ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Thursday, September 8, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Thursday, September 8, 2011

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Neutron analysis reveals unique atom-scale behavior of 'cobalt blue' (September 8, 2011) -- Neutron scattering studies of "cobalt blue," a compound prized by artists for its lustrous blue hue, are revealing unique magnetic characteristics that could answer questions about mysterious properties in other materials. ... > full story

New video gaming technology used to detect illness, prevent falls in older adults (September 8, 2011) -- Many older adults lose their independence as their health declines and they are compelled to move into assisted care facilities. Researchers at an independent living community have been using motion-sensing technology to monitor changes in residents' health for several years. Now, researchers have found that two devices commonly used for video gaming and security systems are effective in detecting the early onset of illness and fall risk in seniors. ... > full story

Researchers expand capabilities of miniature analyzer for complex samples (September 8, 2011) -- A research team has extended the capabilities a a novel microfluidic lab-on-a-chip system for analyzing the chemical components of complex biological samples. ... > full story

Smartphones as helpers during disasters: Software for autonomous smartphone network developed (September 8, 2011) -- Scientists have developed software, with which smartphones can automatically and autonomously organize an energy-efficient, ad-hoc network. Rapid organization of such a communications network can be vital in the event of disasters where normal communications infrastructures have been destroyed, since smartphones could then exchange, e.g., environmental-sensor data. ... > full story

The geophysicist's guide to striking it rich (September 7, 2011) -- Combining a number of surveying techniques for the first time, experts say their integrated surveying techniques can be applied to any region in the world to more accurately identify riches beneath the earth's surface -- before expensive drilling and mining are necessary. ... > full story

Nanosensors made from DNA may light path to new cancer tests and drugs (September 7, 2011) -- Sensors made from custom DNA molecules could be used to personalize cancer treatments and monitor the quality of stem cells, according to new research. ... > full story

Innovative superconductor fibers carry 40 times more electricity (September 7, 2011) -- Researchers in Israel have developed superconducting wires made of single sapphire crystals that can be used in high-powered cables. They take up much less space and conduct energy far more efficiently than current superconductor technologies -- and have the potential to revolutionize energy transfer. ... > full story

New type of solar cell retains high efficiency for long periods (September 7, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting development of a new genre of an electrolyte system for solar cells that breaks the double-digit barrier in the efficiency with which the devices convert sunlight into electricity. ... > full story

Reuse, reliability will launch future, expert says (September 7, 2011) -- Engineers have successfully completed the first of a series of acoustic tests on the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) ground test vehicle, which consists of two major components of the Orion spacecraft: the crew module and the launch abort system. Built to spaceflight specifications, the Orion MPCV ground test vehicle is the first full-scale spacecraft built to support the development of the final human space flight vehicle, which is slated for its first orbital flight test in about two years. ... > full story

Parents' behavior linked to kids' videogame playing (September 7, 2011) -- Children who think their parents are poor monitors or nag a lot tend to play video games more than other kids, according to a new study. ... > full story

Growing meat in the lab: Scientists initiate action plan to advance cultured meat (September 7, 2011) -- An international group of scientists recently took a step closer to their goal to produce cultured meat, during a workshop in Sweden. Many technology components are now coming into place in order to realize the concept of cultured meat. This includes a cell source that is possible to use, several alternative processes to turn these cells into muscle cells for meat, and nutrients free of animal components which can be produced from sunlight and carbon dioxide. ... > full story

Innovative nanoparticle purification system uses magnetic fields (September 7, 2011) -- A team of scientists has invented a new system that uses magnetism to purify hybrid nanoparticles. The system holds the promise of helping to improve drug-delivery systems, drug-targeting technologies, medical-imaging technologies, and electronic information-storage devices. ... > full story

Virtual reality may help adults recover from stroke (September 7, 2011) -- Early results suggest that using virtual reality (VR) human-computer interfaces might help adult stroke patients regain arm function and improve their ability to perform standard tasks, when compared to patients who don't use VR, according to a new review. ... > full story

Innovation is step toward digital graphene transistors (September 7, 2011) -- Researchers are making progress in creating digital transistors using a material called graphene, potentially sidestepping an obstacle thought to dramatically limit the material's use in computers and consumer electronics. ... > full story

Ultrasound improves stem cell transplants, Swedish researchers discover (September 7, 2011) -- Transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells is an effective treatment for patients with malignant blood diseases. The composition and quality of the transplanted cells are crucial to the outcome. Researchers from Sweden have now developed a method to improve the quality of the transplanted cells using ultrasound for cell separation. ... > full story

Novel magnetic, superconducting material opens new possibilities in electronics (September 7, 2011) -- Scientists have reached a crucial milestone that could lead to a new class of materials with useful electronic properties. A research team has sandwiched two nonmagnetic insulators together and discovered a startling result: The layer where the two materials meet has both magnetic and superconducting regions -- two properties that normally can't co-exist. ... > full story

