The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Wednesday, July 20, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Wednesday, July 20, 2011

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E-health records should play bigger role in patient safety initiatives, researchers advocate (July 20, 2011) -- Patient safety researchers are calling for the expanded use of electronic health records to address the disquieting number of medical errors in the health care system that can lead to readmissions and even death. ... > full story

It's simple: Increasing complexity of models does not necessarily increase their accuracy (July 20, 2011) -- Mathematical modeling of infectious diseases is an important tool in the understanding and prediction of epidemics. Knowledge of social interactions is used to understand how infectious diseases spread through populations and how to control epidemics. New research shows that a model, which included dynamic information about the heterogeneity of contact length and rate of making new contacts, was as effective as a more complex model which included the order of contacts. ... > full story

New scientific milestone in optical communications: Revolutionary chip for optical routers (July 19, 2011) -- Researchers in Spain, the Netherlands, and Canada have achieved a scientific milestone in the field of optical communications. After many months of research, they have succeeded in developing a revolutionary chip for optical routers, capable of operating up to 100 times faster than currently available chips. This is the first monolithic integrated optical circuit for optical routers. ... > full story

Galaxy-sized twist in time pulls violating particles back into line (July 19, 2011) -- A physicist in the UK has produced a galaxy-sized solution that explains one of the outstanding puzzles of particle physics, while leaving the door open to the related conundrum of why different amounts of matter and antimatter seem to have survived the birth of our Universe. Physicists would like a neat universe where the laws of physics are so universal that every particle and its antiparticle behave in the same way. ... > full story

Twisted tale of our galaxy's ring: Strange kink in Milky Way (July 19, 2011) -- New observations from the Herschel Space Observatory show a bizarre, twisted ring of dense gas at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Only a few portions of the ring, which stretches across more than 600 light-years, were known before. Herschel's view reveals the entire ring for the first time, and a strange kink that has astronomers scratching their heads. ... > full story

Solar panels keep buildings cool (July 19, 2011) -- Those solar panels on top of your roof aren't just providing clean power; they are cooling your house, or your workplace, too, according to a team of environmental engineering researchers. ... > full story

Fewer verbs and nouns in financial reporting could predict stock market bubble, study shows (July 19, 2011) -- After examining 18,000 online articles published by the Financial Times, The New York Times, and the BBC, scientists discovered that verbs and nouns used by financial commentators converge in a 'herd-like' fashion in the lead up to a stock market bubble. The findings show that trends in word use financial journalists correlate closely with changes in leading stock indices. ... > full story

'Smart' sunglasses block blinding glare (July 19, 2011) -- The days of being blinded by glare from the sun, despite the 0 sunglasses straddling your face, may soon be over. ... > full story

Click chemistry with copper: A biocompatible version (July 19, 2011) -- Researchers have found a way to make copper-catalyzed click chemistry biocompatible. By adding a ligand that minimizes the toxicity of copper but still allows it to catalyze the click chemistry reaction, the researchers can safely use their reaction in living cells. ... > full story

Bacteria use Batman-like grappling hooks to 'slingshot' on surfaces, study shows (July 19, 2011) -- Researchers have diagnosed a complex sequence of movements that make-up the "twitching" motility in bacteria with type IV pili (TFP). TFP act like Batman's grappling hooks that extend and bind to a surface to retract and pull the cell along. Using a high-speed camera and a novel two-point tracking algorithm, researchers also noticed the bacteria had the additional capability to "slingshot" on surfaces. ... > full story

Scientists analyze, explain the chemical makeup of Gulf plume (July 19, 2011) -- Taking another major step in sleuthing the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a research team has determined what chemicals were contained in a deep, hydrocarbon-containing plume at least 22 miles long that WHOI scientists mapped and sampled last summer in the Gulf of Mexico, a residue of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Moreover, they have taken a big step in explaining why some chemicals, but not others, made their way into the plume. ... > full story

