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Comment question (Score 1) 106

Can somebody explain to me where the problem is with this approach? Namely, if there is a protein which

a) binds to all the possible pathogens harmful to humans;
b) can be reliably attached to a magnetic particle;
c) never binds to useful things in the blood (e.g. erythrocytes)

is it not magically amazing? Where's the catch?

Comment Re:Wide Dissemination vs LockBox (Score 1) 259

by ffcitatos (#45632801) Attached to: Elsevier Going After Authors Sharing Their Own Papers
There is a huge entrance cost in this market. The new journal would have to make it to the relevant lists to start being a realistic alternative. However, I think the problem is almost non-existent, at least in Physics. There is some competition: APS, IOP, Elsevier publish reasonably good journals (not sure if Nature and Science are independent or belong to those three). At least the former two (to my best knowledge) have no problem with preprints being put on arxiv.org . Thus, one gets open access (on arxiv), as well as peer review (on the journal) for the cost not having open access to the full text on the journal website (as universities/libraries pay for that).

Submission + - NASA Launches Second Robot Challenge (informationweek.com)

Submitted by CowboyRobot
CowboyRobot writes: This week NASA kicks off its second Sample Return Robot Challenge, in which teams compete for a chance to win $1.5 million. Participants must demonstrate a self-operated robot capable of locating and collecting geologic samples from diverse terrain. Eleven teams from the U.S. and overseas gather for the challenge from June 5 through 7 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. The Sample Return Robot competition is part of NASA's Centennial Challenges program launched by the Space Technology Mission Directorate, which develops and tests hardware for use in NASA's future missions. NASA said the goal of the challenge is to encourage innovation in autonomous navigation and robotics technologies, which the agency could potentially use to explore a "variety of destinations in space" and in "industries and applications on Earth."

Submission + - Ultrashort laser pulses squeezed out of graphene (nature.com)

Submitted by ananyo
ananyo writes: Graphene, hailed as one of the thinnest, strongest and most conductive materials ever found, seems to have bagged one more amazing property. Experiments suggest that it can be used to create ultrashort laser pulses of any colour, owing to an ability to absorb light over a broad range of wavelengths. So far, the researchers have coaxed the material to produce pulses of radiation from a broad spectrum of infrared wavelengths, which are useful in applications such as fibre optic communications. Their results, together with the known properties of graphene, suggest that the material should be able to yield similar ultrashort pulses over the entire spectrum of visible light as well. The discovery could help researchers to build small, cheap and highly versatile ultrashort-pulse lasers, with potential applications ranging from micro-machinery to medicine.

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