The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Friday, December 9, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Friday, December 9, 2011

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NMR used to determine whether gold nanoparticles exhibit 'handedness' (December 9, 2011) -- Scientists have successfully used NMR to analyze the structure of infinitesimal gold nanoparticles, which could advance the development and use of the tiny particles in drug development. Their approach offers a significant advantage over routine methods for analyzing gold nanoparticles because it can determine whether the nanoparticles exist in a both right-handed and left-handed configuration, a phenomenon called chirality. ... > full story

Making factories smarter so they can react to changes on their own (December 9, 2011) -- The time it takes for new products to come to market is getting ever shorter. As a consequence, goods are being produced using manufacturing facilities and IT systems that were designed with completely different models in mind. Developers want to make factories smarter so they can react to changes of their own accord. ... > full story

Physicists manipulate single molecules to unravel secrets of protein folding (December 8, 2011) -- Physicists are opening a new window on protein folding, using a technique that lets them grab the ends of a single protein molecule and pull, making continuous, direct measurements as it unfolds and refolds. The latest study of the protein calmodulin reveals a complex network of intermediate states along the way to functionally correct folded forms. Better understanding of protein folding is essential because incorrectly folded proteins cause diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. ... > full story

The perfect clone: Researchers hack RFID smartcards (December 8, 2011) -- Professional safecrackers use a stethoscope to find the correct combination by listening to the clicks of the lock. Researchers have now demonstrated how to bypass the security mechanisms of a widely used contactless smartcard in a similar way. Employing so-called “Side-Channel Analysis” the researchers can break the cryptography of millions of cards that are used all around the world. ... > full story

New interface could help Facebook members limit security leaks (December 8, 2011) -- A sign-up interface for Facebook apps could help members prevent personal information -- and their friends' information -- from leaking out through third-party games and apps to hackers and identity thieves. ... > full story

Computer simulations shed light on the physics of rainbows (December 8, 2011) -- Computer scientists who set out to simulate all rainbows found in nature, wound up answering questions about the physics of rainbows as well. The scientists recreated a wide variety of rainbows by using an improved method for simulating how light interacts with water drops of various shapes and sizes. Their new approach even yielded realistic simulations of difficult-to-replicate "twinned" rainbows that split their primary bow in two. ... > full story

Patterns seen in spider silk and melodies connected (December 8, 2011) -- Using a new mathematical methodology, researchers have created a scientifically rigorous analogy showing the similarities between the physical structure of spider silk and the sonic structure of a musical composition, proving that the structure of each relates to its function in an equivalent way. The comparison begins with the primary building blocks of each item and explains that structural patterns are directly related to the functional properties of silk and a melodic riff. ... > full story

New '3-D' transistors promising future chips, lighter laptops (December 8, 2011) -- Researchers have created a new type of transistor made from a material that could replace silicon and have a 3-D structure instead of conventional flat computer chips. ... > full story

Heads up, Kobe Bryant: Researchers discover that trying for another 3-pointer is a mistake (December 8, 2011) -- Researchers shattered the myth that players who score one or more three-pointers improve their odds of scoring another. A new report raises doubts about the ability of athletes in particular, and people in general, to predict future success based on past performance. ... > full story

New tool for touring Mars using detailed images (December 8, 2011) -- An improved tool debuts Dec. 7 for viewing channels, dunes, boulders and other features revealed in the huge image files from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. ... > full story

One of the world's smallest electronic circuits created (December 8, 2011) -- Scientists have engineered one of the world's smallest electronic circuits. It is formed by two wires separated by only about 150 atoms or 15 nanometers. ... > full story

High tech detection of breast cancer using nanoprobes and SQUID (December 8, 2011) -- Mammography saves lives by detecting very small tumors. However, it fails to find 10-25% of tumors and is unable to distinguish between benign and malignant disease. New research provides a new and potentially more sensitive method using tumor-targeted magnetic nanoprobes and superconducting quantum interference device sensors. ... > full story

Avatars help people develop real world skills (December 8, 2011) -- New research suggests that far from disengaging young people from real life, virtual worlds can provide unique environments that can help them learn and negotiate new situations. ... > full story

NASA Mars rover finds mineral vein deposited by water (December 8, 2011) -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found bright veins of a mineral, apparently gypsum, deposited by water. Analysis of the vein will help improve understanding of the history of wet environments on Mars. ... > full story

Ingredients involved in 'splashing' revealed (December 8, 2011) -- "Splashing" plays a central role in the transport of pollutants and the spread of diseases, but while the sight of a droplet striking and splashing off of a solid surface is a common experience, the actual physical ingredients and mechanisms involved in splashing aren't all that well understood. A team of researchers has discovered that there is indeed more involved in splashing than previously believed. ... > full story

Best routes found to self-assembling 3-D shapes (December 7, 2011) -- Researchers have found optimal configurations for creating 3-D geometric shapes — like tiny, highly simplified geodesic domes that assemble by themselves. The team developed the algorithmic tools and tested selected configurations. The research may lead to advances from drug-delivery containers to 3-D sensors and electronic circuits. ... > full story

