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New advance allows gels to wiggle through water

2014-06-16
(Press-News.org) Using a worm's contracting and expanding motion, researchers have designed a way for gels to swim in water. The advance, which is described in a Journal of Applied Polymer Science paper, involves the use of a hand-held laser to shrink and swell polymer gels comprised mostly of water.

"This new method of mobility may allow such hydrogels to be used as environmental and biotechnological tools by allowing them to explore surface waters to combat toxic elements or travel within cavities inside the human body," said co-author Dr. Lilit Yeghiazarian. INFORMATION:


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A satellite view: Former Hurricane Cristina now a ghost of its former self

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2014-06-16
An infrared image from NOAA's GOES-West satellite showed what appeared to be a ghostly ring of clouds and no convection in former Hurricane Cristina on Monday, June 16 as the system weakened to a remnant low pressure area. Convection is rising air that forms the thunderstorms that make up a tropical cyclone and when there is none, there are no thunderstorms to keep it going. That's exactly what happened to Cristina in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on Sunday, June 15. At 11 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. PDT) on Sunday, June 15, Cristina had weakened to a tropical depression near latitude ...

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E-cigarettes far less harmful than cigarettes, says Lancet researcher at INFORMS Conference

2014-06-16
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Studies in family planning publishes special issue on unmet need

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[Press-News.org] New advance allows gels to wiggle through water