ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• NASA launches next-generation communications satellite
• Fuel of the future: Cheap hydrogen from water one step closer
• New order found in quantum electronic material: May lead to new materials, magnets and superconductors
• New semiconductor research may extend integrated circuit battery life 10-fold
• Herschel finds past-prime star may be making planets
• Biofuels blend right in: Researchers show ionic liquids effective for pre-treating mixed blends of biofuel feedstocks
• Reconcilable differences: Study uncovers the common ground of scientific opposites
• Researchers develop model for identifying habitable zones around star
• First artificial enzyme created by evolution in a test tube
• Microchip moves information around in 3-D: From left to right, back to front, and up and down
• New method of measuring the mass of supermassive black holes
• New genre of 'intelligent' micro- and nanomotors
• Mechanism behind wear at atomic scale
• Toward a better cyanide antidote for terrorist attacks and other mass casualty events
• Electric vehicle: Light yet safe contender for city streets
• Revolutionary cooling system uses lasers
• Program to overcome early U.S. math deficiencies could improve workforce
• Engineers solve a biological mystery and boost artificial intelligence
• Chemical lets researchers extract significant oil deposits; Leaves positive environmental footprint

NASA launches next-generation communications satellite Posted: 30 Jan 2013 08:22 PM PST The first of NASA's three next-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), known as TDRS-K, launched at 8:48 p.m. EST Wednesday (Jan. 30) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The TDRS system provides tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include the International Space Station and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Fuel of the future: Cheap hydrogen from water one step closer Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:44 PM PST Scientists have moved a step closer to designing bio-inspired syn­thetic cat­a­lysts to pro­duce hydro­gen from water.

New order found in quantum electronic material: May lead to new materials, magnets and superconductors Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:44 PM PST A new type of order, or symmetry, discovered in an exotic material made with uranium may one day lead to enhanced computer displays and data storage systems and more powerful superconducting magnets for medical imaging and levitating high-speed trains.

New semiconductor research may extend integrated circuit battery life 10-fold Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:44 PM PST New methods and materials for building integrated circuits can reduce power -- extending battery life to 10 times longer for mobile applications compared to conventional transistors.

Herschel finds past-prime star may be making planets Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:59 AM PST A star thought to have passed the age at which it can form planets may, in fact, be creating new worlds. The disk of material surrounding the surprising star called TW Hydrae may be massive enough to make even more planets than we have in our own solar system.

Biofuels blend right in: Researchers show ionic liquids effective for pre-treating mixed blends of biofuel feedstocks Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:24 AM PST Blending different feedstocks and milling the mixture into flour or pellets has significant potential for helping to make biofuels a cost-competitive transportation fuel technology.

Reconcilable differences: Study uncovers the common ground of scientific opposites Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:24 AM PST Researchers have developed a mathematical framework that strips away the differences between scientific laws and theories to reveal how the ideas are compatible. They have explained how the mathematical model finds common ground between the famously at-odds physics equations that govern classical and quantum mechanics.

Researchers develop model for identifying habitable zones around star Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:24 AM PST Researchers searching the galaxy for planets that could pass the litmus test of sustaining water-based life must find whether those planets fall in a habitable zone, where they could be capable of having liquid water and sustaining life. New work will help scientists in that search.

First artificial enzyme created by evolution in a test tube Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:24 AM PST A wobbly new biochemical structure in one scientist's lab may resemble what enzymes looked like billions of years ago, when life on Earth began to evolve -- long before they became ingredients for new and improved products, from detergents to foods and fuels.

Microchip moves information around in 3-D: From left to right, back to front, and up and down Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:24 AM PST Scientists have created, for the first time, a new type of microchip which allows information to travel in three dimensions. Currently, microchips can only pass digital information in a very limited way -- from either left to right or front to back.

New method of measuring the mass of supermassive black holes Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:23 AM PST Astronomers report the exciting discovery of a new way to measure the mass of supermassive black holes in galaxies. By measuring the speed with which carbon monoxide molecules orbit around such black holes, this new research opens the possibility of making these measurements in many more galaxies than ever before.

New genre of 'intelligent' micro- and nanomotors Posted: 30 Jan 2013 09:16 AM PST Enzymes, workhorse molecules of life that underpin almost every biological process, may have a new role as "intelligent" micro- and nanomotors with applications in medicine, engineering and other fields. Single molecules of common enzymes can generate enough force to cause movement in specific directions, new research shows.

Mechanism behind wear at atomic scale Posted: 30 Jan 2013 09:16 AM PST As surfaces rub against one another, they break down and lose their original shape. With less material to start with and functionality that often depends critically on shape and surface structure, wear affects nanoscale objects more strongly than it does their macroscale counterparts. Now, researchers have experimentally demonstrated one of the mechanisms behind wear at the smallest scale: the transfer of material, atom by atom, from one surface to another.

Toward a better cyanide antidote for terrorist attacks and other mass casualty events Posted: 30 Jan 2013 08:20 AM PST In an advance toward closing a major gap in defenses against terrorist attacks and other mass casualty events, scientists are reporting discovery of a promising substance that could be the basis for development of a better antidote for cyanide poisoning. Their report describes a potential antidote that could be self-administered, much like the medication delivered by allergy injection pens.

Electric vehicle: Light yet safe contender for city streets Posted: 30 Jan 2013 08:19 AM PST Can an electric vehicle be extremely light and safe at the same time? Researchers aim to show that the answer is yes. Engineers have chosen a sturdy monocoque body, state-of-the-art carbon fiber materials and a lightweight engine and transmission system.

Revolutionary cooling system uses lasers Posted: 30 Jan 2013 07:19 AM PST Bulky and noisy air-conditioning compressors and refrigerators may soon be a thing of the past. Current cooling systems which uses refrigerant harmful to the ozone layer could be replaced by a revolutionary cooling system using lasers.

Program to overcome early U.S. math deficiencies could improve workforce Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:30 AM PST Researchers identified how a lack of a specific math skill in first grade correlated to lower scores on a seventh grade math test used to determine employability and wages in adults.

Engineers solve a biological mystery and boost artificial intelligence Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:23 AM PST By simulating 25,000 generations of evolution within computers, engineering and robotics researchers have discovered why biological networks tend to be organized as modules -- a finding that will lead to a deeper understanding of the evolution of complexity. The new insight also will help evolve artificial intelligence, so robot brains can acquire the grace and cunning of animals.

Chemical lets researchers extract significant oil deposits; Leaves positive environmental footprint Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:22 AM PST Chemicals found in common household items are proving to be the right formula to safely extract up to 70 percent of oil still embedded in high-salt oil reservoirs in the United States. A research team has formulated an environmentally sound compound that increases oil flow in previously pumped reservoirs.

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