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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Wednesday, June 30, 2010

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Welcome to another edition of ScienceDaily's email newsletter. You can change your subscription options or unsubscribe at any time.


Viral protein structure study offers HIV therapy hope (June 30, 2010) -- A new research project is helping further the understanding of HIV viral protein structure which could lead to new molecular medicines. ... > full story

Science uncovers the hidden secrets of world-famous paintings (June 29, 2010) -- The hidden secrets of some of the world's most famous paintings have been revealed, thanks to a partnership between the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the National Gallery. ... > full story

Birth of the Milky Way: Astronomers glimpse at earliest phases of our home galaxy (June 29, 2010) -- For the first time, a team of astronomers has succeeded in investigating the earliest phases of the evolutionary history of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. The scientists deduce that the early galaxy went from smooth to clumpy in just a few hundred million years. ... > full story

Earplug lets the message through (June 29, 2010) -- An earplug with a built-in computer that allows speech to pass but shuts out unwanted and hazardous noise will make life easier in noisy environments. ... > full story

Relying on origami techniques, researchers show programmable matter folding into a boat- or plane-shape (June 29, 2010) -- Researchers have reshaped the landscape of programmable matter by devising self-folding sheets that rely on the ancient art of origami. Called programmable matter by folding, the team demonstrated how a single thin sheet composed of interconnected triangular sections could transform itself into a boat- or plane-shape -- all without the help of skilled fingers. ... > full story

Biologically inspired technology produces sugar from photosynthetic bacteria (June 29, 2010) -- Researchers have engineered photosynthetic bacteria to produce simple sugars and lactic acid. This innovation could lead to new, environmentally friendly methods for producing commodity chemicals in bulk. It could also lead to reduced carbon dioxide emissions, greater availability of biodegradable plastics, and the capture of harmful CO2 emissions from power plants and industrial facilities. ... > full story

Introducing Robofish: Leading the crowd in studying group dynamics (June 29, 2010) -- Scientists have created the first convincing robotic fish that shoals will accept as one of their own. The innovation opens up new possibilities for studying fish behavior and group dynamics, which provides useful information to support freshwater and marine environmental management, to predict fish migration routes and assess the likely impact of human intervention on fish populations. ... > full story

Science historian cracks the 'Plato code' (June 29, 2010) -- A science historian in the UK has cracked the "Plato Code" -- the long disputed secret messages hidden in the great philosopher's writings. The findings may revolutionize the history of the origins of Western thought. ... > full story

Geometry affects drift and diffusion across entropic barriers (June 29, 2010) -- Understanding particle diffusion in the presence of constrictions is essential in fields as diverse as drug delivery, cellular biology, nanotechnology, materials engineering, and spread of pollutants in the soil. When a driving force is applied, displacement of particles occurs as well as diffusion. A new paper quantifies the effects of periodic constrictions on drift and diffusion in systems experiencing a driving force. ... > full story

Public transit systems contribute to weight loss and improved health, study finds (June 29, 2010) -- Increasing the availability of public transit systems is one among a number of modifications to the built environment that offers opportunities for increasing physical activity and reducing the prevalence of obesity and its associated problems. In a new study, researchers found that construction of a light-rail system (LRT) resulted in increased physical activity (walking) and subsequent weight loss by people served by the LRT. These findings suggest that improving neighborhood environments and increasing the public's use of LRT systems could improve health outcomes and potentially impact millions of individuals. ... > full story

New radio telescope will listen to the universe on the FM-band (June 29, 2010) -- The first major radio telescope to be built in Britain for many decades will 'listen' to the sky at FM frequencies, providing vast quantities of data to a supercomputer in Holland, paving the way for unexpected new discoveries. ... > full story

