Washington, January 16 : A new study has raised Penn State researchers' hopes for the development of a handheld device that will recognize and immediately report on a wide variety of environmental or medical compounds.

The researchers say that a method that incorporates a mixture of biologically tagged nanowires onto integrated circuit chips can help develop an ultra-portable device of this kind.

"Probably one of the most important things for connecting to the circuit is to place the wires accurately. We need to control spatial placement on the chip with less than a micron of accuracy," says Theresa S. Mayer, professor of electrical engineering and director of Penn State''s Nanofabrication Laboratory.

Washington, Jan 16 : In a new research, a Cornell University led team of astronomers has observed dust forming around a dying star in a nearby galaxy, giving a glimpse into the early universe and enlivening a debate about the origins of all cosmic dust.

The research, led by Cornell research associate Greg Sloan, was based on observations with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

The researchers used Spitzer's Infrared Spectrograph, which was developed at Cornell.

Dust plays a key role in the evolution of such galaxies as our Milky Way. Stars produce dust - rich with carbon or oxygen - as they die.

But less is known about how and what kind of dust was created in galaxies as they formed soon after the big bang.

Washington, Jan. 16 : As President George W. Bush delivered his final goodbyes to America on national television, his would be successor Barack Obama and his wife Michelle dined at the DC restaurant, Equinox Thursday night.

According to CBS News, there was no indication on whether or not Obama watched Bush''s farewell remarks.

The President-elect departed the Blair house, located right across the street from the White House podium from which the president spoke, minutes before President Bush commenced.

Washington, Jan.

Washington, Jan 16: In a new research, scientists have solved the longstanding astronomy mystery of how massive stars form without blowing away the clouds of gas and dust that feed their growth.

The research, by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, has shown how a massive star can grow despite outward-flowing radiation pressure that exceeds the gravitational force pulling material inward.

Using 3-D radiation hydrodynamics simulations, the group, which includes Livermore's Richard Klein, who also is an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley, and his LLNL postdoc Andrew Cunningham, unexpectedly discovered that these massive stars also tend to occur in binary or multiple star systems.

Washington, Jan 16 : Increasing the cost of liquor by imposing taxes can significantly reduce alcohol abuse, with a new study showing that less number of people are likely to drink if the cost of alcoholic beverages is high.

"Results from over 100 separate studies reporting over 1000 distinct statistical estimates are remarkably consistent, and show without doubt that alcohol taxes and prices affect drinking," said Alexander C. Wagenaar, Ph. D., a professor of epidemiology and health policy research at the University of Florida College of Medicine, and the senior author of the study.

"When prices go down, people drink more, and when prices go up, people drink less," he added.