ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Monday, August 23, 2010
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DNA puts chemists on scent of better artificial nose (August 23, 2010) -- Chemists working on an "artificial nose" have developed new sensors that offer more information "per sniff" than most existing noses. The sensors, made by sticking fluorescent compounds onto a backbone of DNA, are easy and cheap to make and could help the devices become widely available. ... > full story
The future of the Web is a matter of semantics (August 23, 2010) -- The first incarnation of the web was composed of static websites that linked to each other and search engines to help you find sites of interest. Web 2.0 brought a social element to the web, with users sharing, commenting, and interacting through sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Flickr. The future web, the "semantic web," or Web 3.0, will embed meaning within digital information so that any given page can be understood by computers as well as people. ... > full story
Ancient galaxy cluster still producing stars (August 23, 2010) -- In ongoing observations of one of the universe's earliest, most distant cluster of galaxies using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered that a significant fraction of those ancient galaxies are still actively forming stars. ... > full story
Road signs and traffic signals on DNA: Physical model describes the distribution of nucleosome (August 23, 2010) -- The DNA in the cell nuclei of higher organisms is tightly coiled around protein complexes called nucleosomes, which repress gene expression. Researchers in Germany have now developed a model that explains how nucleosomes are distributed around sites that must remain accessible to transcribing polymerases. ... > full story
Researchers take a look inside molecules (August 22, 2010) -- Looking at individual molecules through a microscope is part of nanotechnologists' everyday lives. However, it has so far been difficult to observe atomic structures inside organic molecules. In a new study, researchers explain their novel method, which enables them to take an "X-ray view" inside molecules. The method may facilitate the analysis of organic semiconductors and proteins. ... > full story
Nanotech yields major advance in heat transfer, cooling technologies (August 22, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered a new way to apply nanostructure coatings to make heat transfer far more efficient, with important potential applications to high-tech devices as well as the conventional heating and cooling industry. ... > full story
Nanoscale DNA sequencing could spur revolution in personal health care (August 21, 2010) -- In experiments with potentially broad health care implications, researchers have devised a method that works at a very small scale to sequence DNA quickly and relatively inexpensively. That could open the door for more effective individualized medicine, for example providing blueprints of genetic predispositions for specific conditions and diseases such as cancer, diabetes or addiction. ... > full story
Hydrogen causes metal to break (August 21, 2010) -- Hydrogen is considered the fuel of the future. Yet this lightest of the chemical elements can embrittle the metals used in vehicle engineering. The result: components suddenly malfunction and break. A new special laboratory is aiding researchers' search for hydrogen-compatible metals. ... > full story
Nanoscale inhomogeneities in superconductors explained (August 20, 2010) -- Superconducting materials, which transmit power resistance-free, are found to perform optimally when high- and low-charge density varies on the nanoscale level, according to new research. ... > full story
Galactic 'super-volcano' in action (August 20, 2010) -- A galactic "super-volcano" in the massive galaxy M87 is erupting and blasting gas outwards. The cosmic volcano is being driven by a giant black hole in the galaxy's center and preventing hundreds of millions of new stars from forming. ... > full story
Widespread floating plastic debris found in the western North Atlantic Ocean (August 20, 2010) -- Despite growing awareness of the problem of plastic pollution in the world's oceans, little solid scientific information existed to illustrate the nature and scope of the issue. Now, a team of researchers has published a study of plastic marine debris based on data collected over 22 years by undergraduate students. ... > full story
Input-output trade-offs found in human information processing (August 20, 2010) -- A new study examines information processing and finds that human behavior is systematic, not random, demonstrating a trade-off between input and out. The study also points to limitations to information processing. These exchanges are pretty much equal and opposite, much like the laws of the conservation of momentum and energy, according to the study. ... > full story
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals 'incredible shrinking moon' (August 20, 2010) -- Newly discovered cliffs in the lunar crust indicate the moon shrank globally in the geologically recent past and might still be shrinking today, according to a team analyzing new images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. The results provide important clues to the moon's recent geologic and tectonic evolution. ... > full story
Scientist IDs genes that promise to make biofuel production more efficient, economical (August 20, 2010) -- Metabolic engineers have taken the first step toward the more efficient and economical production of biofuels by developing a strain of yeast with increased alcohol tolerance. Overexpression of a particular gene increased ethanol volume by more than 70 percent and ethanol tolerance by more than 340 percent compared to the control strain. ... > full story
Astronomers use galactic magnifying lens to probe elusive dark energy (August 19, 2010) -- An international team of astronomers using gravitational lensing observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken an important step forward in the quest to solve the riddle of dark energy, a phenomenon which mysteriously appears to power the universe's accelerating expansion. ... > full story
