ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
for Monday, December 14, 2009
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Nanosensors used to measure cancer biomarkers in blood for first time (December 14, 2009) -- Researchers have used nanosensors to measure cancer biomarkers in whole blood for the first time. Their findings could dramatically simplify the way physicians test for biomarkers of cancer and other diseases. ... > full story
More 20 mph zones in London would prevent 100 killed or seriously injured casualties each year (December 14, 2009) -- Traffic speed zones with a limit of 20 miles per hour reduce casualties by 41.9 percent with the greatest reduction in child casualties, according to new British research. ... > full story
Bacteria provide new insights into human decision making (December 13, 2009) -- Scientists studying how bacteria under stress collectively weigh and initiate different survival strategies say they have gained new insights into how humans make strategic decisions that affect their health, wealth and the fate of others in society. ... > full story
Understanding ocean climate (December 13, 2009) -- High-resolution computer simulations are helping to describe the inflow of North Atlantic water to the Arctic Ocean and how this influences ocean climate. ... > full story
Absorbing hydrogen fluoride gas to enhance crystal growth (December 13, 2009) -- Scientists have developed a method to control the buildup of hydrogen fluoride gas during the growth of precision crystals needed for applications such as superconductors, optical devices, and microelectronics. The invention could lead to more efficient production and improved performance of these materials. ... > full story
First known binary star is discovered to be a triplet, quadruplet, quintuplet, sextuplet system (December 13, 2009) -- Alcor and Mizar, were the first binary stars -- a pair of stars that orbit each other -- ever known. Now, astronomers have made the surprise discovery that Alcor is also actually two stars, and is apparently gravitationally bound to the Mizar system, making the whole group a sextuplet. ... > full story
Synthetic protein mimics structure, function of metalloprotein in nature (December 13, 2009) -- Scientists have designed a synthetic protein that is both a structural model and a functional model of a native protein, nitric-oxide reductase. ... > full story
Brightest-ever 'blazar' flare from distant galaxy spotted by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (December 12, 2009) -- A galaxy located billions of light-years away is commanding the attention of NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and astronomers around the globe. Thanks to a series of flares that began September 15, the galaxy is now the brightest source in the gamma-ray sky -- more than ten times brighter than it was in the summer. ... > full story
Older dental fillings contain form of mercury unlikely to be toxic, study finds (December 12, 2009) -- A new study on the surface chemistry of silver-colored, mercury-based dental fillings suggests that the surface forms of mercury may be less toxic than previously thought. ... > full story
Elusive 'hot' electrons captured in ultra-thin solar cells (December 12, 2009) -- Harnessing the power of "hot" electrons for solar energy has been held as a theoretical possibility. Now researchers report observing the hot electron effect in an ultra-thin solar cell for the first time and collecting the elusive charges, which are typically lost in less than one-trillionth of a second in traditional solar cells. ... > full story
Lightning-produced radiation a potential health concern for air travelers (December 12, 2009) -- New information about lightning-emitted X-rays, gamma rays and high-energy electrons during thunderstorms is prompting scientists to raise concerns about the potential for airline passengers and crews to be exposed to harmful levels of radiation. ... > full story
VISTA: Pioneering new survey telescope starts work (December 12, 2009) -- A new telescope -- VISTA (the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy) -- has just started work at ESO's Paranal Observatory and has made its first release of pictures. VISTA is a survey telescope working at infrared wavelengths and is the world's largest telescope dedicated to mapping the sky. Spectacular new images of the Flame Nebula, the center of our Milky Way galaxy and the Fornax Galaxy Cluster show that it is working extremely well. ... > full story
Suzaku catches retreat of a black hole's disk (December 12, 2009) -- Studies of one of the galaxy's most active black-hole binaries reveal a dramatic change that will help scientists better understand how these systems expel fast-moving particle jets. ... > full story
Super-massive black holes observed at the center of galaxies (December 11, 2009) -- An international team of scientists has observed four super-massive black holes at the center of galaxies, which may provide new information on how these central black hole systems operate. ... > full story
Astronaut balancing act: Training to help explorers adapt to a return to gravity (December 11, 2009) -- Challenges associated with long-duration spaceflight do not end with landing. Astronauts often suffer from balance problems that lead to dizziness and difficulty standing, walking and turning corners when they return to normal gravity. Researchers are developing techniques, using a treadmill and simulated balance disturbances, to help astronauts adapt to a new gravity environment. The techniques could also have benefits for Earth-bound populations such as the elderly. ... > full story
Old math reveals new thinking in children's cognitive development (December 11, 2009) -- Five-year-olds can reason about the world from multiple perspectives simultaneously, according to a new theory by researchers in Japan and Australia. Using an established branch of mathematics called Category Theory, the researchers explain why specific reasoning skills develop in children at certain ages, particularly at age five. The new theory shows that these reasoning skills have similar profiles of development because they involve related sorts of processes. ... > full story
