ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Friday, November 18, 2011

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Friday, November 18, 2011

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Chemists develop compounds capable of forming heath-resistant, economic and biocompatible gels (November 17, 2011) -- Eating a yogurt or a jelly, using a pharmaceutical or cosmetic cream or shampoo are just some of the numerous everyday actions in which we use gels developed through a process of gelation. Researchers have now developed a new family of compounds that enables to develop gels more resistant to high temperatures with a higher level of biocompatibility and able to work with a variety of organic solvents, and all this with an easy synthesis, scalable and low cost. This family of compounds has significant applications in industries such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics or food industry, among others. ... > full story

French digitial kitchen is a recipe for success (November 17, 2011) -- An innovative kitchen that gives step-by-step cooking instructions in French could spark a revolution in language learning in the UK. ... > full story

Galaxies are the ultimate recyclers, NASA's Hubble confirms (November 17, 2011) -- New observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are expanding astronomers' understanding of the ways in which galaxies continuously recycle immense volumes of hydrogen gas and heavy elements. This process allows galaxies to build successive generations of stars stretching over billions of years. ... > full story

Research cracks puzzle of enzyme critical to food supply (November 17, 2011) -- Researchers used the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to identify a key atom inside the part of the nitrogenase enzyme where atmospheric nitrogen is converted into a form that living things can use. ... > full story

Unusual liquid crystal structures on water surface (November 17, 2011) -- Some liquid crystals form monolayers on water surface. When compressed from sides, such films of monomolecular thickness can wrinkle like fabric on a flat, smooth table, pulled together with palms simultaneously from both sides. With increasing surface pressure, the wrinkles of the monolayer fold up and form subsequent layers. New mechanisms of multilayer formation are responsible for creation of liquid crystal films with a structure that has never been observed before. ... > full story

Brain study reveals how successful students overcome math anxiety (November 17, 2011) -- Using brain-imaging technology for the first time with people experiencing mathematics anxiety, scientists have gained new insights into how some students are able to overcome their fears and succeed in math. For the highly math anxious, researchers found a strong link between math success and activity in a network of brain areas in the frontal and parietal lobes involved in controlling attention and regulating negative emotional reactions. ... > full story

World's lightest material is a metal 100 times lighter than styrofoam (November 17, 2011) -- Engineers have developed the world's lightest material -- with a density of 0.9 mg/cc -- about 100 times lighter than Styrofoam. ... > full story

Biodiversity can promote survival on a warming planet, mathematical model shows (November 17, 2011) -- Whether a species can evolve to survive climate change may depend on the biodiversity of its ecological community, according to a new mathematical model that simulates the effect of climate change on plants and pollinators. ... > full story

Magnetic fields set stage for birth of new stars (November 17, 2011) -- Astronomers have, for the first time, measured the alignment of magnetic fields in gigantic clouds of gas and dust in a distant galaxy. Their results suggest that such magnetic fields play a key role in channeling matter to form denser clouds, and thus in setting the stage for the birth of new stars. ... > full story

Better batteries: New technology improves both energy capacity and charge rate in rechargeable batteries (November 17, 2011) -- Engineers have created an electrode for lithium-ion batteries that allows the rechargeable batteries to hold a charge up to 10 times greater than current technology. The batteries also can charge 10 times faster than current batteries. The researchers combined two chemical engineering approaches to address two major battery limitations -- energy capacity and charge rate -- in one fell swoop. The technology could pave the way for better batteries for cellphones, iPods and electric cars. ... > full story

Why solar wind is rhombic-shaped: Temperature and energy equipartition in cosmic plasmas explained (November 17, 2011) -- Why the temperatures in the solar wind are almost the same in certain directions, and why different energy densities are practically identical, was until now not clear. With a new approach to calculating instability criteria for plasmas, researchers have solved both problems at once. They were the first to incorporate the effects of collisions of the solar wind particles in their model. This explains experimental data significantly better than previous calculations and can also be transferred to cosmic plasmas outside our solar system. ... > full story

NASA extends MESSENGER Mission orbiting Mercury (November 17, 2011) -- NASA has announced that it will extend the MESSENGER mission for an additional year of orbital operations at Mercury beyond the planned end of the primary mission on March 17, 2012. The MESSENGER probe became the first spacecraft to orbit the innermost planet on March 18, 2011. ... > full story

