The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Wednesday, August 8, 2012

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Wednesday, August 8, 2012

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Orbiter images NASA's latest additions to Martian landscape (August 7, 2012) -- Late Monday night, an image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the Curiosity rover and the components that helped it survive its seven-minute ordeal from space to its present location in Mars' Gale Crater. ... > full story

Transformed X-48c flies successfully (August 7, 2012) -- The remotely piloted X-48C aircraft successfully flew for the first time Aug. 7 at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert. The aircraft, designed by The Boeing Co. and built by Cranfield Aerospace Limited of the United Kingdom, is flying again in partnership with NASA. The new X-48C model, which was formerly the X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft, was modified to evaluate the low-speed stability and control of a low-noise version of a notional, future Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) aircraft design. The HWB design stems from concept studies being conducted by NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation project of future potential aircraft designs 20 years from now. ... > full story

Chemists advance clear conductive thin films (August 7, 2012) -- Thin, conductive films are useful in displays and solar cells. A new solution-based chemistry for making indium tin oxide films could allow engineers to employ a much simpler and cheaper manufacturing process. ... > full story

Nanoparticle discovery opens door for pharmaceuticals (August 7, 2012) -- What a student thought was a failed experiment has led to a serendipitous discovery hailed by some scientists as a potential game changer for the mass production of nanoparticles. ... > full story

California's hydropower stations to generate less electricity in summer as climate warms (August 7, 2012) -- California's hydropower is vulnerable to climate change, a scientist has advised policymakers. According to the scientist, if California loses snowpack under climate warming, high-elevation hydropower-plant reservoirs may not be able to store enough water for hydropower generation in summer months when the demand is much higher and hydropower is priced higher. ... > full story

Composite nanofibers open next chapter in orthopaedic biomaterials (August 7, 2012) -- Scientists have developed and validated a new technology in which composite nanofibrous scaffolds provide a loose enough structure for cells to colonize without impediment, but still can instruct cells how to lay down new tissue. ... > full story

Searching for tumors or handguns can be like looking for food (August 7, 2012) -- If past experience makes you think there's going to be one more cashew at the bottom of the bowl, you're likely to search through those mixed nuts a little longer. But what keeps the attention of a radiologist or baggage screener who can go hours without finding anything? The answer may be to make those professional searchers believe there are more targets to be found. ... > full story

Greater working memory capacity benefits analytic, but not creative, problem-solving (August 7, 2012) -- Psychological scientists have long known that the amount of information we can actively hold in mind at any given time – known as working memory – is limited. Our working memory capacity reflects our ability to focus and control attention and strongly influences our ability to solve problems. Psychological scientists find that while increased working memory capacity seems to boost mathematical problem-solving, it might actually get in the way of creative problem solving. ... > full story

A simple way to help cities monitor traffic more accurately (August 7, 2012) -- New software helps in-road traffic detectors count cars more accurately -- and save city planners money. ... > full story

What makes Paris look like Paris? Software finds stylistic core (August 7, 2012) -- Paris is one of those cities that has a look all its own, something that goes beyond landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame. Researchers have developed visual data mining software that can automatically detect these sometimes subtle features, such as street signs, streetlamps and balcony railings, that give Paris and other cities a distinctive look. ... > full story

Advance in X-ray imaging shines light on nanomaterials (August 7, 2012) -- A new advance in X-ray imaging has revealed the dramatic three-dimensional shape of gold nanocrystals, and is likely to shine a light on the structure of other nano-scale materials. ... > full story

Higgs transition of north and south poles of electrons in a magnet (August 7, 2012) -- Minimal evidence of a Higgs transition;1 of north and south poles of electron spins was observed in a magnet Yb2Ti2O7 at the absolute temperature;2 0.21 K. A fractionalization of these monopoles from electron spins was observed on cooling to 0.3 K. On further cooling below 0.21 K, the material showed the ferromagnetism to be understood as a superconductivity of monopoles. The work is reported in an online science journal “Nature Communications” in UK on August 7, by an international collaboration team of Dr. Shigeki Onoda (Condensed Matter Theory Lab., RIKEN Advanced Science Institute), Dr. Lieh-Jeng Chang (Quantum Beam Science Dictorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency and Dept. of Physics, National Cheng Kung Univ.), and Dr. Yixi Su (Jülich Center for Neutron Science JCNS-FRM II, Forschungszentrum Jülich), and coworkers. ... > full story

Eco-computer with a natural wood look (August 7, 2012) -- Surfing for hours on the Internet consumes a lot of electricity and is harmful to the environment. However, a new ecological PC saves energy as it operates: It produces about 70 percent less CO2 than conventional computers. ... > full story

Using wastewater as fertilizer (August 7, 2012) -- Sewage sludge, wastewater and liquid manure are valuable sources of fertilizer for food production. Researchers have now developed a chemical-free, eco-friendly process that enables the recovered salts to be converted directly into organic food for crop plants. ... > full story

