The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Tuesday, October 11, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Tuesday, October 11, 2011

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Critical minerals ignite geopolitical storm (October 11, 2011) -- The clean energy economy of the future hinges on a lot of things, chief among them the availability of the scores of rare earth minerals and other elements used to make everything from photovoltaic panels and cellphone displays to the permanent magnets in cutting edge new wind generators. And right out of the gate trouble is brewing over projected growth in demand for these minerals and the security of their supplies. ... > full story

Almahata Sitta meteorite could come from triple asteroid mash-up (October 11, 2011) -- Analysis of fragments of the Almahata Sitta meteorite, which landed in Sudan in 2008, has shown that the parent asteroid was probably formed through collisions of three different types of asteroids. The meteorites are of particular interest because they contain material both primitive and evolved types of asteroids. ... > full story

Graphene's 'Big Mac' creates next generation of chips (October 10, 2011) -- Scientists in the UK have come one step closer to creating the next generation of computer chips using wonder material graphene. ... > full story

New optical signal processing to satisfy power-hungry, high-speed networks (October 10, 2011) -- A new all-optical signal processing device to meet the demands of high capacity optical networks and with a wide range of applications including ultrafast optical measurements and sensing has been developed. ... > full story

Removal of restrictions can decrease music piracy, study suggests (October 10, 2011) -- Contrary to the traditional views of the music industry, removal of digital rights management restrictions can actually decrease piracy, according to new research. ... > full story

Series of bumps sent Uranus into its sideways spin, new research suggests (October 10, 2011) -- Uranus' highly tilted axis makes it something of an oddball in our solar system. The accepted wisdom is that Uranus was knocked on its side by a single large impact, but new research rewrites our theories of how Uranus became so tilted and also solves fresh mysteries about the position and orbits of its moons. ... > full story

New membrane lipid measuring technique may help fight disease (October 10, 2011) -- Chemists have developed a technique which successfully quantifies signaling lipids on live cell membranes in real time, opening up possible new routes for treating diseases. ... > full story

Supersaturated water vapor in Martian atmosphere (October 10, 2011) -- Analysis of data collected by the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft leaves no room for doubt: the Martian atmosphere of contains water vapor in a supersaturated state. This surprising finding will enable scientists to better understand the water cycle on Mars, as well as the evolution of its atmosphere. ... > full story

Smart phones: Keeping business data secure while allowing installation of personal apps (October 10, 2011) -- More and more companies are providing their employees with smartphones. While companies seek the best security available for their data, employees would also like to install apps of their own. Security experts have now developed equipment software with two separate areas: the business area and the personal area. ... > full story

Nanopores on a chip: Applications for analytical tasks in chemistry and biology (October 10, 2011) -- Biological nanopores are proteins of only a few nanometers in diameter that form tiny water-filled canals. They have proven to be promising tools in the field of nanobiotechnology. Researchers in Germany have succeeded in arranging nanopores on a tiny microchip and using it to determine the mass of chain-like molecules called polymers with a high degree of precision. ... > full story

Secure updates for navigation systems (October 10, 2011) -- At the push of a button by the driver, control units download the car manufacturer's new software -- such as enhanced map material for the navigation system. To ensure that this data channel is protected from hacker attack, the system needs the right cryptographic key. To date, these keys have been stored in each one of a vehicle's electronic control units. Thanks to a new form of trust anchor, this will be simpler and more economical in the future. ... > full story

CMOS integrated poly-SiGe piezoresistive pressure sensor demonstrated (October 10, 2011) -- A new integrated poly-SiGe-based piezoresistive pressure sensor has been directly fabricated above 0.13 µm copper (Cu) -backend CMOS technology. This represents not only the first integrated poly-SiGe pressure sensor directly fabricated above its readout circuit, but also the first time that a poly-SiGe MEMS device is processed on top of Cu-backend CMOS. ... > full story

