ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Tuesday, March 27, 2012

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Tuesday, March 27, 2012

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A 24-karat gold key to unlock the immune system (March 26, 2012) -- Using nanoparticles made of pure gold, researchers have developed a new method of introducing chemical residues into the immune system, triggering immune cells to help the body fight infection. The breakthrough could lead to an increased understanding of viruses and bacteria, better drug delivery systems, and more effective medications and vaccinations. ... > full story

Research: 'Buckliball' opens new avenue in design of foldable engineering structures (March 26, 2012) -- Inspired by a toy, the 'buckliball' -- a collapsible structure fabricated from a single piece of material -- represents a new class of 3-D, origami-like structures. ... > full story

Cassini to make closest pass yet over Enceladus south pole (March 26, 2012) -- NASA's Cassini spacecraft is preparing to make its lowest pass yet over the south polar region of Saturn's moon Enceladus, where icy particles and water vapor spray out in glittering jets. The closest approach, at an altitude of about 46 miles (74 kilometers), will occur around 11:30 a.m. PDT (2:30 p.m. EDT) on March 27. ... > full story

Slime mold mimics Canadian highway network (March 26, 2012) -- A researcher placed rolled oats on a map of Canada, covering the major urban areas. One urban area held the slime mold. The slime mold reached out for the food, creating thin tubes that eventually formed a network mirroring the Canadian highway system. ... > full story

Computer system identifies liars (March 26, 2012) -- Computer scientists are exploring whether machines can read the visual cues that give away deceit. Results so far are promising: In a study of 40 videotaped conversations, an automated system that analyzed eye movements correctly identified whether interview subjects were lying or telling the truth 82.5 percent of the time. ... > full story

New synthetic biology technique boosts microbial production of diesel fuel (March 26, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a "dynamic sensor-regulator system" that can detect metabolic changes in microbes during the production of fatty acid-based fuels or chemicals and control the expression of genes affecting that production. The result in one demonstration was a threefold increase in the microbial production of biodiesel from glucose. ... > full story

New 'thermal' approach to invisibility cloaking hides heat to enhance technology (March 26, 2012) -- In a new approach to invisibility cloaking, a team of French researchers has proposed isolating or cloaking objects from sources of heat -- essentially "thermal cloaking." This method taps into some of the same principles as optical cloaking and may lead to novel ways to control heat in electronics and, on an even larger scale, might someday prove useful for spacecraft and solar technologies. ... > full story

NASA flight tests new ADS-B device on Ikhana UAS (March 26, 2012) -- NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center flew its Ikhana MQ-9 unmanned aircraft with an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, device, for the first time on March 15. It was the first time an unmanned aircraft as large as Ikhana -- with a 66-foot wingspan, a takeoff weight of more than 10,000 pounds, and a cruising altitude of 40,000 feet -- has flown while equipped with ADS-B. ADS-B is an aircraft tracking technology that all planes operating in certain U.S. airspace must adopt by January 2020 to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. ... > full story

James Cameron makes first ever successful solo dive to Mariana Trench -- ocean's deepest point (March 26, 2012) -- Filmmaker James Cameron descended 35,756 feet (6.77 miles/10.89 km) to reach the "Challenger Deep," the ocean's deepest point located in the Mariana Trench, in his specially designed submersible DEEPSEA CHALLENGER. The attempt was part of DEEPSEA CHALLENGE, a joint scientific expedition by Cameron, National Geographic and Rolex to conduct deep-ocean research and exploration. Cameron is the only individual ever to complete the dive in a solo vehicle and the first person since 1960 to reach the very bottom of the world in a manned submersible. ... > full story

Single molecules in a quantum movie (March 25, 2012) -- The quantum physics of massive particles has intrigued physicists for more than 80 years, since it predicts that even complex particles can exhibit wave-like behavior – in conflict with our everyday ideas of what is real or local. ... > full story

Materials Inspired by Mother Nature: One-Pound Boat That Could Float 1,000 Pounds (March 25, 2012) -- Combining the secrets that enable water striders to walk on water and give wood its lightness and strength yielded an amazing material so buoyant that, in everyday terms, a boat made from 1 pound of it could carry five kitchen refrigerators, about 1,000 pounds. It is one of the lightest solid substances in the world. ... > full story

Laser hints at how universe got its magnetism (March 24, 2012) -- Scientists have used a laser to create magnetic fields similar to those thought to be involved in the formation of the first galaxies; findings that could help to solve the riddle of how the universe got its magnetism. ... > full story

Shiny new tool for imaging biomolecules (March 23, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a technique for lacing artificial membranes with billions of gold nanoantennas that can boost optical signals from a protein tens of thousands of times without the protein ever being touched. This technique could provide a critical tool in the fight against a wide range of health problems including cancer. ... > full story

New theory on size of black holes: Gas-guzzling black holes eat two courses at a time (March 23, 2012) -- Astronomers have put forward a new theory about why black holes become so hugely massive -- claiming some of them have no 'table manners', and tip their 'food' directly into their mouths, eating more than one course simultaneously. ... > full story

