The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Wednesday, September 5, 2012

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Wednesday, September 5, 2012

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Biofuel waste product recycled for electricity (September 4, 2012) -- A by-product of biofuel manufacture can power microbial fuel cells to generate electricity cheaply and efficiently, according to scientists. The work could help develop self-powered devices that would depollute waste water and be used to survey weather in extreme environments. ... > full story

NASA's SDO sees massive filament erupt on sun (September 4, 2012) -- On August 31, 2012 a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, with a glancing blow. causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3. ... > full story

Violent video games not so bad when players cooperate (September 4, 2012) -- New research suggests that violent video games may not make players more aggressive -- if they play cooperatively with other people. ... > full story

Quest for Higgs boson enters new phase (September 4, 2012) -- This summer, physicists at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva announced the discovery of a new particle with a mass somewhere between 125 and 126 giga-electron volts, or 134 times the mass of the proton. This figure falls within the predicted range for the Higgs boson. So what's next? "This is the beginning. We still don’t know what this thing is," says one researcher. ... > full story

Showing the way to improved water-splitting catalysts: Chemists identify the mechanism by which such catalysts work (September 4, 2012) -- Scientists and engineers around the world are working to find a way to power the planet using solar-powered fuel cells. Such green systems would split water during daylight hours, generating hydrogen that could be stored and used later to produce water and electricity. But robust catalysts are needed to drive the water-splitting reaction. Now chemists have determined the mechanism by which some highly effective cobalt catalysts work. ... > full story

Watching quantum mechanics in action: Researchers create world record laser pulse (September 4, 2012) -- A research team has created the world's shortest laser pulse and in the process may have given scientists a new tool to watch quantum mechanics in action -- something that has been hidden from view until now. ... > full story

Waste silicon gets new life in lithium-ion batteries (September 4, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a way to make flexible components for rechargeable lithium-ion (LI) batteries from discarded silicon. ... > full story

Realizing the promise of RNA nanotechnology for new drug development (September 4, 2012) -- The use of RNA in nanotechnology applications is highly promising for many applications, including the development of new therapeutic compounds. Key technical challenges remain, though, and the challenges and opportunities associated with the use of RNA molecules in nanotechnology approaches are presented in a review article. ... > full story

Every atom counts in graphene formation: Nanoreactor theory could advance quality of material’s growth (September 4, 2012) -- Researchers detail the atom-by-atom energies at play in the chemical vapor deposition process of creating graphene. ... > full story

Experts propose 'cyber war' on cancer: Universities aim to break cancer's codes for social networking (September 4, 2012) -- Mounting evidence of intricate social cooperation among cancer cells has led researchers to suggest a new strategy for outsmarting cancer through its own social intelligence. The researchers call for a "cyber war" to co-opt the communications systems that allow cancer cells to work together to sense danger and avoid attacks by the immune system and chemotherapy drugs. ... > full story

Using magnetism to understand superconductivity (September 4, 2012) -- Research in atomic scale magnetism could play a role in the development of new materials that could permit lossless electricity transmission. ... > full story

PharmaNet system dramatically reduced inappropriate prescriptions of potentially addictive drugs (September 4, 2012) -- A centralized prescription network providing real-time information to pharmacists in British Columbia, Canada, resulted in dramatic reductions in inappropriate prescriptions for opioid analgesics and benzodiazepines, widely used and potentially addictive drugs. ... > full story

Spinach power gets a big boost: Reseachers combine spinach protein with silicon to make biohybrid solar cell (September 4, 2012) -- Spinach power has just gotten a big boost. Researchers have combined the photosynthetic protein that converts light into electrochemical energy in spinach with silicon, the material used in solar cells, in a fashion that produces substantially more electrical current than has been reported by previous "biohybrid" solar cells. ... > full story

Australian shipping emissions identified (September 4, 2012) -- Ship engine exhaust emissions make up more than a quarter of nitrogen oxide emissions generated in the Australian region according to a recently published study. Nitrogen oxide is a non-greenhouse gas, unlike similarly named nitrous oxide. ... > full story

Scanning for drunks with a thermal camera (September 4, 2012) -- Thermal imaging technology might one day be to identify drunks before they become a nuisance in bars, airports or other public spaces. Researchers in Greece are developing software that can objectively determine whether a person has consumed an excessive amount of alcohol based solely on the relative temperature of different parts of the person's face. ... > full story

Rapid response in cases of smoke poisoning (September 4, 2012) -- Smoke poisoning can be caused by a number of things, including cyanides, the salts of hydrocyanic acid. Because the quick diagnosis and treatment of victims with cyanide poisoning is critical and often lifesaving, it is very surprising that a cyanide test for emergency situations is not yet available. Now, chemists have developed a simple and reliable procedure to detect blood cyanide in less than two minutes. ... > full story

Using RNA nanotechnology to treat cancers and viral infections: New study shows promise (September 4, 2012) -- A new study shows promise for developing ultrastable RNA nanoparticles that may help treat cancer and viral infections by regulating cell function and binding to cancers without harming surrounding tissue. ... > full story

'Magic carpet' could help prevent falls (September 3, 2012) -- A 'magic carpet' can immediately detect when someone has fallen and can help to predict mobility problems. ... > full story

