ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Friday, July 23, 2010
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Quantum mechanics not in jeopardy: Physicists confirm a decades-old key principle experimentally (July 23, 2010) -- When waves -- regardless of whether light or sound -- collide, they overlap creating interferences. Austrian and Canadian quantum physicists have now been able to rule out the existence of higher-order interferences experimentally and thereby confirmed an axiom in quantum physics: Born's rule. ... > full story
Highest X-ray energy used to probe materials (July 23, 2010) -- Scientists for the first time have dived into the effect that an intense X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) has on materials. Using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) facility at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, scientists probed nitrogen gas at X-ray energies of up to 8 keV (kiloelectronvolts), the highest X-ray energy ever used at an XFEL, to see how it behaved when the laser hit it. ... > full story
Bio-based compound provides substitute for important raw material in plastic products (July 23, 2010) -- Soft drink bottles and fleece blankets are set to become more environmentally friendly. A Dutch researcher has made a bio-based compound that can act as a substitute for one of the most important raw materials for plastic products. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the new material a place in the top 12 of the most promising biological materials for the chemical industry. ... > full story
Key compound of ozone destruction detected; Scientists disprove doubts in ozone hole chemistry (July 22, 2010) -- For the first time, scientists in Germany have successfully measured in the ozone layer the chlorine compound ClOOCl, which plays an important role in stratospheric ozone depletion. Doubts in the established models of polar ozone chemistry expressed by American researchers based on laboratory measurements are disproved by these new atmospheric observations. ... > full story
Data mining made faster: New method eases analysis of 'multidimensional' information (July 22, 2010) -- To many big companies, you aren't just a customer, but are described by multiple "dimensions" of information within a computer database. Now, a computer scientist has devised a new method for simpler, faster "data mining," or extracting and analyzing massive amounts of such data. ... > full story
Hyperfast star was booted from Milky Way (July 22, 2010) -- A hundred million years ago, a triple-star system was traveling through the bustling center of our Milky Way galaxy when it made a life-changing misstep. The trio wandered too close to the galaxy's giant black hole, which captured one of the stars and hurled the other two out of the Milky Way. Adding to the stellar game of musical chairs, the two outbound stars merged to form a super-hot, blue star. ... > full story
Caterpillars crawl like none other: Unique means of animal locomotion has implications for robotics, human biomechanics (July 22, 2010) -- Biologists studying caterpillars have reported a unique "two-body" system of locomotion that has not previously been reported in any animal. The gut of the crawling caterpillar moves forward independently and in advance of the surrounding body wall and legs, not with them. This novel system may contribute to the caterpillars' extraordinary freedom of movement and provide insight for the design of soft-bodied robots. ... > full story
Now you see it, now you don't: An infrared invisibility cloak made of glass (July 22, 2010) -- From Star Trek's Romulans, who could cloak their spaceships, to Harry Potter's magical garment, the power to turn someone or something invisible has intrigued mankind. Now one researcher is doing it for real. She has found ways to use magnetic resonance to capture rays of visible light and route them around objects, rendering those objects invisible to the human eye. ... > full story
Gulf oil dispersants unlikely to be endocrine disruptors and have relatively low cell toxicity, tests find (July 22, 2010) -- Government scientists are reporting that eight of the most commonly used oil dispersants used to fight oil spills, such as the massive episode in the Gulf of Mexico, appear unlikely to act as endocrine disruptors -- hormone-like substances that can interfere with reproduction, development, and other biological processes. The tested dispersants also had a relatively low potential for cytotoxicity (cell death), with JD-2000 and SAF-RON GOLD showing the least potential. ... > full story
Engineering researchers simplify process to make world's tiniest wires (July 22, 2010) -- Surface tension isn't a very powerful force, but it matters for small things -- water bugs, paint, and, it turns out, nanowires. ... > full story
