ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Monday, March 15, 2010
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Silk structure analysis explains paradox of super-strength; could lead to even stronger synthetic materials (March 15, 2010) -- Spiders and silkworms are masters of materials science, but scientists are finally catching up. Silks are among the toughest materials known, stronger and less brittle, pound for pound, than steel. Now scientists have unraveled some of their deepest secrets in research that could lead the way to the creation of synthetic materials that duplicate, or even exceed, the extraordinary properties of natural silk. ... > full story
Analytical eye: Viewing through the data jungle (March 15, 2010) -- Unmanageable volumes of data accumulate in our digitized working world. Scientists are developing analytical techniques that make use of our ability to identify complex data relationships by means of pictorial images. ... > full story
Mars constantly loses part of its atmosphere to space due to solar wind (March 14, 2010) -- Space physicists have identified the impact of the Sun on Mars' atmosphere. The scientists report that Mars is constantly losing part of its atmosphere to space. The new study shows that pressure from solar wind pulses is a significant contributor to Mars's atmospheric escape. ... > full story
Designer nano luggage to carry drugs to diseased cells (March 14, 2010) -- Scientists have succeeded in growing empty particles derived from a plant virus and have made them carry useful chemicals. The external surface of these nano containers could be decorated with molecules that guide them to where they are needed in the body, before the chemical load is discharged to exert its effect on diseased cells. The containers are particles of the Cowpea mosaic virus, which is ideally suited for designing biomaterial at the nanoscale. ... > full story
Quantum dots spotlight DNA-repair proteins in motion (March 14, 2010) -- Repair proteins appear to efficiently scan the genome for errors by jumping like fleas between DNA molecules, sliding along the strands, and perhaps pausing at suspicious spots, say researchers who tagged the proteins with quantum dots to watch the action unfold. ... > full story
New tool for operations on people with severe or profound auditory loss (March 14, 2010) -- Engineers and doctors have designed a new tool for operating on the inner ear with maximum precision, reducing the possibility of damage to the auditory function during the surgery. This is the first micromanipulator specifically for operations involving cochlear and middle ear implants, of which about a hundred are carried out in this hospital annually. ... > full story
Scientists identify driving forces in human cell division (March 14, 2010) -- Using a novel imaging system for quantifying aspects of cell division in three dimensions, scientists have discovered new interactions between sister kinetochores -- the protein bundles at the contact point between the two identical strands of a chromosome -- and the microtubule motors that help pull the strands apart. ... > full story
Compliant systems: Flexible yet strong materials allow aircraft wings to flex with air flow (March 14, 2010) -- Researchers once wanted to build aircraft wings based on compliant systems, which would continually change shape in response to the air flow resistance, obviating the need for rigid flap and rudder surfaces. A range of different industries are interested in so-called "smart" systems because they can be used to make low-maintenance (and therefore economic) products such as medical tools and robot gripper arms. ... > full story
Human cells exhibit foraging behavior like amoebae and bacteria (March 13, 2010) -- When cells move about in the body, they follow a complex pattern similar to that which amoebae and bacteria use when searching for food, researchers have found. ... > full story
Mars dunes: On the move? (March 13, 2010) -- New studies of ripples and dunes shaped by the winds on Mars testify to variability on that planet, identifying at least one place where ripples are actively migrating and another where the ripples have been stationary for 100,000 years or more. ... > full story
Calculations made by physicist Gustav Mie in 1908 put to test on single nanoparticles (March 13, 2010) -- Rice students put calculations by German physicist Gustav Mie, made in 1908, to the test when they decided to look at the optical properties of single nanoparticles. ... > full story
PEGylated dendrimers: A novel mechanism of drug delivery (March 13, 2010) -- A research team has shown how PEGylated polylysine dendrimers, a new type of nano-sized drug delivery system, can be altered to target either the lymphatic system or the bloodstream, which may improve the treatment of particular types of diseases. ... > full story
Mathematical model can help communities better evaluate sex offender policies (March 13, 2010) -- A new mathematical model developed by geographers could help communities that are in the midst of passing or reforming sex offender laws. ... > full story
New imaging technology brings trace chemicals into focus (March 12, 2010) -- Scientists have hit on a new, versatile method to significantly improve the detection of trace chemicals important in such areas as national security, human health and the environment. The research team was able to detect and identify tiny particles of the explosive trinitrotoluene or TNT -- each weighing less than a billionth of a gram -- on the ridges and canals of a fingerprint. ... > full story
Scavenging energy waste to turn water into hydrogen fuel (March 12, 2010) -- Materials scientists have designed a way to harvest small amounts of waste energy and harness them to turn water into usable hydrogen fuel. ... > full story
Proposed mission would return sample from asteroid 'time capsule' (March 12, 2010) -- Meet asteroid 1999 RQ36, a chunk of rock and dust about 1,900 feet in diameter that could tell us how the solar system was born, and perhaps, shed light on how life began. It also might hit us someday. ... > full story
High-tech armrest: Computer-controlled hand and arm support devise developed for doctors, artists (March 12, 2010) -- Engineers developed a computer-controlled, motorized hand and arm support that will let doctors, artists and others precisely control scalpels, brushes and tools over a wider area than otherwise possible, and with less fatigue. ... > full story
