ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Wednesday, March 14, 2012

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Wednesday, March 14, 2012

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Barrier to faster graphene devices identified and suppressed (March 13, 2012) -- Physicists report that they have nailed down the source of the interference inhibiting the rapid flow of electrons through graphene-based devices and found a way to suppress it. ... > full story

Investigation of Earth catastrophes from the International Space Station: Uragan Program (March 13, 2012) -- The Uragan program aboard the Russian segment of the International Space Station uses digital photography to study Earth's natural resources by monitoring catastrophes, both natural and human made. Uragan, which means "hurricane" in Russian, began during the first days of habitation on the station and continues to be an important Earth observation program, with the primary goal of defining requirements for a ground-space system for disaster warning and damage mitigation. The program is a logical continuation of the Earth Visual-Instrumental Observations Program (in other words, a crew Earth observation program) started in the Soviet Union/Russia in the early 1970s as part of the Salyut series of space stations and followed by the Mir orbiting complex. ... > full story

Flying through a geomagnetic storm (March 13, 2012) -- Glowing green and red, shimmering hypnotically across the night sky, the aurora borealis is a wonder to behold. Longtime sky watchers say it is the greatest show on Earth. It might be the greatest show in Earth orbit, too. High above our planet, astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) have been enjoying an up-close view of auroras outside their windows as the ISS flys through geomagnetic storms. ... > full story

NASA's Goddard, Glenn Centers look to lift space astronomy out of the fog (March 13, 2012) -- A fogbank is the least useful location for a telescope, yet today's space observatories effectively operate inside one. That's because Venus, Earth and Mars orbit within a vast dust cloud produced by comets and occasional collisions among asteroids. After the sun, this so-called zodiacal cloud is the solar system's most luminous feature, and its light has interfered with infrared, optical and ultraviolet observations made by every astronomical space mission to date. ... > full story

Cassini captures new images of icy moon (March 13, 2012) -- New raw, unprocessed images of Saturn's second largest moon, Rhea, were taken on March 10, 2012, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. This was a relatively distant flyby with a close-approach distance of 26,000 miles (42,000 kilometers), well suited for global geologic mapping. ... > full story

Cassini spies wave rattling jet stream on Jupiter (March 13, 2012) -- New movies of Jupiter are the first to catch an invisible wave shaking up one of the giant planet's jet streams, an interaction that also takes place in Earth's atmosphere and influences the weather. The movies, made from images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft when it flew by Jupiter in 2000, are part of an in-depth study conducted by a team of scientists and amateur astronomers. ... > full story

Data support theory on location of lost Leonardo da Vinci painting (March 13, 2012) -- Evidence uncovered during research conducted in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio late last year appears to support the theory that a lost Leonardo da Vinci painting existed on the east wall of the Hall of the 500, behind Giorgio Vasari's mural "The Battle of Marciano." ... > full story

Get me out of this slump: Visual illusions improve sports performance (March 13, 2012) -- With the NCAA men's college basketball tournament set to begin, college basketball fans around the United States are in the throes of March Madness. Anyone who has seen a game knows that the fans are like extra players on the court, and this is especially true during critical free throws. Fans of the opposing team will wave anything they can, from giant inflatable noodles to big heads, to make it difficult for players to focus on the basket. ... > full story

Scientists tap the cognitive genius of tots to make computers smarter (March 13, 2012) -- People often wonder if computers make children smarter. Scientists are now asking the reverse question: Can children make computers smarter? It appears so. ... > full story

Hydrogen power in real life: Clean and energy efficient (March 13, 2012) -- Since 2009, a hydrogen powered street cleaning vehicle has been undergoing testing on the streets of Basel. The project is intended to take hydrogen drives out of the laboratory and onto the streets in order to gain experience on using them under practical conditions. The result of the pilot trial: hydrogen as a fuel for municipal utility vehicles saves energy, is environmentally friendly and is technically feasible. In order to make it cost-effective, however, the prices of fuel cells, pressurized storage tanks and electric drives must all drop significantly. ... > full story

Laser lightning rod: Guiding bursts of electricity with a flash of light (March 13, 2012) -- Lightning is a fascinating but dangerous atmospheric phenomenon. New research reveals that brief bursts of intense laser light can redirect these high-power electrical discharges. ... > full story

