The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Wednesday, August 15, 2012

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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

Need an expert? Try the crowd (August 14, 2012) -- Can a crowd be an expert? Apparently, yes. Scientists have created the first-ever crowd-sourced predictive model. ... > full story

Online obesity treatment programmes show promise (August 14, 2012) -- Computer and web-based weight management programs may provide a cost effective way of addressing the growing problem of obesity, according to a recent review. The researcher found that delivering weight loss or weight maintenance programs online or by computer helped overweight and obese patients lose and/or maintain weight. ... > full story

An artificial retina with the capacity to restore normal vision (August 14, 2012) -- For the first time, researchers decipher the retina’s neural code for brain communication to create novel, more effective prosthetic retinal device for blindness. ... > full story

Health consequences of meltdown, damage to Fukushima nuclear power plants in Japan (August 14, 2012) -- Researchers report on the psychological status of workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plants in Japan several months after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, and the amount of internal radiation exposure among residents of a city north of the power plant that experienced a meltdown. ... > full story

Deep inside the body, tiny mechanical microscope diagnoses disease (August 14, 2012) -- Tiny space age probes -- those that can see inside single living cells -- are increasingly being used to diagnose illness in hard-to-reach areas of the body. ... > full story

Orbiter views NASA's new Mars rover in color (August 14, 2012) -- The first color image taken from orbit showing NASA's rover Curiosity on Mars includes details of the layered bedrock on the floor of Gale Crater that the rover is beginning to investigate. ... > full story

Mass spectrometry opens new frontiers in a single cell (August 14, 2012) -- Pioneering mass spectrometry methods are helping plant biologists get their first glimpses of never-before-seen plant tissue structures. The new method opens up new realms of study, ones that might have long-ranging implications for biofuels research and crop genetics. ... > full story

Plants exhibit a wide range of mechanical properties, engineers find (August 14, 2012) -- From an engineer's perspective, plants such as palm trees, bamboo, maples and even potatoes are examples of precise engineering on a microscopic scale. Like wooden beams reinforcing a house, cell walls make up the structural supports of all plants. Depending on how the cell walls are arranged, and what they are made of, a plant can be as flimsy as a reed, or as sturdy as an oak. ... > full story

Quark matter’s connection with the Higgs: Heavy ion collisions delve deeper into the origin of (visible) mass (August 14, 2012) -- You may think you've heard everything you need to know about the origin of mass. After all, scientists colliding protons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Europe recently presented stunning evidence strongly suggesting the existence of a long-sought particle called the Higgs boson, thought to "impart mass to matter." But while the Higgs particle may be responsible for the mass of fundamental particles such as quarks, quarks alone can't account for the mass of most of the visible matter in the universe -- that's everything we see and sense around us. ... > full story

US wind power market riding a wave that is likely to crest in 2012 (August 14, 2012) -- Facing looming policy uncertainty beyond 2012, the US remained one of the fastest-growing wind power markets in the world in 2011 -- second only to China -- according to a new report. Driven by the threat of expiring federal incentives, new wind power installations are widely expected to be substantially higher in 2012 than in 2011, and perhaps even in excess of 2009's record build. ... > full story

New process doubles production of alternative fuel while slashing costs (August 14, 2012) -- A new discovery should make the alternative fuel butanol more attractive to the biofuel industry. Scientists have found a way around the bottleneck that has frustrated producers in the past and could significantly reduce the cost of the energy involved in making it as well. ... > full story

Engineers assess Dawn spacecraft's reaction wheel (August 14, 2012) -- Engineers working on NASA's Dawn spacecraft are assessing the status of a reaction wheel -- part of a system that helps the spacecraft point precisely -- after onboard software powered it off on Aug. 8. Dawn's mission is to study the geology and geochemistry of the giant asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, the two most massive objects in the main asteroid belt. Dawn is now using its thrusters to point at Earth for communications. The rest of the spacecraft is otherwise healthy. ... > full story

Success of engineered tissue depends on where it's grown (August 14, 2012) -- Researchers have now shown that implanted cells' therapeutic properties depend on their shape, which is determined by the type of scaffold on which they are grown. The work could allow scientists to develop even more effective implants and also target many other diseases, including cancer. ... > full story

Closing in on the border between primordial plasma and ordinary matter (August 14, 2012) -- Scientists have observed first glimpses of a possible boundary separating ordinary nuclear matter, composed of protons and neutrons, from the seething soup of their constituent quarks and gluons that permeated the early universe. ... > full story

Hearing the telltale sounds of dangerous chemicals (August 14, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a new chemical sensor that can simultaneously identify multiple nerve agents. ... > full story

New research promises quiet cars -- even when hitting unexpected bumps in the road (August 14, 2012) -- New research featuring a mathematical model for quick-response, noise-cancellation designed to minimize sudden and unexpected noise caused by road hazards -- bumps or potholes for example -- has just been developed. ... > full story