Mass spectrometry makes the clinical grade (September 3, 2012) -- A new mass spectrometry-based test identifies proteins from blood with as much accuracy and sensitivity as the antibody-based tests used clinically, researchers report. The head-to-head comparison using blood samples from cancer patients measured biomarkers, proteins whose presence identifies a disease or condition. The technique should be able to speed up development of protein-specific diagnostic tests and treatment. ... > full story

Intelligent self-repairing clothing and sensors will detect potential onset of an epileptic seizure (September 3, 2012) -- Intelligent self-repairing clothing and sensors that can detect the potential onset of an epileptic seizure sound like the stuff of science fiction but designers and engineers are turning them into reality. ... > full story

Peek-a-blue Moon (September 3, 2012) -- Europe's latest weather satellite got a glimpse of the Moon before our celestial neighbour disappeared from view behind Earth on Friday. Since its launch two months ago, MSG-3 has been working well and is on its way to entering service. ... > full story

Web-TV: A perfect match? (September 3, 2012) -- Do you surf the web in front of the TV, or tweet what you are watching? Researchers are creating technologies that combine web, social media and TV to enhance our experience and interactions across media. ... > full story

Waste cooking oil makes bioplastics cheaper (September 2, 2012) -- 'Bioplastics' that are naturally synthesized by microbes could be made commercially viable by using waste cooking oil as a starting material. This would reduce environmental contamination and also give high-quality plastics suitable for medical implants, according to scientists. ... > full story

Design help for drug cocktails for HIV patients: Mathematical model helps design efficient multi-drug therapies (September 2, 2012) -- For years, doctors treating those with HIV have recognized a relationship between how faithfully patients take the drugs they prescribe, and how likely the virus is to develop drug resistance. New research is helping to explain why those differences exist, and may help doctors quickly and cheaply design new combinations of drugs that are less likely to result in resistance. ... > full story

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

An open platform improves biomedical-image processing (August 31, 2012) -- A new open source platform allows for application sharing as a way of improving biomedical-image processing. Fiji has become a de facto standard that assists laboratories and microscope companies in their development of more precise products, researchers involved in the work say. ... > 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

Uncoiling the cucumber's enigma: Biological mechanism for coiling, and unusual type of spring discovered (August 30, 2012) -- In the creeping plant's tendrils, researchers discover a biological mechanism for coiling and stumble upon an unusual type of spring. ... > full story

Radiation belt storm probes: Spacecraft pair to explore mysterious region where other satellites fear to tread (August 30, 2012) -- Spacecraft pair will explore the mysterious region where other satellites fear to tread. ... > full story

Smartphone app can track objects on the battlefield as well as on the sports field (August 30, 2012) -- Researchers have developed new software using smartphones' GPS and imaging abilities, that determine the exact location of distant objects as well as monitor the speed and direction of moving objects. ... > full story

Surprisingly bright superbubble in nearby nebula (August 30, 2012) -- A new composite image shows a superbubble in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located about 160,000 light years from Earth. Many new stars, some of them very massive, are forming in the star cluster NGC 1929, which is embedded in the nebula N44. ... > full story

New flexible electronics technology may lead to new medical uses (August 30, 2012) -- Researchers have developed technology that opens new possibilities for health care and medical applications of electronic devices. ... > full story

Researchers make clinical trials a virtual reality (August 30, 2012) -- Clinical trials can be time-consuming, expensive and intrusive, but they are also necessary. Researchers have developed an invention that makes clinical trials more efficient by moving them into the virtual world. ... > full story

NASA launches radiation belt storm probes mission (August 30, 2012) -- NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP), the first twin-spacecraft mission designed to explore our planet's radiation belts, launched into the predawn skies at 4:05 a.m. EDT Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The two satellites, each weighing just less than 1,500 pounds, comprise the first dual-spacecraft mission specifically created to investigate this hazardous regions of near-Earth space, known as the radiation belts. These two belts, named for their discoverer, James Van Allen, encircle the planet and are filled with highly charged particles. The belts are affected by solar storms and coronal mass ejections and sometimes swell dramatically. When this occurs, they can pose dangers to communications, GPS satellites and human spaceflight. ... > full story

Record-breaking stellar explosion helps astronomers understand far-off galaxy (August 30, 2012) -- Astronomers took advantage of the most distant supernova of its type to probe a galaxy some 9.5 billion light years away. The light from the exploding star, allowed astronomers to confirm that the gas environment between the stars in the distant galaxy is "reassuringly normal." ... > full story

A whisker-inspired approach to tactile sensing (August 30, 2012) -- Inspired by the twitching whiskers of common rats and Etruscan shrews, researchers have developed rodent-like robots and an innovative tactile sensor system that could be used to help find people in burning buildings, make vacuum cleaners more efficient and eventually improve keyhole surgery. ... > full story

Japanese spacecraft to search for clues of Earth's first life (August 29, 2012) -- The Japanese space agency JAXA plans to land a spacecraft onto an asteroid in 2018 to search for clues of how life began on Earth. ... > full story

Saturn and its largest moon reflect their true colors (August 29, 2012) -- Posing for portraits for NASA's Cassini spacecraft, Saturn and its largest moon, Titan, show spectacular colors in a quartet of images being released today. One image captures the changing hues of Saturn's northern and southern hemispheres as they pass from one season to the next. ... > full story