PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Battling the force that wastes 1 out of every 10 gallons of gasoline in cars

2010-10-14
(Press-News.org) Engine friction — the force that wastes almost 1.4 million barrels of oil per day in cars and trucks in the United States alone — could become less of a problem for fuel-conscious consumers thanks to promising new oils and other materials that scientists are developing. That's the topic of the cover story in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

C&EN Senior Business Editor Melody Voith notes that friction, the heat produced when objects rub together, wastes fuel in engines and other machinery and causes their parts to wear and eventually break down. One in every 10 gallons of gasoline in the average car goes to overcoming friction in the engine — about 1.4 million barrels of oil wasted per day or almost $31 billion worth of fuel (at $60 per barrel) lost every year. But the article describes how high-tech lubricants and additives now in development could vastly reduce the effect of friction and improve energy efficiency in everything from car engines to power-generating wind turbines. That could improve the fuel economy of cars by 3-5 percent, according to one estimate.

Scientists are also trying to reduce wear on engine and machine parts, one of the consequences of increased friction, by designing tougher materials that can better withstand extreme heat and other harsh conditions. One promising approach is the use of nanoparticles — super-strong particles just 1/50,000th the width of a human hair — to coat engine parts and make them more slippery.

INFORMATION:

ARTICLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Fighting Friction"

This story is available at
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/88/8841cover.html

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New discoveries in North America's Great Plains bring ammonites to life

New discoveries in North Americas Great Plains bring ammonites to life
2010-10-14
Although ammonites have been extinct for 65 million years, newly published data based on 35 years of field work and analysis is providing invaluable insights into their paleobiology. Ammonites, shelled mollusks closely related to modern day nautilus and squids, inhabited the oceans for nearly 350 million years. Specimens found in the rock record of the ancient seaway that covered North America during the Cretaceous Period demonstrate that these animals thrived at cold methane seeps at the bottom of the sea, consumed small prey, and often survived predation attempts. ...

Scientists solve mystery of arsenic compound

2010-10-14
Scientists have solved an important mystery about why an arsenic compound, called arsenite, can kill us, and yet function as an effective therapeutic agent against disease and infections. According to new research published in the October 2010 issue of Genetics (http://www.genetics.org) scientists from Johns Hopkins, Baylor and Stanford discovered that arsenite, a common water contaminant in many parts of the world, affects a special protein folding machine in yeast, called TCP, also present in humans. This information not only opens the doors to developing safer therapeutic ...

Alternative fish feeds use less fishmeal and fish oils

2010-10-14
As consumers eat more fish as part of a healthy diet, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are helping producers meet this demand by developing new feeds that support sustainable aquaculture production. Commercial fish farms have traditionally fed feeds that include high levels of fishmeal and fish oil, according to fish physiologist Rick Barrows with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). But the fishmeal in these feeds comes from small, bony fish species like menhaden, herring and capelin, which are in short supply. Also, more people around the globe ...

Gladstone scientists uncover mechanism for the major genetic risk factor of Alzheimer's disease

2010-10-14
SAN FRANCISCO, CA—OCT. 13, 2010 -- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an extremely complicated disease. Several proteins seem to be involved in its cause and progression. For example, the lipid-transport protein apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4) is the major genetic risk factor for AD, and apoE4 carriers account for 65󈞼% of all Alzheimer's cases, but exactly how apoE4 contributes to the disease is unclear. Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes of Neurological Disease (GIND) have provided new insights into how apoE4 might be involved. In a study published today online in the ...

Pitt team finds protein that sets the stage for exchanges of DNA code in eggs and sperm

2010-10-14
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 13 – A team led by a scientist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has discovered a regulatory protein that influences where genetic material gets swapped between maternal and paternal chromosomes during the process of creating eggs and sperm. The findings, which shed light on the roots of chromosomal errors and gene diversity, appear in tomorrow's issue of Nature. Most cells contain 46 chromosomes, half coming from each parent. But eggs and sperm, known as germ cells, have half as many so that when they combine to form an embryo, the correct ...

Silicon strategy shows promise for batteries

2010-10-14
A team of Rice University and Lockheed Martin scientists has discovered a way to use simple silicon to radically increase the capacity of lithium-ion batteries. Sibani Lisa Biswal, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, revealed how she, colleague Michael Wong, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of chemistry, and Steven Sinsabaugh, a Lockheed Martin Fellow, are enhancing the inherent ability of silicon to absorb lithium ions. Their work was introduced today at Rice's Buckyball Discovery Conference, part of a yearlong ...