Forces among molecules: Tiny but important (March 23, 2012) -- Forces are not only associated with machines or muscles. You can also find them elsewhere, for instance between molecules. Theoretical chemists are familiar with that. However, they -- or rather their computers -- are not capable of calculating them with high accuracy and efficiency at the same time. ... > full story

European Space Agency cargo ship carries research and technology investigations to International Space Station (March 23, 2012) -- When the European Space Agency's third Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo ship arrives at the International Space Station on March 28, it will be packed with more than seven tons of supplies, including a mix of international partner research ranging from biology to education to physical science. ... > full story

NASA measures impact of huge solar flare on Earth's atmosphere (March 23, 2012) -- A key NASA instrument that can directly measure the impact of solar events on Earth's upper atmosphere has weighed in on the huge flare that impacted Earth last week. ... > full story

Magnetic field researchers target 100-tesla goal: Previous world record shattered during six-experiment pulse (March 23, 2012) -- Researchers have met the grand challenge of producing magnetic fields in excess of 100 tesla while conducting six different experiments. ... > full story

Swarming and transporting (March 23, 2012) -- On its own, an ant is not particularly clever. But in a community, the insects can solve complicated tasks. Researchers intend to put this "swarm intelligence“ to use in the logistics field. Lots of autonomous transport shuttles would provide an alternative to traditional materials-handling technology. ... > full story

Plasma flows may shed light on predicting sunspot cycles (March 23, 2012) -- A geophysics researcher wants to look inside the sun. More accurately, she wants to simulate the sun to study plasma flows associated with sunspot cycles. With the help of simulations scientists recently warned about a series of solar storms in early March, concerned that it could affect global positioning systems, power grids, satellites and airplane travel. ... > full story

Why Wikileaks' bid for radical transparency failed (March 23, 2012) -- The scale and significance of the 2010 WikiLeaks disclosures were overstated, according to new research. Analysis of the WikiLeaks debacle serves to highlight four key reasons why radical transparency is hard to achieve, and why a technological fix alone will not achieve it. ... > full story

Standoff sensing enters new realm with dual-laser technique (March 22, 2012) -- Identifying chemicals from a distance could take a step forward with the introduction of a new two-laser system. ... > full story

NASA GRAIL returns first student-selected moon images (March 22, 2012) -- One of two NASA spacecraft orbiting the moon has beamed back the first student-requested pictures of the lunar surface from its onboard camera. Fourth grade students from the Emily Dickinson Elementary School in Bozeman, Mont., received the honor of making the first image selections by winning a nationwide competition to rename the two spacecraft. ... > full story

Cylinder hides contents and makes them invisible to magnetic fields (March 22, 2012) -- Researchers have created a cylinder which hides contents and makes them invisible to magnetic fields. The device was built using superconductor and ferromagnetic materials available on the market. ... > full story

Quantum copies do new tricks (March 22, 2012) -- New research shows that it is possible to perfectly recover the original from the imperfect quantum copies. Scientists also propose a way that his could be done in practice. ... > full story

National study ranks city governments' use of social media (March 22, 2012) -- Six times as many big-city governments reached citizens via Facebook in 2011 compared to 2009. Use of YouTube and Twitter grew fourfold and threefold respectively. Researchers ranked the online interactivity, transparency and accessibility of the 75 largest U.S. cities. ... > full story

Brown liquor and solar cells to provide sustainable electricity (March 22, 2012) -- A breakthrough for inexpensive electricity from solar cells, and a massive investment in wind power, will mean a need to store energy in an intelligent way. According to new research batteries of biological waste products from pulp mills could provide the solution. ... > full story

Liquid-like materials may pave way for new thermoelectric devices (March 22, 2012) -- In the continual quest for better thermoelectric materials -- which convert heat into electricity and vice versa -- researchers have identified a liquid-like compound whose properties give it the potential to be even more efficient than traditional thermoelectrics. ... > full story

Geologists discover new class of landform -- on Mars (March 22, 2012) -- An odd, previously unseen landform could provide a window into the geological history of Mars, according to new research by geologists. They call the structures periodic bedrock ridges. ... > full story

A one-way street for light (March 22, 2012) -- An optical diode made with silicon technology can be used for quantum information. Researchers propose using ring resonators to construct a micro-optical diode. The technology is silicon-on-insulator, making it compatible with the CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) fabrication processes underlying today’s computer circuits. ... > full story

Runaway planets zoom at a fraction of light speed (March 22, 2012) -- Seven years ago, astronomers boggled when they found the first runaway star flying out of our galaxy at a speed of 1.5 million miles per hour. The discovery intrigued theorists, who wondered: if a star can get tossed outward at such an extreme velocity, could the same thing happen to planets? New research shows that the answer is yes. ... > full story

New technique lets scientists peer within nanoparticles, see atomic structure in 3-D (March 22, 2012) -- Researchers are now able to peer deep within material science's tiniest structures to create three-dimensional images of individual atoms and their positions. The research presents a new method for directly measuring the atomic structure of nanomaterials. ... > full story