Evidence of water in lunar rocks: Water on moon may be widespread, similar to Earth's (July 22, 2010) -- That dry, dusty moon overhead? Seems it isn't quite as dry as it's long been thought to be. Although you won't find oceans, lakes, or even a shallow puddle on its surface, a team of geologists has found structurally bound hydroxyl groups (i.e., water) in a mineral in a lunar rock returned to Earth by the Apollo program. ... > full story
Nanotech coatings produce 20 times more electricity from sewage (July 22, 2010) -- Engineers have made a significant advance toward producing electricity from sewage, by the use of new coatings on the anodes of microbial electrochemical cells that increased the electricity production about 20 times. The findings bring the researchers one step closer to technology that could clean biowaste at the same time it produces useful levels of electricity -- a promising new innovation in wastewater treatment and renewable energy. ... > full story
Black hole jerked around twice (July 22, 2010) -- Scientists have found evidence that a giant black hole has been jerked around twice, causing its spin axis to point in a different direction from before. This discovery, made with new data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, might explain several mysterious-looking objects found throughout the Universe. ... > full story
Quantum entanglement in photosynthesis and evolution (July 22, 2010) -- Recently, academic debate has been swirling around the existence of unusual quantum mechanical effects in the most ubiquitous of phenomena, including photosynthesis, the process by which organisms convert light into chemical energy. In a new paper, these ideas are put to the test. ... > full story
Students design early labor detector aimed to prevent premature births (July 22, 2010) -- A team of graduate students and their faculty adviser have invented a system to pick up very early signs that a woman is going into labor too soon. ... > full story
Video game processors help lower CT scan radiation (July 22, 2010) -- A new approach to processing X-ray data could lower by a factor of ten or more the amount of radiation patients receive during cone beam CT scans, researchers report. ... > full story
Nanoribbons for graphene transistors: Materials for tomorrow's nanoelectronics (July 22, 2010) -- Scientists have managed for the first time to grow graphene ribbons that are just a few nanometers wide using a simple surface-based chemical method. Graphene ribbons are considered to be "hot candidates" for future electronics applications as their properties can be adjusted through width and edge shape. ... > full story
Military greenhouse gas emissions: EPA should recognize environmental impact of protecting foreign oil, researchers urge (July 22, 2010) -- US military operations to protect oil imports coming from the Middle East are creating larger amounts of greenhouse gas emissions than once thought, new research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows. ... > full story
Study describes health effects of occupational exposures in Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant workers (July 22, 2010) -- A five-year study into the causes of deaths of workers at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant shows significantly lower death rates from all causes and cancer in general when compared to the overall United States population. This is known by occupational health researchers as the "healthy worker effect." However, death from lymphatic and bone marrow cancers such as leukemia or multiple myeloma were slightly above national rates. ... > full story
Cometary impact on Neptune: Herschel data point to collision about two centuries ago (July 21, 2010) -- A comet may have hit the planet Neptune about two centuries ago. This is indicated by the distribution of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere of the gas giant that researchers have now studied. The scientists analyzed data taken by the research satellite Herschel, that has been orbiting the Sun in a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers since May 2009. ... > full story
Finding frugal aliens: 'Benford beacons' concept could refocus search for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life (July 21, 2010) -- By looking at the point-of-view of ET civilizations sending beacons, an astrophysicist and microwave-expert brother advocate new approach for SETI to find signals of intelligent alien life. ... > full story
Do cleaning products cause breast cancer? (July 21, 2010) -- Women who report greater use of cleaning products may be at higher breast cancer risk than those who say they use them sparingly. Researchers asked more than 1500 women about their cleaning product usage and found that women who reported using more air fresheners and products for mold and mildew control had a higher incidence of breast cancer. ... > full story