'Hitchhiker' EPOXI: Next stop, Comet Hartley 2 (June 29, 2010) -- NASA's Deep Impact/EPOXI spacecraft flew past Earth Sunday (June 27) at approximately 3:03 p.m. Pacific time (6:03 p.m. Eastern time), as planned. The spacecraft is now on its way to its appointment with comet Hartley 2 this fall. The members of the EPOXI team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., are currently working with data returned from the flyby to refine the spacecraft trajectory estimates. ... > full story

Physics of the 'bends': New study helps explain decompression sickness (June 28, 2010) -- As you go about your day-to-day activities, tiny bubbles of nitrogen come and go inside your tissues. This is not a problem unless you happen to experience large changes in pressure, as scuba divers and astronauts may. During large, fast pressure drops, bubbles can grow, causing "the bends." A new study may provide a physical basis for the existence of these bubbles and help explain decompression sickness. ... > full story

Turning off the air conditioning helps save fuel, Swiss study finds (June 28, 2010) -- Automobile air conditioning systems do not run “free of charge”. In fact in the hot parts of the world they can account for up to thirty per cent of fuel consumption. Even in Switzerland, with its temperate climate, the use of air conditioning systems is responsible for about five per cent of total fuel usage, rising to around ten per cent in urban traffic, as shown by a new study. Furthermore, two thirds of the additional fuel usage could be saved if air conditioning systems were simply turned off when the air temperature falls below 18 degrees Celsius. ... > full story

Bursting bubbles with sound offers new treatments for cancer (June 28, 2010) -- A new way to deliver cancer drugs using gas bubbles and sound waves is being developed. The project will enable highly toxic drugs to be delivered in small doses directly to tumors, where their toxicity can safely be put to good use. If successful, the technique could easily be adapted for other diseases. ... > full story

Enterprise PCs work while they sleep – saving energy and money – with new software (June 28, 2010) -- Personal computers in enterprise environments save energy and money by "sleep-working," thanks to new software called SleepServer. Sleep-working enterprise PCs are accessible via remote connections and maintain their presence on voice over IP, instant messaging, and peer-to-peer networks even though the PCs are in low-power sleep mode. SleepServer can reduce energy consumption on enterprise PCs previously running 24/7 by an average of 60 percent. ... > full story

Rocky mounds and a plateau on Mars (June 28, 2010) -- When Mars Express set sail for the crater named after Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, it found a windblown plateau and mysterious rocky mounds nearby. ... > full story

Depth charge: Using atomic force microscopy to study subsurface structures (June 28, 2010) -- Researchers have shown that under the right circumstances, surface science instruments such as the atomic force microscope can deliver valuable data about sub-surface conditions. ... > full story

Hop, jump and stick; Robots designed with insect instincts (June 28, 2010) -- A swarm of flying robots soars into a blazing forest fire. With insect-like precision and agility, the machines land on tree trunks and bound over rough terrain before deploying crucial sensors and tools to track the inferno and its effects. This is a scenario one researcher thinks may not be so far off. ... > full story

Test of quantum field theory and Bose-Einstein statistics of photons: Bosons aren't fermions, not even a little bit (June 28, 2010) -- Scientists have tested one of the major theoretical pillars of quantum field theory, the spin-statistics theorem. With a confidence level of 100 billion to one, they found that photons really are perfect bosons. ... > full story

Most efficient quantum memory for light developed (June 28, 2010) -- An Australian-led team has developed the most efficient quantum memory for light in the world, taking us closer to a future of super-fast computers and communication secured by the laws of physics. ... > full story

Physicists explain why superconductors fail to produce super currents (June 28, 2010) -- When high-temperature superconductors were first announced in the late 1980s, it was thought that they would lead to ultra-efficient magnetic trains and other paradigm-shifting technologies. That didn't happen. Now, physicists are helping explain why. ... > full story

