science wire

Mechanical Engineering - Physics - 23.10.2017

Thruster for Mars mission breaks records
ANN ARBOR-An advanced space engine in the running to propel humans to Mars has broken the records for operating current, power and thrust for a device of its kind, known as a Hall thruster.

Life Sciences - Mechanical Engineering - 18.10.2017

Octopus skin inspires engineers to develop programmable ’camouflaging’ material
For the octopus and cuttlefish, instantaneously changing their skin color and pattern to disappear into the environment is just part of their camouflage prowess.

Environment - Mechanical Engineering - 18.10.2017

Scientists seek public help to protect endangered parrot
If we don't act immediately, the expected mortality rates in unprotected nest boxes could erase the gains we made last year when swift parrots nested on a predator free island.

Mechanical Engineering - 13.10.2017

Rocket motor for Ariane 6 and Vega-C is cast for testing
The first full-scale model of the rocket motor that will propel Ariane 6 and Vega-C into orbit has been cast and filled with inert propellant for testing at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

Mechanical Engineering - 12.10.2017

Additive manufacturing - a revolution in production engineering
Research news Additive manufacturing processes are the major topic for the future of production engineering.

Environment - Mechanical Engineering - 11.10.2017

Beyond EPA’s Clean Power decision: Climate action window could close as early as 2023
ANN ARBOR-As the Trump administration repeals the U.S. Clean Power Plan, a new study from the University of Michigan underscores the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions-from both environmental and economic perspectives. For the U.S.'s most energy-hungry sectors-automotive and electricity-the study identifies timetables for action, after which the researchers say it will be too late to stave off a climate tipping point.

Mechanical Engineering - Health - 11.10.2017

Children born prematurely have greater risk of cognitive difficulties later in life
Babies born preterm have a greater risk of developing cognitive, motor and behavioural difficulties and these problems persist throughout school years, finds a new study led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Wednesday 11 October 2017 The research found that preterm children had lower scores on IQ tests, motor skills, reading and spelling at primary school age, and that this remained through to secondary school.

Mathematics - Mechanical Engineering - 09.10.2017

New methods tackle a perplexing engineering concept
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers at the University of Illinois are working to turn a complex materials design problem into an intuitive concept, understandable to engineers from novice to advanced experience levels. The group developed guidelines to help understand materials engineered to become thicker when stretched.

Mechanical Engineering - Environment - 05.10.2017

Future of energy: Renewables
Stanford researchers are exploring wind, solar and geothermal energy was well as renewable fuels and fuels made from microbes.

Mechanical Engineering - Physics - 04.10.2017

Stanford Solar Car Project team to compete in Australia
A solar car named Sundae developed by Stanford students is about to race more than 1,800 miles across the Australian Outback, testing the limits of cutting-edge technologies and undergraduate ingenuity.

Mechanical Engineering - 03.10.2017

Solar car race: Live coverage begins soon
ANN ARBOR-In a bullet-shaped car powered by the sun, the nation's top solar car team from the University of Michigan will soon race across Australia in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

Mechanical Engineering - Economics / Business - 19.09.2017

ANU unveils its first solar car to compete in World Solar Challenge
ANU students have launched their first high-technology solar car to compete in the World Solar Challenge from Darwin to Adelaide.

Electroengineering - Mechanical Engineering - 18.09.2017

Developing roads that can generate power from passing traffic
Lancaster engineers are looking at advanced materials for roads and pavements that could generate electricity from passing traffic Researchers are looking at advanced materials for roads and pavements that could generate electricity from passing traffic.

Physics - Mechanical Engineering - 11.09.2017

First On-chip Nanoscale Optical Quantum Memory Developed
Smallest-yet optical quantum memory device is a storage medium for optical quantum networks with the potential to be scaled up for commercial use For the first time, an international team led by engineers at Caltech has developed a computer chip with nanoscale optical quantum memory.

Mechanical Engineering - 08.09.2017

On a mission to measure
How does cargo weight affect fuel economy in cars' What are the mechanical differences between bench pressing dumbbells and bench pressing barbells' How does temperature alter the mechanical properties of gummy bears?

Mechanical Engineering - 04.09.2017

Ultrasonic sensor company Inductosense raises £1.1m investment
Inductosense, a University of Bristol spin-out which is developing novel ultrasonic sensors for monitoring corrosion, cracks or defects in structures has secured a funding round of £1.1million investment from a consortium of investors.