Perfect micro rings woven from muscle fibers: Biological model system that dead-ends in an 'absorbing state' (November 16, 2011) -- Supplied with sufficient energy, a freight train would ride the rails as far as they go. But nature also knows systems whose dynamics suddenly turn into a kind of endless loop. Like in a hamster wheel, a train caught up in such a system would continue running, but without moving forward. Scientists in Germany have now succeeded in building a simple model system consisting of only three components to study the laws of such so-called absorbing states. ... > full story

Large differences in the climate impact of biofuels, Swedish research finds (November 16, 2011) -- When biomass is combusted the carbon that once was bound in the growing tree is released into the atmosphere. For this reason, bioenergy is often considered carbon dioxide neutral. Research from Sweden, however, shows that this is a simplification. The use of bioenergy may affect ecosystem carbon stocks, and it can take anything from 2 to 100 years for different biofuels to achieve carbon dioxide neutrality. ... > full story

Creation of the largest human-designed protein boosts protein engineering efforts (November 16, 2011) -- Chemists have designed and successfully synthesized the largest artificial protein using a new approach that greatly expands scientists' ability to create proteins unknown in nature. ... > full story

Preliminary report on radiation levels in Fukushima reveals relative safety of residents (November 16, 2011) -- Researchers have released a preliminary report on the effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster on the surrounding areas, following radiation levels for approximately three months following the event and surveying more than 5,000 people in the region. ... > full story

Fast new method for mapping blood vessels may aid cancer research (November 16, 2011) -- Computational neuroscientists have developed a new system, tested in mouse brain samples, that substantially reduces blood vessel mapping time. ... > full story

Evidence for 'great lake' on Europa and potential new habitat for life (November 16, 2011) -- In a significant finding in the search for life beyond Earth, scientists from the University of Texas at Austin and elsewhere have discovered what appears to be a body of liquid water the volume of the North American Great Lakes locked inside the icy shell of Jupiter's moon Europa. The water could represent a potential habitat for life. The authors speculate many more such lakes might exist throughout the shallow regions of Europa's shell. ... > full story

A realistic look at the promises and perils of nanomedicine (November 16, 2011) -- Is the emerging field of nanomedicine a breathtaking technological revolution that promises remarkable new ways of diagnosing and treating diseases? Or does it portend the release of dangerous nanoparticles, nanorobots or nanoelectronic devices that will wreak havoc in the body? A new review of more than 500 studies on the topic concludes that neither scenario is likely. ... > full story

Cool clouds of Carina: APEX reveals new view of star formation in the Carina Nebula (November 16, 2011) -- Observations made with the APEX telescope in submillimeter-wavelength light reveal the cold dusty clouds from which stars form in the Carina Nebula. This site of violent star formation, which plays host to some of the highest-mass stars in our galaxy, is an ideal arena in which to study the interactions between these young stars and their parent molecular clouds. ... > full story

New lightning-fast, efficient nanoscale data transmission (November 16, 2011) -- A new nanoscale light-emitting diode transmits data at ultrafast rates while using thousands of times less energy than current technologies. It is a major step forward for on-chip data transmission, the researchers say. ... > full story

No extraordinary effects from microwave and mobile phone heating: Study quantifies effects of electric field-induced versus conventional heating (November 16, 2011) -- The effect of microwave heating and cell phone radiation on sample material is no different than a temperature increase, according to scientists in a new study. ... > full story

Converting waste heat into electricity (November 16, 2011) -- More than half of today's energy consumption is squandered in useless waste heat, such as the heat from refrigerators and all sorts of gadgets and the heat from factories and power plants. The energy losses are even greater in cars. Automobile motors only manage to utilize 30 per cent of the energy they generate. Scientists in Norway are developing a new environmentally friendly technology called thermoelectricity, which can convert waste heat into electricity. To put it briefly, the technology involves making use of temperature differences. ... > full story

New system of intelligent management of street lighting enables 80% savings in energy (November 16, 2011) -- Until recently there did not exist any kind of system of illumination that had more than 30% energy saving. A new intelligent system for public lighting achieves between 70% and 80% savings in the energy previously consumed. ... > full story

