ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Thursday, October 21, 2010
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Star, not so bright: Model explains evolution of unusual black hole binary system (October 21, 2010) -- Astronomers have puzzled over the oddities of the X-ray binary system M33 X-7, but no one could explain all of its features. Now researchers have. They have produced a model of the system's evolutionary history that explains all of the system's observational characteristics: the tight orbit, the large masses of the star and black hole, the X-ray luminosity of the black hole and why its companion star is less luminous than one would expect. ... > full story
A forest of nanorods: Amazing nanostructures created by glancing-angle deposition (October 21, 2010) -- Just as landscape photographs shot in low-angle light dramatically accentuate subtle swales and mounds, depositing metal vapors at glancing angles turns a rough surface into amazing nanostructures with a vast range of potential properties. ... > full story
Crash helmet with a useful smell (October 21, 2010) -- Cycle helmets are available in a wide range of types, including foldable models, models fitted with a flashing rear light or featuring an iPhone display. In future, they will start to smell distinctively if they need to be replaced. A new process causes odoriferous oils to exude from plastic materials if they are cracked. ... > full story
Researchers analyze student grief online after campus shootings (October 21, 2010) -- After the campus shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, hundreds of affected students turned to social media websites to share their grief and search for solace. A new study of these students found that their online activities neither helped nor harmed their long-term psychological health. The study gives a first-of-its-kind portrait of student reactions to shootings on their campuses. It also documents the (online and off-line) activities they engaged in to memorialize and recover from these events. ... > full story
Intricate, curving 3-D nanostructures created using capillary action forces (October 20, 2010) -- Twisting spires, concentric rings, and gracefully bending petals are a few of the new three-dimensional shapes that engineers can make from carbon nanotubes using a new manufacturing process. ... > full story
Measuring changes in rock: Research looks at effect of captured and stored carbon dioxide on minerals (October 20, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a way to study the effects of super-critical carbon dioxide on minerals commonly found in potential underground storage sites, helping to evaluate one strategy for minimizing the impacts of greenhouse gases on global warming. ... > full story
New sensor derived from frogs may help fight bacteria and save wildlife; Sensor uses frog peptides to test for drug and medical device contamination (October 20, 2010) -- Engineers have developed a sensor that may revolutionize how drugs and medical devices are tested for contamination, and in the process also help ensure the survival of two species of threatened animals. ... > full story
Small is beautiful in hydroelectric power plant design: Invention could enable renewable power generation at thousands of unused sites (October 20, 2010) -- Imagine a hydroelectric power plant barely visible above water that eases the passage of fish in both directions; so simple and cost-efficient that it makes economic sense in sites with a one- or two-meter drop in water height; that could therefore subsidize ecologically motivated dam modifications with local, renewable energy; and which could bring economical, ecological hydroelectric power to developing regions. Researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen did, and developed it: the shaft power plant. ... > full story
Biodegradable foam plastic substitute made from milk protein and clay (October 20, 2010) -- Amid ongoing concern about plastic waste accumulating in municipal landfills, and reliance on imported oil to make plastics, scientists are reporting development of a new ultra-light biodegradable foam plastic material made from two unlikely ingredients: The protein in milk and ordinary clay. The new substance could be used in furniture cushions, insulation, packaging, and other products, they report. ... > full story
Most distant galaxy ever measured: Faint glow from when the universe was only 600 million years old (October 20, 2010) -- A European team of astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) has measured the distance to the most remote galaxy so far. By carefully analyzing the very faint glow of the galaxy they have found that they are seeing it when the universe was only about 600 million years old (a redshift of 8.6). These are the first confirmed observations of a galaxy whose light is clearing the opaque hydrogen fog that filled the cosmos at this early time. ... > full story
The (Long) Weekend Warrior: Nine Moons, 62 Hours (October 20, 2010) -- Taking a long-weekend road trip, NASA's Cassini spacecraft successfully glided near nine Saturnian moons, sending back a stream of raw images as mementos of its adrenaline-fueled expedition. The spacecraft sent back particularly intriguing images of the moons Dione and Rhea. ... > full story
McSleepy meets DaVinci: Doctors conduct first-ever all-robotic surgery and anesthesia (October 20, 2010) -- In a world first, a completely robotic surgery and anesthesia has been performed at the McGill University Health Centre. The DaVinci surgical robot, which lets surgeons work from remote locations, was put to work this summer, whereas the anesthesia robot, nicknamed McSleepy, has been providing automated anesthesia since 2008. The two combined to perform the first all-robotic surgery on a prostatectomy patient at the Montreal General Hospital. ... > full story
Batteries smaller than a grain of salt (October 20, 2010) -- Researchers in California are aiming to create some of the tiniest batteries on Earth, the largest of which would be no bigger than a grain of sand. These tiny energy storage devices could one day be used to power the electronics and mechanical components of tiny micro- to nano-scale devices. ... > full story
