ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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Scientists help explain graphene mystery (August 24, 2010) -- Nanoscale simulations and theoretical research are bringing scientists closer to realizing graphene's potential in electronic applications. ... > full story
Fermi detects gamma-rays from exploding nova (August 23, 2010) -- Using the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope satellite, astronomers have detected gamma rays from a nova for the first time. ... > full story
Drugging the undruggable: Advances toward next generation of disease fighters (August 23, 2010) -- After decades of dreaming the drug developer's impossible dream, scientists finally are reporting progress in making drugs that target the "untouchables" among the body's key players in health and disease. They are the hundreds of thousands of proteins that many scientists considered to be "undruggable," meaning that previous efforts to develop a drug against them had failed. ... > full story
New atom-scale products on horizon: Breakthrough discovery enables nanoscale manipulation of piezoelectric effect (August 23, 2010) -- The generation of an electric field by the compression and expansion of solid materials is known as the piezoelectric effect, and it has a wide range of applications ranging from everyday items such as watches, motion sensors and precise positioning systems. Researchers have now discovered how to control this effect in nanoscale semiconductors called "quantum dots," enabling the development of incredibly tiny new products. ... > full story
200-fold boost in fuel cell efficiency advances 'personalized energy systems' (August 23, 2010) -- The era of personalized energy systems -- in which individual homes and small businesses produce their own energy for heating, cooling and powering cars -- took another step toward reality as scientists reported discovery of a powerful new catalyst that is a key element in such a system. The advance could help free homes and businesses from dependence on the electric company and the corner gasoline station. ... > full story
Cluster bomb for cancer care: Nano-vehicle delivers chemotherapy treatments on target (August 23, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a nano-sized vehicle that can deliver chemotherapy drugs directly into cancer cells while avoiding interaction with healthy cells. The vehicle is very similar to a 'cluster bomb' and can be used to treat many different types of tumors, including lung, blood, colon and brain cancers. ... > full story
New technology may prolong the life of implanted devices, from pacemakers to chemotherapy ports (August 23, 2010) -- By creating a unique system of blood vessels that is engineered to interact with the tissue surrounding an implanted device, the longevity and function of these devices may be better preserved, according to a new study. ... > full story
Powerful new way to control magnetism: Colossal magnetoelectricity points the way to ultra-dense data storage (August 23, 2010) -- A new way to manipulate magnetic fields with electrical signals could lead to microelectronic advances comparable to those that made high density disk drives possible. ... > full story
Titanium coating with protein 'flower bouquet' nanoclusters strengthens implant attachment (August 23, 2010) -- Researchers have developed an improved coating technique that could strengthen the connection between titanium joint-replacement implants and a patients' own bone. Implants coated with "flower bouquet" clusters of an engineered protein made 50 percent more contact with the surrounding bone than implants coated with protein pairs or individual strands. The cluster-coated implants were fixed in place more than twice as securely as uncoated plugs. ... > full story
Making vehicles safer (August 23, 2010) -- A car's crash components can spell the difference between life and death. Their job is to absorb energy in a collision in order to protect the driver inside. Researchers have now found a way for the automotive industry to mass-produce a particularly safe class of materials known as thermoplastic fiber composite components. ... > full story
Young people identify with an online community almost as strongly as with their own family (August 23, 2010) -- Teenage online community users feel part of their online community almost as much as they feel part of their own family. An international study of the users of a teenage online community reveals that users identify more strongly with the online community than with their neighborhood or offline hobby group. ... > full story
Self-cleaning technology from Mars can keep terrestrial solar panels dust free (August 23, 2010) -- Find dusting those tables and dressers a chore or a bore? Dread washing the windows? Imagine keeping dust and grime off objects spread out over an area of 25 to 50 football fields. That's the problem facing companies that deploy large-scale solar power installations, and scientists have now developed a possible solution -- self-dusting solar panels -- based on technology developed for space missions to Mars. ... > full story
Better way to grow stem cells developed (August 23, 2010) -- Chemical engineers, materials scientists and biologists have devised a synthetic surface that includes no foreign animal material and allows stem cells to stay alive and continue reproducing themselves for at least three months. It's also the first synthetic material that allows single cells to form colonies of identical cells, which is necessary to identify cells with desired traits and has been difficult to achieve with existing materials. ... > full story
Researchers advance understanding of enzyme that regulates DNA (August 23, 2010) -- Thanks to a single-molecule imaging technique, researchers have revealed the mechanisms of PcrA helicase, an important DNA-regulating enzyme. To prevent unwanted recombination of a damaged or degraded section of DNA, the enzyme binds at the point of the break, where the double- and single-stranded regions meet. Then, it uses its motor function to "reel in" the tail, like a fisherman pulling in a rope, knocking off recombination proteins along the way. ... > full story
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
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