ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Monday, October 25, 2010
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Falkland Islands radar study impacts climate research: New equipment will monitor activity which creates the ‘Southern Lights’ (October 25, 2010) -- Physicists and engineers have installed a radar system on the Falkland Islands to monitor the upper atmosphere activity which creates the 'Southern Lights'. The new radar joins a network of 22 such radars, the international Super Dual Auroral Radar Network or SuperDARN. Data from SuperDARN is made available across the internet in real time, monitoring the upper atmosphere to understand its link with the lower atmosphere, where our weather is, and the impact of the Sun's 'solar wind' on our environment. ... > full story
Atomic-level manufacturing: Manufacturing with every atom in its proper place may be coming soon (October 24, 2010) -- The long-held dream of creating atomically precise 3-D structures in a manufacturing environment is approaching reality, according to the top scientist at a Texas company making tools aimed at that ambitious goal. ... > full story
Mathematical model helps marathoners pace themselves to a strong finish (October 24, 2010) -- Most marathon runners know they need to consume carbohydrates before and during a race, but many don't have a good fueling strategy. Now, one dedicated marathoner has taken a more rigorous approach to calculating just how much carbohydrate a runner needs to fuel him or herself through 26.2 miles, and what pace that runner can reasonably expect to sustain. ... > full story
Electron billiards in nanoscale circuits (October 24, 2010) -- In solar cells, solar radiation boosts electrons to higher energy states, thereby releasing them from their atomic bonds as electricity begins to flow. Scientists have now developed a novel method to analyze the way photogenerated electrons move in the smallest photodetectors. ... > full story
Largest parity violation and other adventures in table-top physics: Atomic experiments push boundary of known physical world (October 24, 2010) -- Exploring the fundamental laws of physics has often required huge accelerators and particles colliding at high energies. But table-top experiments, usually employing exquisitely tuned lasers and sensitive detectors, have also achieved the precision necessary for exploring the basic laws of physics at the heart of relativity and quantum mechanics. ... > full story
New nano techniques integrate electron gas-producing oxides with silicon (October 24, 2010) -- In cold weather, many children can't resist breathing onto a window and writing in the condensation. Now imagine the window as an electronic device platform, the condensation as a special conductive gas, and the letters as lines of nanowires. Researchers have demonstrated methods to harness essentially this concept for broad applications in nanoelectronic devices, such as next-generation memory or tiny transistors. ... > full story
A new way to weigh planets (October 23, 2010) -- Astronomers have developed a new way to weigh the planets in our solar system -- using radio signals from the small spinning stars called pulsars. ... > full story
Nanotube thermopower: Efforts to store energy in carbon nanotubes (October 23, 2010) -- Researchers from Massachusetts have found a way to store energy in thin carbon nanotubes by adding fuel along the length of the tube, chemical energy, which can later be turned into electricity by heating one end of the nanotubes. ... > full story
Scientists open electrical link to living cells (October 23, 2010) -- The Terminator. The Borg. The Six Million Dollar Man. Science fiction is ripe with biological beings armed with artificial capabilities. In reality, however, the clunky connections between living and non-living worlds often lack a clear channel for communication. Now scientists have designed an electrical link to living cells engineered to shuttle electrons across a cell's membrane. This direct channel could yield cells that can read and respond to electronic signals, or efficiently transfer sunlight into electricity. ... > full story
Short-range scattering in quantum dots: Discovery advances novel devices (October 23, 2010) -- Chinese researchers have described a new breakthrough in understanding the way electrons travel around quantum dots. This might lead to promising new fabrication methods of novel quantum devices. ... > full story
Chemical engineers use gold to discover breakthrough for creating biorenewable chemicals (October 23, 2010) -- Chemical engineers have uncovered the key features that control the high reactivity of gold nanoparticles in a process that oxidizes alcohols in water. The research is an important first step in unlocking the potential of using metal catalysts for developing biorenewable chemicals. The scientific discovery could one day serve as the foundation for creating a wide range of consumer products from biorenewable carbon feedstocks, as opposed to the petroleum-based chemicals currently being used as common building blocks for commodities such as cosmetics, plastics, pharmaceuticals and fuels. ... > full story
New cometary phenomenon greets approaching spacecraft (October 22, 2010) -- Recent observations of comet Hartley 2 have scientists scratching their heads, while they anticipate a flyby of the small, icy world on Nov. 4. A phenomenon was recorded by imagers aboard NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft from Sept. 9 to 17 during pre-planned scientific observations of the comet. These observations, when coupled with expected images during the closest encounter with Hartley 2 on Nov. 4, will become the most detailed look yet at a comet's activity during its pass through the inner-solar system. ... > full story