Cassini data show ice and rock mixture inside Saturn's moon Titan (March 12, 2010) -- By precisely tracking NASA's Cassini spacecraft on its low swoops over Saturn's moon Titan, scientists have determined the distribution of materials in the moon's interior. The subtle gravitational tugs they measured suggest the interior has been too cold and sluggish to split completely into separate layers of ice and rock. ... > full story
How electricity moves through cells: Finding has implications for improving energy efficiency (March 12, 2010) -- Researchers have created a molecular image of a system that moves electrons between proteins in cells. The achievement is a breakthrough for biology and could provide insights to minimize energy loss in other systems, from nanoscale devices to moving electricity around the country. ... > full story
More maize ethanol may boost greenhouse gas emissions (March 12, 2010) -- Mandated increases in the production of maize-derived ethanol will lead to land-use changes that boost carbon dioxide emissions enough to make the fuel a worse environmental option than burning gasoline, according to a new analysis. ... > full story
Research streamlines data processing to solve problems more efficiently (March 12, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a new analytical method that opens the door to faster processing of large amounts of information, with applications in fields as diverse as the military, medical diagnostics and homeland security. ... > full story
Computer system helps reduce adverse drug side effects and interactions in ICU patients (March 12, 2010) -- To get life-threatening diseases under control, patients in the intensive care unit usually are administered many medications at the same time. Even for experts, it is difficult to keep track of the variety of possible side effects and interactions. Researchers in Germany has now shown that physicians can reduce serious events resulting from drug interactions by about half with the help of the "AiDKlinik" drug information system. ... > full story
Shocking recipe for making killer electrons (March 11, 2010) -- Take a bunch of fast-moving electrons, place them in orbit and then hit them with the shock waves from a solar storm. What do you get? Killer electrons. That's the shocking recipe revealed by ESA's Cluster mission. ... > full story
Physicists take atoms for a quantum walk (March 11, 2010) -- A team of physicists has achieved a quantum walk in a quantum system with up to 23 steps. It is the first time that this quantum process using trapped ions has been demonstrated in detail. This latest advance promises to be important for the development of quantum computers in finding search quantum algorithms that outperform their classical counterparts as different directions could be chosen simultaneously. ... > full story
World crude oil production may peak a decade earlier than some predict (March 11, 2010) -- In a finding that may speed efforts to conserve oil and intensify the search for alternative fuel sources, scientists in Kuwait predict that world conventional crude oil production will peak in 2014 -- almost a decade earlier than some other predictions. ... > full story
Traces of the past: Computer algorithm able to 'read' memories (March 11, 2010) -- Computer programs have been able to predict which of three short films a person is thinking about, just by looking at their brain activity. The research provides further insight into how our memories are recorded. ... > full story
Atmospheric nanoparticles impact health, weather professor says (March 11, 2010) -- Nanoparticles are atmospheric materials so small that they can't be seen with the naked eye, but they can very visibly affect both weather patterns and human health all over the world -- and not in a good way, according to a new study. ... > full story
Can we detect quantum behavior in viruses? (March 11, 2010) -- Scientists are using the principles of an iconic quantum mechanics thought experiment -- Schrödinger's superpositioned cat -- to test for quantum properties in objects composed of as many as one billion atoms, possibly including the flu virus. ... > full story
Mysterious cosmic 'dark flow' tracked deeper into universe (March 11, 2010) -- Distant galaxy clusters mysteriously stream at a million miles per hour along a path roughly centered on the southern constellations Centaurus and Hydra. A new study tracks this collective motion -- dubbed the "dark flow" -- to twice the distance originally reported. ... > full story
Conquering the chaos in modern, multiprocessor computers (March 11, 2010) -- A group of computer scientists have found a way to tame multiprocessor computers, which behave in wildly unpredictable ways even as the systems become widespread in the industry. ... > full story
Boost for technology: Huge step toward mass production of coveted form of carbon (March 11, 2010) -- Scientists have leaped over a major hurdle in efforts to begin commercial production of a form of carbon that could rival silicon in its potential for revolutionizing electronics devices ranging from supercomputers to cell phones. Called graphene, the material consists of a layer of graphite 50,000 times thinner than a human hair with unique electronic properties. ... > full story
Game on? Video-game ownership may interfere with young boys' academic functioning (March 11, 2010) -- According to new findings, owning a video-game system may hamper academic development in some children. Boys who received a video-game system immediately had significantly lower reading and writing scores after four months than boys receiving a video-game system at the end of the experiment. Further analysis revealed that the time spent playing video games may link the relationship between owning a video-game system and reading and writing scores. ... > full story
Physicists build basic quantum computing circuit (March 11, 2010) -- Exerting delicate control over a pair of atoms within a mere seven-millionths-of-a-second window of opportunity, physicists created an atomic circuit that may help quantum computing become a reality. ... > full story