Improved antibiotic coatings: Research aims to make medical devices safer by preventing biofilms (October 20, 2010) -- A research group in Australia is working on techniques to permanently bind antibacterial coatings to medical devices by binding them to a polymer layer. ... > full story
Long distance, top secret messages: Critical component of quantum communication device may enable cryptography (October 20, 2010) -- When the military needs to send the key to encrypted data across the world, it can't necessarily rely on today's communication lines, where the message could be covertly intercepted. But physicists are developing a new, more secure way to send such information across far distances, using existing cables and the laws of quantum mechanics. ... > full story
Video games can be highly effective training tools, study shows: Employees learn more, forget less, master more skills (October 20, 2010) -- Long derided as mere entertainment, new research now shows that organizations using video games to train employees end up with smarter, more motivated workers who learn more and forget less. ... > full story
One-way Martian colonization missions: Proposal would cut costs dramatically, ensure long-term commitment (October 20, 2010) -- Would you sign on for a one-way flight to Mars? It's a question that gives pause to even a physicist and cosmologist who argue for precisely such a one-way manned mission to Mars in a new article. ... > full story
Study of tiny magnets may advance their use in microelectronics (October 20, 2010) -- Researchers in China have announced progress in understanding the single-molecule magnet, which combines the classical macroscale properties of a magnet with the quantum properties of a nanoscale entity. ... > full story
Bioelectrical signals turn stem cells' progeny cancerous; Newly discovered 'instructor cells' can deliver deadly directions (October 19, 2010) -- Biologists have found that a change in membrane voltage in newly identified "instructor cells" can cause stem cells' descendants to trigger melanoma-like growth in pigment cells a considerable distance away. This metastatic transformation is due to changes in serotonin transport. Discovery of this novel bioelectric signal and cell type could help prevent and treat diseases like cancer and vitiligo as well as birth defects. ... > full story
Making the Internet faster (October 19, 2010) -- Weaknesses in the architecture behind the Internet mean that surfing can sometimes lead to slow speeds and a tiresome wait for a video to load. Redeveloping the whole architecture of the Internet is an option recently discussed even by Internet pioneers. However, a group of European engineers decided to go the opposite way and to monitor traffic and tailor services to meet demand. ... > full story
'Drivel' on Facebook more valuable than we think (October 19, 2010) -- Superficial contacts on Facebook, apparently unnecessary comments, and banal status updates may be more worthwhile than we think. A new report predicts the new social media will ultimately lead to more individual entrepreneurs. ... > full story
Sniffing out shoe bombs: A new and simple sensor for explosive chemicals (October 19, 2010) -- Chemists have developed a simple sensor to detect an explosive used in shoe bombs. It could lead to inexpensive, easy-to-use devices for luggage and passenger screening at airports and elsewhere. The detector uses a printed array, smaller than a postage stamp, of pigments that change color in the presence of TATP. ... > full story
'Virtual satellite dish' thanks to lots of simple processors working together (October 19, 2010) -- Satellite TV without having to set up a receiver dish. Digital radio on your mobile phone without your batteries quickly running flat. The advanced calculations needed for these future applications are made possible by a microchip with relatively simple processors that can interact and communicate flexibly. ... > full story
New biological sensor detects and analyses DNA sequences (October 19, 2010) -- Researchers in Spain have created a new DNA-based biological sensor that has potential applications in the field of genetic diagnostics. The sensors are able to use logical rules to autonomously run logical inference processes on genetic input signals and reach accurate diagnoses. ... > full story
The hair brush that reads your mind (October 19, 2010) -- One of the main techniques for measuring and monitoring mental activity, called functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), can often be impaired because a person's hair gets in the way. But now, thanks to a team of researchers, a novel device called a "brush optrode" is providing increased sensitivity with fiber tips designed to thread through hair to enhance scalp contact. ... > full story
Astronomers find weird, warm spot on an exoplanet (October 19, 2010) -- Observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveal a distant planet with a warm spot in the wrong place. The gas-giant planet, named upsilon Andromedae b, orbits tightly around its star, with one face perpetually boiling under the star's heat. It belongs to a class of planets termed hot Jupiters, so called for their scorching temperatures and large, gaseous constitutions. ... > full story
Plastic monitors itself (October 19, 2010) -- A new polymer-metal material that has sensory properties makes it possible to produce plastic component parts that monitor themselves. This material can be combined with various others and used in a variety of different ways. ... > full story
Breakthrough in nanocrystals growth (October 19, 2010) -- For the first time, scientists have been able to watch nanoparticles grow from the earliest stages of their formation. Nanoparticles are the foundation of nanotechnology and their performance depends on their structure, composition, and size. Researchers will now be able to develop ways to control conditions under which they are grown. The breakthrough will affect a wide range of applications including solar-cell technology and chemical and biological sensors. ... > full story
