University of Zurich (UZH)

“This is about the safe design of nanomaterials” A collaboration of biologists, engineers, and material scientists at Brown University has found that jagged edges of graphene can easily pierce cell membranes, allowing graphene to enter the cell and disrupt normal function. Understanding the mechanical forces of nanotoxicity should help engineers design safer materials at the

Harvard, UCLA experts propose new structure for regulation of geoengineering research Geoengineering, the use of human technologies to alter the Earth’s climate system—such as injecting reflective particles into the upper atmosphere to scatter incoming sunlight back to space—has emerged as a potentially promising way to mitigate the impacts of climate change. But such efforts could

I believe, Siri has the potential to change some corner stones in society Like many others, I was not very enthusiastic about the launch event of the iPhone 4S. The expectations where simply too high, and the whole event seemed to lack the usual energy. One day later the world learned why. Now, amplified through

Neuroscientists and chronic pain experts at the UNC School of Medicine used a weak alternating current of electricity to target a specific part of the brain and significantly decrease chronic lower back pain in all participants of a small clinical trial. For the first time, researchers at the UNC School of Medicine showed they could

Lab-on-a-chip devices work by directing small samples of liquid through tiny “microchannels” embedded in a small platform, and are used for analyzing liquids in medical and scientific settings. Earlier this week, we reported on a high school teacher who has invented a way of creating such devices using transparency film and a photocopier. Now, scientists from

While the human race will always leave its carbon footprint on the Earth, it must continue to find ways to lessen the impact of its fossil fuel consumption. “Carbon capture” technologies – chemically trapping carbon dioxide before it is released into the atmosphere – is one approach. In a recent study, Cornell University researchers disclose

As workers continue to grapple with the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear powerplant in Japan, the crisis has shone a spotlight on nuclear reactors around the world. In June, The Associated Press released results from a yearlong investigation, revealing evidence of “unrelenting wear” in many of the oldest-running facilities in the United States. That study found

Image via CrunchBase Kiva.org, one of the pioneers in micro-lending to entrepreneurs, is entering the educational space today, launching the pilot program of student microloans on the platform. Kiva is a peer-to-peer lending site that began as a way to facilitate micropayment loans between citizen lenders and extremely low-income entrepreneurs in developing countries, Through Kiva’s platform, anyone