ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Saturday, August 14, 2010
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Implantable silk metamaterials could advance biomedicine, biosensing (August 13, 2010) -- Researchers have fabricated and characterized the first large-area metamaterial structures patterned on implantable, bio-compatible silk substrates. The antenna-like devices can monitor the "fingerprints" of chemical and biological agents and might be implanted to signal changes in the body. Metamaterials are artificial electromagnetic composites whose structures respond to electromagnetic waves in ways that atoms in natural materials do not. ... > full story
New nanoscale transistors allow sensitive probing inside cells (August 13, 2010) -- Chemists and engineers have fashioned nanowires into a new type of V-shaped transistor small enough to be used for sensitive probing of the interior of cells. The new device is smaller than many viruses and about one-hundredth the width of the probes now used to take cellular measurements, which can be nearly as large as the cells themselves. ... > full story
Extended solar minimum linked to changes in sun's conveyor belt (August 13, 2010) -- A new analysis of the unusually long solar cycle that ended in 2008 suggests that one reason for the long cycle could be a stretching of the sun's conveyor belt, a current of plasma that circulates between the sun's equator and its poles. The results should help scientists better understand the factors controlling the timing of solar cycles and could lead to better predictions. ... > full story
Magnetic molecular machines deliver drugs to unhealthy cells (August 13, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a completely novel and noninvasive method of releasing drugs remotely into the cells. The method involves a novel material using porous silica nanoparticles, and molecular machines which can be attached to contain drug molecules in the pores until a magnetic field stimulus allows the molecules to be delivered into cells. ... > full story
Wax, soap clean up obstacles to better batteries (August 13, 2010) -- A little wax and soap can help build electrodes for cheaper lithium ion batteries, according to a new study. The one-step method will allow battery developers to explore lower-priced alternatives to the lithium ion-metal oxide batteries currently on the market. ... > full story
Teaching robot helps children to use wheelchair (August 13, 2010) -- A robotic wheelchair is being developed that will help children learn to 'drive'. In a new article, researchers describe the testing of ROLY -- robot-assisted learning for young drivers -- in a group of children without disabilities and one child with cerebral palsy. ... > full story
Fermi detects 'shocking' surprise from supernova's little cousin (August 13, 2010) -- Astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have detected gamma-rays from a nova for the first time, a finding that stunned observers and theorists alike. The discovery overturns the notion that novae explosions lack the power to emit such high-energy radiation. ... > full story
Industrial production of biodiesel feasible within 15 years, researchers predict (August 13, 2010) -- Within 10 to 15 years, it will be technically possible to produce sustainable and economically viable biodiesel from micro-algae on a large scale. Technological innovations during this period should extend the scale of production by a factor of three, while at the same time reducing production costs by 90%. Two researchers from the Netherlands believe this to be possible. ... > full story
Wireless tire pressure monitoring systems in cars may compromise privacy, pose security threat (August 13, 2010) -- New wireless technologies in cars may compromise a driver's privacy and pose a security threat, warn researchers. Modern automobiles are increasingly equipped with wireless sensors and devices, such as systems that monitor air pressure inside tires and trigger dashboard warnings if a tire's pressure drops. These wireless signals can be intercepted 120 feet away from the car using a simple receiver despite the shielding provided by the metal car body. ... > full story
Federal nuclear waste panel overlooks public mistrust, experts say (August 13, 2010) -- According to 16 social science researchers from across the country, a renewed federal effort to fix the nation's stalled nuclear waste program is focusing so much on technological issues that it fails to address the public mistrust hampering storage and disposal efforts. ... > full story
Asteroid found in gravitational 'dead zone' near Neptune (August 13, 2010) -- There are places in space where the gravitational tug between a planet and the Sun balance out, allowing other smaller bodies to remain stable, called Lagrangian points. Trojan asteroids have been found in some of these stable spots near Jupiter and Neptune. Now astronomers have discovered the first Trojan asteroid in a difficult-to-detect stability region at Neptune -- the Lagrangian L5 point. ... > full story
Hexagonal boron nitride sheets may help graphene supplant silicon (August 13, 2010) -- What researchers might call "white graphene" may be the perfect sidekick for the real thing as a new era unfolds in nanoscale electronics. Researchers have figured out how to make sheets of h-BN, which could turn out to be the complementary apple to graphene's orange. ... > full story
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