Cadmium selenide quantum dots degrade in soil, releasing their toxic guts, study finds (July 19, 2011) -- Quantum dots made from cadmium and selenium degrade in soil, unleashing toxic cadmium and selenium ions into their surroundings, a new study has found. ... > full story

NASA's Dawn spacecraft returns close-up image of giant asteroid Vesta (July 19, 2011) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned the first close-up image after beginning its orbit around the giant asteroid Vesta. On July 15, Dawn became the first probe to enter orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. ... > full story

Machines to compare notes online? (July 19, 2011) -- The best way for autonomous machines, networks and robots to improve in future will be for them to publish their own upgrade suggestions on the Internet. This transparent dialogue should help humans to both guide and trust them, according to new research. ... > full story

Race matters when recruiting, retaining undergraduate women engineers (July 19, 2011) -- A new study of female engineering students' perceived challenges finds significant differences between black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian-American and white women. The findings could help institutions better attract and retain particular groups of underrepresented students. ... > full story

Reinventing the toilet for safe and affordable sanitation (July 19, 2011) -- Scientists are working to develop new technology for processing human waste without links to water, energy, or sewer lines, and at costs affordable to the poor in developing countries. ... > full story

Monitoring cellular interactions at nano-scale in more detail than ever before (July 18, 2011) -- Using nanotechnology to engineer sensors onto the surface of cells, researchers have developed a platform technology for monitoring single-cell interactions in real-time. ... > full story

Study of soil effects from March 11 Japan earthquake could improve building design (July 18, 2011) -- Japan's March 11 Tohoku Earthquake is among the strongest ever recorded, and because it struck one of the world's most heavily instrumented seismic zones, this natural disaster is providing scientists with a treasure trove of data on rare magnitude 9 earthquakes. Among the new information is what is believed to be the first study of how a shock this powerful affects the rock and soil beneath the surface. ... > full story

New technology allows lenses to change color rapidly (July 18, 2011) -- A chemist has developed new technology that allows lenses to change color instantly using an electric current triggered by a stimulus, such as light. ... > full story

Nanotechnology: injections or sampling? New 'molecular syringes' under testing (July 18, 2011) -- Which is better, a quick vertical jab on the buttock or the delicately soft entry of a blood sample? One group of researchers has no doubt. The easiest way of penetrating a cell membrane with a carbon nanotube, is at an angle which is almost flat against the membrane surface. Just as a nurse does to "find" a vein. ... > full story

Writing nanostructures: Heated AFM tip allows direct fabrication of ferroelectric nanostructures on plastic (July 18, 2011) -- Using a technique known as thermochemical nanolithography (TCNL), researchers have developed a new way to fabricate nanometer-scale ferroelectric structures directly on flexible plastic substrates that would be unable to withstand the processing temperatures normally required to create such nanostructures. ... > full story

Graphene gives up more of its secrets (July 18, 2011) -- Scientists have used the Advanced Light Source to investigate theories about the electronic structure of graphene never before tested by experiment. They find that near the neutral point of undoped graphene, graphene's semimetallic behavior includes very long-range interactions among electrons and other unusual properties, confirming that graphene is every bit as strange as expected -- perhaps even more so. ... > full story

When minor planets Ceres and Vesta rock Earth into chaos (July 18, 2011) -- A new study examines the orbital evolution of minor planets Ceres and Vesta, a few days before the flyby of Vesta by the Dawn spacecraft. A team of astronomers found that close encounters among these bodies lead to strong chaotic behavior of their orbits, as well as of Earth's eccentricity. This means, in particular, that Earth's past orbit cannot be reconstructed beyond 60 million years. ... > full story

Comet Hartley 2 leaves a bumpy trail (July 18, 2011) -- New findings from NEOWISE, the asteroid- and comet-hunting portion of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission, show that comet Hartley 2 leaves a pebbly trail as it laps the sun, dotted with grains as big as golf balls. ... > full story