Surgery on beating heart thanks to robotic helping hand (December 11, 2009) -- If you've been waiting for the day to arrive when computers actually start performing surgery, that moment might soon be upon us. Scientists have developed a computerized 3-D model that allows surgeons to use robotics to operate on a beating heart. ... > full story
Earth's atmosphere came from outer space, scientists find (December 11, 2009) -- The gases which formed the Earth's atmosphere -- and probably its oceans -- did not come from inside the Earth but from outer space, according to a new study. ... > full story
Real human bone grown in tissue culture (December 11, 2009) -- Researchers have created a process that grows real human bone in tissue culture, which can be used to investigate how bones form, grow and fracture. ... > full story
Bacteria engineered to turn carbon dioxide into liquid fuel (December 11, 2009) -- Global climate change has prompted efforts to drastically reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas produced by burning fossil fuels. In a new approach, researchers have genetically modified a cyanobacterium to consume carbon dioxide and produce a liquid fuel precursor to isobutanol, which holds great potential as a gasoline alternative. The reaction is powered directly by energy from sunlight, or photosynthesis. ... > full story
'Fighting' IED attacks with SCARE technology (December 11, 2009) -- Researchers have developed and successfully tested new computer software and computational techniques to analyze patterns of improvised explosive device attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan or other locations and predict the locations of weapons caches that are used by insurgents to support those attacks. ... > full story
U.S. forests and soils store equivalent of 50 years of nation's CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, new estimates find (December 11, 2009) -- The first phase of a groundbreaking national assessment estimates that US forests and soils could remove additional quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as a means to mitigate climate change. ... > full story
Dark side of a Saturnian moon: Iapetus is coated with foreign dust (December 11, 2009) -- Iapetus is often called Saturn's most bizarre moon, due to its starkly contrasting hemispheres -- one black as coal, the other white as snow. Images taken by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, orbiting Saturn since 2004, offer the most compelling evidence to date of why and how the moon got its yin-yang appearance, as well as clues to how other such satellites might have formed in the early universe. ... > full story
Swiss scientists measure glacial melting with light (December 11, 2009) -- The glaciers in Switzerland have been melting for years. Researchers now want to know more precisely how much ice is being lost -- and they are using the aid of light. ... > full story
Knowing goalkeeper’s movements in a penalty increases success rate and reduces kicker’s decision time (December 11, 2009) -- A study shows that knowing the anticipatory movements of a goalkeeper before kicking the penalty reduces the decision time and increases the success rate when choosing the direction of the shot in football (soccer). ... > full story
Scientists take theoretical research on 'nasty' molecule to next level (December 11, 2009) -- Some atoms don't always follow the rules. Take the beryllium dimer, a seemingly simple molecule made up of two atoms. For decades, scientists believed the two atoms that compose the beryllium dimer repelled each other. Scientists have now confirmed a 12th and highest vibrational level for the beryllium molecule. ... > full story
Ubiquitous health: Enabling telemedicine to cut hospital visits, save money (December 11, 2009) -- A ubiquitous health monitoring system that automatically alerted the patient's family or physician to problematic changes in the person's vital signs could cut hospital visits and save lives, according to Japanese researchers. ... > full story
XMM-Newton celebrates decade of discovery (December 10, 2009) -- ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray observatory is celebrating its 10th anniversary. During its decade of operation, this remarkable space observatory has supplied new data for every aspect of astronomy. From our cosmic backyard to the further reaches of the Universe, XMM-Newton has changed the way we think of space. ... > full story
Safer space vehicles thanks to optic fiber sensors (December 10, 2009) -- A research team has developed a new protection system for the European Space Agency that is designed to enhance the safety of space vehicles. ... > full story
Measuring impact of climate change from space: Gravity measurements shed light on key questions (December 10, 2009) -- What is the impact of climate change on the ice-covered regions of Earth? How does deglaciation affect global sea level changes? These questions are being addressed by scientists from Germany and Australia, who are investigating space-borne gravity measurements provided by the GRACE satellite mission. As a result, they found out that the Greenland glaciers shrunk continuously in the last few years; above all, they estimated the changes not to be linear in time but accelerating. On average, recent Greenland ice-mass decline caused an annual sea-level rise of about 0.5 millimeters. ... > full story
Supportive materials to help regenerate heart tissue (December 10, 2009) -- Bioengineers are developing new regenerative therapies for heart disease. The work could influence the way in which regenerative therapies for cardiovascular and other diseases are treated in the future. ... > full story
Formula to detect an author’s literary ‘fingerprint’ (December 10, 2009) -- Using literature written by Thomas Hardy, DH Lawrence and Herman Melville, physicists in Sweden have developed a formula to detect different authors’ literary ‘fingerprints’. ... > full story
First submersible robot glider to cross Atlantic makes landfall in Spain (December 10, 2009) -- The Scarlet Knight, the first submersible robot glider to cross the Atlantic, made its formal entrance into the port of Baiona Dec. 9, received by Spanish and American government officials, school children and the people of the town. ... > full story