Detecting clouds from both sides now (March 13, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a more precise method to detect the boundary between clouds and clear air, by exploiting the swinging motions of a weather balloon and its payload. ... > full story

Diamond-based materials brighten the future of electronics (March 13, 2012) -- Researchers have found a way to combine ultrananocrystalline diamond with graphene and gallium nitride, greatly improving the thermal properties of the material and helping to overcome theoretical limitations on semiconducting circuits. ... > full story

Artificially structured metamaterials may boost wireless power transfer (March 12, 2012) -- More than one hundred years after the pioneering inventor Nikola Tesla first became fascinated with wireless energy transfer, the spread of mobile electronic devices has sparked renewed interest in the ability to power up without plugging in. Now researchers have proposed a way to enhance the efficiency of wireless power transfer systems by incorporating a lens made from a new class of artificial materials. ... > full story

Mathematical methods predicts movement of oil and ash following environmental disasters (March 12, 2012) -- For those involved in managing the fallout from environmental disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, it is essential to have tools that predict how the oil will move, so that they make the best possible use of resources to control the spill. Such tools now appear to be within reach. ... > full story

Touch of gold improves nanoparticle fuel-cell reactions (March 12, 2012) -- Chemists have created a triple-headed metallic nanoparticle that reportedly performs better and lasts longer than any other nanoparticle catalyst studied in fuel-cell reactions. The key is the addition of gold: it yields a more uniform crystal structure while removing carbon monoxide from the reaction. ... > full story

3-D Printer with Nano-Precision (March 12, 2012) -- Printing three-dimensional objects with incredibly fine details is now possible using “two-photon lithography”. With this technology, tiny structures on a nanometer scale can be fabricated. Researchers have now made a major breakthrough in speeding up this printing technique. ... > full story

Thermonuclear behavior of unique neutron star captured (March 10, 2012) -- A neutron star is the closest thing to a black hole that astronomers can observe directly, crushing half a million times more mass than Earth into a sphere no larger than a city. In October 2010, a neutron star near the center of our galaxy erupted with hundreds of X-ray bursts that were powered by a barrage of thermonuclear explosions on the star's surface. NASA captured the month-long fusillade in extreme detail. ... > full story

Safety requirements shape commercial crew designs (March 9, 2012) -- NASA's plans for a new generation of commercially owned and operated spacecraft and launches involve meeting a number of goals, none higher than keeping to the agency's high standards for crew safety. The agency's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) outlined hundreds of human safety and performance requirements for the companies it is working with to carry astronauts to low Earth orbit. NASA's engineers won't directly tell the companies how to meet the requirements, though. Instead, they'll rely on their partners' innovations to meet their safety objectives. ... > full story

Nanotube technology leading to new era of fast, lower-cost medical diagnostics (March 9, 2012) -- Researchers have tapped into the extraordinary power of carbon "nanotubes" to increase the speed of biological sensors, a technology that might one day allow a doctor to routinely perform lab tests in minutes, speeding diagnosis and treatment while reducing costs. The new findings have almost tripled the speed of prototype nano-biosensors, and should find applications not only in medicine but in toxicology, environmental monitoring, new drug development and other fields. ... > full story

Meteorites reveal another way to make life's components (March 9, 2012) -- Creating some of life's building blocks in space may be a bit like making a sandwich -- you can make them cold or hot, according to new NASA research. This evidence that there is more than one way to make crucial components of life increases the likelihood that life emerged elsewhere in the Universe, according to the research team, and gives support to the theory that a "kit" of ready-made parts created in space and delivered to Earth by impacts from meteorites and comets assisted the origin of life. ... > full story

Environmentally friendly cleaning and washing (March 9, 2012) -- More and more everyday products are based on renewable resources, with household cleaners now containing active cleaning substances made from plant oils and sugar. These fat and dirt removers are especially environmentally friendly and effective when produced using biotechnology, with the aid of fungi and bacteria. ... > full story

A cheap and fully optical solution for ultra-fast internet (March 9, 2012) -- Blisteringly fast Internet speeds, more robust connections and a big increase in network capacity at little extra cost, even in rural areas? It's the sort of fantasy that keeps telecommunication company executives and bandwidth-hungry Internet users awake at night... until now. Groundbreaking fibre-optic technology promises all those things and more. ... > full story