Graphene's behavior depends on where it sits: Materials beneath determine how it react chemically and electrically (August 14, 2012) -- Surprising new experiments show that a one-atom-thick material called graphene, a form of pure carbon whose atoms are joined in a chicken-wire-like lattice, behaves quite differently depending on the nature of material it's wrapped around. ... > full story

A model designed to balance the bolting load of wind turbines developed (August 14, 2012) -- A researcher has built a simplified simulation model for wind turbines. All one has to do is enter the characteristics that the tower and its parts will have, and in a matter of seconds the model predicts the load that has to be given to each of the bolts, which leads to great advantages in the construction and maintenance process. ... > full story

Military aircraft will soon be quieter (August 14, 2012) -- Innovations on reducing the noise of the United State's most sophisticated military aircraft have been developed. ... > full story

NASA's 'Mighty Eagle' robotic prototype lander flies again at Marshall (August 13, 2012) -- The "Mighty Eagle," a NASA robotic prototype lander, is soaring high again for a series of tests being conducted at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. ... > full story

Second flight instrument delivered for James Webb Space Telescope (August 13, 2012) -- The second of four main instruments to fly aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) has been delivered to NASA. The Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) will enable the telescope to accurately and precisely point at the correct, intended objects for it to observe. The FGS is packaged together as a single unit with the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) science instrument. ... > full story

New technology delivers sustained release of drugs for up to six months (August 13, 2012) -- A new technology which delivers sustained release of therapeutics for up to six months could be used in conditions which require routine injections, including diabetes, certain forms of cancer and potentially HIV/AIDS. ... > full story

NASA STEREO observes one of the fastest CMEs on record (August 13, 2012) -- On July 23, 2012, a massive cloud of solar material erupted off the sun's right side, zooming out into space, passing one of NASA's Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft along the way. Using the STEREO data, scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. clocked this giant cloud, known as a coronal mass ejection, or CME, as traveling between 1,800 and 2,200 miles per second as it left the sun. ... > full story

Speedy ions could add zip to quantum computers (August 13, 2012) -- Take that, sports cars! Physicists can accelerate their beryllium ions from zero to 100 miles per hour and stop them in just a few microseconds. The researchers think their zippy ions may be useful in future quantum computers. ... > full story

Supercomputers solve riddle of congenital heart defects (August 13, 2012) -- With the aid of pioneering technology, Danish scientists have charted several of the complex biological processes behind congenital heart defects. In time, the research promises to provide better ways to prevent, diagnose and cure heart disease. ... > full story

New system could predict solar flares, give advance warning (August 13, 2012) -- Researchers may have discovered a new method to predict solar flares more than a day before they occur, providing advance warning to help protect satellites, power grids and astronauts from potentially dangerous radiation. ... > full story

Nanoparticle solar panel coating helps maintain panel efficiency (August 13, 2012) -- A physics researcher has developed a nanoparticle coating for solar panels. This coating helps maintain the panels efficiency and reduces maintenance and operation costs. ... > full story

Nano, photonic research gets boost from new 3-D visualization technology (August 13, 2012) -- For the first time X-ray scientists have combined high-resolution imaging with 3-D viewing of the surface layer of material using X-ray vision in a way that does not damage the sample. This new technique expands the range of X-ray research possible for biology and many aspects of nanotechnology, particularly nanofilms, photonics, and micro- and nano-electronics. This new technique also reduces "guesswork" by eliminating the need for modeling-dependent structural simulation often used in X-ray analysis. ... > full story

Gamma rays from galactic center could be evidence of dark matter (August 13, 2012) -- Gamma-ray photons seen emanating from the center of the Milky Way galaxy are consistent with the intriguing possibility that dark-matter particles are annihilating each other in space, according to new research. ... > full story

A new energy source: Major advance made in generating electricity from wastewater (August 13, 2012) -- Engineers have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater, opening the door to a future in which waste treatment plants not only will power themselves while cleaning sewage, but will sell excess electricity. ... > full story

How computation can predict group conflict: Fighting among captive pigtailed macaques provides clues (August 13, 2012) -- When conflict breaks out in social groups, individuals make strategic decisions about how to behave based on their understanding of alliances and feuds in the group. But it's been challenging to quantify the underlying trends that dictate how individuals make predictions, given they may only have seen a small number of fights or have limited memory. In a new study of primates (pigtailed macaques), scientists have developed a computational approach to determine whether individuals behave predictably. ... > full story

Wind farms: A danger to ultra-light aircraft? (August 13, 2012) -- Airfields for ultra-light aircraft are typically constructed on level ground -- and so are wind farms. However, do wind power plants generate turbulence that could endanger lightweight planes? A simulation can compute how these power plants influence aircraft at various wind speeds and wind directions. ... > full story

