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ANN ARBOR, Mich.-Nerve gases are colorless, odorless, tasteless and deadly. While today's soldiers carry masks and other protective gear, they don't have reliable ways of knowing when they need them in time. That could change, thanks to a new litmus-like paper sensor made at the University of Michigan.

By Simon Levey Thursday 8 March 2012 A little bit of lubrication could make a big energy saving when manufacturing sustainable biofuels and bio-chemicals from timber, according to research published in the journal Green Chemistry this month. Scientists at Imperial College London have demonstrated that a key part of biomass processing could be made 80 per cent more energy-efficient by taking advantage of the slippery properties of fluids called ionic solvents.

AUSTIN, Texas — Inspired by the paper-folding art of origami, chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a 3-D paper sensor that may be able to test for diseases such as malaria and HIV for less than 10 cents a pop. Such low-cost, "point-of-care" sensors could be incredibly useful in the developing world, where the resources often don't exist to pay for lab-based tests, and where, even if the money is available, the infrastructure often doesn't exist to transport biological samples to the lab.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. A new study in Science suggests that thrill-seeking is not limited to humans and other vertebrates. Some honey bees, too, are more likely than others to seek adventure. The brains of these novelty-seeking bees exhibit distinct patterns of gene activity in molecular pathways known to be associated with thrill-seeking in humans, researchers report.

Physicists have carried out detailed spectroscopic measurements of antimatter. The team, part of the ALPHA collaboration at CERN, in Geneva, had previously managed to trap antihydrogen atoms - the antimatter counterpart of hydrogen - routinely for long periods of time. The new findings build on this research to help further understanding of the origins of the Universe.

A new report has found dozens of cases of illness, death and reproductive issues in cows, horses, goats, llamas, chickens, dogs, cats, fish and other wildlife, and humans. It says these conditions could be the result of exposure to gas drilling operations. Hydraulic fracturing, popularly called hydrofracking, is a process for extracting natural gas from shale using chemicals and water.

Organic cultivation methods not only benefit biodiversity; they also appear to have a positive effect on the ecosystem service pollination. In a study of strawberry plants in Skåne, the proportion of fully pollinated flowers was significantly higher on organic farms. This is shown in new research from Lund University in Sweden.

Scientists and an international research team have announced discovery of molecular oxygen ions in the upper-most atmosphere of Dione. Discovery could mean ingredients for life are abundant on icy space bodies Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists and an international research team have announced discovery of molecular oxygen ions (O2+) in the upper-most atmosphere of Dione, one of the 62 known moons orbiting the ringed planet.

Dione, one of Saturn's icy moons, has a weak exosphere which includes molecules of oxygen, according to new findings from the Cassini-Huygens mission. The international mission made the discovery using combined data from one of Cassini's instruments, called CAPS (Cassini Plasma Spectrometer), which includes a sensor designed and built at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. A chemically altered osteoporosis drug may be useful in fighting malaria, researchers report in a new study. Unlike similar compounds tested against many other parasitic protozoa, the drug readily crosses into the red blood cells of malaria-infected mice and kills the malaria parasite.

Scientists at Vienna University of Technology have found a way to detect chemicals over long distances, even if they are enclosed in containers. People like to keep a safe distance from explosive substances, but in order to analyze them, close contact is usually inevitable. At the Vienna University of Technology, a new method has now been developed to detect chemicals inside a container over a distance of more than a hundred meters.

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/23/2012) —University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering astronomers Robert Gehrz and Charles Woodward are part of an international team that have, for the first time, discovered buckyballs in a solid form in space. The discovery of these carbon molecules in space may provide clues about the origins of the Universe and if life could exist on other planets.

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have found new evidence to explain how cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) mediates the transfer of cholesterol from "good" high density lipoproteins (HDLs) to "bad" low density lipoproteins (LDLs).

The road from discovering a novel insight to turning it into a practical biomedical application is full of twists, turns, and dead ends, but a combined center at Yale's West Campus seeks to provide University faculty with the knowledge and tools to navigate from basic science to new breakthroughs in disease management.

Engineers trying to improve fuel-cell catalysts may be looking in the wrong place, according to new research at Cornell. There is growing interest in forming the catalysts that break down fuel to generate electricity into nanoparticles. Nanoparticles provide a larger surface area to speed reactions, and in some cases, materials that are not catalytic in bulk become so at the nanoscale.

Tellurium detected for the first time in ancient stars. Nearly 13.7 billion years ago, the universe was made of only hydrogen, helium and traces of lithium - byproducts of the Big Bang. Some 300 million years later, the very first stars emerged, creating additional chemical elements throughout the universe.

Clinical trial of the programmable, implantable device shows promise in treating osteoporosis. About 15 years ago, MIT professors Robert Langer and Michael Cima had the idea to develop a programmable, wirelessly controlled microchip that would deliver drugs after implantation in a patient's body. This week, the MIT researchers and scientists from MicroCHIPS Inc.

The same substance that hampers the infection capability of bacteria can hasten the fiber formation of the protein that is involved in the development of Parkinson's disease. The study shows how important basic research is to our understanding of possible side effects from drug candidates interacting with various target proteins.

The European Space Agency's Planck mission with the support of University astronomers has unveiled more surprises about our Galaxy, bringing scientists closer to being able to understand the structure of the Universe. The results include previously unknown clouds of cold gas, and a mysterious haze of microwave emission near the centre of the Galaxy.

PA 51/12 Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a new molecule that could offer the hope of new treatments for people allergic to the house dust mite. The team of immunologists led by Amir Ghaem-Maghami and Professor Farouk Shakib in the University's School of Molecular Medical Sciences have identified the molecule DC-SIGN which appears to play a role in damping down the body's allergic response to the house dust mite.