ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Saturday, October 8, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Saturday, October 8, 2011

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Astrophysics and extinctions: News about planet-threatening events (October 7, 2011) -- Space is a violent place. If a star explodes or black holes collide anywhere in our part of the Milky Way, they'd give off colossal blasts of lethal gamma-rays, X-rays and cosmic rays and it's perfectly reasonable to expect Earth to be bathed in them. A new study of such events has yielded some new information about the potential effects of what are called "short-hard" interstellar radiation events. ... > full story

Physicists localize 3-D matter waves for first time (October 7, 2011) -- Physicists have experimentally demonstrated for the first time how three-dimensional conduction is affected by the defects that plague materials. The researchers achieved complete Anderson localization of quantum matter waves in three dimensions. The team also measured the energy a particle needs to escape localization, known as the mobility edge. They found that as disorder increased, so did the mobility edge, meaning that materials with high concentrations of defects induce more localization. ... > full story

Ancient supernovas discovered: 10-billion-year-old exploding stars were a source of Earth's iron, researchers say (October 7, 2011) -- Astronomers have just discovered 12 of the most distant and ancient supernovas ever seen, 10 of them in a part of the sky called the Subaru Deep Field. ... > full story

Ionic liquid catalyst helps turn emissions into fuel (October 7, 2011) -- Scientists have overcome one major obstacle to artificial photosynthesis, a promising technology that simultaneously reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide and produces fuel. They have now used an ionic liquid to catalyze the conversion of CO2 to CO, the first step in making fuel, greatly reducing the energy required to drive the process. ... > full story

Mine-hunting software helping doctors to identify rare cells in human cancer (October 7, 2011) -- Medical researchers are demonstrating new software developed for finding and recognizing undersea mines can help doctors identify cancer-related cells. The problem that physicians encounter in analyzing human cell images is similar to the Navy's challenge of finding undersea mines. Doctors must sift through hundreds of microscopic images containing millions of cells. To pinpoint specific cells, they use automated image analysis software called FARSIGHT, or Fluorescence Association Rules for Quantitative Insight. ... > full story

Practical play: Interactive video games appear valuable for ICU patients (October 7, 2011) -- Interactive video games, already known to improve motor function in recovering stroke patients, appear to safely enhance physical therapy for patients in intensive care units, new research suggests. ... > full story

Crab pulsar beams most energetic gamma rays ever detected from a pulsar (October 7, 2011) -- Astrophysicists have detected pulsed gamma-ray emission from the Crab pulsar at energies far beyond what current theoretical models of pulsars can explain. With energies exceeding 100 billion electron-volts (100 GeV), the surprising gamma-ray pulses were detected by the VERITAS telescope array. ... > full story

One room -- 63 different dust particles? Researchers aim to build dust library (October 7, 2011) -- Researchers recently isolated 63 unique dust particles from their laboratory -- and that's just the beginning. The chemists were testing a new kind of sensor when dust got stuck inside it, and they discovered that they could measure the composition of single dust particles. ... > full story

New technique for understanding quantum effects in water (October 7, 2011) -- The use of oxygen isotope substitution will lead to more accurate structural modeling of oxide materials found in everything from biological processes to electronic devices, new research suggests. ... > full story

Hold the phone for vital signs: Researchers turn a smart phone into a medical monitor (October 7, 2011) -- Researchers are turning smartphones into sophisticated medical monitors able to capture and transmit vital physiological data. The team has already developed an app that measures heart rate, heart rhythm, respiration rate, and blood oxygen saturation using the phone's built-in video camera. ... > full story

Technology to make old-age safer (October 7, 2011) -- A fall alarm. Automatic nightlight. Oven reminder. Refrigerator alarm. These are just a few of the new welfare technology solutions that may become a normal part of the lives of the elderly in the future. A Norwegian technology company has developed a complete electronic safety package for the elderly. ... > full story

Engineers: Non-compete agreements have high cost for employees (October 7, 2011) -- A new study of more than 1,000 engineers shows that non-compete agreements come with a high cost for employees: When those workers do shift jobs, roughly one-third of them end up leaving their chosen industry altogether, often at significant financial cost to themselves. ... > full story