Supercomputer reveals new details behind drug-processing protein model (December 7, 2011) -- Supercomputer simulations are giving scientists unprecedented access to a key class of proteins involved in drug detoxification. ... > full story

New all-sky map shows the magnetic fields of the Milky Way with the highest precision (December 7, 2011) -- With a unique new all-sky map, scientists have made significant progress toward measuring the magnetic field structure of the Milky Way in unprecedented detail. Specifically, the map is of a quantity known as Faraday depth, which among other things, depends strongly on the magnetic fields along a particular line of sight. To produce the map, data were combined from more than 41,000 individual measurements using a novel image reconstruction technique. The new map not only reveals the structure of the galactic magnetic field on large scales, but also small-scale features that provide information about turbulence in the galactic gas. ... > full story

SETI search resumes at Allen Telescope Array, targeting new planets (December 7, 2011) -- The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) is once again searching planetary systems for signals that would be evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Among its first targets are some of the exoplanet candidates recently discovered by NASA's Kepler space telescope. ... > full story

Butterfly wings inspire design of water-repellent surface (December 7, 2011) -- Researchers mimic the many-layered nanostructure of blue mountain swallowtail wings to make a silicon wafer that traps both air and light. ... > full story

Vampire star reveals its secrets (December 7, 2011) -- Astronomers have obtained the best images ever of a star that has lost most of its material to a vampire companion. By combining the light captured by telescopes at the European Southern Observatory's Paranal Observatory they created a virtual telescope 130 meters across with vision 50 times sharper than the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Surprisingly, the new results show that the transfer of mass from one star to the other in this double system is gentler than expected. ... > full story

Solar storms could sandblast the moon (December 7, 2011) -- Solar storms and associated Coronal Mass Ejections can significantly erode the lunar surface according to a new set of computer simulations by NASA scientists. In addition to removing a surprisingly large amount of material from the lunar surface, this could be a major method of atmospheric loss for planets like Mars that are unprotected by a global magnetic field. ... > full story

Researchers use CT to recreate Stradivarius violin (December 7, 2011) -- Using computed tomography imaging and advanced manufacturing techniques, a team of experts has created a reproduction of a 1704 Stradivarius violin. ... > full story

Shocking new way to create nanoporous materials (December 7, 2011) -- Scientists have developed a new method of creating nanoporous materials with potential applications in everything from water purification to chemical sensors. ... > full story

Engineers devise shoe sampling system for detecting trace amounts of explosives (December 7, 2011) -- The ability to efficiently and unobtrusively screen for trace amounts of explosives on airline passengers could improve travel safety -- without invoking the ire of inconvenienced fliers. Toward that end, researchers have developed a prototype air sampling system that can quickly blow particles off the surfaces of shoes and suck them away for analysis. ... > full story

Confidence is key to women's spatial skills, study suggests (December 7, 2011) -- Boosting a woman’s confidence makes her better at spatial tasks, scientists have found, suggesting skills such as parking and map-reading could come more easily if a woman is feeling good about herself. ... > full story

Measuring living cells' mechanical properties: Technology could diagnose human disease, shed light on biological processes (December 7, 2011) -- Researchers are making progress in developing a system that measures the mechanical properties of living cells, a technology that could be used to diagnose human disease and better understand biological processes. ... > full story

Big success with tiny crystals (December 7, 2011) -- A little piece of iron wire is magnetic – just like a huge iron rod. When it comes to material properties, size usually does not matter. Surprisingly, researchers from Austria and India have now discovered that some materials show very unusual behavior, when they are studied in the form of tiny crystals. This could now lead to new materials with tailor-made electronic and magnetic properties. ... > full story

Random noise helps make signals clearer; Model shows that signal clarity only improves if specific energy conditions are met (December 6, 2011) -- Scientists have shown the energy conditions, under which a weak signal supplied to a physical system emerges as a stronger signal at the output thanks to the presence of random noise (a process known as stochastic resonance). ... > full story

NASA's Voyager hits new region at solar system edge (December 6, 2011) -- NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a new region between our solar system and interstellar space. Data obtained from Voyager over the last year reveal this new region to be a kind of cosmic purgatory. In it, the wind of charged particles streaming out from our sun has calmed, our solar system's magnetic field is piled up, and higher-energy particles from inside our solar system appear to be leaking out into interstellar space. ... > full story

Virtual childbirth simulator improves safety of high-risk deliveries (December 6, 2011) -- Newly developed computer software combined with magnetic resonance imaging of a fetus may help physicians better assess a woman's potential for a difficult childbirth. ... > full story

S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g electrical conductance to the limit (December 6, 2011) -- Scientists have developed a method for mechanically controlling the geometry of a single molecule, situated in a junction between a pair of gold electrodes that form a simple circuit. The manipulations produced over tenfold increase in conductivity. ... > full story

