The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Monday, December 12, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Monday, December 12, 2011

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

Nanowrinkles, nanofolds yield strange hidden channels (December 12, 2011) -- Wrinkles and folds, common in nature, do something unusual at the nanoscale. Researchers have discovered that wrinkles on super-thin films have hidden long waves. The team also found that folds in the film produce nanochannels, like thousands of tiny subsurface pipes. The research could lead to advances in medicine, electronics and energy. ... > full story

New solar-powered classroom brings science to schools in developing countries (December 12, 2011) -- An innovative project is using solar generators to provide IT resources and 'hands-on' science for students in developing countries. ... > full story

Multi-purpose photonic chip paves the way to programmable quantum processors (December 12, 2011) -- A multi-purpose optical chip which generates, manipulates and measures entanglement and mixture -- two quantum phenomena which are essential driving forces for tomorrow's quantum computers -- has now been developed. This work represents an important step forward in the race to develop a quantum computer. ... > full story

A hidden order unraveled: Microscopic views on quantum fluctuations (December 12, 2011) -- Fluctuations are fundamental to many physical phenomena in our everyday lives. Using a high resolution microscope, scientists have now been able to image quantum-correlated particle-hole pairs in a gas of ultracold atoms. This has allowed the physicists to unravel a hidden order in the crystal. ... > full story

Synthetic cricket pricks up its 'ears' (December 11, 2011) -- The tiny hairs on the abdomen of a cricket have inspired researchers to make a new type of sensor which is ultra sensitive to air flows. These synthetic cricket hairs can now also be tuned very precisely for a certain range of frequencies: the hairs are 10 times more sensitive in this range. ... > full story

Slow road to stability for emulsions (December 11, 2011) -- Physical equilibrium, assumed to be almost instant, may take months or years for particles in oil-water mixtures. By studying the behavior of tiny particles at an interface between oil and water, researchers have discovered that stabilized emulsions may take longer to reach equilibrium than previously thought. ... > full story

Carving at the nanoscale (December 10, 2011) -- Researchers have successfully demonstrated a new method for producing a wide variety of complex hollow nanoparticles. The work applies well known processes of corrosion in a novel manner to produce highly complex cage-like nanoscale structures with potential applications in fields from medicine to industrial processing. ... > full story

Computerized method for matching images in photos, paintings, sketches created (December 10, 2011) -- Computers can mimic the human ability to find visually similar images, such as photographs of a fountain in summer and in winter, or a photograph and a painting of the same cathedral, by using a technique that analyzes the uniqueness of images, say researchers. The research team found that their surprisingly simple technique performed well on a number of visual tasks that normally stump computers, including matching sketches of automobiles with photographs of cars. ... > full story

Researchers develop a way to monitor engineered blood vessels as they grow in patients (December 9, 2011) -- New research describes how by using magnetic resonance imaging and nanoparticle technology, scientists can monitor the growth of laboratory-engineered blood vessels after implantation in patients. This is an important step toward ensuring that blood vessels, and tissues engineered from a patient's own biological material, are taking hold and working as expected. This is the first method for monitoring the growth and progress of engineered tissues once they are implanted. ... > full story

Microscopic worms could hold the key to living life on Mars (December 9, 2011) -- The astrophysicist Stephen Hawking believes that if humanity is to survive we will have up sticks and colonize space. But is the human body up to the challenge? Scientists believe that Caenorhabditis elegans, a microscopic worm which has biologically similarities to human beings, could help us understand how humans might cope with long-duration space exploration. ... > full story

Extraordinary long gaseous tails in two groups of galaxies (December 9, 2011) -- An international group of astronomers has discovered extraordinary long one-sided gaseous tails in two groups of galaxies that are amongst the longest structures ever observed in such environments. The tails emanate from CGCG 097-026 and FGC1287, two spiral galaxies in small groups in the outskirts of the galaxy cluster known as Abell 1367 in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of 300 million light years. The new work could lead to a major shift in our understanding of galaxy evolution. ... > full story

Catching terrorists: Backpacks, not the bombs inside, key to finding DNA (December 9, 2011) -- Catching terrorists who detonate bombs may be easier by testing the containers that hide the bombs rather than the actual explosives, according to pioneering research. ... > full story

Atoms dressed with light show new interactions, could reveal way to observe enigmatic particle (December 9, 2011) -- Physicists have found a way to manipulate atoms' internal states with lasers that dramatically influences their interactions in specific ways. Such light-tweaked atoms can be used as proxies to study important phenomena that would be difficult or impossible to study in other contexts. ... > full story

For Midwesterners, more boxcars mean cleaner air (December 9, 2011) -- Shifting a fraction of truck-borne freight onto trains would have an outsized impact on air quality in the Midwest, according to researchers. ... > full story

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