The EDGE: ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Friday, October 21, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Friday, October 21, 2011

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'Microring' device could aid in future optical technologies (October 21, 2011) -- Researchers have created a device small enough to fit on a computer chip that converts continuous laser light into numerous ultrashort pulses, a technology that might have applications in more advanced sensors, communications systems and laboratory instruments. ... > full story

Magnetic attraction: Microchip demonstrates concept of 'MRAM for biomolecules' (October 21, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a low-power microchip that uses a combination of microfluidics and magnetic switches to trap and transport magnetic beads. The novel transport chip may have applications in biotechnology and medical diagnostics. ... > full story

New benchtop polymer characterization method developed (October 21, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a new and highly efficient way to characterize the structure of polymers at the nanoscale -- effectively designing a routine analytical tool that could be used by industries that rely on polymer science to innovate new products, from drug delivery gels to renewable bio-materials. ... > full story

Nearby planet-forming disk holds water for thousands of oceans (October 20, 2011) -- For the first time, astronomers have detected around a burgeoning solar system a sprawling cloud of water vapor that's cold enough to form comets, which could eventually deliver oceans to dry planets. ... > full story

Laser makes sure food is fresh (October 20, 2011) -- Minced meat, bread, fruit juice and many other foods are packaged in a protective gas which extends their shelf life. There is currently no good method to check whether the packaging has the correct gas content. However, researchers have now developed a new laser instrument which could solve the problem. The first product is expected to be ready for market launch later in the autumn. ... > full story

Planet-sized object as cool as Earth revealed in record-breaking photo (October 20, 2011) -- Scientists are presenting the photo of a nearby star and its orbiting companion -- whose temperature is like a hot summer day in Arizona. The planet-like companion is the coldest object ever directly photographed outside our solar system, researchers say. ... > full story

What makes tires grip the road on a rainy day? (October 20, 2011) -- Scientists have recently developed a model to predict the friction occurring when a rough surface in wet conditions (such as a road on a rainy day) is in sliding contact with a rubber material (such as a car tire tread block). ... > full story

Piecing together the priceless 'Cairo Genizah' (October 20, 2011) -- The Cairo Genizah is an irreplaceable repository for information about 1,000 years of human history. But the 350,000 fragments that make up the Genizah are scattered worldwide. Researchers are now putting all these pieces back together with a computer program based on facial recognition technology. ... > full story

Key property of potential 'spintronic' material measured (October 20, 2011) -- An advanced material that could help bring about next-generation "spintronic" computers has revealed one of its fundamental secrets to a team of scientists. ... > full story

Lightning strikes, in the form of bits and bytes (October 20, 2011) -- Scientists are utilizing a superfast computer system for simulating lightning strikes. Their objectives are arriving at better understandings of the effects of lightning strikes on humans and machinery and better predictions of those effects. ... > full story

Using new technique, scientists uncover a delicate magnetic balance for superconductivity (October 20, 2011) -- A new imaging technology is giving scientists unprecedented views of the processes that affect the flow of electrons through materials. By modifying a familiar tool in nanoscience -- the scanning tunneling microscope -- researchers have been able to visualize what happens when they change the electronic structure of a "heavy fermion" compound made of uranium, ruthenium and silicon. What they found sheds light on superconductivity -- the movement of electrons without resistance -- which typically occurs at extremely low temperatures and that researchers hope one day to achieve at something close to room temperature, which would revolutionize electronics. ... > full story

Glowing beacons reveal hidden order in dynamical systems: Experimental confirmation of a fundamental physical theorem (October 20, 2011) -- A dynamical system in which repeated measurements on a single particle yield the same mean result as a single measurement of the whole ensemble is said to be ergodic. The ergodic theorem expresses a fundamental physical principle, and its validity for diffusive processes has now been demonstrated. ... > full story

U.S. government releases environmental, health, and safety research strategy for nanotechnology (October 20, 2011) -- The U.S. government has just released a national strategy for ensuring that environmental, health, and safety research needs are fully identified and addressed in the fast-growing field of nanotechnology. ... > full story

NASA's Spitzer detects comet storm in nearby solar system (October 19, 2011) -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected signs of icy bodies raining down in an alien solar system. The downpour resembles our own solar system several billion years ago during a period known as the "Late Heavy Bombardment," which may have brought water and other life-forming ingredients to Earth. ... > full story

