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Floating continents and Cloning mammoths

From Physics Org

Report: Hot Rocks Keep N. America Afloat - If it weren't for the hot rocks down below Earth's crust, most of North America would be below sea level, report researchers who say the significance of Earth's internal heat has been overlooked.

Greenhouse gas burial - Deep coal seams that are not commercially viable for coal production could be used for permanent underground storage of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) generated by human activities, thus avoiding atmospheric release, according to two studies published in Inderscience's International Journal of Environment and Pollution. An added benefit of storing CO2 in this way is that additional useful methane will be displaced from the coal beds.

Nanoparticles hitchhike on red blood cells: a potential new method for drug delivery - Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered that attaching polymeric nanoparticles to the surface of red blood cells dramatically increases the in vivo lifetime of the nanoparticles. The research, published in the July 07 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, could offer applications for the delivery of drugs and circulating bioreactors.

Transparent transistors to bring future displays, 'e-paper' - Researchers have used nanotechnology to create transparent transistors and circuits, a step that promises a broad range of applications, from e-paper and flexible color screens for consumer electronics to "smart cards" and "heads-up" displays in auto windshields.

From Technology Review Feed - Biotech Top Stories

Healing Blood Vessels - A biotech startup is testing a gel that could make cardiovascular procedures safer.

From SPACE.com

Crater Could Solve 1908 Tunguska Meteor Mystery - Researchers point out possible 1908 Tunguska event crater, in a lake.

From news@nature.com

Push to legalize Afghanistan's opium trade - Afghanistan produces more than 90% of the world's illegal opium. Current control methods involve literally ripping up poppy fields, mainly under the oversight of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. But the Senlis Council, an international policy think-tank with a base in London, has another suggestion: allow the farmers to grow their poppies and process them locally to make morphine tablets under a controlled licensing scheme.

From National Geographic News

Mammoths to Return? DNA Advances Spur Resurrection Debate - Experts are close to piecing together the entire genomes of long-dead beasts. But bringing them back to life may—or may not—happen soon, depending on whom you ask.

Alcohol, Feces, Carcasses Fuel "Green" Vehicles in Sweden - Drinking and driving don't usually mix—unless the alcohol is turned into a new organic fuel that's gaining steam in Sweden

A bunch from Physics.org

From Physics Org

Pairing nanoparticles with proteins - In groundbreaking research, scientists have demonstrated the ability to strategically attach gold nanoparticles -- particles on the order of billionths of a meter -- to proteins so as to form sheets of protein-gold arrays. In the field of energy conversion, scientists have been searching for efficient ways to convert organic fuels such as ethanol into electricity using catalytic electrodes. But making single layers of densely packed enzymes, the functional part of such catalytic electrodes, has been a challenge. This new research shows that precisely engineered gold nanoparticles can be used to "glue" enzymes together to form oriented and ordered single layers, and that these monolayers are mechanically stable enough to be transferred onto a solid surface such as an electrode.

Probing Question: How do dimples make golf balls travel farther? - A golfer's worst enemy may be divots, but his or her best friend may be dimples -- the dimples on a golf ball that send it sailing farther down the fairway.

Superconducting Turbojet - An all-electric aircraft could soon appear over the horizon thanks to high-flying scientific research published today in the Institute of Physics' journal, Superconductor Science and Technology. The new type of aircraft, currently on the drawing board, could be far more efficient than conventional aircraft, produce less greenhouse emissions, and be quieter.

Giant magnetocaloric materials could lead to new refrigeration technologies - Materials that change temperature in magnetic fields could lead to new refrigeration technologies that reduce the use of greenhouse gases, thanks to new research at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and Ames National Laboratory.

Now, self-healing materials can mimic human skin, healing again and again - The next generation of self-healing materials, invented by researchers at the University of Illinois, mimics human skin by healing itself time after time. The new materials rely upon embedded, three-dimensional microvascular networks that emulate biological circulatory systems.

Aluminum foil lamps outshine incandescent lights - Researchers at the University of Illinois are developing panels of microcavity plasma lamps that may soon brighten people`s lives. The thin, lightweight panels could be used for residential and commercial lighting, and for certain types of biomedical applications.

Goodbye wires... MIT experimentally demonstrates wireless power transfer - Imagine a future in which wireless power transfer is feasible: cell phones, household robots, mp3 players, laptop computers and other portable electronics capable of charging themselves without ever being plugged in, freeing us from that final, ubiquitous power wire. Some of these devices might not even need their bulky batteries to operate.

Physicist demonstrates how light can be used to remotely operate micromachines - A research team led by Umar Mohideen, a physicist at the University of California, Riverside, has demonstrated in the laboratory that the Casimir force - the small attractive force that acts between two close parallel uncharged conducting plates - can be changed using a beam of light, making the remote operation of micromachines a possibility.

Microswimmer propels itself with near-zero friction - Scientists have found that a very slender micro-sized swimmer can propel itself without friction by surface treadmilling. The microswimmer moves by generating backward surface motion at the front end of itself, which is then consumed at the rear end. Because the surrounding fluid remains nearly motionless, the only possible friction stems from the motion of the front and rear ends.

Theory of Physics Explains Human Patterns - Why does a railway network look like a river? Why do the streets of old Rome look like a leaf? Because whether their shape is determined by the interactions of molecules or the choices made by individual humans, all of these systems of flow are governed by a relatively simple new principle of thermodynamics.

For those who are interested

A series of reviews of the much-hyped iPhone

http://www.digitaltechnews.com/news/2007/06/iphone-reviews-.html


Oh, and here are the US monthly fees in addition to the $599(US) purchase price....