ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Thursday, October 7, 2010
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New computer modelling system predicts responses to HIV and AIDS treatments (October 7, 2010) -- HIV-TRePS is a new system that predicts how an HIV patient will respond to different drug regimens, with an accuracy of around 80%. It is free to use, accessed over the Internet, and helps physicians choose the optimum combination of drugs for each patient. ... > full story
Best drug development results from computer/test tube combination (October 7, 2010) -- While computer simulations of how the body metabolizes drugs save both time and money, the best results when developing new drugs come from combining such simulations with laboratory experiments, reveals new research. ... > full story
Fuel cells in operation: A closer look (October 7, 2010) -- Measuring individual components of a fuel cell under heat and pressure is a challenge. The best technique, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), could only be used in a vacuum -- until now, that is. A working solid oxide electrochemical device operating at 750 degrees Celsius has been studied in detail for the first time. ... > full story
From eye to brain: Researchers map functional connections between retinal neurons at single-cell resolution (October 6, 2010) -- By comparing a clearly defined visual input with the electrical output of the retina, researchers were able to trace for the first time the neuronal circuitry that connects individual photoreceptors with retinal ganglion cells, the neurons that carry visuals signals from the eye to the brain. ... > full story
Doppler radars help increase monsoon rainfall prediction accuracy (October 6, 2010) -- Doppler weather radar will significantly improve forecasting models used to track monsoon systems influencing the monsoon in and around India, according to researchers. ... > full story
Phillies, Rangers, Yanks, Giants to win, says math guru (October 6, 2010) -- With the Major League Baseball Division Series set to begin, associate math professor Bruce Bukiet is performing his analysis of the probability of each team advancing to the League Championship Series. ... > full story
Nano drugs: Insoluble medicines can be made orally available if in nano crystal form (October 6, 2010) -- Researchers in India have demonstrated that producing nanoscopic crystals of a pharmaceutical product can allow the medication to be absorbed by the gut even if the drug is not soluble in water. ... > full story
Designing instruments for a robotic space probe to the Sun (October 6, 2010) -- A researcher is helping to design instruments for a robotic space probe that will go where no other has gone before: the sun. NASA's Solar Probe Plus project is slated to launch by 2018. ... > full story
New type of liquid crystal promises to improve performance of digital displays (October 6, 2010) -- Chemists have created a new class of liquid crystals with unique electrical properties that could improve the performance of digital displays used on everything from digital watches to flat panel televisions. ... > full story
Possible green replacement for asphalt derived from petroleum to be tested on Iowa bike trail (October 6, 2010) -- Christopher Williams was just trying to see if adding bio-oil to asphalt would improve the hot- and cold-weather performance of pavements. What he found was a possible green replacement for asphalt derived from petroleum. ... > full story
Anti-tumor drugs tested by microfluidic device (October 6, 2010) -- A prototype device developed in Hong Kong will allow laboratory researchers to non-invasively test drugs for their ability to kill tumors by subjecting cancerous cells with different concentration gradients. ... > full story
New graphene fabrication method uses silicon carbide templates to create desired growth (October 6, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a new "templated growth" technique for fabricating nanometer-scale graphene devices. The method addresses what had been a significant obstacle to the use of this promising material in future generations of high-performance electronic devices. ... > full story
2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Creating complex carbon-based molecules using palladium (October 6, 2010) -- The 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for developing palladium-catalyzed cross coupling. This chemical tool has vastly improved the possibilities for chemists to create sophisticated chemicals -- for example, carbon-based molecules as complex as those created by nature itself. ... > full story
Geothermal mapping project reveals large, green energy source in West Virginia (October 6, 2010) -- New research suggests that the temperature of Earth beneath the state of West Virginia is significantly higher than previously estimated and capable of supporting commercial baseload geothermal energy production. ... > full story
Gem of an idea: A flexible diamond-studded electrode implanted for life (October 6, 2010) -- Researchers are building implants made of diamond and flexible polymer that are designed to identify chemical and electrical changes in the brain of patients suffering from neural disease, or to stimulate nerves and restore movement in the paralyzed. The implant would last for life and, capable of both stimulating and monitoring nerves, save space. ... > full story
Bricks made with wool (October 6, 2010) -- Spanish and Scottish researchers have added wool fibers to the clay material used to make bricks and combined these with an alginate, a natural polymer extracted from seaweed. The result is bricks that are stronger and more environmentally-friendly, according to a new study. ... > full story
NASA mission 'E-Minus' one month to comet flyby (October 6, 2010) -- Fans of space exploration are familiar with the term T-minus, which NASA uses as a countdown to a rocket launch. But what of those noteworthy mission events where you already have a spacecraft in space, as with the upcoming flyby of a comet? ... > full story