Faint star orbiting the Big Dipper's Alcor discovered (December 10, 2009) -- New observations of Alcor, one of the stars that makes the constellation known as the Big Dipper's, have uncovered a smaller companion star named Alcor B. Project 1640 was able to show that the two stars moved together using "common parallactic motion." ... > full story
Electromagnetic fields as cutting tools (December 10, 2009) -- The bodywork on motor vehicles must be sufficiently stable, but processing the high-strength steels involved -- for example punching holes in them -- can prove something of a challenge. A new steel-cutting process will save time, energy and money in the future. ... > full story
Chopper drop tests new technology: Expandable honeycomb cushion could make helicopters safer (December 10, 2009) -- How do you make a helicopter safer to fly? You crash one. NASA aeronautics researchers recently dropped a small helicopter from a height of 35 feet (10.7 m) to see whether an expandable honeycomb cushion called a deployable energy absorber could lessen the destructive force of a crash. ... > full story
Digital avalanche rescue dog: Geolocation system can locate victims to within centimeters (December 10, 2009) -- A novel geolocation system makes use of signals from Galileo, the future European satellite navigation system, to locate avalanche victims carrying an avalanche transceiver or a cell phone, to the precision of a few centimeters. ... > full story
Nature's solution to age-old chemical paradox: Chemical basis for extra 'quality control' in protein production (December 10, 2009) -- Even small errors made by cells during protein production can have profound disease effects, and nature has developed ways to uncover these mistakes and correct them. Though in the case of one essential protein building block -- the amino acid alanine -- nature has been extra careful, developing not one, but two checkpoints in her effort to make sure that this component is used correctly. ... > full story
Saturn's mysterious hexagon emerges from winter darkness (December 10, 2009) -- After waiting years for the sun to illuminate Saturn's north pole again, cameras aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft have captured the most detailed images yet of the intriguing hexagon shape crowning the planet. ... > full story
Robotic Perception, On Purpose (December 10, 2009) -- Researchers have developed technology that enables a robot to combine data from both sound and vision to create combined, purposeful perception. In the process, they have taken the field to a new level. ... > full story
Entropy alone can create complex crystals from simple shapes; tetrahedra packing record broken (December 10, 2009) -- In a study that elevates the role of entropy in creating order, new research shows that certain pyramid shapes can spontaneously organize into complex quasicrystals. ... > full story
Danish Eco City proves waste management can reverse greenhouse trend (December 10, 2009) -- Cities can progress from consuming energy and emitting greenhouse gases to actually producing energy while saving on GHG emissions, due to substitution of fossil fuels elsewhere. These findings are based on research in the city of Aalborg in Northern Denmark. ... > full story
World-Record Energy Collisions Achieved at Large Hadron Collider (December 9, 2009) -- On December 8th, thousands of physicists around the world cheered as CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) smashed together subatomic particles at the highest energies ever reached by a human-made accelerator and the giant ATLAS detector observed the products of the record-breaking reactions whizzing through its sophisticated tracking devices. ... > full story
Energy efficiency technologies offer major savings, report finds (December 9, 2009) -- Energy efficiency technologies that exist today or that are likely to be developed in the near future could save considerable money as well as energy, says a new report from the National Research Council. Fully adopting these technologies could lower projected US energy use 17 percent to 20 percent by 2020, and 25-31 percent by 2030. ... > full story
Fine-tuned laser: Step toward airport scanners that can identify explosives (December 9, 2009) -- Engineers have developed the first practical method for tuning terahertz quantum cascade lasers. What's more, the method is a fundamentally new approach to laser tuning that could have implications for other emerging technologies. ... > full story
Hunt for Higgs boson: Mass of top quark narrows search (December 9, 2009) -- New high-energy particle research by a team working with data from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory heightens uncertainty about the exact nature of a key theoretical component of modern physics -- the massive fundamental particle, the Higgs boson. Particle collision data resulting in two leptons helped improve measurements of the mass of the heavy subatomic top quark, which bears on the Higgs, says a physicist who led the team. ... > full story
Star power: Astronomers recreate stellar jet with laser blast (December 9, 2009) -- With the trillions of watts contained in one brief pop of a powerful laser, the universe became a bit less mysterious. Scientists recently used powerful laser beams to recreate, on a small scale, the highly supersonic velocities at work in newborn stars and simulated the fiery jets that burst from their poles. ... > full story
Facebook (and systems biologists) take note: Network analysis reveals true connections (December 9, 2009) -- Two researchers have developed a universal method that can accurately analyze a range of complex networks -- including social networks, protein-protein interactions and air transportation networks. Their technique exploits the fact that all networks have groups in them and those groups are connected in many different ways. The researchers demonstrated the great potential of the method using five different networks, including predicting friendships in a social network and protein-protein interactions within a cell. ... > full story
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