Americans rank jobs, research as priorities for candidates to address

2010-10-14
WASHINGTON—October 13, 2010—A majority of Americans (58%) said they are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports increased federal spending on job creation, in a national poll commissioned by Research!America. In addition, support for expanded federal health research funding fared well among issues that would make Americans more likely to vote for a candidate. Fully 91% of Americans think research and development (R&D) is important to their state's economy, and 71% said investing in health research is important for job creation and economic recovery. Data compiled ...

Florida State study finds watermelon lowers blood pressure

Florida State study finds watermelon lowers blood pressure
2010-10-14
No matter how you slice it, watermelon has a lot going for it –– sweet, low calorie, high fiber, nutrient rich –– and now, there's more. Evidence from a pilot study led by food scientists at The Florida State University suggests that watermelon can be an effective natural weapon against prehypertension, a precursor to cardiovascular disease. It is the first investigation of its kind in humans. FSU Assistant Professor Arturo Figueroa and Professor Bahram H. Arjmandi found that when six grams of the amino acid L-citrulline/L-arginine from watermelon extract was administered ...

Yoga alleviates pain and improves function in fibromyalgia patients

2010-10-14
Philadelphia, PA, October 14, 2010 – Fibromyalgia (FM) is a debilitating condition affecting 11󈝻 million individuals in the US alone. FM carries an annual direct cost for care of more than $20 billion and drug therapies are generally only 30% effective in relieving symptoms and 20% effective in improving function. Standard care currently includes medications accompanied by exercise and coping skills approaches. In a study published in the November issue of PAIN, researchers report patients participating in a "Yoga of Awareness" program showed significantly greater ...

OHSU research suggests yoga can counteract fibromyalgia

2010-10-14
PORTLAND, Ore — According to new research conducted at Oregon Health & Science University, yoga exercises may have the power to combat fibromyalgia — a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain. The research is being published in the November 10 online edition of the journal Pain and will appear online Thursday, Oct. 14. "Previous research suggests that the most successful treatment for fibromyalgia involves a combination of medications, physical exercise and development of coping skills," said James Carson, Ph.D., a clinical health psychologist and an ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

iRECODE: A new computational method that brings clarity to single-cell analysis

New NUS-MOH study: Singapore’s healthcare sector carbon emissions 18% lower than expected, a milestone in the city-state’s net zero journey

QUT scientists create material to turn waste heat into clean power

Major new report sets out how to tackle the ‘profound and lasting impact’ of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health

Cosmic crime scene: White dwarf found devouring Pluto-like icy world

Major report tackles Covid’s cardiovascular crisis head-on

A third of licensed GPs in England not working in NHS general practice

ChatGPT “thought on the fly” when put through Ancient Greek maths puzzle

Engineers uncover why tiny particles form clusters in turbulent air

GLP-1RA drugs dramatically reduce death and cardiovascular risk in psoriasis patients

Psoriasis linked to increased risk of vision-threatening eye disease, study finds

Reprogramming obesity: New drug from Italian biotech aims to treat the underlying causes of obesity

Type 2 diabetes may accelerate development of multiple chronic diseases, particularly in the early stages, UK Biobank study suggests

Resistance training may improve nerve health, slow aging process, study shows

Common and inexpensive medicine halves the risk of recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer

SwRI-built instruments to monitor, provide advanced warning of space weather events

Breakthrough advances sodium-based battery design

New targeted radiation therapy shows near-complete response in rare sarcoma patients

Does physical frailty contribute to dementia?

Soccer headers and brain health: Study finds changes within folds of the brain

Decoding plants’ language of light

UNC Greensboro study finds ticks carrying Lyme disease moving into western NC

New implant restores blood pressure balance after spinal cord injury

New York City's medical specialist advantage may be an illusion, new NYU Tandon research shows

Could a local anesthetic that doesn’t impair motor function be within reach?

1 in 8 Italian cetacean strandings show evidence of fishery interactions, with bottlenose and striped dolphins most commonly affected, according to analysis across four decades of data and more than 5

In the wild, chimpanzees likely ingest the equivalent of several alcoholic drinks every day

Warming of 2°C intensifies Arctic carbon sink but weakens Alpine sink, study finds

Bronze and Iron Age cultures in the Middle East were committed to wine production

Indian adolescents are mostly starting their periods at an earlier age than 25 years ago

[Press-News.org] Battling the force that wastes 1 out of every 10 gallons of gasoline in cars