ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Affordable fuel cells closer: Synthetic molecule first electricity-making catalyst to use iron to split hydrogen gas
• Engineers are catching rainbows: Material that slows light opens new possibilities in solar energy, other fields
• Shifting sands: Force is the key to granular state-shifting
• 'Bionic proteins': Nano-machines recreate protein activities
• Brain prostheses create a sense of touch: Infrared signaling could create sense of touch in artificial limbs
• Tough, light and strong: Lessons from nature could lead to the creation of new materials
• Stay cool and live longer? Genetic program promotes longevity in cold environments

Affordable fuel cells closer: Synthetic molecule first electricity-making catalyst to use iron to split hydrogen gas Posted: 17 Feb 2013 10:42 AM PST To make fuel cells more economical, engineers want a fast and efficient iron-based molecule that splits hydrogen gas to make electricity. Researchers now report such a catalyst. It is the first iron-based catalyst that converts hydrogen directly to electricity. The result moves chemists and engineers one step closer to widely affordable fuel cells.

Engineers are catching rainbows: Material that slows light opens new possibilities in solar energy, other fields Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:52 AM PST Engineers have created a more efficient way to catch rainbows, an advancement in photonics that could lead to technological breakthroughs in solar energy, stealth technology and other areas of research.

Shifting sands: Force is the key to granular state-shifting Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:50 AM PST Ever wonder why sand can both run through an hourglass like a liquid and be solid enough to support buildings? It's because granular materials -- like sand or dirt -- can change their behavior, or state. Researchers have found that the forces individual grains exert on one another are what most affect that transition.

'Bionic proteins': Nano-machines recreate protein activities Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:49 AM PST Physicists have developed nano-machines which recreate principal activities of proteins. They present the first versatile and modular example of a fully artificial protein-mimetic model system. These "bionic proteins" could play an important role in innovating pharmaceutical research.

Brain prostheses create a sense of touch: Infrared signaling could create sense of touch in artificial limbs Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:41 AM PST Infrared sensing might be built into a whole-body prosthesis for paraplegics so patients wearing the "exoskeleton" could have sensory information about where their limbs are and how objects feel when they touch them.

Tough, light and strong: Lessons from nature could lead to the creation of new materials Posted: 14 Feb 2013 11:18 AM PST In a sweeping review of the field of bio-inspired engineering and biomimicry, two engineers have identified three characteristics of biological materials that they believe engineers would do well to emulate in human-made materials: light weight, toughness and strength.

Stay cool and live longer? Genetic program promotes longevity in cold environments Posted: 14 Feb 2013 10:26 AM PST Scientists have known for nearly a century that cold-blooded animals, such as worms, flies and fish all live longer in cold environments, but have not known exactly why. Researchers have identified a genetic program that promotes longevity of roundworms in cold environments -- and this genetic program also exists in warm-blooded animals, including humans.

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