What is the monetary value of a healthy ocean? (March 22, 2012) -- Scientists have attempted to measure the ocean's monetary value and to tally the costs and savings associated with human decisions affecting ocean health. The study estimates that if human impacts on the ocean continue unabated, declines in ocean health and services will cost the global economy 8 billion per year by 2050, and .979 trillion per year by 2100. ... > full story

People with autism possess greater ability to process information, study suggests (March 22, 2012) -- People with autism have a greater than normal capacity for processing information even from rapid presentations and are better able to detect information defined as "critical," according to a new study. The research may help explain the apparently higher than average prevalence in the IT industry of people with autism spectrum disorders. ... > full story

Northern Lights: First-ever measurement of auroral turbulence using a nanosatellite radar receiver (March 22, 2012) -- Researchers have taken the first-ever measurement of naturally occurring auroral turbulence recorded using a nanosatellite radar receiver. ... > full story

Getting in rhythm helps children grasp fractions, study finds (March 22, 2012) -- Tapping out a beat may help children learn difficult fraction concepts, according to new findings. An innovative curriculum uses rhythm to teach fractions at a California school where students in a music-based program scored significantly higher on math tests than their peers who received regular instruction. ... > full story

Dawn sees new surface features on giant asteroid Vesta (March 21, 2012) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft has revealed unexpected details on the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta. New images and data highlight the diversity of Vesta's surface and reveal unusual geologic features, some of which were never previously seen on asteroids. ... > full story

Venice hasn't stopped sinking after all (March 21, 2012) -- The water flowing through Venice's famous canals laps at buildings a little higher every year -- and not only because of a rising sea level. Although previous studies had found that Venice has stabilized, new measurements indicate that the historic city continues to slowly sink, and even to tilt slightly to the east. ... > full story

Designing consumer electronics to minimize environmental impact of future electronic waste (March 21, 2012) -- The percentage of electronic waste occupying our landfills has grown at an alarming rate over the last decade, giving rise to concerns about the toxicity of components used in consumer electronics. ... > full story

Graphene: Potential for modelling cell membrane systems (March 21, 2012) -- Intriguing properties of graphene -— a single atomic-layer of carbon -— such as high electron mobility and fluorescence quenching are being exploited for biosensing and analysis of nucleotides, peptides, and proteins. ... > full story

Graphene produced using microorganisms from an ordinary river (March 21, 2012) -- Scientists have synthesized graphene by reducing graphene oxide using microorganisms extracted from a local river. ... > full story

Hard electronics: Hall effect magnetic field sensors for high temperatures and harmful radiation environments (March 21, 2012) -- Researchers have invented Hall effect magnetic field sensors that are operable at high temperatures and harmful radiation conditions. The sensors will find applications in space craft and nuclear power stations. ... > full story

Scientists use rare mineral to correlate past climate events in Europe, Antarctica (March 21, 2012) -- Are climate changes in one part of the world felt half a world away? To understand the present, scientists look for ways to unlock information about past climate hidden in the fossil record. Scientists have now found a new key in the form of ikaite, a rare mineral that forms in cold waters. ... > full story

Quantum plasmons demonstrated in atomic-scale nanoparticles (March 21, 2012) -- Addressing a half-century-old question, engineers have conclusively determined how collective electron oscillations, called plasmons, behave in individual metal particles as small as just a few nanometers in diameter. This knowledge may open up new avenues in nanotechnology ranging from solar catalysis to biomedical therapeutics. ... > full story

How the alphabet of data processing is growing: Flying 'qubits' generated (March 21, 2012) -- The alphabet of data processing could include more elements than the "0" and "1" in future. Scientists have achieved a new kind of bit with single electrons, called quantum bits, or qubits. With them, considerably more than two states can be defined. So far, quantum bits have only existed in relatively large vacuum chambers. The team has now generated them in semiconductors. They have put an effect in practice, which the physicist Prof. Dr. Andreas Wieck had already theoretically predicted 22 years ago. This represents another step along the path to quantum computing. ... > full story

Computer model of spread of dementia can predict future disease patterns years before they occur in a patient (March 21, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a computer program that has tracked the manner in which different forms of dementia spread within a human brain. They say their mathematical model can be used to predict where and approximately when an individual patient's brain will suffer from the spread, neuron to neuron, of "prion-like" toxic proteins -- a process they say underlies all forms of dementia. ... > full story

Age-old anesthesia question awakened (March 21, 2012) -- Why does inhaling anesthetics cause unconsciousness? New insights into this century-and-a-half-old question may spring from new research. ... > full story

Nanopower: Avoiding electrolyte failure in nanoscale lithum batteries (March 21, 2012) -- It turns out you can be too thin -- especially if you're a nanoscale battery. Researchers have built a series of nanowire batteries to demonstrate that the thickness of the electrolyte layer can dramatically affect the performance of the battery, effectively setting a lower limit to the size of the tiny power sources. ... > full story