Poplar tree protein can be used to shrink memory elements and increase computer memory density (July 21, 2010) -- Scientists in Israel have succeeded in showing how it is possible to greatly expand the memory capacity of future computers through the use of memory units based on silica nanoparticles combined with protein molecules obtained from the poplar tree. ... > full story
Stars just got bigger: A 300-solar-mass star uncovered (July 21, 2010) -- Using a combination of instruments on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered the most massive stars to date, one weighing at birth more than 300 times the mass of the Sun, or twice as much as the currently accepted limit of 150 solar masses. The existence of these monsters — millions of times more luminous than the Sun, losing weight through very powerful winds — may provide an answer to the question “how massive can stars be?” ... > full story
Nanoparticles plus adult stem cells demolish plaque, study finds (July 21, 2010) -- A technique that combines nanotechnology with adult stem cells appears to destroy atherosclerotic plaque and rejuvenate the arteries, according to a new study. ... > full story
Flower organ's cells make random decisions that determine size (July 21, 2010) -- The sepals of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana -- commonly known as the mouse-eared cress -- are characterized by an outer layer of cells that vary widely in their sizes, and are distributed in equally varied patterns and proportions. Scientists have long wondered how the plant regulates cell division to create these patterns. Melding time-lapse imaging and computer modeling, a team of scientists has provided a somewhat unexpected answer to this question. ... > full story
Cassini sees moon building giant snowballs in Saturn ring (July 21, 2010) -- While orbiting Saturn for the last six years, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has kept a close eye on the collisions and disturbances in the gas giant's rings. They provide the only nearby natural laboratory for scientists to see the processes that must have occurred in our early solar system, as planets and moons coalesced out of disks of debris. ... > full story
By 'putting a ring on it,' microparticles can be captured (July 21, 2010) -- To trap and hold tiny microparticles, engineers have "put a ring on it," using a silicon-based circular resonator to confine particles stably for up to several minutes. The advance could one day lead to the ability to direct, deliver, and store nanoparticles and biomolecules on all-optical chips. ... > full story
Nanotechnology: Scientists construct molecular 'knots' (July 21, 2010) -- Scientists have constructed molecular "knots" with dimensions of around two nanometers -- around 30,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. ... > full story
Drilling down to the nanometer depths of leaves for biofuels (July 21, 2010) -- By imaging the cell walls of a zinnia leaf down to the nanometer scale, energy researchers have a better idea about how to turn plants into biofuels. A team has used four different imaging techniques to systematically drill down deep into the cells of Zinnia elegans. ... > full story
Video camera will show Mars rover's touchdown (July 21, 2010) -- A downward-pointing camera on the front-left side of NASA's Curiosity rover will give adventure fans worldwide an unprecedented sense of riding a spacecraft to a landing on Mars. ... > full story
Computer program predicts MRSA bacteria's next move (July 21, 2010) -- Researchers are using computers to identify how one strain of dangerous bacteria might mutate in the same way a champion chess player tries to anticipate an opponent's strategies. The predictive software could result in better drug design to beat antibiotic-resistant mutations. ... > full story
Prolonged mobile phone use may be linked to tinnitus (July 20, 2010) -- Regularly using a mobile phone for at least four years seems to be associated with a doubling in the risk of developing chronic tinnitus (persistent ringing/roaring/hissing in the ear), indicates a small study. ... > full story
Engineers work on rocket demonstrator for Mars missions (July 20, 2010) -- Engineers in the UK are working on a dual fuel rocket which could provide technology suitable for a rocket for Mars and will have a negative carbon footprint. ... > full story
Data presentation and consumer confidence (July 20, 2010) -- Is it better to present data in percentages (80% of 70) or as a frequency (56 out of 70 times)? According to a new study, data presented in the frequency format leads to more accurate judgments. ... > full story
Next generation surgical robots: Where's the doctor? (July 20, 2010) -- Feasibility studies conducted by bioengineers have demonstrated that a robot -- without any human assistance -- can locate a man-made, or phantom, lesion in simulated human organs, guide a device to the lesion and take multiple samples during a single session. ... > full story