In new quantum-dot LED design, researchers turn troublesome molecules to their advantage (November 16, 2011) -- By nestling quantum dots in an insulating egg-crate structure, researchers have demonstrated a robust new architecture for quantum-dot light-emitting devices (QD-LEDs). Quantum dots are very tiny crystals that glow with bright, rich colors when stimulated by an electric current. QD-LEDs are expected to find applications in television and computer screens, general light sources, and lasers. ... > full story

Making chemicals from biogas instead of burning it (November 16, 2011) -- Combustible gases generated by organic matter in landfill sites or from biomass are commonly burned to generate electricity. However, Finnish researchers suggest that such biogas might be more usefully used as an alternative feedstock for the chemical industry. They explain that using biogas in this way would reduce our dependency on oil and gas-derived products and is commercially and technically viable. ... > full story

European consortium contributes to global standards for 4G technology (November 16, 2011) -- A European consortium has developed global standards for the next generation of mobile communication devices. Their breakthrough will help contribute to new products and business worldwide, while making smartphones even smarter. ... > full story

CERN has 2020 vision for Large Hadron Collider upgrade (November 16, 2011) -- CERN has kicked off the High Luminosity LHC (Large Hadron Collider) study with a workshop bringing together scientists and engineers from some 14 European institutions, along with others from Japan and the USA. The goal is to prepare the ground for an LHC luminosity upgrade scheduled for around 2020. ... > full story

Ionized plasmas as cheap sterilizers for developing world (November 15, 2011) -- Devices that create ionized plasmas could be life-savers in the developing world or on the battlefield, providing an inexpensive way to sterilize water and medical instruments. Researchers have created low-temperature plasma devices that sterilize water and keep it antimicrobial for at least a week. A new report finds that the hydrogen peroxide and nitrites produced by the plasma discharge are not the source of long-term antimicrobial activity. ... > full story

U.S. Marines test new energy-efficient weapon in the war on trash (November 15, 2011) -- U.S. Marines are testing a high-tech trash disposal system that can reduce a standard 50-gallon bag of waste to a half-pint jar of harmless ash. Called the Micro Auto Gasification System, the unit is currently undergoing evaluation by US Marine Corps Forces, Pacific as a possible solution to help Marines win their daily battle against the increasing trash at remote forward operating bases. ... > full story

Ancient stars shed light on the prehistory of the Milky Way (November 15, 2011) -- Some of Milky Way's 'stellar fossils' -- our galaxy's oldest stars -- contain abnormally large amounts of heavy elements like gold, platinum and uranium. This has been a mystery, since it's usually seen in much later generations of stars. Researchers have been studying these ancient stars and with recent observations they have concluded how they could have been formed in the early history of the Milky Way. ... > full story

Mimicking the brain -- in silicon: New computer chip models how neurons communicate with each other at synapses (November 15, 2011) -- For decades, scientists have dreamed of building computer systems that could replicate the human brain's talent for learning new tasks. Researchers have now taken a major step toward that goal by designing a computer chip that mimics how the brain's neurons adapt in response to new information. This phenomenon, known as plasticity, is believed to underlie many brain functions, including learning and memory. ... > full story

Bats, dolphins, and mole rats inspire advances in ultrasound technology (November 15, 2011) -- Researchers are using a unique method to interpret and manipulate the pings and echoes that bats, dolphins, and mole rats use for learning about their environments and capturing their prey. With this knowledge, he's created mathematical models that may significantly improve the accuracy of existing medical and navigational technologies. ... > full story

New biosensor benefits from melding of carbon nanotubes, DNA (November 15, 2011) -- Scientists have developed a method for stacking synthetic DNA and carbon nanotubes onto a biosensor electrode, a development that may lead to more accurate measurements for research related to diabetes and other diseases. ... > full story

Using photons to manage data (November 15, 2011) -- Managing light to carry computer data, such as text, audio and video, is possible today with laser light beams that are guided along a fiber-optic cable. These waves consist of countless billions of photons, which carry information down the fiber across continents. A research team wants to refine the optical transmission of information by using a single photon, the fundamental building block of light that can allow unprecedented applications in optical information transfer. ... > full story