Scientists 'waltz' closer to using spintronics in computing (August 13, 2012) -- Aiming to use electron spins for storing, transporting and processing information, researchers have revealed the first-ever direct mapping of the formation of a persistent spin helix in a semiconductor. ... > full story

Optics and photonics research priorities, grand challenges presented in new report (August 13, 2012) -- A new report identifies research priorities and grand challenges to fill gaps in optics and photonics. ... > full story

Cyber security risk to smart grids and intelligent buildings (August 13, 2012) -- Building owners and designers, and particularly members of the building services industry, are racing to implement intelligent buildings and smart grids, which are widely heralded as a boon in terms of both energy efficiency and facilities management. But many are overlooking the potential risk of malicious attacks on these highly networked control systems. ... > full story

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider experiments bring new insight into matter of the primordial Universe (August 13, 2012) -- Experiments using heavy ions at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are advancing understanding of the primordial Universe. Scientists have made new measurements of the kind of matter that probably existed in the first instants of the Universe. ... > full story

Optical fibers made from common materials (August 13, 2012) -- Researchers are taking common materials to uncommon places by transforming easily obtainable and affordable materials into fiber. ... > full story

Scientist invents pocket living room TV (August 13, 2012) -- Leaving your TV show midway because you had to leave your home will no longer happen as you can now ‘pull’ the program on your TV screen onto your tablet and continue watching it seamlessly. ... > full story

New eye sweeps the gamma sky (August 13, 2012) -- H.E.S.S. II in Namibia observes the most violent and extreme phenomena of the universe in very high energy gamma-rays. ... > full story

New bacteria-resistant materials discovered (August 13, 2012) -- Using state-of-the-art technology, scientists at have discovered a new class of polymers that are resistant to bacterial attachment. These new materials could lead to a significant reduction in hospital infections and medical device failures. ... > full story

Full color images at 100,000 dots-per-inch resolution, using metal-laced nano-structures (August 12, 2012) -- Inspired by colorful stained-glass windows, researchers from Singapore have demonstrated an innovative method for producing sharp, full-spectrum color images at 100,000 dpi which can be applicable in reflective color displays, anti-counterfeiting, and high-density optical data recording. ... > full story

Unraveling intricate interactions, one molecule at a time (August 12, 2012) -- In a key step towards the design of better organic electronic devices, an engineering team has succeeded in performing the first quantitative characterization of van der Waals interactions at metal/organic interfaces at the single-molecule level. The researchers reveal the existence of two distinct binding regimes in gold-molecule-gold single-molecule junctions, using molecules containing nitrogen atoms at their extremities that are attracted to gold surfaces. ... > full story

World's most powerful X-ray laser beam refined to scalpel precision (August 12, 2012) -- With a thin sliver of diamond, scientists have transformed the Linac Coherent Light Source into an even more precise tool for exploring the nanoworld. The improvements yield laser pulses focused to higher intensity in a much narrower band of X-ray wavelengths, and may enable experiments that have never before been possible. ... > full story

Scientists' gold discovery sheds light on catalysis (August 12, 2012) -- Physicists have made an important advance in establishing the catalytic properties of gold at a nano level. They discovered that the catalytic activity of nanoporous gold (NPG) originates from high concentrations of surface defects present within its complex three-dimensional structure. ... > full story

Curiosity sends high-resolution color images from Mars' Gale Crater (August 12, 2012) -- NASA's Curiosity rover has shipped back to Earth high-resolution color images of its surroundings on Mars, sharpening our views of an intriguing channel, layered buttes and a layer of cobbles and pebbles embedded in a finer matrix of material. The images show a landscape closely resembling portions of the southwestern United States, adding to the impression gained from the lower-resolution thumbnail images released earlier this week. ... > full story

Hubble's close encounter with the Tarantula (August 11, 2012) -- Turning its eye to the Tarantula Nebula, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a close-up of the outskirts of the main cloud of the Nebula. ... > full story

NASA Curiosity Mars rover installing smarts for driving (August 10, 2012) -- NASA's Mars rover Curiosity will spend its first weekend on Mars transitioning to software better suited for tasks ahead, such as driving and using its strong robotic arm. The rover's "brain transplant," which will occur during a series of steps Aug. 10 through Aug. 13, will install a new version of software on both of the rover's redundant main computers. This software for Mars surface operations was uploaded to the rover's memory during the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft's flight from Earth. ... > full story

Quantum cryptography theory has a demonstrated security defect (August 10, 2012) -- Researchers have just demonstrated the incompleteness and limit of the security theory in quantum key distribution. The present theory cannot guarantee unconditional security. ... > full story

This message was sent to jmabs1@gmail.com from:

ScienceDaily | 1 Research Court, Suite 450 | Rockville, MD 20850

Email Marketing by