ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Hospital-grade lightweight blood flow imager on the cheap
• Spirals of light may lead to better electronics
• Martian chemical complicates hunt for life's clues
• Observations reveal critical interplay of interstellar dust, hydrogen
• Lunar orbiters discover source of space weather near Earth
• How to make ceramics that bend without breaking: Self-deploying medical devices?
• Unusual Mars rock: Pyramid-shaped volcanic rock unlike any other Martian igneous rock ever found
• NASA Mars rover Curiosity finds water in first sample of planet surface
• Water glides freely across 'nanodrapes' made from the world's thinnest material
• New energy storage capabilities between the layers of two-dimensional materials
• Study links heavy texting, sleep problems in college freshmen
• Robotic fabrication in timber construction
• Understanding clouds as a necessary ingredient in the search for life: Case study of exoplanet Kepler-7b
• Medical sensors improve with holey gold nanostructures
• Study shows over 200 mobile apps related to dermatology

Hospital-grade lightweight blood flow imager on the cheap Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:49 PM PDT Tracking blood flow in the laboratory is an important tool for studying ailments like migraines or strokes and designing new ways to address them. Now, using $90 worth of off-the-shelf commercial parts including a webcam and a laser pointer, researchers have duplicated the performance of expensive, scientific-grade LSCI instruments at a fraction of the cost.

Spirals of light may lead to better electronics Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT Researchers have created the optical equivalent of a tuning fork -- a device that can help steady the electrical currents needed to power high-end electronics and stabilize the signals of high-quality lasers. The work marks the first time that such a device has been miniaturized to fit on a chip and may pave the way to improvements in high-speed communications, navigation, and remote sensing.

Martian chemical complicates hunt for life's clues Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT The quest for evidence of life on Mars could be more difficult than scientists previously thought. A scientific paper published today details the investigation of a chemical in the Martian soil that interferes with the techniques used by the Curiosity rover to test for traces of life. The chemical causes the evidence to burn away during the tests.

Observations reveal critical interplay of interstellar dust, hydrogen Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT For astrophysicists, the interplay of hydrogen -- the most common molecule in the universe -- and the vast clouds of dust that fill the voids of interstellar space has been an intractable puzzle of stellar evolution.

Lunar orbiters discover source of space weather near Earth Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT Solar storms, powerful eruptions of solar material and magnetic fields into interplanetary space, can cause hazards on Earth known as space weather, ranging from interference with radio communications to extensive power blackouts, complete failure of critical satellites and even the shutdown of GPS-guided transportation and global communication systems. New research increases our understanding of our space environment, and explains the source of Earth's space weather.

How to make ceramics that bend without breaking: Self-deploying medical devices? Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT New materials could lead to actuators on a chip and self-deploying medical devices. Ceramics are not known for their flexibility: they tend to crack under stress. But researchers have just found a way around that problem -- for very tiny objects, at least. The team has developed a way of making minuscule ceramic objects that are not only flexible, but also have a "memory" for shape: When bent and then heated, they return to their original shapes.

Unusual Mars rock: Pyramid-shaped volcanic rock unlike any other Martian igneous rock ever found Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT The first rock that scientists analyzed on Mars with a pair of chemical instruments aboard the Curiosity rover turned out to be a doozy -- a pyramid-shaped volcanic rock called a "mugearite" that is unlike any other Martian igneous rock ever found.

NASA Mars rover Curiosity finds water in first sample of planet surface Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT The first scoop of soil analyzed by the analytical suite in the belly of NASA's Curiosity rover reveals that fine materials on the surface of the planet contain several percent water by weight.

Water glides freely across 'nanodrapes' made from the world's thinnest material Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:29 AM PDT Engineering researchers have developed a new drape made from graphene -- the thinnest material known to science -- which can enhance the water-resistant properties of materials with rough surfaces. These "nanodrapes" are less than a nanometer thick, chemically inert, and provide a layer of protection without changing the properties of the underlying material.

New energy storage capabilities between the layers of two-dimensional materials Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:28 AM PDT Researchers are continuing to expand the capabilities and functionalities of a family of two-dimensional materials they discovered that are as thin as a single atom, but have the potential to store massive amounts of energy. Their latest achievement has pushed the materials storage capacities to new levels while also allowing for their use in flexible devices.

Study links heavy texting, sleep problems in college freshmen Posted: 26 Sep 2013 08:19 AM PDT A new study has found that texting was direct predictor of sleep problems in first-year college students.

Robotic fabrication in timber construction Posted: 26 Sep 2013 07:26 AM PDT Researchers are developing a lightweight timber construction system combining robotic prefabrication with computational design and simulation processes, as well as three-dimensional surveying technologies used in engineering geodesy. Their goal is to develop innovative, performative and sustainable construction systems made from wood, which also expand the repertoire of architectural expression in timber construction.

Understanding clouds as a necessary ingredient in the search for life: Case study of exoplanet Kepler-7b Posted: 26 Sep 2013 07:24 AM PDT Scientists have produced the first map of clouds on an exoplanet using the Kepler Space Telescope. Studying the atmospheres of exoplanets is the path towards ultimately identifying life elsewhere in the Universe. Understanding the role of clouds in exoplanet atmospheres is a necessary ingredient in the cosmic hunt for life.

Medical sensors improve with holey gold nanostructures Posted: 26 Sep 2013 07:21 AM PDT A new method that fabricates gold nanostructures quickly and efficiently could lead to highly sensitive, portable medical sensors.

Study shows over 200 mobile apps related to dermatology Posted: 25 Sep 2013 03:56 PM PDT A surge in mobile apps related to dermatology has allowed scores of smart phone users to track and diagnose a wide range of skin diseases, but doctors are urging caution.

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