'Proton flux hypothesis' offers new explanation for effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs (September 7, 2011) -- A researcher in Hawaii has come up with a new explanation for the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs: the "proton flux hypothesis" is that calcification of coral skeletons are dependent on the passage of hydrogen ions between the water column and the coral tissue. ... > full story

Breakthrough could double wireless capacity with no new towers (September 7, 2011) -- Engineering researchers have made a breakthrough that could allow wireless phone companies to double throughput on their networks without adding a single cell tower. The new "full-duplex" technology allows wireless devices like cell phones and electronic tablets to both "talk" and "listen" to wireless cell towers on the same frequency -- something that requires two frequencies today. ... > full story

Pretreatment, proper harvest time boost ethanol from switchgrass (September 7, 2011) -- Adding a pretreatment step would allow producers to get more ethanol from switchgrass harvested in the fall, according to a new study. ... > full story

Where does all Earth's gold come from? (September 7, 2011) -- Ultra high precision analyses of some of the oldest rock samples on Earth provides clear evidence that the planet's accessible reserves of precious metals are the result of a bombardment of meteorites more than 200 million years after the Earth was formed. ... > full story

'TF beacons' may light path to new cancer tests and drugs (September 7, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting development of a long-sought new way to detect the activity of proteins that bind to the DNA in genes, often controlling the activity of genes in ways that make cells do everything from growing normally to becoming cancerous. ... > full story

Neutrinos: Ghostly particles with unstable egos (September 6, 2011) -- Neutrinos are known to be able to change their "flavors," or identities. But the rules that these fundamental particles follow when they alter their identity are not completely understood. A new study now suggests a non-zero value for one of the parameters governing the oscillation of neutrinos. Finding this neutrino property could ultimately help explain why matter formed in the early Universe. ... > full story

Researchers pioneer novel technique to make plasmonic nanogap arrays (September 6, 2011) -- In the quest to exploit unique properties at the nanoscale, scientists have developed a novel technique for creating uniform arrays of metallic nanostructures. A team of researchers used methods from holographic lithography to demonstrate a new approach for scaling up the fabrication of plasmonic nanogap arrays while simultaneously reducing costs and infrastructure. ... > full story

Microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste (September 6, 2011) -- Researchers have unraveled the mystery of how microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste and other toxic metals. The implications could eventually benefit sites forever changed by nuclear contamination. ... > full story

People communicate in bursts: Rhythms of communication revealed in study of 9 billion phone calls (September 6, 2011) -- A new study, which has analyzed around 9 billion phone calls throughout almost a one-year period, is among the first to identify details of features of the communication process and to quantify their impact in the diffusion of information. The study found that people communicate in bursts. ... > full story

Milky Way galaxy might hold thousands of ticking 'time bombs' (September 6, 2011) -- In the Hollywood blockbuster "Speed," a bomb on a bus is rigged to blow up if the bus slows down below 50 miles per hour. The premise -- slow down and you explode -- makes for a great action movie plot, and also happens to have a cosmic equivalent. New research shows that some old stars might be held up by their rapid spins, and when they slow down, they explode as supernovae. Thousands of these "time bombs" could be scattered throughout our Galaxy. ... > full story

Foam that lasts and lasts and lasts, and disappears when you want (September 6, 2011) -- There’s nothing special about foaming soap solutions; however, a soap foam that lasts several months, even at 60°C, is unusual. Especially if the foam is made from a natural substance and can quickly be destroyed or restored only by changing ambient temperature. This research allows for new applications that will be of interest to manufacturers of cosmetics and detergents. ... > full story

Sharper views of Apollo 12, 14, 17 sites in new images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (September 6, 2011) -- Researchers overseeing the imaging system on board NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have released the sharpest images ever taken from space of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 sites, more clearly showing the paths made when the astronauts explored these areas. ... > full story

Record-low error rate for quantum information processing with one qubit (September 6, 2011) -- Physicists have achieved a record-low probability of error in quantum information processing with a single quantum bit (qubit) -- the first published error rate small enough to meet theoretical requirements for building viable quantum computers. ... > full story

A step toward a saliva test for cancer (September 6, 2011) -- A new saliva test can measure the amount of potential carcinogens stuck to a person's DNA -- interfering with the action of genes involved in health and disease -- and could lead to a commercial test to help determine risks for cancer and other diseases, scientists report. ... > full story

Research gives crystal clear temperature readings from toughest environments (September 6, 2011) -- Researchers in the UK have developed a form of crystal that can deliver highly accurate temperature readings, down to individual milli-kelvins, over a very broad range of temperatures: from -120 to +680 degrees centigrade. ... > full story

Tiny wires change behavior at nanoscale (September 6, 2011) -- Thin gold wires often used in high-end electronic applications are wonderfully flexible as well as conductive. But those qualities don't necessarily apply to the same wires at the nanoscale. A new study finds gold wires less than 20 nanometers wide can become "brittle-like" under stress. ... > full story

Flexible electronics hold promise for consumer applications (September 6, 2011) -- New research has advanced the field of plastic-based flexible electronics by developing, for the first time, an extremely large molecule that is stable, possesses excellent electrical properties, and inexpensive to produce. ... > full story