Eyetracker warns against momentary driver drowsiness (October 19, 2010) -- Car drivers must be able to react quickly to hazards on the road at all times. Dashboard-mounted cameras help keep drivers alert. ... > full story
Underwater robot to explore ice-covered ocean and Antarctic ice shelf (October 19, 2010) -- Researchers in Canada are deploying an underwater robot to survey ice-covered ocean in Antarctica. The mission will study the effect of ice shelves on the mixing of sea water. ... > full story
Watching violent TV or video games desensitizes teenagers and may promote more aggressive behavior, new study finds (October 19, 2010) -- Watching violent films, TV programs or video games desensitizes teenagers, blunts their emotional responses to aggression and potentially promotes aggressive attitudes and behavior, according to new research. ... > full story
Plastics and nanoparticles -- the perfect combination (October 19, 2010) -- These days, plastic components are vital to many fields of industry – lightweight construction, automobile manufacturing and electrical engineering, to name but a few. Now researchers have found ingenious ways to combine plastics with nanoparticles and endow them with new properties. Thanks to these innovative materials, aircraft could in future be better protected against lightning strikes. ... > full story
Professor taking next step with graphene research (October 19, 2010) -- The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics went to the two scientists who first isolated graphene, one-atom-thick crystals of graphite. Now, a researcher is trying to develop a method to mass-produce this revolutionary material. ... > full story
ORNL's research reactor revamps veteran neutron scattering tool (October 19, 2010) -- The Cold Triple Axis spectrometer, a new addition to Oak Ridge National Laboratory's High Flux Isotope Reactor and a complementary tool to other neutron scattering instruments at ORNL, has entered its commissioning phase. ... > full story
NASA technology could aid in interpretation of mammograms, ultrasound, other medical imagery (October 18, 2010) -- NASA software used to enhance Earth Science Imagery could one day aid in the interpretation of mammograms, ultrasounds and other medical imagery. ... > full story
From handwritten CAPTCHAs to 'smart rooms,' tech solutions start with pattern recognition (October 18, 2010) -- Buy something online, enter your credit card number and mailing address. Simple. Then you come to the box with the CAPTCHA, the "completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart." Here, the website attempts to confirm that you're a human, not some robot about to commit a cybercrime. Biometrics that researchers are studying for "smart room" applications, beyond CAPTCHAS and handwritten words include hand gestures as well as the more common biometrics of facial, voice and gait recognition. ... > full story
Unexpected magnetic order among titanium atoms discovered (October 18, 2010) -- Theoretical work has provided a key to understanding an unexpected magnetism between two dissimilar materials. The results have special significance for the design of future electronic devices for computations and telecommunications. ... > full story
The many infrared 'personalities' of the Sculptor galaxy (October 18, 2010) -- The Sculptor galaxy is shown in different infrared hues, in a new mosaic from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The main picture is a composite of infrared light captured with all four of the space telescope's infrared detectors. ... > full story
SpamBot wants to be your friend (October 18, 2010) -- Social network sites such as Facebook, mySpace or Twitter are gaining popularity. But the web 2.0 faces us with new dangers. Researchers in Austria, who have been detecting and studying security hazards of social network sites, now provide advice on how to increase your safety on the web. ... > full story
Lastest graphene research could lead to improvements in bluetooth headsets and other devices (October 18, 2010) -- Researchers have built and successfully tested an amplifier made from graphene that could lead to more efficient circuits in electronic chips, such as those used in Bluetooth headsets and toll collection devices in cars. ... > full story
Moving monopoles caught on camera: Researchers make visible movement of monopoles in assembly of nanomagnets (October 18, 2010) -- For decades, researchers have been searching for magnetic monopoles -- isolated magnetic charges, which can move around freely in the same way as electrical charges. Magnetic poles normally only occur in pairs. Now a team of researchers has managed to create monopoles in the form of quasiparticles in an assembly of nanoscale magnets and to observe how they move using a microscope at the Swiss Light Source to make the magnetic structures visible. ... > full story
From biomass to ethanol and methane: New enzyme may lead to cheaper biofuel (October 18, 2010) -- Logging residue, branch clippings and even prawn shells may serve as raw materials for cheaper biofuels -- thanks to a new enzyme that breaks down biomass more quickly. What's more, this could help to curtail the current practice of using valuable food plants for fuel production. ... > full story
For future chips, smaller must also be better (October 18, 2010) -- A group of researchers in China and France has fabricated and tested tiny high-frequency capacitors made from a complex manmade mineral: barium strontium titanate. The work paves the way toward future high-frequency microwave applications. ... > full story
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
Higher education curricula not keeping pace with societal, tech changes (October 18, 2010) -- As universities are being restructured to best serve the society of tomorrow, are their curricula reflecting these changes and the development of new and possibly even unformulated new disciplines and areas of inquiry? Some educators say "no." ... > 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
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