ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Unzipped nanotubes unlock potential for batteries
• Autonomous energy-scavenging micro devices will test water quality, monitor bridges, more
• Odors from human skin cells can be used to identify melanoma
• Nanoparticle opens the door to clean-energy alternatives
• Evidence for extrasolar planet under construction
• Greater convenience and safety for wheelchair users
• DNA brings materials to life: DNA-coated colloids help create novel self-assembling materials
• Light-carved 'nano-volcanoes' hold promise for drug delivery
• Repairing turbines with the help of robots
• 'Self-cleaning' pollution-control technology could do more harm than good, study suggests
• Stacking up a clearer picture of the universe
• Prefab houses that are glued, not nailed, together
• Spot-welding graphene nanoribbons atom by atom
• First evidence of a new phase in neutron stars
• Smart technology makes its way into lighting

Unzipped nanotubes unlock potential for batteries Posted: 13 Jun 2013 12:33 PM PDT Graphene nanoribbons and tin oxide make an effective anode for lithium ion batteries, as discovered in early tests.

Autonomous energy-scavenging micro devices will test water quality, monitor bridges, more Posted: 13 Jun 2013 12:33 PM PDT Researchers are using photonics in their quest to "bring the lab to the sample," developing sophisticated micro instruments that scavenge power from sunlight, body heat, or other sources, for uses such as monitoring water quality or assessing bridge safety.

Odors from human skin cells can be used to identify melanoma Posted: 13 Jun 2013 12:33 PM PDT Researchers identified odorants from human skin cells that can be used to identify melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. In addition a nanotechnology-based sensor could reliably differentiate melanoma cells from normal skin cells. Non-invasive odor analysis may be a valuable technique in the detection and early diagnosis of human melanoma.

Nanoparticle opens the door to clean-energy alternatives Posted: 13 Jun 2013 11:28 AM PDT Cheaper clean-energy technologies could be made possible thanks to a new discovery. An important chemical reaction that generates hydrogen from water is effectively triggered -- or catalyzed -- by a nanoparticle composed of nickel and phosphorus, two inexpensive elements that are abundant on Earth.

Evidence for extrasolar planet under construction Posted: 13 Jun 2013 10:35 AM PDT The keen vision of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has detected a mysterious gap in a vast protoplanetary disk of gas and dust swirling around the nearby star TW Hydrae, located 176 light-years away in the constellation Hydra (the Sea Serpent). The gap's presence is best explained as due to the effects of a growing, unseen planet that is gravitationally sweeping up material and carving out a lane in the disk, like a snow plow.

Greater convenience and safety for wheelchair users Posted: 13 Jun 2013 08:20 AM PDT With modern communication aids, users of electric powered wheelchairs can operate a PC and cellphone without human assistance. A new module is set to transform electric powered wheelchairs into communication hubs.

DNA brings materials to life: DNA-coated colloids help create novel self-assembling materials Posted: 13 Jun 2013 07:44 AM PDT A colloid is a substance spread out evenly inside another substance. Everyday examples include milk, styrofoam, hair sprays, paints, shaving foam, gels and even dust, mud and fog. One of the most interesting properties of colloids is their ability to self-assemble -- to aggregate spontaneously into well-defined structures, driven by nothing but local interactions between the colloid's particles. Self-assembly has been of major interest in industry, since controlling it would open up a whole host of new technologies, such as smart drug-delivery patches or novel paints that change with light. Scientists have now discovered a technique to control and direct the self-assembly of two different colloids.

Light-carved 'nano-volcanoes' hold promise for drug delivery Posted: 13 Jun 2013 07:44 AM PDT Researchers have developed a method for creating "nano-volcanoes" by shining various colors of light through a nanoscale "crystal ball" made of a synthetic polymer. These nano-volcanoes can store precise amounts of other materials and hold promise for new drug-delivery technologies.

Repairing turbines with the help of robots Posted: 13 Jun 2013 07:41 AM PDT Compressor and turbine blades are important components in aircraft engines and gas turbines. When they become damaged, it is often cheaper to repair them than to buy replacements. Now there is a new robotassisted technique that is boosting efficiency.

'Self-cleaning' pollution-control technology could do more harm than good, study suggests Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:23 AM PDT Environmental scientists shows that air-pollution-removal technology used in "self-cleaning" paints and building surfaces may actually cause more problems than they solve. The study finds that titanium dioxide coatings, seen as promising for their role in breaking down airborne pollutants on contact, are likely in real-world conditions to convert abundant ammonia to nitrogen oxide, the key precursor of harmful ozone pollution.

Stacking up a clearer picture of the universe Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:23 AM PDT Researchers have proven a new technique that will provide a clearer picture of the Universe's history and be used with the next generation of radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometer Array.

Prefab houses that are glued, not nailed, together Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:22 AM PDT With prefabricated houses, the dream of having one's own home can quickly become a reality. Until now, nails have been used to hold the individual components together. Now an adhesive tape has been developed to perform this task.

Spot-welding graphene nanoribbons atom by atom Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:22 AM PDT Scientists have created single atom contacts between gold and graphene nanoribbons.

First evidence of a new phase in neutron stars Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:22 AM PDT The nuclear 'pasta', called as such due its similarity to the Italian food, limits the period of rotation of pulsars, and astronomers have detected the first evidence of existence of a new phase of matter in the inner crust of neutron stars.

Smart technology makes its way into lighting Posted: 13 Jun 2013 06:22 AM PDT The lighting systems of the future could be multi-purpose devices not dissimilar to smart phones. In the future, lighting will not just allow us to see but could also be used to survey surroundings, transmit information, reflect moods and make our lives more comfortable. Smart lighting could also save as much as 80 per cent of energy compared to traditional lighting solutions.

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