New method developed for synchronizing clocks (July 20, 2010) -- Researchers report on a new way to accurately synchronize clocks. The new method uses both GPS and the Internet to set clocks within 10 nanoseconds of a reference clock located anywhere on Earth. ... > full story
Widely used chemicals linked to ADHD in children (July 20, 2010) -- Researchers suggests a link between polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs), industrial compounds which are widely used in many consumer products, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. PFCs are highly stable compounds used in industrial and commercial products like stain-resistance coatings, food packaging, and fire-fighting foams. ... > full story
Image-processing algorithm reduces CT radiation dose by as much as 95 percent (July 20, 2010) -- In the wake of recent radiation overdoses, researchers excited by CT perfusion's promise for diagnosing stroke, cancer, and possibly heart disease have developed a way to reduce the amount of radiation involved in the procedure -- which, when done properly, already involves very little risk. ... > full story
‘The friend of my enemy is my enemy’: Virtual universe study proves 80-year-old theory on how humans interact (July 20, 2010) -- A new study analyzing interactions between players in a virtual universe game has for the first time provided large-scale evidence to prove an 80-year-old psychological theory called Structural Balance Theory. The research shows that individuals tend to avoid stress-causing relationships when they develop a society, resulting in more stable social networks. ... > full story
Fourth property of electrons? Electric dipole moment would explain creation of universe (July 20, 2010) -- Do electrons have a fourth property in addition to mass, charge and spin, as popular physics theories such as supersymmetry predict? Researchers from Germany, the Czech Republic and the United States want to find the answer to this fundamental question of physics. In order to improve the precision of previous measurements, they have created a new material with the aid of the Juelich supercomputer JUROPA. ... > full story
Beach umbrellas do not block out all solar radiation, study shows (July 20, 2010) -- A team of researchers from Spain has found that 34% of ultraviolet radiation filters through under beach umbrellas. According to the study, umbrellas intercept the full direct flow that comes from the Sun, but not the diffused radiation that penetrates through from the sides. ... > full story
Artificial cells communicate and cooperate like biological cells, ants (July 20, 2010) -- Researchers have designed "biologically inspired" artificial cells capable of self-organizing into independent groups that can communicate and cooperate, behaving like complex natural organisms. ... > full story
Microbial world's use of metals mostly unmapped (July 20, 2010) -- Microbes boast a broader and more diverse array of metal-driven chemical processes than scientists imagined. In fact, most have yet to be discovered, according to a first-of-its-kind technique that catalogs all of the metals in a microbe. The method could lead to innovative clean energy and bioremediation technologies. ... > full story
Advance made toward communication, computing at 'terahertz' speeds (July 20, 2010) -- Physicists in the United States and Germany have discovered a way to use a gallium arsenide nanodevice as a signal processor at "terahertz" speeds, the first time it's been used for this purpose and an important step forward in the new world of optical communication and computing. ... > full story
Breakthrough in thin-film solar cells: New insights into the indium/gallium puzzle (July 20, 2010) -- Scientists have made a major breakthrough in their search for more efficient thin-film solar cells. Computer simulations designed to investigate the so-called indium/gallium puzzle have highlighted a new way of increasing the efficiency of CIGS thin-film solar cells. ... > full story
Cerebral bioelectricity analysis detects epilepsy (July 20, 2010) -- Researchers in Spain have developed a new method to analyze the information obtained from electroencephalograms to detect neurodegenerative diseases, such as epilepsy, using the bioelectric signals of the brain. ... > full story
Mermaid opens prospect of cleaner seas with pollution early warning system (July 20, 2010) -- Alarm at the massive oil plume in the Gulf of Mexico emphasizes the problem of marine pollution and how difficult it is to evaluate. Thanks to a EUREKA project, another heavily polluted maritime ecosystem, the European North Sea, has been for more than 20 years a test-bed for a highly advanced early-warning system for all types of pollution. This development is now aiding marine authorities around the world to keep seas clean. ... > full story
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