Extremely high-speed heterojunction bipolar transistors demonstrated (October 10, 2011) -- Researchers have realized a fT/fMAX 245GHz/450GHz SiGe:C heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) device, a key enabler for future high-volume millimeter-wave low-power circuits to be used in automotive radar applications. These HBT devices also pave the way to silicon-based millimeter wave circuits penetrating the so-called THz gap, enabling enhanced imaging systems for security, medical and scientific applications. ... > full story

Venus has an ozone layer too, space probe discovers (October 9, 2011) -- The European Space Agency’s Venus Express spacecraft has discovered an ozone layer high in the atmosphere of Venus. Comparing its properties with those of the equivalent layers on Earth and Mars will help astronomers refine their searches for life on other planets. ... > full story

Tougher, lighter wind turbine blade developed: Polyurethane reinforced with carbon nanotubes (October 9, 2011) -- Efforts to build larger wind turbines able to capture more energy from the air are stymied by the weight of blades. Researchers have now built a prototype blade that is substantially lighter and eight times tougher and more durable than currently used blade materials. ... > full story

Laser light used to cool object to quantum ground state (October 9, 2011) -- For the first time, researchers have managed to cool a miniature mechanical object to its lowest possible energy state using laser light. The achievement paves the way for the development of exquisitely sensitive detectors as well as for quantum experiments that scientists have long dreamed of conducting. ... > full story

New software models immune responses (October 9, 2011) -- New software lets researchers see how the immune system responds to pathogens that invade the bacteria-rich environment of the gut. ... > full story

Electricity from the nose: Engineers make power from human respiration (October 8, 2011) -- The same piezoelectric effect that ignites your gas grill with the push of a button could one day power sensors in your body via the respiration in your nose. ... > full story

Early detection of plant disease (October 8, 2011) -- Each year, plant viruses and fungal attacks lead to crop losses of up to 30 percent. That is why it is important to detect plant disease early on. Yet laboratory tests are expensive and often time-consuming. Researchers are now developing a low-cost quick test for use on site. ... > full story

Wireless window contacts: No maintenance, no batteries (October 8, 2011) -- Window contacts tell us which of a house's windows are open or closed. Researchers have now developed a fail-safe system that is particularly easy to use and needs no wiring or batteries. The sensors harvest the energy they need to run from ambient radio signals. ... > full story

Astrophysics and extinctions: News about planet-threatening events (October 7, 2011) -- Space is a violent place. If a star explodes or black holes collide anywhere in our part of the Milky Way, they'd give off colossal blasts of lethal gamma-rays, X-rays and cosmic rays and it's perfectly reasonable to expect Earth to be bathed in them. A new study of such events has yielded some new information about the potential effects of what are called "short-hard" interstellar radiation events. ... > full story

Physicists localize 3-D matter waves for first time (October 7, 2011) -- Physicists have experimentally demonstrated for the first time how three-dimensional conduction is affected by the defects that plague materials. The researchers achieved complete Anderson localization of quantum matter waves in three dimensions. The team also measured the energy a particle needs to escape localization, known as the mobility edge. They found that as disorder increased, so did the mobility edge, meaning that materials with high concentrations of defects induce more localization. ... > full story

Ancient supernovas discovered: 10-billion-year-old exploding stars were a source of Earth's iron, researchers say (October 7, 2011) -- Astronomers have just discovered 12 of the most distant and ancient supernovas ever seen, 10 of them in a part of the sky called the Subaru Deep Field. ... > full story

Ionic liquid catalyst helps turn emissions into fuel (October 7, 2011) -- Scientists have overcome one major obstacle to artificial photosynthesis, a promising technology that simultaneously reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide and produces fuel. They have now used an ionic liquid to catalyze the conversion of CO2 to CO, the first step in making fuel, greatly reducing the energy required to drive the process. ... > full story