NASA's Dawn spacecraft enters orbit around asteroid Vesta (July 18, 2011) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft is now the first probe ever to enter orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Dawn will study the asteroid, named Vesta, for a year before departing for a second destination, a dwarf planet named Ceres, in July 2012. Observations will provide unprecedented data to help scientists understand the earliest chapter of our solar system. The data also will help pave the way for future human space missions. ... > full story

New material could offer hope to those with no voice (July 18, 2011) -- Researchers are developing a synthetic material to revitalize damaged vocal cords. ... > full story

New ways to measure magnetism around the sun (July 18, 2011) -- NASA researchers have made use of old mathematical techniques and new insights on how coronal mass ejections travel to devise a fresh way to measure this magnetic environment in the sun's upper atmosphere, the corona. ... > full story

A manganite changes its stripes: Advanced Light Source uncovers colossal conductivity changes in a special material (July 18, 2011) -- Manganites exhibiting colossal magnetoresistance and high-temperature superconductors are among materials that show their stripes, regions where electrical charges concentrate. Until now, only static stripes have been seen. A team of scientists have discovered a manganite whose stripes form or fall apart depending on the temperature, simultaneously giving rise to colossal changes in electrical conductivity. ... > full story

Deep below the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: New molecular model better explains diffusion of spill under water (July 18, 2011) -- For the first time, scientists gathered oil and gas directly as it escaped from a deep ocean wellhead -- that of the damaged Deepwater Horizon oil rig. What they found allows a better understanding of how pollution is partitioned and transported in the depths of the Gulf of Mexico and permits superior estimation of the environmental impact of escaping oil, allowing for a more precise evaluation of previously estimated repercussions on seafloor life in the future. ... > full story

Early talking doll recording discovered (July 17, 2011) -- Scientists recently recovered sound from an artifact that historians believe is the earliest surviving talking doll record. The artifact is a ring-shaped cylinder phonograph record made of solid metal, preserved by the National Park Service at Thomas Edison National Historical Park. Phonograph inventor Thomas Edison made the record during the fall or winter of 1888 in West Orange, New Jersey. ... > full story

Improved hybrid solar collector has higher efficiency, longer lifespan (July 17, 2011) -- A researcher in the Netherlands has developed a new type of hybrid solar collector with a higher efficiency and a longer lifespan than the current hybrid systems. Hybrid solar collectors combine photovoltaic solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity with a solar heater that provides warm water. ... > full story

Breakthrough toward quantum computing (July 16, 2011) -- To build a quantum computer, one needs to create and precisely control individual quantum memory units, called qubits, for information processing. Scientists have made a breakthrough in the creation of massive numbers of entangled qubits, more precisely a multilevel variant thereof called Qmodes. ... > full story

Your brain on androids (July 15, 2011) -- Cognitive scientist have taken a peek inside the brains of people viewing videos of a humanoid robot. The functional MRI study suggests that what may be going on in the "uncanny valley" phenomenon is due to a perceptual mismatch between appearance and motion. ... > full story

Virtual natural environments and benefits to health (July 15, 2011) -- Researchers have compared the benefits of interaction with actual and virtual natural environments and concluded that the development of accurate simulations are likely to be beneficial to those who cannot interact with nature because of infirmity or other limitations: but virtual worlds are not a substitute for the real thing. ... > full story

Most elliptical galaxies are 'like spirals' (July 15, 2011) -- The majority of 'elliptical' galaxies are not spherical but disc-shaped, resembling spiral galaxies such as our own Milky Way with the gas and dust removed, new observations suggest. ... > full story

Childhood cancer no higher in vicinity of nuclear power plants, Swiss study suggests (July 15, 2011) -- A large longitudinal study found no evidence of an increased risk of cancer in children born near nuclear power plants in Switzerland. ... > full story

