The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Tuesday, July 26, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Welcome to another edition of ScienceDaily's email newsletter. You can change your subscription options or unsubscribe at any time.

Saving fuel while plowing (July 26, 2011) -- Less friction, less power, less fuel -- plowshares coated with diamond-like carbon slide through the soil like a hot knife through butter. As a result, the tractors pulling them need less power and fuel. In some tests the power required has been reduced by more than 30 percent. ... > full story

New software protects water utilities from terrorist attacks and contaminants (July 26, 2011) -- Americans are used to drinking from the kitchen tap without fear of harm, even though water utilities might be vulnerable to terrorist attacks or natural contaminants. Now, thanks to new open-source software -- public water systems can be protected through enhanced detection of such threats. ... > full story

Eat, prey, rain: New model of dynamics of clouds and rain is based on a predator-prey population model (July 25, 2011) -- A new model for the dynamics of clouds and rain, based on a predator-prey population model, may help us understand how clouds fit into the big climate picture. This model may help climate scientists understand, among other things, how human-produced aerosols affect rainfall patterns. ... > full story

Rare coupling of magnetic and electric properties in a single material: New multiferroic mechanism could lead to next-generation memory and sensing devices (July 25, 2011) -- Researchers have observed a new way that magnetic and electric properties -- which have a long history of ignoring and counteracting each other -- can coexist in a special class of metals. These materials, known as multiferroics, could serve as the basis for the next generation of faster and energy-efficient logic, memory and sensing technology. ... > full story

How to tell real whiskey from fake, faster (July 25, 2011) -- Methods for distinguishing between authentic and counterfeit Scotch whiskey brands have now been devised by scientists. ... > full story

Nanoplasmonic 'whispering gallery' breaks emission time record in semiconductors (July 25, 2011) -- Renaissance architects demonstrated their understanding of geometry and physics when they built whispering galleries into their cathedrals. These circular chambers were designed to amplify and direct sound waves so that, when standing in the right spot, a whisper could be heard from across the room. Now, scientists have applied the same principle on the nanoscale to drastically reduce emission lifetime, a key property of semiconductors, which can lead to the development of new ultrafast photonic devices. ... > full story

Nanomechanics: New test measures key properties of polymer thin films and membranes (July 25, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated a measurement technique that reliably determines three fundamental mechanical properties of near-nanoscale films. The technique, which highlights the challenge of making mechanical measurements on an object with at least one dimension comparable to the size of a virus, should enable better design and engineering for a variety of thin-film technologies, particularly reverse-osmosis membranes for water purification. ... > full story

Major step toward creating faster electronics using graphene (July 25, 2011) -- Physicists have taken a major step forward towards creating electronics using the wonder material graphene. They have studied in detail the effect of interactions between electrons on the electronic properties of graphene. ... > full story

Pocket chemistry: DNA helps glucose meters measure more than sugar (July 25, 2011) -- Glucose meters aren't just for diabetics anymore. Thanks to a team of chemists, they can be partnered with functional DNA sensors as simple, portable, inexpensive meters for a number of target molecules in blood, serum, water or food. The researchers demonstrated using functional DNA with glucose meters to detect cocaine, the disease marker interferon, adenosine and uranium. The two-step method could be used to detect any kind of molecule that a functional DNA or RNA can bind. ... > full story

Arrays of long nanotubes may help measure terahertz laser power (July 25, 2011) -- Terahertz radiation can penetrate numerous materials -- plastic, clothing, paper and some biological tissues -- making it an attractive candidate for applications such as concealed weapons detection, package inspection and imaging skin tumors. There is now no standard method for measuring the absolute output power of terahertz lasers, but researchers have found that dense arrays of extra-long carbon nanotubes are promising coatings for prototype terahertz laser power detectors. ... > full story

Key early skills for later math learning discovered (July 25, 2011) -- Psychologists have identified the beginning of first grade math skills that teachers and parents should target to effectively improve children's later math learning. ... > full story