Bruce Willis couldn’t save us from asteroid doom (August 7, 2012) -- According to the internet hysteria surrounding the ancient Mayan calendar, an asteroid could be on its way to wipe out the world on December 21, 2012. Obviously this is pretty unlikely -- but if an asteroid really is on its way, could we take a cue from the disaster movie Armageddon in order to save the planet? According to new research the answer is definitely "no." ... > full story

Astronomers crack mystery of the 'monster' stars (August 7, 2012) -- In 2010 scientists discovered four ‘monster’ sized stars, with the heaviest more than 300 times as massive as our Sun. Despite their incredible luminosity, these exotic objects, located in the giant star cluster R136 in the nearby galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud; have oddly so far been found nowhere else. Now a group of astronomers have a new explanation: the ultramassive stars were created from the merger of lighter stars in tight binary systems. ... > full story

New metamaterials device focuses sound waves like a camera lens (August 7, 2012) -- Researchers have designed and computationally tested a type of humanmade metamaterial capable for the first time of manipulating a variety of acoustic waves with one simple device. ... > full story

New Mars rover beams back images showing its descent (August 7, 2012) -- Just hours after NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars, a select group of images taken by the onboard Mars Descent Imager, or MARDI, were beamed back to Earth. The 297 color, low-resolution images, provide a glimpse of the rover's descent into Gale Crater. They are a preview of the approximately 1,504 images of descent currently held in the rover's onboard memory. When put together in highest resolution, the resulting video is expected to depict the rover's descent from the moment the entry system's heat shield is released through touchdown. ... > full story

Extreme plasma theories put to the test (August 6, 2012) -- The first controlled studies of extremely hot, dense matter have overthrown the widely accepted 50-year-old model used to explain how ions influence each other's behavior in a dense plasma. The results should benefit a wide range of fields, from research aimed at tapping nuclear fusion as an energy source to understanding the inner workings of stars. ... > full story

Researchers unlock secret of the rare 'twinned rainbow' (August 6, 2012) -- Scientists have yet to fully unravel the mysteries of rainbows, but a group of researchers have used simulations of these natural wonders to unlock the secret to a rare optical phenomenon known as the twinned rainbow. ... > full story

USGS science goes to Mars (August 6, 2012) -- With the Mars rover Curiosity's successful landing Sunday, Aug. 5, at 10:32 p.m. PDT, U.S. Geological Survey scientists continue their strategic role in the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), the most advanced mission yet to explore whether the Red Planet has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. ... > full story

NASA's Curiosity rover caught in the act of landing (August 6, 2012) -- An image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the Curiosity rover still connected to its 51-foot-wide (almost 16 meter) parachute as it descended towards its landing site at Gale Crater. ... > full story

Broadening researcher access to protein simulation (August 6, 2012) -- Using just an upgraded desktop computer equipped with a relatively inexpensive graphics processing card, a team of computer scientists and biochemists has developed advanced GPU accelerated software and demonstrated for the first time that this approach can sample biological events that occur on the millisecond timescale. ... > full story

Increased productivity, not less energy use, results from more efficient lighting (August 6, 2012) -- Improvements in lighting -- from candles to gas lamps to electric bulbs -- historically have led to increased light consumption rather than lower overall energy use by society, researchers argue in a new article. ... > full story

Airborne technology helps manage elephants (August 6, 2012) -- For years, scientists have debated how big a role elephants play in toppling trees in South African savannas. Tree loss is a natural process, but it is increasing in some regions, with cascading effects on the habitat for many other species. Using high resolution 3-D mapping, scientists have for the first time quantitatively determined tree losses across savannas of Kruger National Park. They found that elephants are the primary agents. ... > full story

New approaches needed for uncovering, identifying, and treating buried chemical warfare material (August 6, 2012) -- The current approach for identifying and destroying buried chemical munitions and related chemical warfare materials uncovered during environmental remediation projects is neither reliable enough nor has the capability to efficiently tackle large-scale projects, says a new report. ... > full story

Seeing through walls: Laser system reconstructs objects hidden from sight (August 6, 2012) -- Researchers combined bouncing photons with advanced optics to enable them to "see" what's hidden around the corner. ... > full story

Quantum physics: New insights into the remote control of quantum systems (August 6, 2012) -- Physicists shine new light on the question of the resources required for achieving quantum information processing. The scientists demonstrate that less demanding resources, which are easier to prepare and to control, can be used for quantum-enhanced technologies. In the experiment, researchers achieve remote quantum state preparation without requiring entanglement as a resource. ... > full story

Virtual nanoscopy: Like 'Google Earth' for cell biologists (August 6, 2012) -- Just as users of Google Earth can zoom in from space to a view of their own backyard, researchers can now navigate biological tissues from a whole embryo down to its subcellular structures thanks to recent advances in electron microscopy and image processing. ... > full story