Scientists grow new lungs using 'skeletons' of old ones (June 28, 2010) -- Tissue engineers' progress toward growing new lungs for transplantation or research has long been frustrated by the problem of coaxing stem cells to develop into the varied cell types that populate different locations in the lung. Now, researchers have found a possible solution by seeding mouse embryonic stem cells into "acellular" rat lungs -- organs whose original cells have been destroyed, leaving behind empty, lung-shaped scaffolds of structural proteins. ... > full story

Same types of cell respond differently to stimulus, study shows (June 28, 2010) -- Using new technology that allows scientists to monitor how individual cells react in the complex system of cell signaling, researchers have uncovered a much larger spectrum of differences between each cell than ever seen before. ... > full story

Carbon sequestration: Boon or burden? (June 28, 2010) -- The idea to sequester carbon is gaining support as a way to avoid global warming. For example, the European Union plans to invest billions of Euros to develop carbon capture and storage whereby carbon dioxide will be extracted and stored underground. But how effective is this procedure and what are the long-term consequences of leakage for the climate? Research has now cast light on these issues. ... > full story

Improved telescope sees through atmosphere with pinpoint sharpness (June 28, 2010) -- A sharp view of the starry sky is difficult, because the atmosphere constantly distorts the image. A Dutch researcher has developed a new type of telescope mirror, which quickly corrects the image. His prototypes are required for future large telescopes, but also gives old telescopes a sharper view. ... > full story

Nanowires for future electronics: Process for manufacturing nanoelectronic 'mini-circuits' developed (June 28, 2010) -- The tale begins with a feasibility study on the manufacture of colored fluorescing thin films for optical safety applications. A project on the development of novel gas sensors followed. In the meantime, researchers have successfully synthesized complex organic nanowires and managed to attach them together with electrically conducting links -- the first step towards the future production of electronic and optoelectronic components. ... > full story

New clues suggest wet era on early Mars was global (June 26, 2010) -- Minerals in northern Mars craters seen by two orbiters suggest that a phase in Mars' early history with conditions favorable to life occurred globally, not just in the south. ... > full story

Chemists find an easier way to synthesize new drug candidates; New method could have a big impact on pharmaceutical business (June 26, 2010) -- Chemists have designed a new way to attach a trifluoromethyl group to certain compounds, which they believe could allow pharmaceutical companies to create and test new drugs much faster and potentially reduce the cost of drug discovery. The new synthesis could have an immediate impact. ... > full story

Scientists create 3-D models of whole mouse organs (June 26, 2010) -- Engineers have for the first time created 3-D models of whole intact mouse organs, a feat they accomplished using fluorescence microscopy. ... > full story

Galaxy encounter fires up quasar (June 25, 2010) -- Using two of the world's largest telescopes, astronomers have found evidence of a collision between galaxies driving intense activity in a highly luminous quasar. The scientists used the Very Large Telescope in Chile and the Gran Telescopio Canarias on La Palma in the Canary Islands, to study activity from the quasar SDSS J0123+00. ... > full story

New 'fix' for cosmic clocks could help uncover ripples in space-time (June 25, 2010) -- Scientists have developed a promising new technique which could turn pulsars -- superb natural cosmic clocks -- into even more accurate time-keepers. This important advance could improve the search for gravitational waves and help studies into the origins of the universe. ... > full story

Consumer-grade camera detects cancer cells in real time (June 25, 2010) -- Using an off-the-shelf digital camera, biomedical engineers have created an inexpensive device that is powerful enough to let doctors easily distinguish cancerous cells from healthy cells simply by viewing the LCD monitor on the back of the camera. ... > full story

Researchers develop living, breathing human lung-on-a-chip (June 25, 2010) -- Researchers have combined microfabrication techniques from the computer industry with modern tissue engineering techniques, human cells and a plain old vacuum pump to create a living, breathing human lung-on-a-chip. The device mimics the most active part of the lung, the boundary between the air sac and the bloodstream. ... > full story

Earth-like planets may be ready for their close-up (June 25, 2010) -- Many scientists speculate that our galaxy could be full of places like Pandora from the movie "Avatar" -- Earth-like worlds in solar systems besides our own. ... > full story

