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Friday, January 24, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


Collaborative software helps systems engineers link performance and cost

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 12:48 PM PST

Researchers have produced an advanced web-based tool that lets physically separated participants collaborate on model-based systems engineering projects. The program utilizes open-source software components to allow users to visualize a system's potential expense alongside its performance, reliability and other factors.

Cheap hydrogen gas? Probing hydrogen catalyst assembly

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 11:20 AM PST

Biochemical reactions sometimes have to handle dangerous things in a safe way. New work shows how cyanide and carbon monoxide are safely bound to an iron atom to construct an enzyme that can generate hydrogen gas.

When nanotechnology meets quantum physics in one dimension: New experiment supports long-predicted 'Luttinger liquid' model

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 11:17 AM PST

Scientists have succeeded in conducting a new experiment that supports the existence of the long-sought-after Luttinger liquid state.

Fur and feathers keep animals warm by scattering light

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 09:58 AM PST

In work that has major implications for improving the performance of building insulation, scientists have calculated that hairs that reflect infrared light may contribute significant insulating power to the exceptionally warm winter coats of polar bears and other animals.

New microscopy technique improves imaging at the atomic scale

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 07:27 AM PST

When capturing images at the atomic scale, even tiny movements of the sample can result in skewed or distorted images -- and those movements are virtually impossible to prevent. Now microscopy researchers have developed a new technique that accounts for that movement and eliminates the distortion from the finished product.

Researchers decipher structure of part of ribosome found in mitochondria

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 07:27 AM PST

Researchers have deciphered the structure of part of the ribosome found in mitochondria, the power plants of the cell. The scientists were able to benefit from advancements in the field of electron microscopy and capture images of the mitochondrial ribosome at a level of resolution never achieved before.

Near error-free wireless detection made possible

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 07:27 AM PST

A new long-range wireless tag detection system, with potential applications in health care, environmental protection and goods tracking, can pinpoint items with near 100 percent accuracy over a much wider range than current systems.

Ground-breaking research aiding the fight against fuel fraud was a UK scientific first

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 06:51 AM PST

The technology behind a system now being used to combat fuel fraud on an international scale has been detailed for the first time.

Tracing unique cells with mathematics

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 04:56 AM PST

Stem cells can turn into heart cells, skin cells can mutate to cancer cells; even cells of the same tissue type exhibit small heterogeneities. Scientists use single-cell analyses to investigate these heterogeneities. But the method is still laborious and considerable inaccuracies conceal smaller effects. Scientists have now found a way to simplify and improve the analysis by mathematical methods.

Carbon dioxide paves the way to unique nanomaterials

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 04:56 AM PST

In common perception, carbon dioxide is just a greenhouse gas, one of the major environmental problems of mankind. For Warsaw chemists CO2 became, however, something else: a key element of reactions allowing for creation of nanomaterials with unprecedented properties.

Molecules as circuits? Miniaturization of electronic devices

Posted: 23 Jan 2014 04:55 AM PST

Silicon-based electronics has certain limits, in the physical sense of the word: this type of circuit can never become "nano" because of the physical laws governing the flow of electrons. This imposes a halt to the process of miniaturization of electronic devices. One of the possible solutions is to use molecules as circuits, but their poor conduction capabilities make them unlikely candidates. There is, however, a possible way around this, which was investigated in a recent article.

Detecting chemicals, measuring strain with a pencil and paper

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 05:23 PM PST

A team of students has proven that pencils and regular office paper can be used to measure strain on an object and detect hazardous gases.

'Surveillance minimization' needed to restore trust

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 05:22 PM PST

Surveillance minimization -- where surveillance is the exception, not the rule -- could help rebuild public trust following revelations about the collection of personal data, according to a law academic.

Computer simulation of blood vessel growth

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 05:20 PM PST

Bioengineers showed that tiny blood vessels grow better in the laboratory if the tissue surrounding them is less dense. Then the researchers created a computer simulation to predict such growth accurately – an early step toward treatments to provide blood supply to tissues damaged by diabetes and heart attacks and to skin grafts and implanted ligaments and tendons.

Athletes' performance declines following contract years

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 02:06 PM PST

A professor has determined that the contract year performance boost is real, but they caution team managers and coaches that it might be followed by a post-contract performance crash -- a two-year pattern they call the "contract year syndrome."

Image or reality? Leaf research needs photos, lab analysis

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 12:39 PM PST

Every picture tells a story, but the story digital photos tell about how forests respond to climate change could be incomplete, according to new research. A new study shows that the peak in forest greenness as captured by digital pictures does not necessarily correspond to direct measures of peak chlorophyll content in leaves, which is an indicator of photosynthesis. The research has significant implications for how scientists use digital photos to study forest canopies.

