ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Monday, October 18, 2010
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MRI zooms in on microscopic flow (October 18, 2010) -- Through a combination of remote instrumentation, JPEG-style image compression and other key enhancements, researchers have been able to apply Magnetic Resonance Imaging to materials flowing through microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip" devices with unprecedented spatial and time resolutions. ... > full story
Model unfolds proteins gently (October 18, 2010) -- Protein molecules inside cells are constantly reorganizing themselves, driven by very tiny forces exerted by all the other molecules in their crowded environment. Most experimental techniques and theoretical/computational models are necessarily built around much greater driving forces. A new theoretical model investigates the unfolding of fibronectin under gentler conditions. ... > full story
Building a smaller, lighter future: Understanding polymer behaviors below one nanometer (October 18, 2010) -- Knowing how to build nanosized assemblies of polymers (long molecular chains) holds the key to improving a broad range of industrial processes -- from the production of nanofibers, filters, and new materials to the manufacture of low-energy, nanoscale circuits and devices. A recent paper sheds light on key behaviors of polymers in specially engineered confined spaces, opening the door to a level of control that has previously been impossible. ... > full story
Physicists pave the way for graphene-based spin computer; First to achieve 'tunneling spin injection' (October 17, 2010) -- Physicists have taken an important step forward in developing a "spin computer" by successfully achieving "tunneling spin injection" into graphene. In their experiments they found a dramatic increase in the efficiency of how spins were being injected by quantum tunneling across an insulator and into graphene. The first to demonstrate tunneling spin injection into graphene, the researchers now have world record values for spin injection efficiency into graphene. ... > full story
Measurement scientists set a new standard in 3-D ears (October 17, 2010) -- Scientists have developed a means of representing a 3-D model ear, to help redefine the standard for a pinna simulator (the pinna is the outer part of the ear) -- used to measure sound in the way we perceive it. ... > full story
Mini-sensor traces faint magnetic signature of human heartbeat (October 17, 2010) -- Researchers have used a miniature atom-based magnetic sensor to successfully track a human heartbeat, confirming the device's potential for biomedical applications. ... > full story
Complex quantum dot-dopamine interactions unraveled (October 17, 2010) -- Scientists recently reported a detailed study of the interactions of water soluble semi-conductor quantum dots with the electro-active neuro-transmitter dopamine. ... > full story
Planet hunters no longer blinded by the light: New way to see faint planets previously hidden in their star's glare (October 17, 2010) -- Astronomers have developed a way to see faint planets in faraway solar systems previously invisible to Earthly eyes. The technique promises to open new doors in planet discovery. ... > full story
New class of highly electronegative chemical species discovered (October 17, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered a new class of highly electronegative chemical species called hyperhalogens, which use superhalogens as building blocks around a metal atom. The new chemical species may have application in many industries. ... > full story
How to weigh a star using a moon (October 16, 2010) -- How do astronomers weigh a star that's trillions of miles away and way too big to fit on a bathroom scale? In most cases they can't, although they can get a best estimate using computer models of stellar structure. An astrophysicist says that in special cases, we can weigh a star directly. ... > full story
Unsung hero: Researchers produce high-res model of Ndc80 in action (October 16, 2010) -- Scientists have used cryo-electron microscopy and three-dimensional image reconstruction to create a subnanometer resolution image of Ndc80, a protein complex that helps prevent chromosomal distribution mistakes during mitosis that can lead to birth defects, cancer and other disorders. ... > full story
New look at multitalented protein sheds light on mysteries of HIV (October 15, 2010) -- New insights into the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection process, which leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), may now be possible through a research method that allows scientists to glimpse an important protein molecule's behavior with unprecedented clarity. ... > full story
Cancer screening made simple, thanks to micro-fluidic technology (October 15, 2010) -- Current cervical cancer screening is time consuming and expensive, but now new breakthrough technology developed by European researchers should allow large-range screening by non-medical personnel with almost immediate results and at a much lower cost. ... > full story