Mapping the Moho with GOCE (March 9, 2012) -- The first global high-resolution map of the boundary between Earth’s crust and mantle – the Moho – has been produced based on data from ESA’s GOCE gravity satellite. Understanding the Moho will offer new clues into the dynamics of Earth’s interior. Earth’s crust is the outermost solid shell of our planet. Even though it makes up less than 1% of the volume of the planet, the crust is exceptionally important not just because we live on it, but because is the place where all our geological resources like natural gas, oil and minerals come from. ... > full story

Strong Grip: Unexpected interaction between organic semiconductors (March 9, 2012) -- Physicists have discovered an unexpectedly strong bond between organic layers. Such structures are still puzzling scientists throughout the world. These structures form the basis for novel electronic components made from organic semiconductors that are now increasingly used in smart phones and television sets. ... > full story

Tracking pedestrians indoors using their smart phones (March 9, 2012) -- The next generation of smart phone could combine the data from its gyroscopes with a built-in compass to allow you to track your movements when indoors even without GPS. Such a system could be useful for shopping mall managers, factory bosses for worker safety and security and office workers hoping to manage the flow of people through buildings. It could also be used to enable location based services and to help users navigate to specific meeting points or shops. ... > full story

Partnerships in the brain: Mathematical model describes the collaboration of individual neurons (March 8, 2012) -- How do neurons in the brain communicate with each other? One common theory suggests that individual cells do not exchange signals among each other, but rather that exchange takes place between groups of cells. Researchers have now developed a mathematical model that can be used to test this assumption. ... > full story

Nanoparticles affect nutrient absorption, study suggests (March 8, 2012) -- Nanoparticles are everywhere. From cosmetics and clothes, to soda and snacks. But as versatile as they are, nanoparticles also have a downside, say researchers. These tiny particles, even in low doses, could have a big impact on our long-term health. ... > full story

Teach your robot well (March 8, 2012) -- A new study identifies the types of questions a robot can ask during a learning interaction that are most likely to characterize a smooth and productive human-robot relationship. ... > full story

Magnetic moon: Magnetic anomalies on moon are result of asteroid collision (March 8, 2012) -- Astronomers have proposed a surprisingly simple explanation for magnetic anomalies that have baffled scientists since the mid-1960s -- they are remnants of a massive asteroid. The researchers believe an asteroid slammed into the moon approximately four billion years ago, leaving behind an enormous crater and iron-rich, highly magnetic rock. ... > full story

Catalysts for less: Slashing costs of metal alloys needed to jump-start crucial chemical processes (March 8, 2012) -- Scientists have discovered that individual atoms can catalyze industrially important chemical reactions such as the hydrogenation of acetylene, offering potentially significant economic and environmental benefits. ... > full story

Polymer scientists and physicists, inspired by curly leaves, develop new technique for shaping thin gel sheets (March 8, 2012) -- Inspired by nature's ability to shape a petal, and building on simple techniques used in photolithography and printing, researchers have developed a new tool for manufacturing three-dimensional shapes easily and cheaply, to aid advances in biomedicine, robotics and tunable micro-optics. Researchers have just described their new method of halftone gel lithography for photo-patterning polymer gel sheets. ... > full story

Ultrafast sonograms shed new light on rapid phase transitions (March 8, 2012) -- A method for taking ultrafast "sonograms" of materials undergoing phase transitions sheds new light on the dynamics of this important phenomenon in the world's fastest phase-change material. ... > full story

Share and share alike: How marketers can exploit infectious sharing behavior (March 8, 2012) -- In the world of marketing, people who are thinking about sharing product information they find in online advertising are likely to first consider whether the information is relevant to friends and family in their social networks. ... > full story

Nintendo Wii™ game controllers help diagnose eye disorder (March 8, 2012) -- Wii remotes are not all about fun and games. Scientists can use them to assess and diagnose children with an abnormal head position caused by eye diseases. Researchers have now developed a low-cost digital head posture measuring device with Nintendo Wiimotes to help diagnose this condition, medically called ocular torticollis. ... > full story