Proton beam experiments open new areas of research (December 6, 2011) -- By focusing proton beams using high-intensity lasers, a team of scientists has discovered a new way to heat material and create new states of matter in the laboratory. In a new report, researchers unveiled new findings about how proton beams can be used in myriad applications. ... > full story

New NASA Dawn visuals show Vesta's 'color palette' (December 6, 2011) -- Vesta appears in a splendid rainbow-colored palette in new images obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The colors, assigned by scientists to show different rock or mineral types, reveal Vesta to be a world of many varied, well-separated layers and ingredients. Vesta is unique among asteroids visited by spacecraft to date in having such wide variation, supporting the notion that it is transitional between the terrestrial planets -- like Earth, Mercury, Mars and Venus -- and its asteroid siblings. ... > full story

Plasma-based treatment goes viral (December 6, 2011) -- Life-threatening viruses such as HIV, SARS, hepatitis and influenza, could soon be combated in an unusual manner as researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of plasma for inactivating and preventing the replication of adenoviruses. ... > full story

Record massive black holes discovered lurking in monster galaxies (December 6, 2011) -- Astronomers using the Keck, Gemini and MacDonald observatories have discovered the largest black holes to date: Two monsters with masses equivalent to 10 billion suns that are threatening to consume anything, even light, within a region five times the size of our solar system. These monsters may be the remains of quasars that brightened the early universe. ... > full story

Scientists propose new names for elements 114 and 116 (December 6, 2011) -- The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has recommended new proposed names for elements 114 and 116, the latest heavy elements to be added to the periodic table. Scientists proposed the names are Flerovium for element 114 and Livermorium for element 116. ... > full story

'Squeezed' quantum vacuum filled with atoms (December 6, 2011) -- Quantum theory is known for its peculiar concepts that appear to contradict the fundamental principles of traditional physics. Researchers have now succeeded in creating a special quantum state between two mesoscopic gases with approximately 500 atoms. The state is known as a “squeezed“ vacuum, in which measuring one gas affects the results of the measurement on the other. To produce these results the team had to develop a novel detection technique to measure values in atomic gases that were previously unobtainable. ... > full story

Efficiency metrics for energy storage devices need standardization (December 6, 2011) -- Solving the mystery of prematurely dead cell phone and laptop batteries may prove to be a vital step toward creating a sustainable energy grid according to researchers. Scientists now call for a new, standardized gauge of performance measurement for energy storage devices. ... > full story

Global carbon emissions reach record 10 billion tons, threatening 2 degree target (December 6, 2011) -- Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels have increased by 49 percent in the last two decades, according to the latest figures by an international team of scientists. ... > full story

'Label-free' imaging tool tracks nanotubes in cells, blood for biomedical research (December 6, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated a new imaging tool for tracking structures called carbon nanotubes in living cells and the bloodstream, which could aid efforts to perfect their use in biomedical research and clinical medicine. ... > full story

Giant super-Earths made of diamond are possible, study suggests (December 5, 2011) -- A planet made of diamonds may sound lovely, but you wouldn't want to live there. A new study suggests that some stars in the Milky Way could harbor "carbon super-Earths" – giant terrestrial planets that contain up to 50 percent diamond. But if they exist, those planets are likely devoid of life as we know it. ... > full story

Chemists become molecular sculptors, synthesizing tiny, molecular traps (December 5, 2011) -- Using clever but elegant design, chemists have synthesized tiny, molecular cages that can be used to capture and purify nanomaterials. ... > full story

Laser heating: New light cast on electrons heated to several billion degrees (December 5, 2011) -- A new class of high power lasers can effectively accelerate particles like electrons and ions with very intense, short laser pulses. Physicists have developed a new theoretical model for predicting the density and temperature of hot electrons which surpasses existing models in accurately describing experimental results and simulations. ... > full story

NASA's Kepler confirms its first planet in habitable zone outside our solar system (December 5, 2011) -- NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the "habitable zone," the region around a star where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface. Kepler also has discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Ten of these candidates are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star. Candidates require follow-up observations to verify they are actual planets. ... > full story

Unique geologic insights from 'non-unique' gravity and magnetic interpretation (December 5, 2011) -- In many fields of applied science, such as geology, there are often tensions and disagreements between scientists who specialize in analyses of problems using mathematical models to describe sets of collected data, and those that rely on on-the-ground observations and empirical analyses. ... > full story

Astronomers find fastest rotating star (December 5, 2011) -- The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope has picked up the fastest rotating star found so far. This massive bright young star lies in our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, about 160,000 light-years from Earth. Astronomers think that it may have had a violent past and has been ejected from a double star system by its exploding companion. ... > full story

New insights into responses of Yellowstone wolves to environmental changes (December 5, 2011) -- A study of the wolves of Yellowstone National Park has improved predictions of how these animals will respond to environmental changes. The study, which is part of the Yellowstone Wolf Project, involved tracking changes in various characteristics of the wolves of Yellowstone National Park ever since these animals were reintroduced to the park in 1995. ... > full story