Value-added sulfur scrubbing: Converting acid rain chemicals into useful products (October 22, 2010) -- Power plants that burn fossil fuels remain the main source of electricity generation across the globe. Modern power plants have scrubbers to remove sulfur compounds from their flue gases, which has helped reduce the problem of acid rain. Now, researchers in India have devised a way to convert the waste material produced by the scrubbing process into value-added products. ... > full story
Space telescopes reveal previously unknown brilliant X-ray explosion in Milky Way galaxy (October 22, 2010) -- Astronomers in Japan, using an X-ray detector on the International Space Station, and in the United States, using NASA's Swift space observatory, are announcing the discovery of an object newly emitting X-rays, which previously had been hidden inside our Milky Way galaxy in the constellation Centaurus. ... > full story
Researchers break speed barrier in solving important class of linear systems (October 22, 2010) -- Computer scientists have devised an innovative and elegantly concise algorithm that can efficiently solve systems of linear equations that are critical to such important computer applications as image processing, logistics and scheduling problems, and recommendation systems. ... > full story
Towards better explosives detectors (October 22, 2010) -- Over the past decade, a team of scientists in Maryland have been working to stop the threat of terrorist-based attacks in the form of explosives or explosive-based devices, by providing a sound measurement and standard infrastructure. ... > full story
Lunar 'permafrost': Evidence for widespread water ice on the moon (October 22, 2010) -- Scientists from NASA's Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment team have detected the widespread presence of water ice in large areas of the moon's south pole. This lunar 'permafrost' is analogous to the high-latitude terrain found on the Earth and on Mars, where subfreezing temperatures persist below the surface throughout the year, scientists say. ... > full story
Spotting suspicious moles (October 22, 2010) -- Most of the spots on our skin are perfectly harmless moles, collections of cells called melanocytes. But occasionally, these melanocytes turn cancerous, creating the potentially deadly skin tumor melanoma. Scientists have now developed a new technique that aims to help doctors distinguish melanomas from harmless moles using high-resolution snapshots of suspicious spots. ... > full story
Forensic metal fingerprinting: Simple, handheld device which can measure corrosion on machine parts (October 22, 2010) -- Groundbreaking research into fingerprint detection now has an industrial application, thanks to a new invention by the scientist who developed the technique. Dr John Bond's method of identifying fingerprints on brass bullet-casings, even after they have been wiped clean, was based on the minuscule amounts of corrosion which can be caused by sweat. Now, Dr. Bond has applied the same technique to industry by developing a simple, handheld device which can measure corrosion on machine parts. ... > full story
Taking a closer look at plaque (October 22, 2010) -- Scientists are using the technique of Raman spectroscopy to study two common dental plaque bacteria, Streptococcus sanguis and mutans. The relative balance of the two may be an indicator of a patient's oral health and risk for tooth decay -- Streptococcus sanguis is associated with "healthy" plaque, while mutans is associated with tooth decay. ... > full story
World's smallest on-chip low-pass filter developed (October 22, 2010) -- A research team from Singapore has successfully designed the world's smallest on-chip low-pass filter which is 1,000 times smaller than existing off-chip filters. ... > full story
Light on silicon better than copper? (October 22, 2010) -- As good as copper has been in zipping information from one circuit to another on silicon inside computers and other electronic devices, optical signals can carry much more, according to electrical engineers. So the engineers have designed and demonstrated microscopically small lasers integrated with thin film-light guides on silicon that could replace the copper in a host of electronic products. ... > full story
Real-time imaging of stroke models (October 22, 2010) -- One of the major impediments to understanding how brain cells die during a stroke and identifying new ways to protect them has been the long-standing inability to image strokes, or "ischemic events" in living tissue. Now researchers have developed methods to induce strokes in animal models and image the events as they unfold. ... > full story
Using PEAT to capture, share and analyze protein experimental data (October 22, 2010) -- Researchers in Ireland have created a novel application that not only facilitates the analysis of experimental data generated in the course of a research project but also ensures that this valuable data is available for future use. ... > full story
Green Carbon Center takes all-inclusive view of energy (October 22, 2010) -- Rice University has created a Green Carbon Center to bring the benefits offered by oil, gas, coal, wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and other energy sources together in a way that will not only help ensure the world's energy future but also provide a means to recycle carbon dioxide into useful products. ... > full story