New research advances voice security technology (March 11, 2010) -- Most people are familiar with security technology that scans a person's handprint or eye for identification purposes. Now we are closer to practical technology that can test someone's voice to confirm their identity. ... > full story
Back to the future for computers: A return to the 1980s? (March 11, 2010) -- A presentation by Google at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference in San Diego on March 24 will examine the technologies that will emerge in the next three to four years to power warehouse-scale computing data centers, upon which companies such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook and many more are increasingly relying. ... > full story
Galaxy study validates general relativity on cosmic scale, existence of dark matter (March 10, 2010) -- While general relativity describes well the behavior of the solar system, Einstein's theory of gravity and spacetime has not been tested on cosmological scales. Now, a team has analyzed data on 70,000 galaxies to show that the theory is so far the best description of the universe, at least out to 3.5 billion light years from Earth. Specifically, theories without dark matter do not fit the observations. ... > full story
NoMix toilets get thumbs-up in seven European countries (March 10, 2010) -- People in seven European countries have positive attitudes toward a new eco-friendly toilet that could substantially reduce pollution problems and conserve water and nutrients, scientists in Switzerland are reporting. Their article calls on authorities to give wider support for the innovative toilet technology. ... > full story
ATV and motocross sports: High velocity toys merit caution, experts say (March 10, 2010) -- Over the years, all terrain vehicles (ATVs) and motocross motorcycles have gained popularity and marketed as toys to consumers. These high-velocity machines can weigh between 300 and 600 pounds, and run on average between 25 and 60 miles per hour, while some even reach maximum speeds of 75 miles per hour. In 2008, nearly 28 percent of all ATV-related injuries were to children younger than 16. There were an estimated 135,000 injuries for riders of all ages for ATV use. A majority of ATV injuries happen from tipping, overturning or multiple riders. ... > full story
Playing music on your clothing (March 10, 2010) -- In the future it may be considerably easier for orchestras to tour. Jeannine Han, who is in the second year of her master's program in textiles and fashion design at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås, Sweden, working together with technician Dan Riley, has developed clothing that plays music when touched. ... > full story
Big power from tiny wires: Carbon nanotubes can produce powerful waves that could be harnessed for new energy systems (March 10, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered a previously unknown phenomenon that can cause powerful waves of energy to shoot through minuscule wires known as carbon nanotubes. The discovery could lead to a new way of producing electricity, the researchers say. ... > full story
Cotton is the fabric of your lights, your MP3 player, your cell phone (March 10, 2010) -- Consider this T-shirt: It can monitor your heart rate and breathing, analyze your sweat and even cool you off on a hot summer's day. Or a solar-powered dress that can charge your MP3 player? This is not science fiction -- this is cotton in 2010. ... > full story
Scientists discover 'catastrophic event' behind the halt of star birth in early galaxy formation (March 10, 2010) -- Scientists have found evidence of a catastrophic event they believe was responsible for halting the birth of stars in a galaxy in the early universe. The researchers observed the massive galaxy as it would have appeared just three billion years after the Big Bang when the Universe was a quarter of its present age. ... > full story
Future of broadband: Where data is broadcast using desk lamps (March 10, 2010) -- In the future, getting a broadband connection might be as simple as flipping on a light switch. In fact, according to a group of researchers from Germany, the light coming from the lamps in your home could one day encode a wireless broadband signal. ... > full story
'The Rosenfeld' named after California's godfather of energy efficiency (March 10, 2010) -- Pioneering French physicists Marie and Pierre Curie have the curie, a unit of radioactivity, named after them. Renowned inventor Nikola Tesla is honored with the tesla, which measures a magnetic field. And now, the Rosenfeld, proposed as a unit for electricity savings, will be named after the man seen by many people as the godfather of energy efficiency, Arthur Rosenfeld. ... > full story
Professor predicts baseball winners, uses baseball to tout power of math (March 10, 2010) -- With pitchers and catchers having recently reported to spring training, a professor has applied mathematical analysis to compute the number of games that Major League Baseball teams should win in 2010. ... > full story
Learning from nature: Scientists break down carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using visible light (March 10, 2010) -- A recent discovery in understanding how to chemically break down the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into a useful form opens the doors for scientists to wonder what organism is out there -- or could be created -- to accomplish the task. Scientists have figured out a way to efficiently turn carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using visible light, like sunlight. ... > full story
HaptiMap project aims to make maps accessible through touch, hearing and vision (March 10, 2010) -- If you are walking or cycling, and do not want to (or are unable to) spend most of your time focusing on a screen, the use of mobile devices tends to be a frustrating experience. The same is true in bright sunlight or if your eyesight is not good enough to see every detail on the mobile screen. ... > full story
Next-generation biorefinery is aim of new European project (March 10, 2010) -- Europe's four-year EuroBioRef project aims to cover the whole biomass conversion chain from raw materials to commercial products. ... > full story
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