Hydrogen may be key to growth of high-quality graphene (July 25, 2011) -- A new approach to growing graphene greatly reduces problems that have plagued researchers in the past and clears a path to the crystalline form of graphite's use in sophisticated electronic devices of tomorrow. ... > full story

New photonic crystals have both electronic and optical properties (July 25, 2011) -- In an advance that could open new avenues for solar cells, lasers, metamaterials and more, researchers have demonstrated the first optoelectronically active 3-D photonic crystal. ... > full story

Computer program could 'revolutionise the world's healthcare' (July 25, 2011) -- A massive network of computer programs could revolutionize healthcare around the world, saving countless lives and billions of pounds. ... > full story

Wiedemann-Franz Law: Physicists break 150-year-old empirical laws of physics (July 24, 2011) -- A violation of one of the oldest empirical laws of physics has been observed by scientists. The experiments on purple bronze, a metal with unique one-dimensional electronic properties, indicate that it breaks the Wiedemann-Franz Law. ... > full story

Shining a light on the elusive 'blackbody' of energy research: Designer material has potential applications for thermophotovoltaics (July 23, 2011) -- A designer metamaterial can engineer emitted "blackbody" radiation, a feat that transcends many of the limits governing natural materials and an advance that could potentially lead to the development of new thermophotovoltaic technologies, researchers report. ... > full story

Test for classifying force used in bottle stabbings: New study aids understanding of force required for creating injury (July 23, 2011) -- Engineers in the UK have for the first time created a way of measuring how much force is used during a stabbing using a broken bottle. The advance is expected to have significant implications for legal forensics. ... > full story

Inside the innards of a nuclear reactor: Tiny robots may monitor underground pipes for radioactive leaks (July 22, 2011) -- Scientists have develop robots equipped with cameras that can navigate the underground pipes of a nuclear reactor to check for corrosion by propelling themselves with internal networks of valves and pumps. ... > full story

Astronomers discover largest and most distant reservoir of water yet (July 22, 2011) -- Two teams of astronomers have discovered the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe. Looking from a distance of 30 billion trillion miles away into a quasar -- one of the brightest and most violent objects in the cosmos -- the researchers have found a mass of water vapor that's at least 140 trillion times that of all the water in the world's oceans combined. ... > full story

Smartphone making your eyes tired? Images placed in front of the screen increase visual discomfort (July 22, 2011) -- Several reports indicate that prolonged viewing of mobile devices and other stereo 3-D devices leads to visual discomfort, fatigue and even headaches. According to a new study, the root cause may be the demand on our eyes to focus on the screen and simultaneously adjust to the distance of the content. ... > full story

Chemists create molecular flasks: Researchers design a self-assembling material that can house other molecules (July 22, 2011) -- Recently, researchers at New York University demonstrated an ability to make new materials with empty space on the inside, which could potentially control desired and unwanted chemical reactions. ... > full story

Computer simulations aid understanding of bacterial resistance against commonly used antibiotics (July 22, 2011) -- A recent study into the interactions between aminoglycoside antibiotics and their target site in bacteria used computer simulations to elucidate this mechanism and thereby suggest drug modifications. ... > full story

Software helps synthetic biologists customize protein production (July 22, 2011) -- A software program developed by a Penn State synthetic biologist could provide biotechnology companies with genetic plans to help them turn bacteria into molecular factories, capable of producing everything from biofuels to medicine. ... > full story

Juvenile diarrhea virus analyzed down to the atomic level (July 22, 2011) -- Scientists have used X-ray crystallography to define the structure -- down to the atomic level -- of a common virus that causes juvenile diarrhea. The new research could help direct efforts to develop medications that block the virus before it becomes infectious. ... > full story

New discovery paves the way for using super strong nanostructured metals in cars (July 22, 2011) -- Super strong nanometals are beginning to play an important role in making cars even lighter, enabling them to stand collisions without fatal consequences for the passengers. A student has discovered a new phenomenon that will make nanometals more useful in practice. ... > full story