Mechanical Engineering - 31.08.2017

Mechanical Engineering - 28.08.2017

Swissloop finishes in the top 3
SpaceX held its second Hyperloop pod competition yesterday in Los Angeles. The Swissloop team including ETH students achieved an outstanding third place finish.

Life Sciences - Mechanical Engineering - 21.08.2017

How cytoplasm "feels" to a cell’s components
Under a microscope, a cell's cytoplasm can resemble a tiny underwater version of New York's Times Square: Thousands of proteins swarm through a cytoplasm's watery environment, coming together and breaking apart like a cytoskeletal flash mob.

Mechanical Engineering - Civil Engineering - 21.08.2017

ACar - The electric "all-rounder"
Research news An electric car for Africa, custom-designed for the needs of the population there, that strengthens rural structures and helps drive the economy: Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and partners have been working intensively towards this goal for four years.

Astronomy / Space Science - Mechanical Engineering - 17.08.2017

Intern Focuses on Laser Light for Spaceflight | Berkeley Lab
Elliot Heywood had dreamed of landing an internship at the science lab in the hills not far from his school in Lafayette, California, but he never could have imagined this dream would take wing as a summerlong stint researching an ultrafast interplanetary propulsion system.

Physics - Mechanical Engineering - 16.08.2017

Unmanned flying wing successfully tested - TUM
Research news The unmanned aircraft Sagitta has successfully completed its first two test flights at the Overberg test range in South Africa.

Earth Sciences - Mechanical Engineering - 15.08.2017

How Friction Evolves During an Earthquake
By simulating earthquakes in a lab, engineers at Caltech have documented the evolution of friction during an earthquake-measuring what could once only be inferred, and shedding light on one of the biggest unknowns in earthquake modeling. Before an earthquake, static friction helps hold the two sides of a fault immobile and pressed against each other.

Mechanical Engineering - Environment - 08.08.2017

Annual Wind Power Report Confirms Technology Advancements, Improved Project Performance, and Low Wind Energy Prices | Berkeley Lab
Wind energy pricing for land-based, utility-scale projects remains attractive to utility and commercial purchasers, according to an annual report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Mechanical Engineering - Career - 04.08.2017

Hybrid drones carry heavier payloads for greater distances
MIT alumnus Long Phan SM '99, PhD '12 is a technology innovator and entrepreneur with several engineering "firsts" under his belt.

Mechanical Engineering - Environment - 02.08.2017

Cicada wings may inspire new surface technologies
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers are looking to insects - specifically cicadas - for insight into the design of artificial surfaces with de-icing, self-cleaning and anti-fogging abilities. Their wings allow cicadas to fly, of course, but they also are good at repelling water - a condition that humans can appreciate, too.

Administration - Mechanical Engineering - 02.08.2017

A solution to Sydney’s peak-hour train crush
Game-changing train travel needs government to wean itself from low-capacity, polluting motorways, writes Associate Professor Pablo Guillen Alvarez.

Health - Mechanical Engineering - 01.08.2017

How to better treat delirium in hospitals: A Q&A with expert Dr Valerie Page
Seriously ill patients can suffer extreme confusion, or delirium, which predicts slower recovery, long-term memory problems, and early death.

Physics - Mechanical Engineering - 31.07.2017

InSitu@CHESS offers material-testing help to industry, academia
Graduate student Mark Obstalecki, left, prepares a sample for the Rotational and Axial Motion System (RAMS) in the F2 hutch at CHESS under the watchful eye of Matthew Miller, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of InSitµ@CHESS.

Computer Science - Mechanical Engineering - 28.07.2017

Outdoor drone complex for safe, bold flight testing
ANN ARBOR-An outdoor fly lab for testing autonomous aerial vehicles is coming to the University of Michigan's College of Engineering this fall, adding to the university's spate of advanced robotics facilities.

Mechanical Engineering - Career - 26.07.2017

Three Imperial teams benefit from new 'Prosperity Partnership’ grants
Research into corrosion, nuclear management and advanced propulsion systems receive a funding boost from new research-business partnership scheme.

Physics - Mechanical Engineering - 17.07.2017

Neutron beam from nuclear reactor used to produce safer cars
A partnership led by WMG at the University of Warwick, with the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), Tata Steel, and the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) is using a stream of neutro

Mechanical Engineering - Administration - 17.07.2017

Hypersonic flight test goes like a rocket
Commercialised flight faster than five times the speed of sound has been brought one step closer, thanks to a successful experimental flight featuring University of Queensland knowhow.