Swarms of locusts use social networking to communicate (July 15, 2011) -- Social studies of Facebook and Twitter have been adapted to gain a greater understanding of the swarming behavior of locusts. The enormous success of social networking sites has vividly illustrated the importance of networking for humans; however for some animals, keeping informed about others of their kind is even more important. ... > full story

'Amplified' nanotubes may power the future (July 15, 2011) -- Scientists have achieved a pivotal breakthrough in the development of a cable that will make an efficient electric grid of the future possible. Armchair quantum wire (AQW) will be a weave of metallic nanotubes that can carry electricity with negligible loss over long distances. It will be an ideal replacement for the nation's copper-based grid, which leaks electricity at an estimated 5 percent per 100 miles of transmission. ... > full story

How to grow wires and tiny plates: Liquid processing method can control shapes of nanowires and produce complete electronic devices (July 15, 2011) -- Researchers have found a way to grow submicroscopic wires in water with great precision, using a method that makes it possible to produce entire electronic devices through a liquid-based process. ... > full story

Editing the genome: Scientists unveil new tools for rewriting the code of life (July 15, 2011) -- Researchers have unveiled genome-engineering technologies capable of fundamentally re-engineering genomes from the nucleotide to the megabase scale. Treating the chromosome as both an editable and an evolvable template, the researchers have demonstrated methods to rewrite a cell's genome through powerful new tools for biotechnology, energy and agriculture. ... > full story

New opportunity for AM radio (July 15, 2011) -- Radio broadcasters compete for airwave space in the saturated FM range, in detriment to AM wavebands with a poorer sound quality. Nevertheless, frequencies at wavebands less than 30 MHz (AM ones) could well have a new opportunity, with terrestrial digital radio broadcasting. ... > full story

A LEAP in controlling cardiac fibrillation: Researchers develop a new low-energy defibrillation method (July 15, 2011) -- An international team of scientists has developed a new low-energy method for terminating life-threatening cardiac fibrillation of the heart. They have shown that their new technique called LEAP (Low-Energy Anti-fibrillation Pacing) reduces the energy required for defibrillation by more than 80% as compared to the current conventional method. Their discovery opens the path for the painless therapy of life threatening cardiac fibrillation. ... > full story

Conducting energy on a nano scale: Are 'doped' nanocrystals the future of technology? (July 15, 2011) -- Scientists have succeeded in making delicate and sensitive nanocrystals susceptible to the engineering techniques that would make them practical semi-conductors. The new method of "doping" these crystals may lead to advances in solar panels, cell phones and cameras. ... > full story

What activates a supermassive black hole? Galaxy collisions not the culprits, even in the jam-packed early universe (July 14, 2011) -- A new study combining data from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray space observatory has turned up a surprise. Most of the huge black holes in the centres of galaxies in the past 11 billion years were not turned on by mergers between galaxies, as had been previously thought. ... > full story

Red light from carbon nanotubes (July 14, 2011) -- To the human eye, carbon nanotubes usually appear as a black powder. They can hardly be forced to emit light, as they are excellent electrical conductors and capture the energy from other luminescent chemical species placed nearby. Researchers recently developed a relatively simple method allowing the nanotubes exposed to UV to emit red light. ... > full story

Chemistry: Separation a thousand-fold faster may lead to new composite materials (July 14, 2011) -- Numerous industrial processes make use of blends. Researchers have studied how the external electric field affects the rate of component separation in blends composed of polymers and liquid crystals and those composed of various types of polymers. The observations gathered open interesting opportunities, e.g., for the development of new composite materials. ... > full story

NASA spacecraft to enter asteroid's orbit on July 15 (July 14, 2011) -- On July 15, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will begin a prolonged encounter with the asteroid Vesta, making the mission the first to enter orbit around a main-belt asteroid. ... > full story

Soft memory device opens door to new biocompatible electronics (July 14, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a memory device that is soft and functions well in wet environments -- opening the door to a new generation of biocompatible electronic devices. ... > full story