Ohio Supercomputer Center lifts land speed racer toward 400-mph goal (July 22, 2011) -- A team of engineering students at the Ohio State University's Center for Automotive Research recently began running aerodynamics simulations at the Ohio Supercomputer Center, one of the first steps in the long and careful process of researching, designing, building and racing the fourth iteration of their record-breaking, alternative-fuel streamliner. In partnership with Venturi and A123 Systems, the team began the development process for a completely re-engineered test vehicle designed to break the 400-mph mark. ... > full story

Farthest, largest water mass in universe discovered (July 22, 2011) -- An international team of astronomers has discovered the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe. ... > full story

Earliest watery black hole discovered (July 22, 2011) -- A team of astronomers has found the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe -- discovered in the central regions of a distant quasar. Quasars contain massive black holes that are steadily consuming a surrounding disk of gas and dust; as it eats, the quasar spews out huge amounts of energy. The energy from this particular quasar was released some 12 billion years ago, only 1.6 billion years after the Big Bang. ... > full story

Link between competing phases in cuprates leads to new theory; Discovery in parent of one high-temperature superconductor may lead to predictive control (July 21, 2011) -- A team of scientists studying the parent compound of a cuprate (copper-oxide) superconductor has discovered a link between two different states, or phases, of that matter -- and written a mathematical theory to describe the relationship. This work will help scientists predict the material's behavior under varying conditions, and may help explain how it's transformed into a superconductor able to carry current with no energy loss. ... > full story

Chance favors the concentration of wealth, study shows; New model isolates the effects of chance in an investment-based economy (July 21, 2011) -- Most of our society's wealth is invested in businesses or other ventures that may or may not pan out. Thus, chance plays a role in where the wealth of a society will end up. But does chance favor the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, or does it tend to level the playing field? ... > full story

Exoplanet aurora: An out-of-this-world sight (July 21, 2011) -- Earth's aurorae, or Northern and Southern Lights, provide a dazzling light show to people living in the polar regions. Shimmering curtains of green and red undulate across the sky like a living thing. New research shows that aurorae on distant "hot Jupiters" could be 100-1000 times brighter than Earthly aurorae. They also would ripple from equator to poles (due to the planet's proximity to any stellar eruptions), treating the entire planet to an otherworldly spectacle. ... > full story

Nanotechnology for water filter (July 21, 2011) -- Nanotechnology has developed tremendously in the past decade and was able to create many new materials with a vast range of potential applications. Carbon nanotubes possess exceptional electronic, mechanical and chemical properties, for example they can be used to clean polluted water. ... > full story

Tevatron experiments close in on favored Higgs mass range (July 21, 2011) -- Experiments at the Department of Energy's Fermilab are close to reaching the critical sensitivity that is necessary to look for the existence of a light Higgs particle. Scientists from both the CDF and DZero collider experiments at Fermilab will present their new Higgs search results at the EPS High-Energy Physics conference, held in Grenoble, France, from July 21-27. ... > full story

Heavy relative of the neutron discovered (July 21, 2011) -- Scientists have observed a new particle, the neutral Xi-sub-b. This particle contains three quarks: a strange quark, an up quark and a bottom quark (s-u-b). While its existence was predicted by the Standard Model, the observation of the neutral Xi-sub-b is significant because it strengthens our understanding of how quarks form matter. ... > full story

NASA's space shuttle program ends with Atlantis landing (July 21, 2011) -- Wrapping up 30 years of unmatched achievements and blazing a trail for the next era of U.S. human spaceflight, NASA's storied Space Shuttle Program came to a "wheels stop" on Thursday (July 21, 2011) at the conclusion of its 135th mission. ... > full story

Scholar helps make Major League Baseball umpire schedule a hit (July 21, 2011) -- Scientists have created a complex method for scheduling Major League Baseball umpires which has proven so successful that the league has used it five of the past six seasons. ... > full story

