ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Saturday, September 11, 2010
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Caught in the act: Fireballs light up Jupiter (September 10, 2010) -- Amateur astronomers working with professional astronomers have spotted two fireballs lighting up Jupiter's atmosphere this summer, marking the first time Earth-based telescopes have captured relatively small objects burning up in the atmosphere of the giant planet. The two fireballs -- which produced bright freckles on Jupiter that were visible through backyard telescopes -- occurred on June 3, 2010, and August 20, 2010, respectively. ... > full story
Neurons: Faster than thought and able to multiply (September 10, 2010) -- Using computer simulations of brain-like networks, researchers from Germany and Japan have discovered why nerve cells transmit information through small electrical pulses. The process not only allows the brain to process information much faster than previously thought, but also single neurons are already able to multiply, opening the door to more complex forms of computing. ... > full story
Graphene may hold key to speeding up DNA sequencing (September 10, 2010) -- Researchers have demonstrated that graphene can act as an artificial membrane separating two liquid reservoirs. By drilling a tiny pore just a few-nanometers in diameter, called a nanopore, in the graphene membrane, they were able to measure exchange of ions through the pore and demonstrated that a long DNA molecule can be pulled through the graphene nanopore just as a thread is pulled through the eye of a needle. ... > full story
World's first transcontinental anesthesia: Researchers pioneer anesthetics via videoconferencing (September 10, 2010) -- Videoconferences may be known for putting people to sleep, but never like this. A team from McGill University's Department of Anesthesia achieved a world first on August 30, 2010, when they treated patients undergoing thyroid gland surgery in Italy remotely from Montreal, Canada. ... > full story
Tally-ho! Deep Impact spacecraft eyes comet target (September 10, 2010) -- On Sunday, Sept. 5, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft beamed down the first of more than 64,000 images it's expected to take of Comet Hartley 2. The spacecraft, now on an extended mission known as EPOXI, has an appointment with the comet on Nov. 4, 2010. ... > full story
First detailed image of disc around young star (September 10, 2010) -- New research carried out using ESO telescopes has, for the first time, allowed astronomers to reconstruct a detailed picture of the inner disc of matter around a young star -- HD 163296. Young stars are surrounded by discs of dust and gas and scientists believe that it is in these discs that planets are born. Dusty grains in the disc stick to each other to make larger lumps that in turn also aggregate together. This growth is expected to continue until rocky bodies about the size of the Earth are formed. ... > full story
Researchers give robots the capability for deceptive behavior (September 10, 2010) -- Researchers have published what is believed to be the first detailed examination of robot deception. They developed algorithms that allow a robot to determine whether it should deceive and designed techniques that help the robot select the best deceptive strategy to avoid getting caught. ... > full story
'Tractor beam' one step closer to reality: Laser moves small particles (September 10, 2010) -- Researchers in Australia have developed the ability to move particles over large distances, using a specially designed laser beam that can move very small particles up to distances of 1.5 meters using only the power of light. ... > full story
New method helps computer vision systems decipher outdoor scenes (September 10, 2010) -- Computer vision systems can struggle to make sense of a single image, but a new method enables computers to gain a deeper understanding of an image by reasoning about the physical constraints of the scene. ... > full story
Bionic speech recognition (September 10, 2010) -- Researchers in Tunisia have published details of a speech enhancement system that uses two distinct tools to reduce the noise from a recorded or sampled voice signal. In a new article, the researchers explain how a bionic wavelet transform and a recurrent neural network can be used for speech enhancement. ... > full story
Quantum dice: Simple device measures quantum noise of vacuum fluctuations and generates true random numbers (September 10, 2010) -- Behind every coincidence lies a plan -- in the world of classical physics, at least. In principle, every event, including the fall of dice or the outcome of a game of roulette, can be explained in mathematical terms. Researchers in Germany have constructed a device that works on the principle of true randomness. With the help of quantum physics, their machine generates random numbers that cannot be predicted in advance. ... > full story
Opportunity Rover reaches halfway point of long trek to Mars crater (September 10, 2010) -- When NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity left Victoria Crater two years ago this month, the rover science team chose Endeavour Crater as the rover's next long-term destination. With a drive of 111 meters (364 feet) on Monday, Sept. 8, Opportunity reached the estimated halfway point of the approximately 19-kilometer (11.8-mile) journey from Victoria to the western rim of Endeavour. ... > full story
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