Innovative organic solar cell architecture sets new performance level, Belgian researchers demonstrate (September 6, 2011) -- Researchers in Belgium have demonstrated an organic polymer-based single junction solar cell with 6.9 percent performance in an innovative inverted device stack. The polymer was also integrated into a module resulting in excellent module level efficiencies of 5 percent for an aperture area of 25 square centimeters. ... > full story

Manufacturing method paves way for commercially viable quantum dot-based LEDs (September 6, 2011) -- Researchers may help resolve the public debate over our future light source of choice: Edison's incandescent bulb or the more energy efficient compact fluorescent lamp. It could be neither. Instead, our future lighting needs may be supplied by a new breed of light emitting diode, or LED, that conjures light from the invisible world of quantum dots. ... > full story

World’s largest fusion experiment back in operation (September 6, 2011) -- After an 18-month shutdown to upgrade the machine and four months of commissioning, the Joint European Torus (JET), the world’s largest magnetic fusion device, is ready to start new experiments. The inside of the vessel now has a completely new wall. JET is the first fusion machine to test the materials that will be used inside the next-generation international experiment, ITER. ... > full story

Robotic loader system achieves composite material testing milestone (September 6, 2011) -- The U.S. Navy's robotic materials testing system, NRL66.3, has achieved, to date, the highest industrial rates of fully-automated production mode functionality known to NRL researchers, yielding a total of 216 specimen tests at a rate of 26 per hour under six-degrees of freedom (6-DoF -- three translations and three rotations) multiaxiality conditions. ... > full story

Photovoltaics among fastest growing industries in the world (September 5, 2011) -- The photovoltaic (PV) industry production more than doubled and reached a world-wide production volume of 23.5 gigawatt (GW) of photovoltaic modules. Since 1990, photovoltaic module production has increased more than 500-fold from 46 megawatts (MW) to 23.5 GW in 2010, which makes photovoltaics one of the fastest-growing industries at present. ... > full story

A whole new light on graphene metamaterials: Tunable graphene device is first tool in a kit for putting terahertz light to work (September 5, 2011) -- Invisible terahertz light can detect explosives, image drug structures, and pinpoint skin cancer, but practical tools for using it are scarce. Scientists have now made a graphene microribbon array that strongly responds to terahertz light by exciting the collective electron oscillations known as plasmons. The device can be tuned with exquisite precision by varying the width of the graphene ribbons and controlling electron density. ... > full story

World's smallest electric motor made from a single molecule (September 5, 2011) -- Chemists have developed the world's first single molecule electric motor, a development that may potentially create a new class of devices that could be used in applications ranging from medicine to engineering. ... > full story

Revolutionary three-dimensional model shows how breast tissue grows (September 5, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a revolutionary three-dimensional model that allows them to visualize how breast tissue grows in its earliest stages, giving them the closest look ever at the very beginnings of breast cancer. ... > full story

Mars Science Laboratory launch preparations (September 5, 2011) -- NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project continues to press ahead with launch preparation activities, planning to use additional time before encapsulating the rover in the launch vehicle's nose cone. ... > full story

Rock rafts could be 'cradle of life' (September 4, 2011) -- Floating rafts of volcanic pumice could have played a significant role in the origins of life on Earth, scientists from have suggested. ... > full story

Rush hour in a coffee stain: Transition from order to disorder (September 4, 2011) -- A remarkable effect never witnessed before has been discovered in the ring-shaped stains of tiny dissolved particles ('coffee stains') that develop after a liquid has evaporated. While the particles on the outside of the ring are neatly organized, chaos reigns on the inside of the ring where the particles seem to have collected in a great hurry. ... > full story

Adding hydrogen triples transistor performance in graphene (September 4, 2011) -- A technique that uses hydrogen to improve transistor performance on real-world graphene devices has been demonstrated on the wafer-scale. Researchers have demonstrated a 3x improvement in electron mobility of epitaxial graphene grown on the silicon face of a 100 mm silicon carbide wafer, as well as a similar improvement in radio-frequency transistor performance. ... > full story

Robots learn to handle objects, understand new places (September 4, 2011) -- Infants spend their first few months learning to find their way around and manipulating objects, and they are very flexible about it: Cups can come in different shapes and sizes, but they all have handles. So do pitchers, so we pick them up the same way. Now researchers are teaching robots to manipulate objects and find their way around in new environments. ... > full story

Advertising in violent video games results in poor recall, negative brand perception (September 4, 2011) -- Embedding advertisements in violent video games leads to lower brand recall and negative brand attitudes suggesting advertisers should think twice about including such ads in a media campaign, according to new research. ... > full story

Rare Martian lake delta spotted by Mars Express (September 3, 2011) -- The European Space Agency's Mars Express has spotted a rare case of a crater once filled by a lake, revealed by the presence of a delta. The delta is an ancient fan-shaped deposit of dark sediments, laid down in water. It is a reminder of Mars' past, wetter climate. ... > full story