Nano design, just like in nature (October 6, 2010) -- Researchers in Austria are using biological principles as the inspiration to develop a new bionic fuel cell. ... > full story
NASA's WISE mission warms up but keeps chugging along (October 6, 2010) -- After completing its primary mission to map the infrared sky, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has reached the expected end of its onboard supply of frozen coolant. Although WISE has 'warmed up,' NASA has decided the mission will still continue. WISE will now focus on our nearest neighbors -- the asteroids and comets traveling together with our solar system's planets around the sun. ... > full story
Web-based creativity: Can working in virtual communities be more effective than face-to-face cooperation? (October 6, 2010) -- Common sense and experience would suggest that people are more creative when they work together in a face-to-face environment. But, as remote working and online interactions become more and more commonplace, there is growing evidence that working in virtual communities and using online tools together can be even more effective in some areas than face-to-face cooperation. ... > full story
WISE captures key images of comet mission's destination (October 5, 2010) -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, caught a glimpse of the comet that the agency's EPOXI mission will visit in November. The WISE observation will help the EPOXI team put together a large-scale picture of the comet, known as Hartley 2. ... > full story
MAVEN mission to investigate how Sun steals Martian atmosphere (October 5, 2010) -- NASA's mission to investigate the mystery of how Mars lost much of its atmosphere passed a critical milestone on October 4, 2010. NASA has given approval for the development and 2013 launch of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission. ... > full story
Geoengineering solutions could prevent irreversible climate crisis, study finds (October 5, 2010) -- Geoengineering could prevent the potentially catastrophic climate-change tipping points that loom just ahead, according to a new study. ... > full story
Top reasons for Facebook unfriending (October 5, 2010) -- Researchers have found the top reasons for unfriending on Facebook. Just like an office party, talking about religion and politics is risky. ... > full story
The world is full of darkness, reflected in the physiology of the human retina (October 5, 2010) -- Physicists and neuroscientists have linked the cell structure of the retina to the light and dark contrasts of the natural world, demonstrating the likelihood that the neural pathways humans use for seeing are adapted to best capture the world around us. ... > full story
Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 for graphene -- 'two-dimensional' material (October 5, 2010) -- A thin flake of ordinary carbon, just one atom thick, lies behind this year's Nobel Prize in Physics. Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov have shown that carbon in such a flat form has exceptional properties that originate from the remarkable world of quantum physics. ... > full story
Cluster helps disentangle turbulence in the solar wind (October 5, 2010) -- Surrounding the Sun is a roiling wind of electrons and protons that shows constant turbulence at every size scale: long streaming jets, smaller whirling eddies, and even microscopic movements as charged particles circle in miniature orbits. ... > full story
Interactive video games can cause a broad range of injuries (October 5, 2010) -- Interactive gaming devices can cause a broad range of injuries, from abrasions and sprains to shoulder, ankle and foot injuries, according to new research. ... > full story
Europa's hidden ice chemistry: Jupiter's moon may have more than possible ocean (October 5, 2010) -- The frigid ice of Jupiter's moon Europa may be hiding more than a presumed ocean: It is likely the scene of some unexpectedly fast chemistry between water and sulfur dioxide at extremely cold temperatures. Although these molecules react easily as liquids -- they are well-known ingredients of acid rain -- researchers now report that they react as ices with surprising speed and high yield at temperatures hundreds of degrees below freezing. ... > full story
Audio zooming to enhance TV viewing (October 5, 2010) -- New technology developed in Norway makes it possible to zoom in on sound in much the same way that photographers can zoom in on an image. Television is just one area of application. Physicists adapted a well-known marine sonar technology for use above the water. Combining it with sophisticated software, the pair have developed an intelligent, sharply focused directional microphone system that enables TV producers and others to zoom their audio reception, much like they can zoom their camera lenses for close-ups. ... > full story
A step toward lead-free electronics (October 5, 2010) -- Materials engineers reveal the potential of a new artificial material to replace lead-based ceramics in countless electronic devices, ranging from inkjet printers and digital cameras to hospital ultrasound scanners and diesel fuel injectors. This may pave the way toward 100-percent lead-free electronics. ... > full story
Quantum error correcting code discovered (October 5, 2010) -- Researchers have demonstrated a quantum error correcting code. The work brings quantum computing a step closer. ... > full story
San Diego Supercomputer Center participates in first 'Census of Marine Life' (October 5, 2010) -- After a decade of joint work involving 2,700 researchers from 80 countries, the world's scientists -- as well as the general public -- can now access the Census of Marine Life, which provides the first in-depth look at the more than 120,000 diverse species which inhabit our oceans. ... > full story
