Applied Physics

When most people think of lightning strikes they picture the kind that go from clouds to ground, but some lightning goes upward, forming blue jets and gigantic jets and, perhaps the most dangerous lightning, appears as "bolts from the blue" – lightning that begins upward, but then moves sideways and then downward to hit the ground as much as three miles from a thunderstorm. However, about 90 percent of lightning occurs inside clouds and is not visible to the casual observer. A group of researchers wondered if lightning that appears within clouds and the lightning that escapes upward or…

Scientists have developed a new form of stretchable silicon integrated circuit that can wrap around complex shapes such as spheres, body parts and aircraft wings, and can operate during stretching, compressing, folding and other types of extreme mechanical deformations, without a reduction in electrical performance. “The notion that silicon cannot be used in such applications because it is intrinsically brittle and rigid has been tossed out the window,” said John Rogers, a Founder Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois. “Through carefully optimized…

FREISING-WEIHENSTEPHAN, Germany, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- - New Investment Round Led by OrbiMed Advisors, World's Largest Healthcare Investment Firm Pieris AG, a bio-pharmaceutical company developing Anticalins(R), a novel class of targeted human protein therapeutics, announced today the closing of a Series B financing round. Led by new investor OrbiMed Advisors LLC, a major global fund dedicated to healthcare, together with Novo Nordisk A/S via Novo Nordisk Biotech Fund, Novo Nordisk's internal corporate venture fund, the EUR 25 million (US$ 38 million) financing enables the Company to…

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellectricon, a leading provider of screening solutions for drug discovery, today announced the launch of the new Cellaxess(R)HT System. The world's first fully automated high throughput transfection system enables reagent-free delivery of genetic material to a wide range of biologically relevant cell types. The system will be introduced at the SBS 14th Annual Conference and Meeting in St. Louis, MO, USA, April 6-10. Cellectricon has developed Cellaxess(R)HT in close collaboration with leading research groups to meet the increasing demand for a…

DALLAS, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- - Company Teams With Menlo Worldwide, CSC and Olgoonik Logistics to Deliver Multi-Party 21st Century Demand-Driven Transportation Solution One Network Enterprises, a pioneer in multi-enterprise and multi-party sense-and-respond solutions, announced that it has been selected to provide its Demand-Driven Transportation solution for the Defense Transportation Coordination Initiative (DTCI). One Network is deploying an integrated suite of on-demand software applications and services for the initiative under a subcontract with DTCI's prime contractor and program…

OAK PARK, Michigan, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Azure Dynamics Corporation (TSX: AZD & LSE: ADC) ("Azure" or the "Company") a leading developer of hybrid electric and electric powertrains for commercial vehicles, today announced its financial results for the three and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2007. The Company also provided an update on corporate and product development activities in the year. "2007 was a pivotal year with many key accomplishments for Azure," said Scott T. Harrison, Chief Executive Officer. "We have delivered product to end users in our three areas of…

ARNHEM, The Netherlands, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- ARCADIS (EURONEXT: ARCAD), the international consultancy, design and engineering company, today announced that it has signed a three-year global contract to provide environmental consultancy services to Akzo Nobel - a leading global paint and chemical company. The work related to this contract will be performed in at least 12 countries in Europe, North- and South America as well as Asia. Under this contract, ARCADIS will become one of only two selected global environmental consultants to Akzo Nobel. ARCADIS CEO Harrie Noy about the contract…

LONDON, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Unite, the UK's largest trade union, is calling on the government and the UK's nuclear regulator to licence global designs for the new generation of UK power stations. Unite, which has more than 26,000 energy sector members, says that a standard design is vital to encourage the largest number of bids for the new build nuclear contracts and to give UK industry the opportunity to supply the construction and manufacturing requirements. The union says that as well as securing thousands of existing jobs, 10,000 additional jobs could be created if the UK regulator…

REDMOND, Washington and MILAN, Italy, March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- - Companies to collaborate on the development of open source solutions for the Microsoft Office product suite. Microsoft Corp and Sourcesense, a leading European open source systems integration consultancy, today announced that the two companies will collaborate on the strategy, development and deployment of open source solutions for the Microsoft Office product suite. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO ) One of the initial goals of the partnership is contributing to the development of a new version of…

Enzymes are biological catalysts that are made from a string of amino acids, which fold into specific three-dimensional protein structures. Without them, life would not exist. They are a valuable model for understanding the intricate works of nature. These molecular machines are responsible for initiating chemical reactions within the body. Millions of years of natural selection have fine-tuned the activity of such enzymes, allowing chemical reactions to take place millions of times faster. In order to create artificial enzymes, a comprehensive understanding of the structure of natural…