Behavior breakthrough: Like animals, plants demonstrate complex ability to integrate information (June 25, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered that a plant's strategy to capture nutrients in the soil is the result of integration of different types of information. They found plants also have the ability to integrate information about the location of both food and competitors. As a result, plants demonstrate unique behavioral strategies to capture soil resources. ... > full story

Seventh graders find a cave on Mars (June 25, 2010) -- Using the camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, 16 seventh-graders at Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood, Calif., found lava tubes with one pit that appears to be a skylight to a cave. Mars Odyssey has been orbiting the Red Planet since 2001, returning data and images of the Martian surface and providing relay communications service for Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. ... > full story

Life of plastic solar cell jumps from hours to 8 months (June 25, 2010) -- A team of researchers has extended the operating life of an unsealed plastic solar cell, from mere hours to eight months. The team developed a longer lasting, polymer coating for the electrode. Prior to the new coating the team's plastic solar cell could only operate at high capacity for about 10 hours. ... > full story

Researcher develops green, bio-based process for producing fuel additive (June 25, 2010) -- A new green, bio-based method for producing a much-used fuel additive and industrial chemical that is currently made from petroleum products has been developed. ... > full story

Crack in the case for supersolids: Reports of supersolid helium may have been premature (June 25, 2010) -- New experiments are casting doubt on previously reported observations of supersolid helium. New research suggests that prior experiments that seemed to show signs of supersolidity were in fact the result of the plastic deformation of normal helium. ... > full story

Was Venus once a habitable planet? (June 24, 2010) -- The European Space Agency's Venus Express is helping planetary scientists investigate whether Venus once had oceans. If it did, it may even have begun its existence as a habitable planet similar to Earth. ... > full story

Widespread glacial meltwater valleys found on Mars (June 24, 2010) -- Scientists have documented dozens of channels carved by melted water from glaciers located in the midlatitude region of Mars. The glaciofluvial valleys were carved in Mars' most recent epoch, the team reports, supporting the idea that the Red Planet was home to diverse watery environments in its recent past. ... > full story

Left or right? Early clues to soccer penalty kicks revealed (June 24, 2010) -- In the split second before foot meets ball, a soccer player's body betrays whether a penalty kick will go left or right, according to recent research in cognitive science. The findings could explain how some top goalkeepers are able to head off a penalty kick, diving in the correct direction in advance of the kick. It could also point the way to changes in how players kick, and goalies react. ... > full story

Blast resistance standards keep the boom from the room (June 24, 2010) -- Standards for blast resistance among trash receptacles have now been published by the standards development organization ASTM International. ... > full story

Analyzing food and beverages with magnetic levitation (June 24, 2010) -- Scientists are reporting development of a new use for magnetic levitation, or "maglev," the futuristic technology best known for enabling high-speed passenger trains to float above the tracks. They describe putting maglev to use in an inexpensive sensor for analyzing food, water, and other beverages. ... > full story

Drug mitigates toxic effects of radiation in mice (June 24, 2010) -- Medical researchers have provided one of the first examples of successful radiomitigation in mammals. The investigators found that oral treatment of mice with a drug that inhibits enzymes involved in cell division caused certain groups of bone marrow cells to temporarily stop dividing (which they termed "pharmacological quiescence" or PQ). ... > full story

Liquid crystals light way to better data storage (June 24, 2010) -- Currently, most liquid crystal technologies rely on physical or chemical manipulation, such as rubbing in one direction, to align molecules in a preferred direction. In an important advance, scientists in Japan have created a stable, rewritable memory device that exploits a liquid crystal property called the "anchoring transition." ... > full story

'Ghost particle' sized up by cosmologists (June 24, 2010) -- Cosmologists are a step closer to determining the mass of the elusive neutrino particle, not by using a giant particle detector, but by gazing up into space. ... > full story


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