How much mass makes a black hole? Astronomers challenge current theories (August 19, 2010) -- Astronomers have for the first time demonstrated that a magnetar -- an unusual type of neutron star -- was formed from a star with at least 40 times as much mass as the Sun. The result presents great challenges to current theories of how stars evolve, as a star as massive as this was expected to become a black hole, not a magnetar. This now raises a fundamental question: just how massive does a star really have to be to become a black hole? ... > full story
Brightness on fluorescent probes used to monitor biological activities of individual proteins increased (August 19, 2010) -- Researchers are turning up the brightness on a group of fluorescent probes that are used to monitor biological activities of individual proteins in real-time. This latest advance enhances their fluormodule technology causing it to glow an order of magnitude brighter than typical fluorescent proteins and five- to seven-times brighter than enhanced green fluorescent protein. ... > full story
Internet access at home increases the likelihood that adults will be in relationships, study finds (August 19, 2010) -- Adults who have Internet access at home are much more likely to be in romantic relationships than adults without Internet access, according to new research. ... > full story
Extreme darkness: Carbon nanotube forest covers ultra-dark detector (August 19, 2010) -- Harnessing darkness for practical use, researchers have developed a laser power detector coated with the world's darkest material -- a forest of carbon nanotubes that reflects almost no light across the visible and part of the infrared spectrum. ... > full story
New computer model advances climate change research (August 19, 2010) -- Scientists can now study climate change in far more detail with powerful new computer software released by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The Community Earth System Model will be one of the primary climate models used for the next assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. ... > full story
HVAC ducts can be used for wireless monitoring technology (August 19, 2010) -- Scientists have found a way to implement wireless monitoring technology -- with uses ranging from climate control to health and safety applications -- by tapping into a building's heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) ducts. The finding could lead to significant time and cost savings for builders and building managers. ... > full story
Why implant coatings detach: Nanocorrosion causes implants to fail (August 19, 2010) -- Extra-hard coatings made from diamond-like carbon (DLC) extend the operating lifetime of tools and components. In artificial joints, however, these coatings often fail because they detach. Swiss researchers found out why – and developed methods to both make the interface between the DLC layer and the metal underneath corrosion-resistant and to predict the lifetime of the implants. ... > full story
Smart materials: Fully reversible functionalization of inorganic nanotubes (August 19, 2010) -- Scientists in Germany have devised a tool which allows fully reversible binding of metal oxides to inorganic nanotubes. ... > full story
Cosmic accelerators discovered in our galaxy (August 18, 2010) -- Physicists have discovered evidence of "natural nuclear accelerators" at work in our Milky Way galaxy, based on an analysis of data from the world's largest cosmic ray detector. ... > full story
Roller coaster superconductivity discovered (August 18, 2010) -- Superconductors are more than 150 times more efficient at carrying electricity than copper wires. But these materials have to be cooled below an extremely low, so-called transition temperature for electrical resistance to disappear. Researchers have unexpectedly found that the transition temperature can be induced under two different intense pressures in a three-layered bismuth oxide crystal. They believe this unusual two-step phenomena comes from competition of electronic behavior in different layers. ... > full story
Scientists closer to finding what causes the birth of a fat cell (August 18, 2010) -- Just what causes the birth of a human fat cell is a mystery, but scientists using mathematics to tackle the question have come up with a few predictions about the proteins that influence this process. The research is intended to increase understanding of how and why preadipocytes, or pre-fat cells, either lie dormant, copy themselves or turn into fat. ... > full story
Paving 'slabs' that clean the air (August 18, 2010) -- The concentrations of toxic nitrogen oxide that are present in German cities regularly exceed the maximum permitted levels. That's now about to change, as innovative paving slabs that will help protect the environment are being introduced. Coated in titanium dioxide nanoparticles, they reduce the amount of nitrogen oxide in the air. ... > full story
Future air travel: Quieter, cleaner and more environmentally friendly? (August 18, 2010) -- Less noise, less exhaust, less refuse - air travel of the future is expected to be quieter, cleaner and more environmentally friendly. To achieve this goal, new structural concepts and aerodynamic profiles have to be engineered, along with better drive concepts as well as adapted logistical designs, and then put to use. In the European project Clean Sky, researchers want to make their contribution to solving this Herculean task. ... > full story
Eclipsing pulsar promises clues to crushed matter (August 18, 2010) -- Astronomers have found the first fast X-ray pulsar to be eclipsed by its companion star. Further studies of this unique stellar system will shed light on some of the most compressed matter in the universe and test a key prediction of Einstein's relativity theory. ... > full story
High definition diagnostic ultrasonics on the nanoscale (August 18, 2010) -- Scientists have built the world's smallest ultrasonic transducers capable of generating and detecting ultrasound. ... > full story
Clothing to power personal computers (August 18, 2010) -- Scientists in the UK are developing technology that may enable people to power MP3 players and other devices through their clothes and the carpets they walk on. ... > full story
Astronaut muscles waste in space: Safety for future Mars missions questioned (August 18, 2010) -- Astronaut muscles waste away on long space flights, reducing their capacity for physical work by more than 40 percent, according to new research. This is the equivalent of a 30- to 50-year-old crew member's muscles deteriorating to that of an 80-year-old. The destructive effects of extended weightlessness to skeletal muscle -- despite in-flight exercise -- pose a significant safety risk for future human missions to Mars and elsewhere in the universe. ... > full story
