The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Sunday, September 2, 2012

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Sunday, September 2, 2012

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

A millimeter-scale, wirelessly powered cardiac device (August 31, 2012) -- Electrical engineers overturn existing models to demonstrate the feasibility of a millimeter-sized, wirelessly powered cardiac device. The findings, say the researchers, could dramatically alter the scale of medical devices implanted in the human body. ... > full story

Hubble spots a supernova in NGC 5806 (August 31, 2012) -- A new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 5806, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo (the Virgin). It lies around 80 million light years from Earth. Also visible in this image is a supernova explosion called SN 2004dg. ... > full story

NASA's GRAIL moon twins begin extended mission science (August 31, 2012) -- NASA's twin, lunar-orbiting Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft began data collection for the start of the mission's extended operations. ... > full story

New, less expensive nanolithography technique developed (August 31, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a new nanolithography technique that is less expensive than other approaches and can be used to create technologies with biomedical applications. ... > full story

First implantation of prototype bionic eye with 24 electrodes: 'All of a sudden I could see a little flash of light' (August 31, 2012) -- In a major development, researchers in Australia have successfully performed the first implantation of an early prototype bionic eye with 24 electrodes. A patient with profound vision loss due to retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited condition, has now received the implant that enables her to experience some vision. ... > full story

NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno changes its orbit (August 30, 2012) -- Earlier today, navigators and mission controllers for NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter watched their computer screens as their spacecraft successfully performed its first deep-space maneuver. This first firing of Juno's main engine is one of two planned to refine the spacecraft's trajectory, setting the stage for a gravity assist from a flyby of Earth on Oct 9, 2013. Juno will arrive at Jupiter on July 4, 2016. ... > full story

Shading Earth: Delivering solar geoengineering materials to combat global warming may be feasible and affordable (August 30, 2012) -- A cost analysis of the technologies needed to transport materials into the stratosphere to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth and therefore reduce the effects of global climate change has shown that they are both feasible and affordable. The study has shown that the basic technology currently exists and could be assembled and implemented in a number of different forms for less than USD billion a year. ... > full story

'Nanoresonators' might improve cell phone performance (August 30, 2012) -- Researchers have learned how to mass produce tiny mechanical devices that could help cell phone users avoid the nuisance of dropped calls and slow downloads. The devices are designed to ease congestion over the airwaves to improve the performance of cell phones and other portable devices. ... > full story

Photonic interactions measured at atomic level (August 30, 2012) -- By measuring the unique properties of light on the scale of a single atom, researchers believe that they have characterized the limits of metal's ability in devices that enhance light. ... > full story

'Promiscuous' enzymes still prevalent in metabolism: Challenges fundamental notion of enzyme specificity and efficiency (August 30, 2012) -- Open an undergraduate biochemistry textbook and you will learn that enzymes are highly efficient and specific in catalyzing chemical reactions in living organisms, and that they evolved to this state from their “sloppy” and “promiscuous” ancestors to allow cells to grow more efficiently. This fundamental paradigm is being challenged in a new study by bioengineers who reported in the journal Science what a few enzymologists have suspected for years: many enzymes are still pretty sloppy and promiscuous, catalyzing multiple chemical reactions in living cells, for reasons that were previously not well understood. ... > full story

NASA's Dawn spacecraft prepares for trek toward dwarf planet (August 30, 2012) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on track to become the first probe to orbit and study two distant solar system destinations, to help scientists answer questions about the formation of our solar system. The spacecraft is scheduled to leave the giant asteroid Vesta on Sept. 4 PDT (Sept. 5 EDT) to start its two-and-a-half-year journey to the dwarf planet Ceres. ... > full story

'Weird chemistry' by microbe is prime source of ocean methane (August 30, 2012) -- Up to four percent of the methane on Earth comes from the ocean's oxygen-rich waters, but scientists have been unable to identify the source of this potent greenhouse gas. Now researchers report that they have found the culprit: A bit of "weird chemistry" practiced by the most abundant microbes on the planet. ... > full story