ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Mini-sensor measures magnetic activity in human brain
• TV as thin as a sheet of paper? Printable flexible electronics just became easier with stable electrodes
• Atomic blockade: Technique efficiently creates single photons for quantum information processing
• Boundary between electronics and biology is blurring: First proof of ferroelectricity in simplest amino acid
• Defending against chemical acts of terrorism
• Solar cell that also shines: Luminescent 'LED-type' design breaks efficiency record
• Efficiency of multi-hop wireless networks boosted
• Metal oxides hold the key to cheap, green energy
• It's the network: Ever wonder why your friends have more friends than you or diamond is harder than graphite?
• DNA origami puts a smart lid on solid-state nanopore sensors
• Groundbreaking device improves laser accuracy in surgeries
• Nanodot-based memory sets new world speed record
• New technology uses less water and produces energy and fertilizer at the same time
• Advance could mean stain-busting super scrub brushes and other new laundry products
• Rivers flowing into the sea offer vast potential as electricity source
• Raising the prospects for quantum levitation
• Graphene lenses: 2-D electron shepherds
• Bioreactor redesign dramatically improves yield
• Countries that best prepare math teachers share similarities: Several key conditions generally lacking in US
• Game of go: A complex network

Mini-sensor measures magnetic activity in human brain Posted: 19 Apr 2012 01:35 PM PDT A miniature atom-based magnetic sensor has passed an important research milestone by successfully measuring human brain activity. The lightweight sensor potentially could be used for biomedical applications such as studying mental processes and advancing the understanding of neurological diseases.

TV as thin as a sheet of paper? Printable flexible electronics just became easier with stable electrodes Posted: 19 Apr 2012 11:31 AM PDT Researchers have introduced what appears to be a universal technique to reduce the work function of a conductor. Their use in printable electronics can pave the way for lower cost and more flexible devices.

Atomic blockade: Technique efficiently creates single photons for quantum information processing Posted: 19 Apr 2012 11:31 AM PDT Using lasers to excite just one atom from a cloud of ultra-cold rubidium gas, physicists have developed a new way to rapidly and efficiently create single photons for potential use in optical quantum information processing -- and in the study of dynamics and disorder in certain physical systems.

Boundary between electronics and biology is blurring: First proof of ferroelectricity in simplest amino acid Posted: 19 Apr 2012 09:15 AM PDT The boundary between electronics and biology is blurring with the first detection of ferroelectric properties in an amino acid called glycine.

Defending against chemical acts of terrorism Posted: 19 Apr 2012 09:15 AM PDT Researchers may have found a way to protect us against otherwise deadly chemical attacks, such as the subway sarin incident in Tokyo that left thirteen people dead and thousands more injured or with temporary vision problems. The method is based on a new and improved version of a detoxifying enzyme produced naturally by our livers, according to a new report

Solar cell that also shines: Luminescent 'LED-type' design breaks efficiency record Posted: 19 Apr 2012 08:30 AM PDT To produce the maximum amount of energy, solar cells are designed to absorb as much light from the sun as possible. Now researchers have suggested -- and demonstrated -- a counter-intuitive concept: solar cells should be designed to be more like LEDs, able to emit light as well as absorb it.

Efficiency of multi-hop wireless networks boosted Posted: 19 Apr 2012 07:25 AM PDT Multi-hop wireless networks can provide data access for large and unconventional spaces, but they have long faced significant limits on the amount of data they can transmit. Now researchers have developed a more efficient data transmission approach that can boost the amount of data the networks can transmit by 20 to 80 percent.

Metal oxides hold the key to cheap, green energy Posted: 19 Apr 2012 07:20 AM PDT Harnessing the energy of sunlight can be as simple as tuning the optical and electronic properties of metal oxides at the atomic level to make an artificial crystal or super-lattice 'sandwich,' says a scientist.

