ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Saturday, October 9, 2010
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Haze on Saturn's moon Titan may hold ingredients for life (October 8, 2010) -- Simulating possible chemical processes in the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, a planetary research team found amino acids and nucleotide bases in the mix -- the most important ingredients of life on Earth. ... > full story
Measurements of CO<sub>2</sub> and CO in China's air indicate sharply improved combustion efficiency (October 8, 2010) -- A collaborative, six-year study of carbon dioxide levels in Beijing and surrounding provinces suggests that combustion efficiency, a component of overall energy efficiency, is improving in the region. The findings are generally consistent with official Chinese government statistics and could bolster their credibility as international negotiations proceed on commitments of China and other nations to combat climate change. ... > full story
Half-time gamblers give stock market insight (October 8, 2010) -- Computer-modeled comparison of online football gamblers' behavior during play and during half-time shows distinct real-time differences, raising the question: What motivates betting behavior when play is not underway? ... > full story
NASA's WMAP project completes satellite operations: Mission observed universe's oldest light (October 8, 2010) -- After nine years of scanning the sky, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) space mission has concluded its observations of the cosmic microwave background, the oldest light in the universe. The spacecraft has not only given scientists their best look at this remnant glow, but also established the scientific model that describes the history and structure of the universe. ... > full story
Bacteria can stand-up and 'walk' (October 8, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered that bacteria are capable of "standing up" and moving while vertical. Apart from being an extraordinary insight into the behavior of bacteria, the findings have important biomedical implications. ... > full story
Tracking device fits on the head of a pin: Mini-gyroscopes to guide smartphones and medical equipment (October 8, 2010) -- A researcher in Israel has developed nano-sized optical gyroscopes that can fit on the head of a pin -- and, more usefully, on an average-sized computer chip -- without compromising the device's sensitivity. These gyroscopes will have the ability to pick up smaller rotation rates, delivering higher accuracy while maintaining smaller dimensions. ... > full story
Chemists simplify biodiesel conversion (October 8, 2010) -- Chemists have streamlined the conversion of waste vegetable oil into biodiesel, eliminating the need for corrosive chemicals to perform the reactions. The researchers were able to pull off the waste vegetable oil-to-biodiesel conversion in a single reaction vessel using environmentally friendly catalysts and making the conversion six times faster than current methods. ... > full story
'Living dinosaurs' in space: Galaxies in today's Universe thought to have existed only in distant past (October 8, 2010) -- An astronomy student in Australia has found 'living dinosaurs' in space: galaxies in today's Universe that were thought to have existed only in the distant past. ... > full story
Can you analyze me now? Cell phones bring spectroscopy to the classroom (October 8, 2010) -- A chemistry professor has developed a method using a few basic, inexpensive supplies and a cell phone camera to build a spectrometer, an important analytical chemistry instrument, for high school classes. Students can see its workings and play with its components, encouraging critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. ... > full story
Elusive intermediary: Newly discovered protein may help improve crop yields, solar cells (October 8, 2010) -- Plants use specialized protein complexes to collect the light that drives photosynthesis. Researchers in Germany have now identified a protein that is necessary for the assembly of one such complex. The discovery could lead to improved crop yields and might even form the basis for new types of solar cells. ... > full story
New tool in the fight against tuberculosis: Algorithm enables cell-scale simulations (October 8, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a way to harness prodigious quantities of genomic and metabolic data by developing an algorithm that automatically integrates both data sets. The model, called probabilistic regulation of metabolism, enables researchers to perturb a regulatory gene or metabolic process and see how that affects the entire network. Although the researchers studied tuberculosis, the method holds promise for reconstructing network models for any organism with appropriate genomic data. ... > full story
Structure of plastic solar cells impedes their efficiency (October 8, 2010) -- Scientists have found that the low rate of energy conversion in all-polymer solar-cell technology is caused by the structure of the solar cells themselves. ... > full story
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