Potential new NASA mission would reveal the hearts of undead stars (November 15, 2011) -- Neutron stars have been called the zombies of the cosmos, shining on even though they're technically dead, and occasionally feeding on a neighboring star if it gets too close. They are born when a massive star runs out of fuel and collapses under its own gravity, crushing the matter in its core and blasting away its outer layers in a supernova explosion that can outshine a billion suns. A proposed mission called the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) would unveil the dark heart of a neutron star. ... > full story

Novel nanocrystals with advanced optical properties developed for use as luminescent biomarkers (November 15, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a synthesis that yields lanthanide-doped nanocrystals with advanced light-control properties, leading to potential applications in cancer diagnostics, medical imaging and therapeutic delivery. ... > full story

Battered Tharsis Tholus volcano on Mars (November 15, 2011) -- The latest image released from Mars Express reveals a large extinct volcano that has been battered and deformed over the eons. By Earthly standards, Tharsis Tholus is a giant, towering 8 kilometers above the surrounding terrain, with a base stretching over 155 x 125 km. Yet on Mars, it is just an average-sized volcano. What marks it out as unusual is its battered condition. ... > full story

Galaxy DNA-analysis software is now available 'in the cloud' (November 15, 2011) -- Galaxy -- an open-source, web-based platform for data-intensive biomedical and genetic research -- is now available as a "cloud computing" resource. The new technology will help scientists and biomedical researchers to harness such tools as DNA-sequencing and analysis software, as well as storage capacity for large quantities of scientific data. ... > full story

Digital media a factor in ferocity of political campaigns (November 15, 2011) -- A new study of recent political blogs indicates politics are getting nastier due to digital media, which are segmenting people into polarized interest groups. The researcher recommends a balanced approach to finding information in order to return civility to political discourse, which is at the heart of democracy. ... > full story

Fish flu: Genetics approach may lead to treatment (November 14, 2011) -- A research team has provided the first look at a genetic structure that may play a critical role in the reproduction of the infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV), more commonly known as the "fish flu." ... > full story

New advances in the study of silicon structure (November 14, 2011) -- Amorphous silicon is one of the key materials in the manufacturing of next-generation solar panels and flat-screen televisions. A recent study has revealed that the energy of amorphous silicon – the state in which it exhibits the greatest stability – is 50% lower than the value commonly accepted until now. According to the researchers, this information is important for understanding the structure of the material and improving its properties. ... > full story

Robot speeds up glass development (November 14, 2011) -- Model by model, the electronics in a car are being moved closer to the engine block. This is why the materials used for the electronics must resist increasing heat – so the glass solder being used as glue must be continually optimized. For the first time ever, a robot takes on the task of developing new types of glass and examining their characteristics. ... > full story

Twitter tweets chart the social whirl (November 14, 2011) -- The senior project of two computer science students aggregates Twitter 'tweets" into a real-time events guide. ... > full story

Tarantula Nebula glows with X-rays and infrared light (November 14, 2011) -- The star-forming region 30 Doradus is one of the largest located close to the Milky Way and is found in the neighboring galaxy Large Magellanic Cloud. About 2,400 massive stars in the center of 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula, are producing intense radiation and powerful winds as they blow off material. ... > full story

Exploring the last white spot on Earth: New X-ray facility (November 14, 2011) -- Scientists will soon gain new insight into matter at conditions so extreme it can only be produced for microseconds using intense laser pulses. Such matter is present in the interior of the Earth and other planets, and we know surprisingly little about it. A new X-ray beamline will explore the last white spot on our globe: The Earth's core. ... > full story

Scientists take up golf to prove long-standing theory of cell stickiness (November 14, 2011) -- State-of-the-art, highly-sensitive golf clubs, developed by scientists, regularly catch the eye of golf's elite; however before the likes of Rory McIlroy get excited this time, this new golf putter is being put to use in microbiology laboratories. ... > full story

Lutetia: A rare survivor from the birth of Earth (November 14, 2011) -- New observations indicate that the asteroid Lutetia is a leftover fragment of the same original material that formed the Earth, Venus and Mercury. Astronomers found that the properties of the asteroid closely match those of a rare kind of meteorites found on Earth and thought to have formed in the inner parts of the solar system. Lutetia must, at some point, have moved out to its current location in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. ... > full story