(Michigan State University) A researcher has developed a nanomaterial that makes plastic stiffer, lighter and stronger.

(Florida State University) As gas prices soar, scientists at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University are marketing research that will enable petroleum companies to locate, analyze and process crude oil much faster, cheaper and more accurately.

(Florida State University) As gas prices soar, scientists at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University are marketing research that will enable petroleum companies to locate, analyze and process crude oil much faster, cheaper and more accurately.

(British Geological Survey) Earth and computer scientists from 79 nations are working together on a global project called OneGeology to produce the first digital geological map of the world. This project is doing the same for the rocks beneath our feet that Google does for maps of the Earth’s surface.

(European Science Foundation) Many of us have been fascinated by the concept of absolute zero, the temperature at which everything comes to a complete stop. But physics tells us otherwise: absolute zero cannot be reached but only approached, and the closer you get, the more interesting phenomena you find!

(Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Limited) Researchers at New Zealand-based fruit science company HortResearch and listed New Zealand biotech company Genesis Research and Development Corporation Limited have released the world’s most extensive collection of kiwi fruit DNA sequences. The release comprises over 130,000 kiwi fruit gene sequences from active genes in the plant; genes that govern such characteristics as flavor, color, shape, vitamin content and aspects of fruit development such as ripening and storage life.

(CSIRO Australia) Just weeks out from the Olympics, the CSIRO and its Chinese partners have officially launched a post-combustion capture pilot plant in Beijing that strips carbon dioxide from power station flue gases in an effort to stem climate change.

(University of Pennsylvania) Physicists at the University of Pennsylvania have characterized an aspect of graphene film behavior by measuring the way it conducts electricity on a substrate. This milestone advances the potential application of graphene, the ultra-thin, single-atom thick carbon sheets that conduct electricity faster and more efficiently than silicon, the current material of choice for transistor fabrication.

(University of Pennsylvania) Physicists at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a new method by which graphene films can be etched along flawless, crystallographic axes using hot nanoparticles, a technique that results in precise, macroscopic length ribbons of graphene. The advance could enable atomically precise and simple construction of integrated circuits from single graphene sheets with a wide range of technological applications.

(University of California - Davis) An important advance in understanding how the electrons in some materials become superconducting has been made by researchers from UC Davis, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and UC Irvine.