ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Sunday, December 5, 2010
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Color-changing 'blast badge' detects exposure to explosive shock waves (December 4, 2010) -- Mimicking the reflective iridescence of a butterfly's wing, investigators have developed a color-changing patch that could be worn on soldiers' helmets and uniforms to indicate the strength of exposure to blasts from explosives in the field. Future studies aim to calibrate the color change to the intensity of exposure to provide an immediate read on the potential harm to the brain and the subsequent need for medical intervention. ... > full story
Novel metal catalysts may be able to turn greenhouse gases into liquid fuels (December 4, 2010) -- It sounds a bit like spinning straw into gold, but novel metal catalysts may be able to turn greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide into liquid fuels without producing more carbon waste in the process. ... > full story
Electrocution of birds and collision with power lines: Solutions to a global problem (December 4, 2010) -- Electrocution on power lines is a major threat to many bird species across the world, in particular endangered species such birds of prey, which show the greatest incidence of electrocution. A new study focuses on preventing bird electrocution through the identification and correction of high-risk pylons. ... > full story
More efficient polymer solar cells fabricated (December 4, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a process for fabricating more efficient polymer solar cells. They discovered a textured substrate pattern that allows deposition of a uniformly thin light-absorbing layer. The result is a polymer solar cell that captures more light and produces more power. ... > full story
High performance infrared camera based on type-II InAs/GaSb superlattices created (December 3, 2010) -- Researchers have created a new infrared camera based on Type-II InAs/GaSb superlattices that produces much higher resolution images than previous infrared cameras. ... > full story
New high-performance fiber created (December 3, 2010) -- Researchers have nanoengineered a new kind of fiber that could be tougher than Kevlar. ... > full story
Dark matter could transfer energy in the Sun (December 3, 2010) -- Researchers have studied the effects of the presence of dark matter in the Sun. According to their calculations, low mass dark matter particles could be transferring energy from the core to the external parts of the Sun, which would affect the quantity of neutrinos that reach Earth. ... > full story
Farmers slowed down by hunter-gatherers: Our ancestors' fight for space (December 3, 2010) -- Agricultural -- or Neolithic -- economics replaced the Mesolithic social model of hunter-gathering in the Near East about 10,000 years ago. One of the most important socioeconomic changes in human history, this socioeconomic shift, known as the Neolithic transition, spread gradually across Europe until it slowed down when more northern latitudes were reached. Newly published research details a physical model that can potentially explain how the spreading of Neolithic farmers was slowed down by the population density of hunter-gatherers. ... > full story
Blacker than black: NASA engineers developing material to help gather hard-to-obtain scientific measurements (December 3, 2010) -- Black is black, right? Not so, according to a team of NASA engineers now developing a blacker-than pitch material that will help scientists gather hard-to-obtain scientific measurements or observe currently unseen astronomical objects, like Earth-sized planets in orbit around other stars. ... > full story
'USB' interface for medical diagnosis? (December 3, 2010) -- Biomedical engineers have developed a plug-in interface for the microfluidic chips that will form the basis of the next generation of compact medical devices. They hope that the "fit to flow" interface will become as ubiquitous as the USB interface for computer peripherals. ... > full story
Distribution of gravitational wave sources predicted (December 3, 2010) -- A pair of neutron stars spiraling toward each other until they merge in a violent explosion should produce detectable gravitational waves. A new study predicts for the first time where such mergers are likely to occur in the local galactic neighborhood. ... > full story
Virtual biopsy may allow earlier diagnosis of brain disorder in athletes (December 3, 2010) -- In a study of ex-pro athletes, researchers found that a specialized imaging technique called magnetic resonance spectroscopy may help diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disorder caused by repetitive head trauma that currently can only be definitively diagnosed at autopsy. ... > full story
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