of light. This initial jump would occur at speeds that are more than ten times the speed of light, perhaps even millions of times the speed of light. The new results make it worthwhile to explain the Ultra Superluminal Small Initial Jump (USSIJ) clearly again, firstly taking into account the new 25 nanosecond “jitter” that affects the new data, but also in order to remove widespread misconceptions.
One of the most misleading misconceptions is that the “jump” is a “shortcut” through higher dimensions, perhaps involving SciFi wormholes. No Extra Dimensions Necessary, No Wormholes! Neutrino experiment repeat at Cern finds same result. 18 November 2011Last updated at 11:17 By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News Neutrinos travel through 700km of rock before reaching Gran Sasso's underground laboratories The team which found that neutrinos may travel faster than light has carried out an improved version of their experiment - and confirmed the result. If confirmed by other experiments, the find could undermine one of the basic principles of modern physics. Critics of the first report in September had said that the long bunches of neutrinos (tiny particles) used could introduce an error into the test. The new work used much shorter bunches. It has been posted to the Arxiv repository and submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physics, but has not yet been reviewed by the scientific community.
The experiments have been carried out by the Opera collaboration - short for Oscillation Project with Emulsion (T)racking Apparatus. Timing is everything.
2011 New Zealand Research Honours « Research Honours « Annual Programmes « Events. The 2011 Research Honours Dinner was held in the Wellington Foyer, Te Papa, Wellington on Wednesday 16 November 2011. Photos of the event are now available for download – see below: Pre-dinner drinks Venue National Anthem Speeches Gold CREST Awards Royal Society of New Zealand Manhire Prize 1st Group Medals 2nd Group Medals 2011 Rutherford Medal Return to top The Event Top New Zealand researchers were recognised for their work with the presentation of prestigious awards at the 2011 New Zealand Research Honours event held in Wellington on 16 November 2011.
The country’s highest science and technology honour, the Rutherford Medal, was awarded to biochemist Professor Christine Winterbourn FRSNZ from the University of Otago, Christchurch, for her outstanding achievements and discoveries in free radical biology which have established her as a leading world authority in this field. All these medals are awarded by the Royal Society of New Zealand. Many thanks for the 2011 Research Honours Dinner Sponsors. Professor Christine Winterbourn Awarded 2011 Rutherford. Last updated 05:00 17/11/2011 HIGH MANA: University of Otago research professor Christine Winterbourn has won New Zealand's top science and technology award. Christchurch biochemist and ground-breaking free radical researcher Professor Christine Winterbourn is the first woman scientist to be awarded New Zealand's top science and technology honour in its 20-year history. Winterbourn, who is director of the free radical research group in the pathology department at the University of Otago, Christchurch, received the 2011 Rutherford Medal and $100,000 from the Government at last night's Royal Society of New Zealand research honours event in Wellington.
Winterbourn told The Press she had never experienced any real discrimination in the science lab, but had seen huge changes since the early 1970s. "We were very much in the minority – when I did my masters [degree] in chemistry in Auckland there were four women and 30 in total, so you were always working in a minority group. - © Fairfax NZ News. Support scientific curiosity: winning researcher. Science funders need to keep on supporting “blue skies” research — fundamental work that may have no apparent immediate application to industry — says the first woman scientist to take home New Zealand’s most prestigious science medal, biochemist Professor Christine Winterbourn. Professor Christine Winterbourn The Rutherford Medal — with a $100,000 cheque — was presented to Prof Winterbourn, from the University of Otago, Christchurch, for her outstanding achievements and discoveries in free radical biology which have established her as a leading-world authority in the field.
Noting that science was an exploration, Prof Winterbourn told guests at the awards ceremony in Wellington last night that it was important for funders of science to remember the importance of supporting fundamental research. On being the first woman to win the medal in its 20 year history, Prof Winterbourn said she had considered whether that was due to some form of discrimination: Three new medals presented at 2011 New Zealand Research Honours event « Media Releases « News. Three new medals were presented by the Royal Society of New Zealand at the 2011 New Zealand Research Honours event last night, two for science related work and one for humanities research. The inaugural Callaghan Medal for an outstanding contribution to science communication was presented to Professor Sir Peter Gluckman KNZM, FRS, FRSNZ, the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor.
It recognises his achievement in science communication, in particular raising public awareness of the value of science to human progress. The medal is named after renowned New Zealand physicist Professor Sir Paul Callaghan who is himself regarded as a consummate science communicator. Dr Garth Carnaby, President of the Royal Society of New Zealand, said Professor Sir Peter Gluckman has had a wide-ranging influence on attitudes to science. “We have seen a shift in New Zealand politics about the value of science and this is largely due to the contributions of Sir Peter.” Design of the Callaghan Medal.
Scientists Invent 'World's Lightest' Material. Researchers at UC Irvine, HRL Labs, and Caltech have come up with micro-latticed material so light it can rest on top of a dandelion seed head without damaging the seeds. Researchers have created a material that's so light it can rest comfortably on a dandelion seed head without disturbing the fluffy, delicate structure of the plant. The "ultralight metallic microlattice" invented by scientists at UC Irvine, HRL Laboratories, and Caltech is described in the Nov. 18 issue of Science. The new material is 100 times lighter than styrofoam, according to reports. The secret to its lightness is a cellular architecture fabricated from hollow tubes that supports a material structure that is in reality 99.99 percent air, according to the research team that built it.
That means the material's density is less than one-thousandth that of water. The material behaves somewhat like a feather when dropped, floating to the ground, Carter told the paper. Stem Cell Therapies | Ariadne. The US Biotech company Geron was the first company to get FDA approval for an embryonic stem cell trial (in 2009).
It has just announced that it is ending the trial, and will instead focus on cancer therapies. Stem cell therapies have been a bright hope as a way to treat or cure many illnesses for several decades (an exception being bone marrow transplants, a common and less sophisticated way of adding stem cells). However, scientific challenges and ethical concerns have resulted in slower clinical use of stem cells than many had anticipated. Drivers: Technological progress, combat injuriesTrends: Increasing number of stem cell trials & other forms of regenerative medicine applicationsOpportunities: Treating or curing diseases and serious injuriesChallenges: Demonstrating long term benefit and safety.
Securing funding for trials. Geron’s trial was on repairing spinal cord injuries, and was a phase I clinical trial that was solely to assess safety.