Breakthrough in quantum computing: Researchers develop system that resists 'quantum bug' (July 21, 2011) -- Scientists have taken the next major step toward quantum computing, which will use quantum mechanics to revolutionize the way information is processed. Using high magnetic fields, researchers managed to suppress decoherence, which is one of the key stumbling blocks in quantum computing. ... > full story

An advance toward ultra-portable electronic devices (July 21, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting a key advance toward the long-awaited era of "single-molecule electronics," when common electronic circuits in computers, smart phones, audio players, and other devices may shrink to the size of a grain of sand. The breakthrough is a method for creating and attaching the tiny wires that will connect molecular components, reports a new study. ... > full story

Movement of black holes powers quasars, the universe's brightest lights (July 21, 2011) -- Research finds that black holes' spin and lateral movement can power bright jets of light known as quasars. ... > full story

Fast prediction of axon behavior: Computer modeling method may lead to more accurate and capable electrodes to stimulate nerves (July 21, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a computer modeling method to accurately predict how a peripheral nerve axon responds to electrical stimuli, slashing the complex work from an inhibitory weeks-long process to just a few seconds. ... > full story

Disputes over content of Wikipedia articles reflect a country’s geopolitical instability, study finds (July 21, 2011) -- Disputes over the content of articles in the internet encyclopaedia Wikipedia can serve as an indicator for the political stability of a country. This was proposed based on a “Wikipedia Dispute Index” developed by researchers in Germany. This index measures the frequency of pages linked to a country that are disputed by users of the online encyclopaedia. The ranking of countries based on this index is similar to other, much more complex indices relating, for example, to governance or the economy. To calculate the index, the scientists used methods similar to those applied to biological networks and applied them to the cross-linked information in Wikipedia. ... > full story

Social media study: Conservatives were top tweeters in 2010 U.S. elections (July 21, 2011) -- The results of a study on candidates' use of Twitter in the 2010 U.S. midterm elections suggest that Republicans and Tea Party members used the social medium more effectively than their Democratic rivals. ... > full story

CARE positions disaster relief with promising discipline of humanitarian logistics (July 21, 2011) -- Operations research models developed by a team at the Georgia Institute of Technology helped CARE International pick three locations worldwide to supply relief quickly to victims of earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters, according to a new paper. ... > full story

Texas experts bring science and policy to hydraulic fracturing debate (July 21, 2011) -- Innovative and interdisciplinary research by faculty at the University of Texas at Austin is helping to improve the safety and efficiency of hydraulic fracturing, identify issues that need to be corrected and untangle the knowns and unknowns of a process that is expected to constitute perhaps half of the nation's total natural gas supplies in coming years. ... > full story

Chemists create molecular polyhedron -- and potential to enhance industrial and consumer products (July 21, 2011) -- Chemists have created a molecular polyhedron, a ground-breaking assembly that has the potential to impact a range of industrial and consumer products, including magnetic and optical materials. ... > full story

A twisted ring in the Galactic Centre (July 21, 2011) -- Astronomers have observed unprecedented views of a ring in the center of our Milky Way galaxy with the Herschel Space Observatory. ... > full story

Bold new approach to wind 'farm' design may provide efficiency gains (July 20, 2011) -- Conventional wisdom suggests that because we're approaching the theoretical limit on individual wind turbine efficiency, wind energy is now a mature technology. But researchers have recently revisited some of the fundamental assumptions that guided the wind industry for the past 30 years, and now believe that a new approach to wind farm design -- one that places wind turbines close together instead of far apart -- may provide significant efficiency gains. ... > full story

Seeing the S-curve in everything (July 20, 2011) -- Esses are everywhere. From economic trends, population growth, the spread of cancer, or the adoption of new technology, certain patterns inevitably seem to emerge. A new technology, for example, begins with slow acceptance, followed by explosive growth, only to level off before "hitting the wall." ... > full story