NASA's Webb telescope MIRI instrument takes one step closer to space (October 4, 2010) -- A major instrument due to fly aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is getting its first taste of space in the test facilities at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in the United Kingdom. The Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) has been designed to contribute to areas of investigation as diverse as the first light in the early Universe and the formation of planets around other stars. ... > full story
DNA art imitates life: Construction of a nanoscale Mobius strip (October 4, 2010) -- Scientists have reproduced a Möbius strip on a remarkably tiny scale, joining up braid-like segments of DNA to create structures measuring just 50 nanometers across -- roughly the width of a virus particle. ... > full story
Lakes on Saturn's moon Titan filled with liquid hydrocarbons like ethane and methane, not water (October 4, 2010) -- Titan, one of Saturn's moons, is the only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere -- ten times denser than the atmosphere of Earth. Five years ago, the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn sent a probe through Titan's atmosphere, revealing that Titan is home to a landscape that includes hills, valleys and most notably lakes. ... > full story
Powerful supercomputer peers into the origin of life (October 4, 2010) -- Supercomputer simulations are helping scientists unravel how nucleic acids could have contributed to the origins of life. ... > full story
Physicists control chemical reactions mechanically (October 4, 2010) -- Physicists have taken a significant step in controlling chemical reactions mechanically, an important advance in nanotechnology. ... > full story
Surprising silk: Proteins become more concentrated when diluted (October 4, 2010) -- New neutron research has revealed that the proteins making up silkworm silk have unexpected properties: effectively the proteins become more concentrated as they are diluted. Scientists found that the silk precursor proteins' behavior is completely counterintuitive. The study is a big step forward in understanding the amazing properties of silks and how to synthesize them. ... > full story
Painless way to achieve huge energy savings: Stop wasting food (October 4, 2010) -- Scientists have identified a way that the United States could immediately save the energy equivalent of about 350 million barrels of oil a year -- without spending a penny or putting a ding in the quality of life: Just stop wasting food. Their study found that it takes the equivalent of about 1.4 billion barrels of oil to produce, package, prepare, preserve and distribute a year's worth of food in the United States. ... > full story
Designer’s door could prove a real lifesaver in earthquake emergency (October 4, 2010) -- A door which could be used as a shelter after an earthquake has just been developed. ... > full story
Fungal spores travel farther by surfing their own wind (October 4, 2010) -- Many fungi, including the destructive Sclerotinia, spew thousands of spores at once to give the spores an extra boost into their host plants. Researchers now show how this works. The near-simultaneous ejection of spores reduces drag to nearly zero and creates a wind that carries some of the spores 20 times farther than a single spore could travel solo. ... > full story
An elegant galaxy in an unusual light (October 4, 2010) -- A new image taken with the powerful HAWK-I camera on ESO's Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile shows the beautiful barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 in infrared light. NGC 1365 is a member of the Fornax cluster of galaxies, and lies about 60 million light-years from Earth. ... > full story
Launch of Germ Genie to kill keyboard germs (October 4, 2010) -- Scientists in the UK have helped prove the effectiveness of Germ Genie, a tool to prevent infections from keyboards. ... > full story
Interactive media improved patients’ understanding of cancer surgery by more than a third (October 4, 2010) -- Patients facing planned surgery answered 36% more questions about the procedure correctly if they watched an interactive multimedia presentation (IMP) rather than just talking to medical staff. The study authors argue that IMP helps medical staff to obtain ethical and legally informed consent, increase patient knowledge and reduce patient anxiety and potential dissatisfaction or legal consequences if the surgery is not as successful as anticipated. IMP could also be used for educating medical staff such as nurses, medical students and trainee surgeons. ... > full story
Milky Way sidelined in galactic tug-of-war, computer simulation shows (October 3, 2010) -- The Magellanic Stream is an arc of hydrogen gas spanning more than 100 degrees of the sky behind the Milky Way's neighbor galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Our home galaxy has long been thought to be the dominant gravitational force in forming the Stream. A new computer simulation now shows that the Magellanic Stream resulted from a past close encounter between these dwarf galaxies rather than effects of the Milky Way. ... > full story
Individual mutations are very slow to promote tumor growth, mathematical modeling shows (October 3, 2010) -- Individual cancer-causing mutations have a minute effect on tumor growth, increasing the rate of cell division by just 0.4 percent on average, according to new mathematical modeling. The research reinforces that cancer is the culmination of many accumulated mutations, and highlights the fundamental heterogeneity and randomness of many cancers. ... > full story
Turning waste heat into power (October 3, 2010) -- Physicists have discovered a new way of harvesting waste heat and turning it into electrical power. Taking advantage of quantum effects, the technology holds great promise for making cars, power plants, factories and solar panels more efficient. ... > full story
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