Mine-hunting software helping doctors to identify rare cells in human cancer (October 7, 2011) -- Medical researchers are demonstrating new software developed for finding and recognizing undersea mines can help doctors identify cancer-related cells. The problem that physicians encounter in analyzing human cell images is similar to the Navy's challenge of finding undersea mines. Doctors must sift through hundreds of microscopic images containing millions of cells. To pinpoint specific cells, they use automated image analysis software called FARSIGHT, or Fluorescence Association Rules for Quantitative Insight. ... > full story

Practical play: Interactive video games appear valuable for ICU patients (October 7, 2011) -- Interactive video games, already known to improve motor function in recovering stroke patients, appear to safely enhance physical therapy for patients in intensive care units, new research suggests. ... > full story

Crab pulsar beams most energetic gamma rays ever detected from a pulsar (October 7, 2011) -- Astrophysicists have detected pulsed gamma-ray emission from the Crab pulsar at energies far beyond what current theoretical models of pulsars can explain. With energies exceeding 100 billion electron-volts (100 GeV), the surprising gamma-ray pulses were detected by the VERITAS telescope array. ... > full story

One room -- 63 different dust particles? Researchers aim to build dust library (October 7, 2011) -- Researchers recently isolated 63 unique dust particles from their laboratory -- and that's just the beginning. The chemists were testing a new kind of sensor when dust got stuck inside it, and they discovered that they could measure the composition of single dust particles. ... > full story

New technique for understanding quantum effects in water (October 7, 2011) -- The use of oxygen isotope substitution will lead to more accurate structural modeling of oxide materials found in everything from biological processes to electronic devices, new research suggests. ... > full story

Hold the phone for vital signs: Researchers turn a smart phone into a medical monitor (October 7, 2011) -- Researchers are turning smartphones into sophisticated medical monitors able to capture and transmit vital physiological data. The team has already developed an app that measures heart rate, heart rhythm, respiration rate, and blood oxygen saturation using the phone's built-in video camera. ... > full story

Technology to make old-age safer (October 7, 2011) -- A fall alarm. Automatic nightlight. Oven reminder. Refrigerator alarm. These are just a few of the new welfare technology solutions that may become a normal part of the lives of the elderly in the future. A Norwegian technology company has developed a complete electronic safety package for the elderly. ... > full story

Engineers: Non-compete agreements have high cost for employees (October 7, 2011) -- A new study of more than 1,000 engineers shows that non-compete agreements come with a high cost for employees: When those workers do shift jobs, roughly one-third of them end up leaving their chosen industry altogether, often at significant financial cost to themselves. ... > full story

NASA's moon twins going their own way (October 7, 2011) -- NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)-B spacecraft successfully executed its first flight path correction maneuver Wednesday, Oct. 5. The rocket burn helped refine the spacecraft's trajectory as it travels from Earth to the moon and provides separation between itself and its mirror twin, GRAIL-A. The first burn for GRAIL-A occurred on Sept. 30. ... > full story

Krypton Hall effect thruster for spacecraft propulsion (October 6, 2011) -- Electric propulsion (EP) is the future of astronautics. It can already compete successfully with chemical thrusters, especially for attitude control, orbit transfer and/or orbital station-keeping as well as for the main propulsion system for deep space missions. However, xenon, the propellant of choice in most EP devices, has a substantial drawback: its cost is very high. On the basis of the experience with plasma jet accelerators, a team of scientists and engineers from Poland has designed the Hall effect thruster optimised to work with krypton, a much more affordable noble gas. ... > full story

Astronomers find elusive planets in decade-old Hubble data (October 6, 2011) -- In a painstaking re-analysis of Hubble Space Telescope images from 1998, astronomers have found visual evidence for two extrasolar planets that went undetected back then. Finding these hidden gems in the Hubble archive gives astronomers an invaluable time machine for comparing much earlier planet orbital motion data to more recent observations. It also demonstrates a novel approach for planet hunting in archival Hubble data. ... > full story

