ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• The mysterious arc of Venus
• RHESSI will use Venus transit to improve measurements of the sun's diameter
• Zeroing in on the best shape for cancer-fighting nanoparticles
• Physicists close in on a rare particle-decay process: Underground experiment may unlock mysteries of the neutrino
• Giant black hole kicked out of home galaxy
• Flexible channel width improves user experience on wireless systems
• Artificial muscle as shock absorber: Dampen annoying vibrations in a car or supply wireless power
• Repelling the drop on top
• Filming life in the fast lane
• Search engine for social networks based on the behavior of ants
• US and European energy supplies vulnerable to climate change

The mysterious arc of Venus Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:20 PM PDT When Venus transits the sun on June 5-6, an armada of spacecraft and ground-based telescopes will be on the lookout for something elusive and, until recently, unexpected: the arc of Venus.

RHESSI will use Venus transit to improve measurements of the sun's diameter Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:20 PM PDT With the new data obtained during the Venus transit on June 5-6, 2012, the RHESSI team hopes to improve the knowledge of the exact shape of the sun and provide a more accurate measure of the diameter than has previously been obtained.

Zeroing in on the best shape for cancer-fighting nanoparticles Posted: 04 Jun 2012 12:56 PM PDT A pair of new articles suggests that cancer-fighting nanoparticles ought to be disc-shaped, not spherical or rod-shaped, when targeting cancers at or near blood vessels.

Physicists close in on a rare particle-decay process: Underground experiment may unlock mysteries of the neutrino Posted: 04 Jun 2012 11:27 AM PDT In the biggest result of its kind in more than ten years, physicists have made the most sensitive measurements yet in a decades-long hunt for a hypothetical and rare process involving the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. If discovered, the researchers say, this process could have profound implications for how scientists understand the fundamental laws of physics and help solve some of the universe's biggest mysteries.

Giant black hole kicked out of home galaxy Posted: 04 Jun 2012 11:27 AM PDT Astronomers have found strong evidence that a massive black hole is being ejected from its host galaxy at a speed of several million miles per hour. New observations suggest that the black hole collided and merged with another black hole and received a powerful recoil kick from gravitational wave radiation.

Flexible channel width improves user experience on wireless systems Posted: 04 Jun 2012 08:14 AM PDT Researchers have developed a technique to efficiently divide the bandwidth of the wireless spectrum in multi-hop wireless networks to improve operation and provide all users in the network with the best possible performance.

Artificial muscle as shock absorber: Dampen annoying vibrations in a car or supply wireless power Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:30 AM PDT Engineers are working on intelligent materials that can diminish vibrations and extract power from the environment. These electro-active elastomers could dampen annoying vibrations in a car, for example, or supply wireless power to sensors in otherwise inaccessible places.

Repelling the drop on top Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:30 AM PDT It would make life a lot easier if the surfaces of window panes, corrosion coatings or microfluidic systems in medical labs could keep themselves free of water and other liquids. A new simulation program can now work out just how such surfaces have to look for a variety of applications.

Filming life in the fast lane Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:28 AM PDT A new microscope enabled scientists to film a fruit fly embryo, in 3D, from when it was about two-and-a-half hours old until it walked away from the microscope as a larva.

Search engine for social networks based on the behavior of ants Posted: 04 Jun 2012 06:28 AM PDT Researchers are developing an algorithm, based on  ants' behavior when they are searching for food, which accelerates the search for relationships among elements that are present in social networks. One of the main technical questions in the field of social networks, whose use is becoming more and more generalized, consists in locating the chain of reference that leads from one person to another, from one node to another. The greatest challenges that are presented in this area is the enormous size of these networks and the fact that the response must be rapid.

US and European energy supplies vulnerable to climate change Posted: 03 Jun 2012 04:16 PM PDT Higher water temperatures and reduced river flows in Europe and the United States in recent years have resulted in reduced production, or temporary shutdown, of several thermoelectric power plants, resulting in increased electricity prices and raising concerns about future energy security in a changing climate. A new study projects further disruption to supply, with a likely decrease in thermoelectric power generating capacity of between 6-19% in Europe and 4-16% in the United States for the period 2031-2060, due to lack of cooling water.

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