Eat safer: Novel approach detects unknown food pathogens (October 15, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a novel approach to automated detection and classification of harmful bacteria in food. The investigators have designed and implemented a sophisticated statistical approach that allows computers to improve their ability to detect the presence of bacterial contamination in tested samples. ... > full story
Changing the color of single photons emitted by quantum dots (October 15, 2010) -- Researchers have demonstrated for the first time the conversion of single photons produced by a true quantum source to a near-visible wavelength. The ability to change the color of single photons may aid in the development of hybrid quantum systems for applications in quantum communication, computation and metrology. ... > full story
Computers to read your body language? (October 15, 2010) -- Can a computer read your body language? A consortium of European researchers thinks so, and has developed a range of innovative solutions from escalator safety to online marketing. ... > full story
Mysterious pulsar with hidden powers discovered (October 15, 2010) -- Dramatic flares and bursts of energy -- activity previously thought reserved for only the strongest magnetized pulsars -- has been observed emanating from a weakly magnetized, slowly rotating pulsar. Astrophysicists who made the discovery believe that the source of the pulsar's power may be hidden deep within its surface. ... > full story
Improved 'molecular fingerprinting' for trace gas detection unveiled (October 15, 2010) -- Scientists have demonstrated an improved laser-based "molecular fingerprinting" technique that picks out traces of key molecules from a billion other particles in a gas in just 30 seconds or less. ... > full story
New materials could replace costly gold in electrical applications (October 15, 2010) -- Researchers have modeled and developed new classes of materials with contact properties near those of pure gold. With the price of gold currently hovering around ,340 per ounce, manufacturers across the globe are scrambling for alternatives to the costly noble metals that are widely used in electronic applications, including gold, platinum, rhodium, palladium and silver. ... > full story
Safeguarding data in future quantum computing: Physicists detect and control quantum states in diamond with light (October 15, 2010) -- Physicists have succeeded in combining laser light with trapped electrons to detect and control the electrons' fragile quantum state without erasing it. This is an important step toward using quantum physics to expand computing power and to communicate over long distances without the possibility of eavesdropping. ... > full story
New system for locating and capturing satellites in space (October 15, 2010) -- Scientists in Spain have developed a new system for docking and capturing space satellites based on robotics and computer vision technology to autonomously guide a space vehicle to dock and capture the satellites. ... > full story
'Incoherent excitations' govern key phase of superconductor behavior (October 15, 2010) -- Physicists have found that high-temperature superconductivity in copper oxides is linked to what they term "incoherent excitations" -- a discovery that sheds light on the electronic response of these materials before they become superconducting. ... > full story
Charcoal biofilter cleans up fertilizer waste gases (October 15, 2010) -- Removing the toxic and odorous emissions of ammonia from the industrial production of fertilizer is a costly and energy-intensive process. Now, researchers in Bangladesh have turned to microbes and inexpensive wood charcoal to create a biofilter that can extract the noxious gas from vented gases and so reduce pollution levels from factories in the developing world. ... > full story
Improving engineering education: National study identifies range of opportunities (October 15, 2010) -- A new report from the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education reveals current strengths, shortcomings of engineering students' academic pathways. ... > full story
Astronomer leverages supercomputers to study black holes, galaxies (October 14, 2010) -- Astronomer Stelios Kazantzidis leveraged the powerful resources of the Ohio Supercomputer Center to simulate and study several cosmological phenomena. His recent investigations revealed that supermassive black holes don't necessarily grow in relation to the mass of their host-galaxies when the galaxies merge, and small "disky dwarf" galaxies -- loaded with dark-matter -- often lose mass to their larger neighbor-galaxies and evolve from disk-shaped to spheroid. ... > full story