Sport - Mechanical Engineering - 16.07.2017

Pushing the limits of athletic performance
The panic in the pit of your stomach as you fly over your handle bars is all too familiar to any mountain biker.

Mechanical Engineering - Economics / Business - 13.07.2017

Tidal studies making waves in energy sector
The Federal Government is backing a wave of investment in tidal electricity generation as experts tip that marine power will be the next big thing in renewable energy.

Materials Science - Mechanical Engineering - 10.07.2017

Fine particles come into greater focus
An EPFL study has deepened our understanding of the fine particles produced by adhesive wear. This breakthrough could lead to cost savings and environmental benefits. Adhesive wear occurs when two surfaces - such as a brake pad and a wheel's disc, or a car tire and the road - rub against each other.

Mechanical Engineering - 07.07.2017

Top U.S. solar car team goes small to win big in 2017
ANN ARBOR'The sun-powered vehicle that the University of Michigan's top-ranked Solar Car Team will race in a global contest this fall is the smallest and most aerodynamic that any U-M team has ever built.

Astronomy / Space Science - Mechanical Engineering - 06.07.2017

Preparing for Mercury: BepiColombo stack completes testing
ESA's Mercury spacecraft has passed its final test in launch configuration, the last time it will be stacked like this before being reassembled at the launch site next year. BepiColombo's two orbiters, Japan's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter and ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter, will be carried together by the Mercury Transport Module.

Mechanical Engineering - 03.07.2017

Life Sciences - Mechanical Engineering - 26.06.2017

Scientists create a cellular guillotine for studying single-cell wound repair
In an effort to understand how single cells heal, Mechanical engineer Sindy Tang developed a microscopic guillotine that efficiently cuts cells in two.

Mechanical Engineering - 26.06.2017

Boeing opens research centre at UQ
Leading research and development organisation Boeing Research and Technology Australia (BR&T-Australia) has moved its Brisbane-based team into a new centre at The University of Queensland's St Lucia campus.

Physics - Mechanical Engineering - 23.06.2017

Atomic imperfections move quantum communication network closer to reality
An international team led by the University of Chicago's Institute for Molecular Engineering has discovered how to manipulate a weird quantum interface between light and matter in silicon carbide along wavelengths used in telecommunications.

Career - Mechanical Engineering - 23.06.2017

Imperial early-career researcher recognised in prestigious list
An Imperial engineer has been nominated as one of the top 50 women in engineering. Dr Nan Li, from the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London, has been chosen by a panel of experts as one of the top women under 35 in engineering.

Mechanical Engineering - Career - 21.06.2017

Blades Research Hub to support development of next generation turbine blades
A £2.3 million research partnership between the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and the University of Bristol could help unlock larger and more powerful wind turbines than ever before.

Mechanical Engineering - 21.06.2017

New $8.25M Airbus center at Michigan for next-gen, high efficiency aircraft
ANN ARBOR'Long wings could significantly improve the cruise efficiency and reduce the operating cost of long haul aircraft, and Airbus is partnering with the University of Michigan to make these advanced designs possible.

Mechanical Engineering - Environment - 16.06.2017

Wind turbines can pick up the slack on coldest days
Winter days are usually less windy, but a new analysis shows turbines work harder on the coldest days, when power demand is highest. During winter in Great Britain, warmer periods are often windier, while colder periods are often calmer, due to the prevailing weather patterns. Colder periods are also when electricity demand increases.

Astronomy / Space Science - Mechanical Engineering - 15.06.2017

Cornell CubeSat wins ride into space with NASA in 2019
The Cislunar Explorers' ground station, which will track the team's CubeSat as it attempts to orbit the moon, was built in May on the roof of Rhodes Hall.

Mechanical Engineering - Health - 08.06.2017

Chemicals used to combat Zika, agricultural pests impact motor skills in infants
ANN ARBORâ??A chemical currently being used to ward off mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus and a commonly used insecticide that was threatened with a ban in the United States have been associated with reduced motor function in Chinese infants, a University of Michigan study found.

Physics - Mechanical Engineering - 01.06.2017

New center will push frontiers of sensing technology
In anticipation of the official opening of the new MIT.nano building - which will house some of the world's leading facilities supporting research in nanoscience and nanotechnology - MIT last

Mechanical Engineering - Computer Science - 31.05.2017

Wearable system helps visually impaired users navigate
Computer scientists have been working for decades on automatic navigation systems to aid the visually impaired, but it's been difficult to come up with anything as reliable and easy to use as the white cane, the type of metal-tipped cane that visually impaired people frequently use to identify clear walking paths.