Optimizing routes for underwater vehicles: Sometimes the quickest path is not a straight line (March 8, 2012) -- Scientists have developed a mathematical procedure that can optimize path planning for automated underwater vehicles, even in regions with complex shorelines and strong shifting currents. The system can provide paths optimized either for the shortest travel time or for the minimum use of energy, or to maximize the collection of data that is considered most important. ... > full story

Origami-inspired paper sensor could test for malaria and HIV for less than 10 cents, report chemists (March 8, 2012) -- Inspired by the paper-folding art of origami, chemists have developed a 3-D paper sensor that may be able to test for diseases such as malaria and HIV for less than 10 cents a pop. The sensors can be printed out on an office printer, and take less than a minute to assemble. ... > full story

When prejudices become a disadvantage (March 8, 2012) -- Researchers have been exploring the question of whether prejudices might be rational under certain conditions. Using game theory, they created various scenarios and played them fifteen million times. The researchers have now reached a conclusion: those who are prejudiced are soon at a disadvantage, as they learn nothing new and miss many opportunities. ... > full story

Metamaterials may advance with new femtosecond laser technique (March 8, 2012) -- "Lucky" combination of chemicals and laser pulses enables high-resolution, 3D patterning for futuristic optical materials ... > full story

Computer processors: Saving power, saving money (March 8, 2012) -- Engineers have proposed a method of cutting power use and costs in computer processors. Called fine-grained power gating, the method would shut off energy to unused portions of datapath and memory blocks. Current processors fully power all components but rarely are all fully engaged. ... > full story

Proposed nuclear clock may keep time with the universe (March 8, 2012) -- A proposed new time-keeping system tied to the orbiting of a neutron around an atomic nucleus could have such unprecedented accuracy that it neither gains nor loses 1/20th of a second in 14 billion years -- the age of the universe. ... > full story

Large solar flares generate geomagnetic storm (March 8, 2012) -- A pair of unusually large solar flares early March 7, 2012 generated a Coronal Mass Ejection that was expected to reach Earth around mid-day March 8. It will likely cause at least a strong geomagnetic storm that could affect satellites in space and trigger auroral displays. The effects at ground level are expected to be limited, but there is a good chance for some excellent auroral displays in the north. ... > full story

Daya Bay: Discovery of new kind of neutrino transformation (March 8, 2012) -- The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment collaboration has announced a precise measurement of the last of the unsolved neutrino "mixing angles," which determine how neutrinos oscillate among different types. The ground-breaking collaboration is the most sensitive reactor neutrino experiment in the world. The results promise new insight into why enough ordinary matter survived after the big bang to form everything visible in the universe. ... > full story

Wash your mouth out with silver, to treat hard-to-treat mouth infections? (March 8, 2012) -- Yeasts which cause hard-to-treat mouth infections are killed using silver nanoparticles in the laboratory, scientists have found. These yeast infections, caused by Candida albicans and Candida glabrata target the young, old and immuno-compromised. Scientists hope to test silver nanoparticles in mouthwash and dentures as a potential preventative measure against these infections. ... > full story

Reducing the urban heat island effect: Bright is the new black as New York roofs go cool (March 7, 2012) -- On the hottest day of the New York City summer in 2011, a white roof covering was measured at 42 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the traditional black roof it was being compared to, according to a new study that details the first scientific results from the city's unprecedented effort to brighten rooftops and reduce its "urban heat island" effect. ... > full story

NASA sees second biggest flare of the solar cycle (March 7, 2012) -- The leading edge of the first of two major coronal mass ejections will reach Earth at about 1:25 AM EST on the morning of March 8 (plus or minus 7 hours). Such a CME could result in a severe geomagnetic storm, causing aurora at low latitudes, with possible disruption to high frequency radio communication, global positioning systems (GPS), and power grids. ... > full story

Communication technologies including smartphones and laptops could now be 1,000 times faster, new study suggests (March 7, 2012) -- Many of the communication tools of today rely on the function of light or, more specifically, on applying information to a light wave. Thanks to research, a physical basis for terahertz bandwidth (THz, or 1 trillion cycles per second) -- the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum between infrared and microwave light -- has now been demonstrated. ... > full story

That caffeine in your drink -- is it really 'natural?' (March 7, 2012) -- That caffeine in your tea, energy drink or other beverage -- is it really natural? Scientists are reporting successful use for the first time of a simpler and faster method for answering that question. ... > full story