New malware could steal users social media behavior and info, researchers warn (October 14, 2010) -- Researchers in Israel are warning against malware threats that extract personal information about relationships in a real-world social network, as well as characteristic information about individuals in the network. Using mathematical models, based on actual mobile network data, the researchers demonstrated that malware attacks could be adapted to follow human behavior on social networks. ... > full story
Early success with laser that destroys tumors with heat (October 14, 2010) -- Physicians at Mayo Clinic's Florida campus are among the first in the nation to use a technique known as MRI-guided laser ablation to heat up and destroy kidney and liver tumors. So far, five patients have been successfully treated -- meaning no visible tumors remained after the procedure. ... > full story
Scientists perfect making molecular nanowires (October 14, 2010) -- Scientists have perfected a new technique that allows them to make molecular nanowires out of thin strips of ring-shaped molecules known as discotic liquid crystals (DLCs). The findings could be an important step in the development of next generation electronic devices, such as light-harvesting cells and low-cost biosensors that could be used to test water quality in developing countries. ... > full story
I want to see what you see: Babies treat 'social robots' as sentient beings (October 14, 2010) -- Babies are curious about nearly everything, and they're especially interested in what their adult companions are doing. Researchers are studying how infants use social interactions to learn. But what makes something social for a baby? In the new issue of Neural Networks, the researchers report that babies who watched a robot interact socially with people were more willing to learn from the robot than babies who did not see the interactions. ... > full story
Cyberwars: Already underway with no Geneva Conventions to guide them (October 14, 2010) -- Cyber attacks of various sorts have been around for decades. The most recent, and very dangerous, escalation in the past few years has been marked by countries launching attacks against other nations, such as Stuxnet, the nuclear plant-disrupting worm the Iranians have blamed on Israel and the US, while others are pointing the finger at Russia. ... > full story
Ghosts of the future: First giant structures of the universe hold 800 trillion suns (October 14, 2010) -- Astronomers using the South Pole Telescope report that they have discovered the most massive galaxy cluster yet seen at a distance of seven billion light-years. The cluster (designated SPT-CL J0546-5345) weighs in at around 800 trillion suns, and holds hundreds of galaxies. ... > full story
Electrified nano filter promises to cut costs for clean drinking water (October 14, 2010) -- With almost one billion people lacking access to clean, safe drinking water, scientists are reporting development and successful initial tests of an inexpensive new filtering technology that kills up to 98 percent of disease-causing bacteria in water in seconds without clogging. ... > full story
Breaking ball too good to be true: Illusion behind batters' perceptions of 'breaking' curveballs and 'rising' fastballs (October 14, 2010) -- Curveballs curve gradually, but the perception by some hitters of a sharp "break" or other abrupt change in a curveball's trajectory can be explained as a visual illusion, according to a new study. ... > full story
Quantum physics: Flavors of entanglement (October 14, 2010) -- The entanglement of quantum objects can take surprising forms. Quantum physicists in Austria have investigated several flavors of entanglement in four trapped ions. Their study promotes further developments towards quantum computing and a deeper understanding of the foundations of quantum mechanics. ... > full story
Galaxy growth spurts explained: Young galaxies can grow by sucking in cool gas (October 14, 2010) -- New observations from ESO's Very Large Telescope have, for the first time, provided direct evidence that young galaxies can grow by sucking in the cool gas around them and using it as fuel for the formation of many new stars. In the first few billion years after the Big Bang the mass of a typical galaxy increased dramatically and understanding why this happened is one of the hottest problems in modern astrophysics. ... > full story
Hemoglobin test printed on paper (October 14, 2010) -- Scientists have developed a method of using printing technology to produce simple tests related to health, well-being and the environment. They have demonstrated the efficacy of the method by printing a hemoglobin test, i.e. manufactured paper that reveals whether a given sample contains hemoglobin. ... > full story
Reservoirs: A neglected source of methane emissions (October 14, 2010) -- Substantial amounts of the greenhouse gas methane are released not only from large tropical reservoirs but also from run-of-the-river reservoirs in Switzerland, especially in the summer, when water temperatures are higher. Hydropower may therefore not be quite as climate-neutral a method of generating electricity as thought. ... > full story