Preparation of anti-tumor nanoparticles using tiger milk mushroom (August 6, 2012) -- Tapping into the power of natural ingredients for safer treatment is the next frontier in the battle against cancer. A recent breakthrough uses tiger milk mushroom to prepare anti-tumor nanoparticles is bringing us one step closer. ... > full story

Understanding the biological and ecological implications of safe nanotechnology (August 6, 2012) -- New research shows how the soft nanomaterial dendrimer can be used to remediate the environment from potentially toxic nanomaterials. ... > full story

High performance flexible solid state battery developed (August 6, 2012) -- Scientists have developed a high performance flexible all-solid-state battery, an essential energy source for flexible displays. ... > full story

New model for animated faces and bodies (August 6, 2012) -- Computer graphic artists who produce computer-animated movies and games spend much time creating subtle movements such as expressions on faces, gesticulations on bodies and the draping of clothes. A new way of modeling these dynamic objects could greatly simplify this editing process. ... > full story

Touch your philodendron and control your computer: Technology turns any plant into an interactive device (August 6, 2012) -- Any houseplant -- real or artificial -- could control a computer or any digital device with new technology, called Botanicus Interactus. ... > full story

Cyberbullying less frequent than traditional bullying (August 6, 2012) -- Traditional in-person bullying is far more common than cyberbullying among today’s youth and should be the primary focus of prevention programs, according to new research. ... > full story

Hydraulic fracturing poses substantial water pollution risks, analysts say (August 6, 2012) -- Researchers find multiple potential threats to water sources posed by hydraulic fracturing as the jobs-producing practice expands. ... > full story

Microswimmers: Micron-scale swimming robots could deliver drugs and carry cargo using simple motion (August 6, 2012) -- Researchers have used complex computational models to design micro-swimmers that could overcome the challenges of swimming at the micron scale. These autonomous micro-robots could carry cargo and navigate in response to stimuli such as light. ... > full story

Leaky water pipes problem solved (August 6, 2012) -- A new leak detection system can identify damaged water pipes swiftly and accurately. ... > full story

Information advantage gained from surprising quantum source (August 6, 2012) -- New research lends hope that a phenomenon called quantum discord could be harnessed to bring quantum technologies within easier reach than expected. ... > full story

NASA's new Mars rover sends higher-resolution image (August 6, 2012) -- About two hours after landing on Mars and beaming back its first image, NASA's Curiosity rover transmitted a higher-resolution image of its new Martian home, Gale Crater. Mission Control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., received the image, taken by one of the vehicle's lower-fidelity, black-and-white Hazard Avoidance Cameras -- or Hazcams. ... > full story

Car-size rover Curiosity lands on Mars: Two-year mission to investigate Red Planet begins (August 6, 2012) -- NASA's most advanced Mars rover Curiosity has landed on the Red Planet. The one-ton rover, hanging by ropes from a rocket backpack, touched down onto Mars at 1:31 a.m. EDT Monday (Aug. 6, 2012) to end a 36-week flight and begin a two-year investigation. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft that carried Curiosity succeeded in every step of the most complex landing ever attempted on Mars, including the final severing of the bridle cords and flyaway maneuver of the rocket backpack. ... > full story

Curiosity rover just hours from Mars landing (August 5, 2012) -- NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is healthy and right on course for a landing in several hours that will be one of the most difficult feats of robotic exploration ever attempted. ... > full story

Mars tugging on approaching NASA rover Curiosity (August 4, 2012) -- The gravitational tug of Mars is now pulling NASA's car-size geochemistry laboratory, Curiosity, in for a suspenseful landing in less than 40 hours. ... > full story

NASA investigates proton radiation effects on cells (August 4, 2012) -- A team of researchers has found radiation from protons could further enhance a process that occurs during tumor progression. This information may help lead to better methods to protect astronauts from the harmful effects of radiation in space, as well as help cancer researchers on Earth better understand the effects of radiation treatment on the human body. ... > full story

Hubble sees a ten billion year stellar dance (August 4, 2012) -- The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope offers a delightful view of the crowded stellar encampment called Messier 68, a spherical, star-filled region of space known as a globular cluster. Mutual gravitational attraction amongst a cluster's hundreds of thousands or even millions of stars keeps stellar members in check, allowing globular clusters to hang together for many billions of years. ... > full story

Signs changing fast for Voyager at solar system edge (August 4, 2012) -- Two of three key signs of changes expected to occur at the boundary of interstellar space have changed faster than at any other time in the last seven years, according to new data from NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft. ... > full story

Memory improves for older adults using computerized brain fitness program (August 3, 2012) -- Researchers found that older adults who regularly used a brain fitness program played on a computer demonstrated significantly improved memory and language skills. ... > full story

New generation of virtual humans helping to train psychologists (August 3, 2012) -- New technology has led to the creation of virtual humans who can interact with therapists via a computer screen and realistically mimic the symptoms of a patient with clinical psychological disorders, according to new research. ... > full story

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