It's the network: Ever wonder why your friends have more friends than you or diamond is harder than graphite? Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:12 AM PDT Networks governing processes in nature and society are becoming increasingly amenable to modeling, forecast and control. A new article establishes relationships between seemingly disparate topics such as the friendship paradox -- by which our friends have on average more friends than we do -- and why carbon can result in a hard diamond or the softer material graphite.

DNA origami puts a smart lid on solid-state nanopore sensors Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:10 AM PDT The latest advance in solid-state nanopore sensors -- devices that are made with standard tools of the semiconductor industry yet can offer single-molecule sensitivity for label-free protein screening -- expands their bag of tricks through bionanotechnology. Researchers have enhanced the capabilities of solid-state nanopores by fitting them with cover plates made of DNA. These nanoscale cover plates, with central apertures tailored to various "gatekeeper" functions, are formed by so-called DNA origami techniques.

Groundbreaking device improves laser accuracy in surgeries Posted: 18 Apr 2012 11:38 AM PDT Physicists have developed a groundbreaking device that controls the depth of a laser cut, laying groundwork to provide pinpoint accuracy during surgeries.

Nanodot-based memory sets new world speed record Posted: 18 Apr 2012 10:53 AM PDT Record speed, low-voltage, and ultra-small size make nanodots a "triple threat" for electronic memory in computers and other electronic devices.

New technology uses less water and produces energy and fertilizer at the same time Posted: 18 Apr 2012 10:53 AM PDT Water is a valuable resource. New technologies are making it easier to handle drinking water responsibly, purify wastewater effectively and even recover biogas and fertilizer.

Advance could mean stain-busting super scrub brushes and other new laundry products Posted: 18 Apr 2012 10:52 AM PDT Scientists are reporting development and successful testing of a way to reuse -- hundreds of times -- the expensive, dirt-busting enzymes that boost the cleaning power of laundry detergents and powdered bleaches that now disappear down the drain. The discovery opens the door to new laundry products, like special scrub brushes or reusable enzyme-coated plastic flakes and strips that might be added to cheaper detergents.

Rivers flowing into the sea offer vast potential as electricity source Posted: 18 Apr 2012 10:51 AM PDT A new genre of electric power-generating stations could supply electricity for more than a half billion people by tapping just one-tenth of the global potential of a little-known energy source that exists where rivers flow into the ocean, a new analysis has concluded. The process requires no fuel, is sustainable and releases no carbon dioxide (the main greenhouse gas).

Raising the prospects for quantum levitation Posted: 18 Apr 2012 10:51 AM PDT An eerie quantum force may one day help separate the surfaces in tiny machines for frictionless movement. More than half-a-century ago, the Dutch theoretical physicist Hendrik Casimir calculated that two mirrors placed facing each other in a vacuum would attract. The mysterious force arises from the energy of virtual particles flitting into and out of existence, as described by quantum theory. Now a scientist in Japan, has predicted that in certain circumstances a reversal in the direction of the so-called Casimir force would be enough to levitate an extremely thin plate.

Graphene lenses: 2-D electron shepherds Posted: 18 Apr 2012 10:51 AM PDT Researchers discover that a deformed layer of graphene can focus electrons similar to the way an optical lens bends light.

Bioreactor redesign dramatically improves yield Posted: 18 Apr 2012 10:51 AM PDT Scientists explain why a microalgae bioreactor redesign provides an order-of-magnitude improvement over conventional cultivation methods.

Countries that best prepare math teachers share similarities: Several key conditions generally lacking in US Posted: 16 Apr 2012 07:10 AM PDT Countries that best prepare math teachers meet several key conditions generally lacking in the United States, according to the first international study of what teacher preparation programs are able to accomplish.

Game of go: A complex network Posted: 16 Apr 2012 07:04 AM PDT Could computers ever beat the best 'go' players? Although unthinkable at this stage, this could soon become possible, thanks to theorists. For the first time, scientists have applied network theory to a game of strategy.

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