Monkeys 'move and feel' virtual objects using only their brains (October 6, 2011) -- In a first ever demonstration of a two-way interaction between a primate brain and a virtual body, two trained monkeys learned to employ brain activity alone to move an avatar hand and identify the texture of virtual objects. ... > full story

Acoustic cloak: Closer to achieving the acoustic undetectability of objects (October 6, 2011) -- Researchers have taken another step towards achieving what is known as "acoustic undetectability". It is a new prototype two-dimensional acoustic cloak that can make sound waves with a specific frequency reaching an object avoid it as if it was not there, thanks to the cooperative effect of the units of which the cloak is made up. ... > full story

Novel math formula can predict success of certain cancer therapies (October 6, 2011) -- Carefully tracking the rate of response of human lung tumors during the first weeks of treatment can predict which cancers will undergo sustained regression, suggests a new study. ... > full story

Triple rainbows exist, photo evidence shows (October 6, 2011) -- Single rainbows are inspiring, double rainbows are rare, but tertiary rainbows have been elusive until a meteorologist provided guidelines that showed how to find them. Few people have ever claimed to see three rainbows arcing through the sky at once. In fact, scientific reports of these tertiary rainbows were so rare that until now many scientists believed sightings were as fanciful as Leprechaun's gold at a rainbow's end. These legendary optical rarities have finally been confirmed, thanks to photographic perseverance and a new meteorological model. ... > full story

Crash-safe battery protection for electric cars (October 6, 2011) -- Engineers in Germany have replaced a battery box for lithium-ion batteries in electric cars with a lightweight component. Not only does the housing save weight and sustain no damage in an accident -- for the first time ever, it can also be mass-produced. ... > full story

Controlling silicon evaporation allows scientists to boost graphene quality (October 6, 2011) -- Scientists have for the first time provided details of their "confinement controlled sublimation" technique for growing high-quality layers of epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide wafers. ... > full story

Components based on nature’s example (October 6, 2011) -- They are lightweight and yet strong and resilient: straw, bamboo, bones and teeth owe their surprising strength to their cleverly designed internal structures and a judicious combination of materials. The same principles can be applied to produce lighter and more durable plastic products. ... > full story

Unlocking jams in fluid materials: A theoretical model to understand how to best avoid jamming of soft matter (October 6, 2011) -- In a new study, a German scientist constructed a theoretical model to understand how to best avoid jamming of soft matter that can be applied in food and cosmetics production. ... > full story

Athletes' winning streaks may not be all in our -- or their -- heads (October 6, 2011) -- When an athlete consistently does well, sports commentators may describe them as being "hot" or "on fire." Scientists have debunked these streaks as being in the eye of the beholder, but a new study supports the "hot hand" phenomenon: that a streak of positive outcomes is likely to continue. ... > full story

Certain biofuel mandates unlikely to be met by 2022; unless new technologies, policies developed (October 5, 2011) -- It is unlikely the United States will meet some specific biofuel mandates under the current Renewable Fuel Standard by 2022 unless innovative technologies are developed or policies change. ... > full story

People as 'sensors': Twitter messages reveal NFL's big plays and fans (October 5, 2011) -- Using millions of Twitter subscribers as living "sensors," engineers have found a way to monitor fans' levels of excitement and to keep track of the action in National Football League games -- without ever switching on a TV. SportSense is a computer program the engineers created to analyze NFL fan tweets in real time. ... > full story

Pioneering fingermark technology uses mass spectrometry imaging to provide crime scene investigators with key extra details (October 5, 2011) -- A pioneering technology to detect fingermarks at crime scenes, which provides additional information about a suspect, is a step closer to being incorporated into traditional forensic investigations in the UK. ... > full story

Titanic jigsaw challenge: Piecing together a global color map of Saturn’s largest moon (October 5, 2011) -- An international team has pieced together images gathered over six years by the Cassini mission to create a global mosaic of the surface of Titan. ... > full story