NASA-engineered collision spills new Moon secrets (October 21, 2010) -- Scientists have produced the first detailed description of what lies below the surface at the Moon's poles. The soil and subsurface harbors water and an assortment of other compounds, including carbon dioxide, ammonia, free sodium, and, in a surprise, silver. The finding stems from a NASA mission that slammed a rocket into the Moon's south pole last fall. The collision threw debris into sunlight more than a half mile above the surface. ... > full story
The coldest chemistry (October 21, 2010) -- Chemical reactions tend to slow down as temperature is lowered, but this isn't always true. Researchers have shown that chemical reactions can continue even at temperatures just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. In recent experiments, they took diatomic potassium and rubidium molecules, each in their ground states (lowest-possible energy), and found that when mixed, the molecules dissociated and combined into KRb -- molecules with one potassium and one rubidium atom. ... > full story
Direct laser cooling of molecules (October 21, 2010) -- Cooling molecules with lasers is harder than cooling individual atoms with lasers. The very process of laser cooling, in which atoms are buffeted by thousands of photons, was thought by many to be impossible for molecules since photons, instead of slowing and cooling the molecules, could actually excite internal motions such as rotations and vibrations. Consequently, to get cold molecules one method is to first cool atoms and then combine them into molecules. Now physicists have developed a way to cool molecules directly with laser light using three lasers instead of the two typically needed for atoms. ... > full story
Energy revolution key to complex life: Depends on mitochondria, cells' tiny power stations (October 21, 2010) -- The evolution of complex life is strictly dependent on mitochondria, the tiny power stations found in all complex cells, according to a new study. ... > full story
New equation could advance research in solar cell materials (October 21, 2010) -- A groundbreaking new equation could do for organic semiconductors what the Shockley ideal diode equation did for inorganic semiconductors: help to enable their wider adoption. ... > full story
Space weather mystery solved: Link found between electrons trapped in space and upper atmosphere's diffuse aurora (October 21, 2010) -- New research has settled decades of scientific debate about a puzzling aspect of space weather. Researchers have found the final link between electrons trapped in space and the glow of light from the upper atmosphere known as the diffuse aurora. The research promises to further understanding of space weather, with benefits for the satellite, power grid and aviation industries. ... > full story
The world is not flat: Exploring cells and tissues in three dimensions (October 21, 2010) -- Researchers have developed an innovative approach for studying cells in 3-D. They are examining the potential of such research to greatly expand science's understanding of disease onset and progression, particularly the responses of host cells to infectious pathogens. Such work provides fresh insight into the mechanisms of infectious disease and holds the potential for the design of novel or improved therapeutics, more accurate drug screening and improved evaluation of potential vaccine candidates. ... > full story
How batteries grow old: Researchers build facility to put hybrid car batteries to the test (October 21, 2010) -- In a laboratory in Ohio, an ongoing experiment is looking at why batteries lose their ability to hold a charge as they age -- specifically lithium-ion batteries, which have generated a lot of buzz for their potential to power the electric cars of the future. ... > full story
New search method tracks down influential ideas: Computer scientists have developed a new way of tracing the origins and spread of ideas (October 21, 2010) -- Princeton computer scientists have developed a new way of tracing the origins and spread of ideas, a technique that could make it easier to gauge the influence of notable scholarly papers, buzz-generating news stories and other information sources. ... > full story
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
Entire issue of scientific journal devoted to Joint Center for Structural Genomics (October 21, 2010) -- A multi-institutional consortium led by the Scripps Research Institute scientists, the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG), is the sole focus of a special issue of the journal Acta Crystallographica Section F. This is the first time in the history of the monthly journal, which publishes peer-reviewed crystallography and structural biology articles, that an entire issue is devoted to the works of a single scientific center. ... > full story
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's LAMP ultraviolet spectrograph observes LCROSS blast, detects surprising gases in impact plume (October 21, 2010) -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and its sophisticated suite of instruments have determined that hydrogen, mercury and other volatile substances are present in permanently shaded soils on the moon, according to a new paper. ... > 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
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