Computer games help people with Parkinson's disease, pilot study shows (October 19, 2011) -- Playing computer-based physical therapy games can help people with Parkinson's disease improve their gait and balance, according to a new pilot study. More than half the subjects in the three-month research project showed small improvements in walking speed, balance and stride length. ... > full story

Computing building blocks created from bacteria and DNA (October 19, 2011) -- Scientists have successfully demonstrated that they can build some of the basic components for digital devices out of bacteria and DNA, which could pave the way for a new generation of biological computing devices. ... > full story

Ammonia air pollution from cars and trucks worse in winter (October 19, 2011) -- Motor vehicles and industry are primary producers of ammonia in Houston's atmosphere, and cars and trucks appear to boost their output during the winter, according to a new study. ... > full story

How the Milky Way killed off nearby galaxies (October 19, 2011) -- Researchers have revealed for the first time the existence of a new signature of the birth of the first stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. More than 12 billion years ago, the intense ultraviolet light from these stars dispersed the gas of our Galaxy's nearest companions, virtually putting a halt to their ability to form stars and consigning them to a dim future. Now astronomers have explained why some galaxies were killed off, while stars continued to form in more distant objects. ... > full story

Cellphones exceed U.S. FCC exposure limits by as much as double for children, study finds (October 19, 2011) -- New research shows that cell phones used in the shirt or pants pocket exceed the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exposure guidelines and that children absorb twice as much microwave radiation from phones as do adults. ... > full story

Natural disasters: Networking robots and sensor systems to help first responders react more quickly (October 19, 2011) -- Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes -- natural disasters always catch us by surprise, no matter how many early warning systems are in place. This makes it all the more important for rescue teams to get a quick overview of the situation at hand. Researchers in Germany are working to network the various robots and sensor systems first responders use so that they can react more quickly and efficiently in the case of an emergency to search for victims and survivors. ... > full story

Nano funnel used to generate extreme ultraviolet light pulses (October 19, 2011) -- Scientists have successfully concentrated the energy of infrared laser pulses using a nano funnel enabling them to generate extreme ultraviolet light pulses, which repeated 75 million times per second. ... > full story

Step toward quantum computers: Using commercial photonic components (October 19, 2011) -- Researchers in Spain have developed a model that provides the basis for the application of commercial photonic components to the field of quantum computers and quantum communications. ... > full story

Industrial by-products upgraded into fuel (October 19, 2011) -- Researchers in Finland have achieved good results in using waste and other excess products from industry to develop new and innovative fuels for transport. The researchers have studied the processing of both biobutanol and biogas into transport fuels. ... > full story

After pregnancy loss, Internet forums help women understand they are not alone (October 19, 2011) -- An anonymous survey of more than 1,000 women on pregnancy loss message boards opens a new window into who is using the forums and why. ... > full story

Math professor announces who deserves the Cy Young and most valuable player awards; calls Rangers solid favorite for World Series (October 19, 2011) -- With Major League Baseball's World Series set to begin tomorrow, math professor Bruce Bukiet has once again analyzed the players most deserving of winning baseball's most important awards for the 2011 season. He also provides the probability of Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series. ... > full story

Orion's Belt lights up Cassini's view of Enceladus (October 19, 2011) -- NASA's Cassini mission will take advantage of the position of two of the three stars in Orion's belt when the spacecraft flies by Saturn's moon Enceladus on Oct. 19. As the hot, bright stars pass behind the moon's icy jets, Cassini's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph will acquire a two-dimensional view of these dramatic plumes of water vapor and icy material erupting from the moon's southern polar region. This flyby is the mission's first-ever opportunity to probe the jets with two stars simultaneously, a dual stellar occultation. ... > full story

Seeing through walls: New radar technology provides real-time video of what’s going on behind solid walls (October 18, 2011) -- The ability to see through walls is no longer the stuff of science fiction, thanks to new radar technology. Researchers have built a system that can see through walls from some distance away, giving an instantaneous picture of the activity on the other side. ... > full story

Robotic bug gets wings, sheds light on evolution of flight (October 18, 2011) -- When engineers outfitted a six-legged robotic bug with wings in an effort to improve its mobility, they unexpectedly shed some light on the evolution of flight. The wings nearly doubled the running speed of the 25-gram robot, but was that good enough for takeoff? ... > full story

Food without preservatives -- thanks to self-cleaning equipment (October 18, 2011) -- Éclairs and other pastries should taste light and fluffy. If the pastry dough contains too many microorganisms, though, it will not rise in the oven. Now, researchers have devised a system that cleans itself automatically after every batch of dough. This means the dough is sterile -- and for the first time, it can be made in large quantities off-site for delivery to bakeries. ... > full story