Elementary particles star in new 'dance movie' (August 18, 2010) -- Scientists in Germany have directly measured the spatial positions of electrons and protons during a chemical reaction using ultrashort X-ray flashes. ... > full story
How to reduce UK transport carbon emissions by 76 per cent by 2050 (August 18, 2010) -- Researchers in the UK have achieved a significant breakthrough in climate change policy by showing how to make drastic cuts in carbon dioxide emissions from transport. The study goes beyond the science and paints a picture of what a low carbon transport future would look like. What emerges is vision of a less stressful, quieter, healthier, more resilient and confident society. ... > full story
Raising mountains on Saturn's moon Titan (August 17, 2010) -- Saturn's moon Titan ripples with mountains, and scientists have been trying to figure out how they form. The best explanation, it turns out, is that Titan is shrinking as it cools, wrinkling up the moon's surface like a raisin. ... > full story
Data storage: World record data density for ferroelectric recording (August 17, 2010) -- Scientists in Japan have recorded data at a density of 4 trillion bits per square inch, a world record for the experimental "ferroelectric" data storage method. This density is about eight times the density of today's most advanced magnetic hard-disk drives. ... > full story
New system developed to test and evaluate high-energy laser weapons (August 17, 2010) -- Researchers can now measure a laser's power and spatial energy distribution at once by directing the beam onto a reusable glass target board. The new system will accelerate high-energy laser development and reduce the time required to make them operational for national security purposes. ... > full story
Major hurdle cleared for organic solar cells (August 17, 2010) -- The basis for solar energy is absorbing light and then effectively disassociating electrical charges. Researchers report that conjugated polymers are excellent materials for such a system, thanks to their light absorption and conduction properties. ... > full story
Many Americans are still clueless on how to save energy (August 17, 2010) -- Many Americans believe they can save energy with small behavior changes that actually achieve very little, and severely underestimate the major effects of switching to efficient, currently available technologies, says a new survey of Americans in 34 states. The study quizzed people on what they perceived as the most effective way to save energy. ... > full story
Preschoolers use statistics to understand others (August 17, 2010) -- Children are natural psychologists. By the time they're in preschool, they understand that other people have desires, preferences, beliefs and emotions. But how they learn this isn't clear. A new study finds that children figure out another person's preferences by using a topic you'd think they don't encounter until college: statistics. ... > full story
Tantalizing clues as to why matter prevails in the universe: Surprisingly large matter/antimatter asymmetry discovered (August 17, 2010) -- Decays of B mesons in recent experiments at Fermilab result in excess matter over antimatter that exceeds expectations, based on the Standard Model of particle physics. ... > full story
MRSA-killing paint created (August 17, 2010) -- Building on an enzyme found in nature, researchers have created a nanoscale coating for surgical equipment, hospital walls, and other surfaces which safely eradicates methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria responsible for antibiotic resistant infections. ... > full story
IBEX spacecraft reveals surprising details of solar system (August 17, 2010) -- It wasn't until the advent of the Interstellar Boundary Explorer or IBEX, a NASA spacecraft launched in October 2008, that scientists have been able to see what the human eye cannot: the first-ever images of an electromagnetic crash scene in space. They can now witness how some of the solar wind's charged particles are being neutralized by gas escaping from Earth's atmosphere. ... > full story
Cassini bags Enceladus 'Tigers' (August 17, 2010) -- NASA's Cassini spacecraft has successfully completed its flyby over the "tiger stripes" in the south polar region of Saturn's moon Enceladus and has sent back images of its passage. The spacecraft also targeted the moon Tethys. ... > full story
Probabilistic modeling of verbal autopsy data is best for public health decision making, study finds (August 17, 2010) -- Computer-based probabilistic models that are used to interpret verbal autopsy data -- information from interviews with family, friends and carers about deaths that are later interpreted into possible cause(s) of death -- are as effective as physician reviews of the data for establishing cause of death, according to new research. ... > full story
New method for estimating cost of small hydropower projects (August 17, 2010) -- Scientists have developed a method to assess the installation and operating costs of small hydroelectric power projects, which represent a potentially large but largely untapped source of energy for developing countries. ... > full story
New microneedle antimicrobial techniques may foster medical tech innovation (August 16, 2010) -- Researchers have developed two new approaches for incorporating antimicrobial properties into microneedles -- vanishingly thin needles that hold great promise for use in portable medical devices. Researchers expect the findings to spur development of new medical applications using microneedles. ... > full story
15,000 beams of light: Pens that write with light offer low-cost, rapid nanofabrication capabilities (August 16, 2010) -- One city skyline is dazzling enough. Now imagine 15,000 of them. Researchers have done just that -- drawing 15,000 identical skylines with tiny beams of light using an innovative nanofabrication technology called beam-pen lithography. BPL uses an array of pens made of a polymer to print patterns over large areas with nanoscopic through macroscopic resolution. The method could do for nanofabrication what the desktop printer has done for printing and information transfer. ... > full story
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