ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Comet discovered hiding in plain sight: Near-Earth asteroid is really a comet
• Organic molecules found in Sutter's Mill meteorite, not previously found in any meteorites
• How the newest diesel engines emit very little greenhouse gas nitrous oxide
• Statins being overprescribed for kidney disease patients
• New magnetic semiconductor material holds promise for 'spintronics'
• Anti-counterfeiting ink for enhancing product authenticity and traceability
• Motorized microscopic matchsticks move in water with sense of direction
• Spectrometer will help astrobiologists hunt for traces of Martian life
• Cyborg astrobiologist uses phone-cam to search for signs of life
• Phaethon confirmed as rock comet by STEREO vision
• Water hidden in the Moon may have proto-Earth origin
• First uses of new solar energy technology: Killing germs on medical, dental instruments

Comet discovered hiding in plain sight: Near-Earth asteroid is really a comet Posted: 10 Sep 2013 02:14 PM PDT For 30 years, a large near-Earth asteroid wandered its lone, intrepid path, passing before the scrutinizing eyes of scientists while keeping something to itself: (3552) Don Quixote, whose journey stretches to the orbit of Jupiter, now appears to be a comet.

Organic molecules found in Sutter's Mill meteorite, not previously found in any meteorites Posted: 10 Sep 2013 02:14 PM PDT An important discovery has been made concerning the possible inventory of molecules available to the early Earth. Scientists found that the Sutter's Mill meteorite, which exploded in a blazing fireball over California last year, contains organic molecules not previously found in any meteorites. These findings suggest a far greater availability of extraterrestrial organic molecules than previously thought possible, an inventory that could indeed have been important in molecular evolution and life itself.

How the newest diesel engines emit very little greenhouse gas nitrous oxide Posted: 10 Sep 2013 11:23 AM PDT The newest catalytic converters in diesel engines blast away a pollutant from combustion with the help of ammonia. Common in European cars, the engines exhaust harmless nitrogen and water. How they do this hasn't been entirely clear. Now, new research shows that the catalyst attacks its target pollutant in an unusual way, providing insight into how to make the best catalytic converters.

Statins being overprescribed for kidney disease patients Posted: 10 Sep 2013 09:15 AM PDT A new analysis concludes that large numbers of patients in advanced stages of kidney disease are inappropriately being prescribed statins to lower their cholesterol -- drugs that offer them no benefit and may increase other health risks such as diabetes, dementia or muscle pain.

New magnetic semiconductor material holds promise for 'spintronics' Posted: 10 Sep 2013 07:49 AM PDT Researchers have created a new compound that can be integrated into silicon chips and is a dilute magnetic semiconductor -- meaning that it could be used to make "spintronic" devices, which rely on magnetic force to operate, rather than electrical currents.

Anti-counterfeiting ink for enhancing product authenticity and traceability Posted: 10 Sep 2013 07:45 AM PDT In a bid to enhance product authenticity and traceability, researchers have developed an innovative anti-erasing ink for use in various kinds of fast-moving consumer goods such as food, drink and drug packaging.

Motorized microscopic matchsticks move in water with sense of direction Posted: 10 Sep 2013 06:49 AM PDT Chemists, physicists and computer scientists have come together to devise a new powerful and very versatile way of controlling the speed and direction of motion of microscopic structures in water using what they have dubbed chemically 'motorized microscopic matchsticks'.

Spectrometer will help astrobiologists hunt for traces of Martian life Posted: 10 Sep 2013 06:49 AM PDT An instrument similar to those used on Earth by art detectives and to sense explosives at airports will be taken into space for the first time by ExoMars, the European Space Agency's mission to Mars in 2018. This Raman spectrometer will help space scientists hunt for traces of Martian life.

Cyborg astrobiologist uses phone-cam to search for signs of life Posted: 10 Sep 2013 06:49 AM PDT A novel, hybrid part-human, part-machine visual system that uses a simple mobile phone camera has been developed to search for evidence of past or present life in planetary analogue sites on Earth.

Phaethon confirmed as rock comet by STEREO vision Posted: 10 Sep 2013 06:39 AM PDT The Sun-grazing asteroid, Phaethon, has betrayed its true nature by showing a comet-like tail of dust particles blown backwards by radiation pressure from the Sun. Unlike a comet, however, Phaethon's tail doesn't arise through the vaporization of an icy nucleus. During its closest approach to the Sun, researchers believe that Phaethon becomes so hot that rocks on the surface crack and crumble to dust under the extreme heat.

Water hidden in the Moon may have proto-Earth origin Posted: 10 Sep 2013 06:39 AM PDT Water found in ancient Moon rocks might have actually originated from the proto-Earth and even survived the Moon-forming event. Scientists have studied the amount of water within lunar rocks returned during the Apollo missions.

First uses of new solar energy technology: Killing germs on medical, dental instruments Posted: 09 Sep 2013 06:23 AM PDT A revolutionary new solar energy technology that turns water into steam without boiling the entire container of water has become the basis for new devices to sanitize medical and dental instruments and human waste in developing countries, scientists say.

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