White, green or black roofs? Report compares economic payoffs

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:44 AM PST

Looking strictly at the economic costs and benefits of three different roof types -- black, white and "green" (or vegetated) -- researchers have found in a new study that white roofs are the most cost-effective over a 50-year time span. While the high installation cost of green roofs sets them back in economic terms, their environmental and amenity benefits may at least partially mitigate their financial burden.

Live feed device monitors drugs in bloodstream in real time

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:43 AM PST

A device that can monitor the levels of specific drugs as they flow through the bloodstream may soon take the guesswork out of drug dosing and allow physicians to tailor prescriptions to their patients' specific biology. The biosensor combines engineering and biochemistry and has far-reaching potential.

Researcher finds anonymity makes a difference with online comments

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:43 AM PST

In a newly published study, a researcher outlines a significant correlation between anonymity and civility.

'Space cops' help control traffic in space

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:42 AM PST

Scientists are using mini-satellites that work as "space cops" to help control traffic in space.

Toward fixing damaged hearts through tissue engineering

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:41 AM PST

In the US, someone suffers a heart attack every 34 seconds -- their heart is starved of oxygen and suffers irreparable damage. Engineering new heart tissue in the laboratory that could eventually be implanted into patients could help, and scientists are reporting a promising approach tested with rat cells.

Laser scientists create portable sensor for nitrous oxide, methane

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:41 AM PST

Scientists have created a highly sensitive portable sensor to test the air for the most damaging greenhouse gases.

Atomic-scale catalysts may produce cheap hydrogen

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:40 AM PST

Researchers have shown that a one-atom thick film of molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) may work as an effective catalyst for creating hydrogen. The work opens a new door for the production of cheap hydrogen.

From a carpet of nanorods to a thin film solar cell absorber within a few seconds

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:40 AM PST

Scientists have discovered a novel solid state reaction which lets kesterite grains grow within a few seconds and at relatively low temperatures. For this reaction, they exploit a transition from a metastable wurtzite compound in the form of nanorods to the more stable kesterite compound.

Strontium atomic clock sets new records in both precision and stability

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:38 AM PST

Heralding a new age of terrific timekeeping, physicists have unveiled an experimental strontium atomic clock that has set new world records for both precision and stability -- key metrics for the performance of a clock.

Last-resort therapy saving lives during flu epidemic

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:36 AM PST

Physicians are employing a technology known as ECMO as a last-resort therapy for extremely severe cases of influenza. ECMO is a sort of portable heart/lung bypass machine.

Scientific first allows doctors to 'see' radiation treatment in body

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:34 AM PST

A scientific breakthrough may give the field of radiation oncology new tools to increase the precision and safety of radiation treatment in cancer patients by helping doctors "see" the powerful beams of a linear accelerator as they enter or exit the body.

Deepwater Horizon: Identifying harmful elements of persisting oil

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 08:26 AM PST

Scientists are unraveling the composition of persisting oil residues collected from Gulf of Mexico beaches following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, insisting on further assessment of the toxic impact of these chemical remnants on the marine ecosystem.

Injectable material could enable targeted drug delivery, biosensors

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 08:24 AM PST

A new injectable material designed to deliver drug therapies and sensor technology to targeted areas within the human body is being developed by a biomedical engineer who says the system can lock its payload in place and control how it is released.

Mass important at nano-scale, matters in calculations and measurements

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 07:41 AM PST

An engineering professor has proven that the effect of mass is important, can be measured and has a significant impact on any calculations and measurements at the sub-micrometer scale.

Joining up computer memory

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:24 AM PST

Innovative electrodes allow new computer memory technologies to be compatible with existing circuitry. The computing industry faces constant demands to provide faster access to data and reduce power consumption. As current memory systems cannot meet these demands indefinitely, it is essential to develop entirely new technologies. One strong contender is resistive random access memory (RRAM), which stores binary information by switching a dielectric material between conducting and non-conducting states.

Engineer converts yeast cells into 'sweet crude' biofuel

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:19 AM PST

A chemical engineer has developed a new source of renewable energy -- a yeast cell-based platform for producing biodiesel, which he has dubbed "sweet crude." The key to this platform is regular table sugar. It has the potential for industry scalability without the environmental costs of other biofuels.

Faster testing of new pharmaceuticals

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:16 AM PST

To improve medical treatment, researchers test new drug ingredients on biological cells. By combining two microscopy techniques, the time required for testing can be reduced by 50 to 80 percent, and far fewer measurements are needed.

New web-based course to prevent excessive weight gain may improve health in young adults

Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:14 AM PST

The transition from adolescence to adulthood presents individuals with many challenges. Perhaps none are as important as those relating to health and quality of life. Being mildly to moderately overweight during this period substantially increases the likelihood of obesity at age 35 to 37. To prevent weight gain and promote healthy decision making, researchers developed a tailored, theory-based, web-delivered course to prevent excessive weight gain in young adults.

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