ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Saturday, March 19, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Saturday, March 19, 2011

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New blood analysis chip could lead to disease diagnosis in minutes (March 18, 2011) -- A major milestone in microfluidics could soon lead to stand-alone, self-powered chips that can diagnose diseases within minutes. The device is able to process whole blood samples without the use of external tubing or external components. ... > full story

Quantum pen for single atoms is a big step toward large-scale quantum computing (March 18, 2011) -- Physicists have succeeded in manipulating atoms individually in a lattice of light and in arranging them in arbitrary patterns. These results are an important step towards large-scale quantum computing and for the simulation of condensed matter systems. ... > full story

New technologies to crack down on counterfeit whisky (March 18, 2011) -- Experts are working to create a handheld device which will detect fake whisky and wine – through the bottle. ... > full story

World first: Localized delivery of an anti-cancer drug by remote-controlled microcarriers (March 18, 2011) -- Soon, drug delivery that precisely targets cancerous cells without exposing the healthy surrounding tissue to the medication's toxic effects will no longer be an oncologist's dream but a medical reality, new research suggests. Using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, scientists have successfully guided microcarriers loaded with a dose of anti-cancer drug through the bloodstream of a living rabbit, right up to a targeted area in the liver, where the drug was successfully administered. ... > full story

Graphene cloak protects bacteria, leading to better images (March 18, 2011) -- Scientists are wrapping bacteria with graphene to address current challenges with imaging bacteria under electron microscopes. The method creates a carbon cloak that protects the bacteria, allowing them to be imaged at their natural size and increasing the image's resolution. ... > full story

Green sludge can protect groundwater from radioactive contamination, study suggests (March 18, 2011) -- Anyone planning a storage facility for atomic waste should make sure to bury their canisters in an area where green rust will form. ... > full story

Tying the knot with computer-generated holograms: Winding optical path moves matter (March 18, 2011) -- In the latest twist on optical knots, physicists have discovered a new method to create extended and knotted optical traps in 3-D. This method may one day help enable fusion energy as a practical power source, according to researchers. ... > full story

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft begins historic orbit around Mercury (March 18, 2011) -- NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft successfully achieved orbit around Mercury at approximately 9 p.m. EDT Thursday. This marks the first time a spacecraft has accomplished this engineering and scientific milestone at our solar system's innermost planet. ... > full story

New testing device may help to 'seal the deal' for building owners (March 18, 2011) -- Just as a chain is as strong as its weakest link, a building is as secure against the environment as its most degraded joint sealants, about 50 percent of which fail in less than 10 years after installation. The upshot for U.S. homeowners is that moisture damage due to failed sealants is responsible for much of the billion to billion they collectively shell out for house repairs annually. Researchers are now assembling a toolkit of measurement devices and scientific data that will help manufacturers of sealants systematically improve the protective performance of their products. ... > full story

3-D printing method advances electrically small antenna design (March 17, 2011) -- Omnidirectional printing of metallic nanoparticle inks offers an attractive alternative for meeting the demanding form factors of 3-D electrically small antennas. This is the first demonstration of 3-D printed antennas on curvilinear surfaces. ... > full story

Bio-inspired sensors hold promise (March 17, 2011) -- Scientists are using insights from nature as inspiration for both touch and flow sensors -- areas that currently lack good sensors for recording and communicating the senses. ... > full story

Cassini sees seasonal rains transform surface of Saturn's moon Titan (March 17, 2011) -- As spring continues to unfold at Saturn, April showers on the planet's largest moon, Titan, have brought methane rain to its equatorial deserts, as revealed in images captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. This is the first time scientists have obtained current evidence of rain soaking Titan's surface at low latitudes. ... > full story