The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Sunday, October 16, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Sunday, October 16, 2011

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Subtly shaded map of moon reveals titanium treasure troves (October 15, 2011) -- A map of the Moon combining observations in visible and ultraviolet wavelengths shows a treasure trove of areas rich in Titanium ores. Not only is titanium a valuable element, it is key to helping scientists unravel the mysteries of the Moon's interior. ... > full story

Frustration inspires new form of graphene (October 15, 2011) -- Researchers have now developed a new form of graphene that does not stack. The new material -- inspired by a trash can full of crumpled-up papers -- is made by crumpling the graphene sheets into balls. ... > full story

Psychopathic killers: Computerized text analysis uncovers the word patterns of a predator (October 15, 2011) -- As words can be the soul's window, scientists are learning to peer through it: Computerized text analysis shows that psychopathic killers make identifiable word choices -- beyond conscious control -- when talking about their crimes. This research could lead to new tools for diagnosis and treatment, and have implications law enforcement and social media. ... > full story

Uncharted territory: Scientists sequence the first carbohydrate biopolymer (October 15, 2011) -- For the first time ever, a team of researchers has announced the sequence of a complete complex carbohydrate biopolymer. The surprising discovery provides the scientific and medical communities with an important and fundamental new view of these vital biomolecules, which play a role in everything from cell structure and development to disease pathology and blood clotting. ... > full story

The future of airport passport control (October 15, 2011) -- Digital security specialists, major European electronics makers, and experts in biometrics worked together to make passport control at airports faster. The technology also could have broader applications on the way our identity documents are design and on the way we access public services. ... > full story

How the zebra gets its stripes: A simple genetic circuit (October 14, 2011) -- Developmental processes that create stripes and other patterns are complex and difficult to untangle. To sort it out, a team of scientists has designed a simple genetic circuit that creates a striped pattern that they can control by tweaking a single gene. This genetic loop is made two linked modules that sense how crowded a group of cells has become and responds by controlling their movements. ... > full story

Differing structures underlie differing brain rhythms in healthy and ill, virtual modeling reveals (October 14, 2011) -- Virtual brains modeling epilepsy and schizophrenia display less complexity among functional connections, and other differences compared to healthy brain models, researchers report. The researchers worked backward from brain rhythms -- the oscillating patterns of electrical activity in the brain recorded on electroencephalograms -- from both healthy and ill individuals. ... > full story

'Robot biologist' solves complex problem from scratch (October 14, 2011) -- Scientists have taken a major step toward developing robot biologists. They have shown that their system, the Automated Biology Explorer, can solve a complicated biology problem from scratch. ... > full story

Researchers discover material with graphene-like properties (October 14, 2011) -- After the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to two scientists in 2010 who had studied the material graphene, this substance has received a lot of attention. Scientists have now developed and analyzed a material which possesses physical properties similar to graphene. ... > full story

Redox flow batteries, a promising technology for renewable energies integration (October 14, 2011) -- Today there is a wide variety of energy storage technologies at very different stages of development. Among them, the Redox Flow Battery (RFB) is an innovative solution based on the use of liquid electrolytes stored in tanks and pumped through a reactor to produce energy. Researchers are currently working in the development of high performance RFBs. ... > full story

Carbon nanotube muscles generate giant twist for novel motors (October 14, 2011) -- Artificial muscles, based on carbon nanotubes yarn, that twist like the trunk of an elephant, but provide a thousand times higher rotation per length, have been developed by a team of researchers. ... > full story

Tagging tumors with gold: Scientists use gold nanorods to flag brain tumors (October 14, 2011) -- When removing a brain tumor, even the slightest mistake could have serious health consequences. To help surgeons, researchers have proposed a way to harness the unique optical properties of gold nanoparticles to clearly distinguish a brain tumor from the healthy tissue that surrounds it. ... > full story