Dark matter mystery deepens (October 18, 2011) -- Like all galaxies, our Milky Way is home to a strange substance called dark matter. Dark matter is invisible, betraying its presence only through its gravitational pull. Without dark matter holding them together, our galaxy's speedy stars would fly off in all directions. The nature of dark matter is a mystery -- a mystery that a new study has only deepened. ... > full story

Testing micro-electronic stimulators for spinal cord injuries (October 18, 2011) -- A new wireless device may help victims of spinal cord injury. Researchers are developing micro-electrical stimulators for individuals with spinal cord injuries. ... > full story

Lithium-ion batteries made faster with new process (October 18, 2011) -- Engineers have been inspired by nature. To fill the porous electrodes of lithium-ion batteries more rapidly with liquid electrolyte, they are using a physico-chemical effect that also provides for transport in trees. The new process increases the throughput of battery production and reduces investment costs. ... > full story

Bioengineering to generate healthy skin (October 18, 2011) -- Scientists are participating in research to study how to make use of the potential for auto regeneration of stem skills from skin, in order to create, in the laboratory, a patient's entire cutaneous surface by means of a combination of biological engineering and tissue engineering techniques. ... > full story

Electrically powered maneuverable public transportation with high capacity (October 17, 2011) -- Electric and hybrid vehicles will be conquering the cities: cars, bicycles, buses and trains. This is why new ideas are in demand for individual and public transportation. ... > full story

Impurity atoms introduce waves of disorder in exotic electronic material (October 17, 2011) -- Scientists reveal how substituting just a few atoms can cause widespread disruption of the delicate electron interactions that give a particular "heavy fermion" material its unique properties, including superconductivity. ... > full story

New record voltage for organic solar cells opens the tech to consumer electronics (October 17, 2011) -- Scientists have achieved a significant breakthrough in the performance of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. They have achieved and demonstrated a record voltage for organic photovoltaic cells that means these highly flexible, low cost solar cells can now be devolved for commercial uses in a wide range of consumer electronics. ... > full story

Plastic fantastic: The future of biodegradables (October 17, 2011) -- Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a thermoplastic polyester which occurs naturally in bacteria as Ralstonia eutropha and Bacillus megaterium. Even though PHB is biodegradable and is not dependent on fossil resources, this bioplastic has been traditionally too expensive to produce to replace petroleum-based plastics. New research describes an alternative method of producing PHB in microalgae. ... > full story

Self-replication process holds promise for production of new materials (October 17, 2011) -- Scientists have developed artificial structures that can self-replicate, a process that has the potential to yield new types of materials. ... > full story

Twitter data used to track vaccination rates and attitudes (October 17, 2011) -- The first case study in how social-media sites can affect the spread of a disease has been designed and implemented by a scientist studying attitudes toward the H1N1 vaccine. The method is expected to be repeated in the study of other diseases. ... > full story

New mystery on Mars' forgotten plains (October 17, 2011) -- One of the supposedly best understood and least interesting landscapes on Mars is hiding something that could rewrite the planet's history. Or not. In fact, about all that is certain is that decades of assumptions regarding the wide, flat Hesperia Planum are not holding up very well under renewed scrutiny with higher-resolution, more recent spacecraft data. ... > full story

Mobile electrons multiplied in quantum dot films (October 17, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated that several mobile electrons can be produced by the absorption of a single light particle in films of coupled quantum dots. These multiple electrons can be harvested in solar cells with increased efficiency. ... > full story

Oranges and mandarins are inspected using artificial vision (October 17, 2011) -- Scientists have created a machine that detects and separates rotten oranges, another that classifies mandarin segments according to their quality and another that helps citrus fruit pickers out in the field. All prototypes use computer vision to automatically inspect the fruits. ... > full story

NASA's Dawn science team presents early science results (October 17, 2011) -- Scientists with NASA's Dawn mission are sharing with other scientists and the public their early information about the southern hemisphere of the giant asteroid Vesta. ... > full story

Reduce cyber attacks by protecting and rewarding secure networks on the Internet (October 17, 2011) -- Researchers have proposed a novel approach to network protection that could reduce the risk of cyber attack by rewarding those organizations that bolster the security on their networks to prevent the spread of malware and other problems. ... > full story

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