Can Hungary's red sludge be made less toxic with carbon? (October 13, 2010) -- The red, metal-laden sludge that escaped a containment pond in Hungary last week could be made less toxic with the help of carbon sequestration, says a geologist who has a patent pending on the technique. The bauxite residue now covers 40 square kilometers south of the Danube River, and has caused the deaths of eight Hungarians and injured at least 150. ... > full story
Potential of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (October 13, 2010) -- Scientists are using Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron facility, to discover how we can detoxify our electronic gadgets. Results reveal the potential for new artificial materials that could replace lead-based components in everyday products from inkjet printers to digital cameras. ... > full story
Consumers’ ‘herding instinct’ turns on and off, Facebook study shows (October 13, 2010) -- A new study shows that consumers have a herding instinct to follow the crowd. However, this instinct appears to switch off if the product fails to achieve a certain popularity threshold. The new study is based on an analysis of how millions of Facebook users adopted software, known as apps, to personalize their Facebook pages. ... > full story
Silicon strategy shows promise for batteries: Lithium-ion technique for electric cars, large-capacity storage (October 13, 2010) -- A team of scientists has discovered a way to use simple silicon to radically increase the capacity of lithium-ion batteries. ... > full story
Computer 'trained' to classify pictures and videos basing on elements they contain (October 13, 2010) -- Researchers in Spain have developed a new computer technique that allows to "train" computers to interpret the visual contents of a video or picture. This advance will allow to classify automatically pictures basing on whether individuals or specific objects are present in such images. Videos can also be classified according to specific poses. ... > full story
Bizarre X-shaped intruder linked to an unseen asteroid collision (October 13, 2010) -- Astronomers have observed what happens after asteroids crash together. Using Hubble to study the aftermath of one such collision over four months, they watched a strange, comet-like debris trail slowly evolve as the collision site orbited the Sun. This research gives clues about how asteroids behave when they collide, and how the fall-out from these impacts contributes to the dust that pervades the solar system. ... > full story
Microchip technology rapidly identifies compounds for regrowing nerves in live animals (October 13, 2010) -- Engineers have now used a new microchip technology to rapidly test potential drugs on tiny worms called C. elegans, which are often used in studies of the nervous system. Using the new technology, scientists rapidly performed laser surgery, delivered drugs and imaged the resulting neuron regrowth in thousands of live animals. ... > full story
Student-built dust counter breaks distance record on New Horizons mission to Pluto (October 13, 2010) -- A space dust counter designed, tested and operated by students that is flying aboard NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto now holds the record for the most distant working dust detector ever to travel through space. ... > full story
Striding towards a new dawn for electronics (October 13, 2010) -- Conductive polymers are plastic materials with high electrical conductivity that promise to revolutionize a wide range of products including TV displays, solar cells and biomedical sensors. Researchers now report how to visualize and study the process of energy transport along one single conductive polymer molecule at a time, a key step towards bringing these exciting new applications to market. ... > full story
Planar power: Flat sodium-nickel chloride battery could improve performance, cost of energy storage (October 13, 2010) -- A redesign of sodium-nickel chloride batteries promises to overcome some of the obstacles long associated with rechargeable batteries. Replacing their typical cylindrical shape with a flat disc design allows the battery to deliver 30 percent more power at lower temperatures, according to new research. Scientists say these sodium-beta batteries could eventually be used in electricity substations to balance the generation and delivery of wind and solar power on to the grid. ... > full story
Human tissue, organs help scientists learn from plutonium and uranium workers (October 13, 2010) -- Tucked away in a metal sided warehouse at the Richland Airport, Washington State University researchers sift through years, even decades, of data files and human tissue samples in an attempt to track how previous nuclear workers were affected by plutonium, uranium and other nuclear-industry related elements. ... > full story
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