ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Hubble reveals the Ring Nebula’s true shape

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:32:32 EDT

The Ring Nebula's distinctive shape makes it a popular illustration for astronomy books. But new observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of the glowing gas shroud around an old, dying, sun-like star reveal a new twist.

Hidden population of exotic neutron stars

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:25:25 EDT

Magnetars -- the dense remains of dead stars that erupt sporadically with bursts of high-energy radiation -- are some of the most extreme objects known in the Universe. A major campaign using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and several other satellites shows magnetars may be more diverse -- and common -- than previously thought.

Flat spray-on optical lens created

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:18:18 EDT

Engineers have made a breakthrough utilizing spray-on technology that could revolutionize the way optical lenses are made and used.

Spheres can form squares

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:31:31 EDT

Everybody who has tried to stack oranges in a box knows that a regular packing of spheres in a flat layer naturally leads to a hexagonal pattern, where each sphere is surrounded by six neighbours in a honeycomb-like fashion. Researchers now report an exception to this rule: when small, micrometer-sized particles are placed on a curved oil-water surface, they arrange in a square pattern, as on a chessboard.

How do cold ions slide?

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:29:29 EDT

Things not always run smoothly. It may happen, actually, that when an object slides on another, the advancement may occur through a ‘stop and go’ series in the characteristic manner which scientists call “stick-slip”, a pervasive phenomenon at every scale, from earthquakes to daily-life objects, up to the “nano” dimension.

Quest for quantum computing advanced

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:29:29 EDT

Scientistst investigating the properties of ultra-thin films of new materials are helping bring quantum computing one step closer to reality.

Spectacular stellar nursery: ESO's Very Large Telescope celebrates 15 years of success

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:29:29 EDT

With this new view of a spectacular stellar nursery ESO is celebrating 15 years of the Very Large Telescope — the world's most advanced optical instrument. This picture reveals thick clumps of dust silhouetted against the pink glowing gas cloud known to astronomers as IC 2944. These opaque blobs resemble drops of ink floating in a strawberry cocktail, their whimsical shapes sculpted by powerful radiation coming from the nearby brilliant young stars.

Baby's life saved with groundbreaking 3-D printed device that restored his breathing

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:01:01 EDT

A bioresorbable splint has been created and used for first time at the University of Michigan, where doctors implanted the device in an infant and stopped a life-threatening condition called tracheobronchomalacia.

Tests lead to doubling of fuel cell life

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:03:03 EDT

Researchers working to improve durability in fuel cell powered buses have discovered links between electrode degradation processes and bus membrane durability. The team is quantifying the effects of electrode degradation stressors in the operating cycle of the bus on the membrane lifetime.

Magnetic field misbehavior in solar flares explained: The culprit is turbulence

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:03:03 EDT

When a solar flare erupts from the sun, its magnetic fields sometime break a widely accepted rule of physics. Why? Now we know.

Innovation could bring flexible solar cells, transistors, displays

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:20:20 EDT

Researchers have created a new type of transparent electrode that might find uses in solar cells, flexible displays for computers and consumer electronics and future "optoelectronic" circuits for sensors and information processing.

Forecast for Saturn's moon Titan: Wild weather could be ahead

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:32:32 EDT

Saturn's moon Titan might be in for some wild weather as it heads into its spring and summer, if two new models are correct. Scientists think that as the seasons change in Titan's northern hemisphere, waves could ripple across the moon's hydrocarbon seas, and hurricanes could begin to swirl over these areas, too. The model predicting waves tries to explain data from the moon obtained so far by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Both models help mission team members plan when and where to look for unusual atmospheric disturbances as Titan summer approaches.

Detecting mirror molecules: New technique reliably tells left-handed from right-handed variant of a compound

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:12:12 EDT

Physicists have developed a novel technique that can detect molecular variants in chemical mixtures -- greatly simplifying a process that is one of the most important, though time-consuming, processes in analytical chemistry.

Making chaos visible: As chaos celebrates its 50th birthday, biophysicist Christian Herbst develops a new method to visualize it

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:12:12 EDT

Exactly 50 years after the US-American meteorologist Edward Lorenz discovered chaos (remember the "butterfly effect?") the topic is still as fascinating as ever. A new visualization technique helps to make chaos visible to the naked eye. The method allows for the intuitive interpretation of chaotic or nearly chaotic phenomena, and thus makes the fascinating world of chaos theory more accessible to the scientific community.

Fragile mega-galaxy is missing link in history of cosmos

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:11:11 EDT

Two hungry young galaxies that collided 11 billion years ago are rapidly forming a massive galaxy about 10 times the size of the Milky Way, according to new research.

Model of Sun's magnetic field created

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:11:11 EDT

Researchers have uncovered an important mechanism behind the generation of astrophysical magnetic fields such as that of the Sun.

Plasmonics: A wave without diffraction

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:10:10 EDT

Optical computing could benefit from the recent development of a novel electromagnetic wave.

Optics: Statistics light the way

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:10:10 EDT

A revelation of how photoreceptive cells in the eye distinguish between different light sources could pave the way for a novel class of optical devices.

New technique may open up an era of atomic-scale semiconductor devices

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:20:20 EDT

Researchers have developed a new technique for creating high-quality semiconductor thin films at the atomic scale -- meaning the films are only one atom thick. The technique can be used to create these thin films on a large scale, sufficient to coat wafers that are two inches wide, or larger.

Whirlpools on the nanoscale could multiply magnetic memory

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:58:58 EDT

Scientists are developing four-bit magnetic cells instead of the two-bit magnetic domains of standard magnetic memories. Magnetic vortices are whirlpools of magnetic field, in which electron spins point either clockwise or counterclockwise. In the crowded center of the whirlpool the spins point either down or up. These four orientations could represent separate bits of information in a new kind of memory, if controlled independently and simultaneously.

Polymer breakthrough inspired by trees and ancient celtic knots

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:53:53 EDT

A new slow-motion method of controlling the synthesis of polymers, which takes inspiration from both trees and Celtic knots, opens up new possibilities in areas including medical devices, drug delivery, elastics and adhesives.

Unique method creates correct mirror image of molecule

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:52:52 EDT

Many molecules have a right and a left form, just like shoes. In pharmaceuticals, it is important that the correct form of the molecule is used. Researchers have been able to produce the one mirror image by using crystals with special properties. This can have a major impact on the production of pharmaceuticals.

Big Data, for better or worse: 90% of world's data generated over last two years

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:52:52 EDT

A full 90 percent of all the data in the world has been generated over the last two years. Internet-based companies are awash with data that can be grouped and utilized. Is this a good thing?

Bacterial spare parts filter antibiotic residue from groundwater

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:40:40 EDT

Researchers have developed and tested a solar-powered nano filter that is able to remove harmful carcinogens and antibiotics from water sources -- lakes and rivers -- at a significantly higher rate than the currently used filtering technology made of activated carbon.

Engineers devise new way to produce clean hydrogen

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:39:39 EDT

Engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications.

Better understanding of water's freezing behavior at nanoscale

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:24:24 EDT

The results of a new study provide direct computational evidence that nucleation of ice in small droplets is strongly size-dependent, an important conclusion in understanding water's behavior at the nanoscale.

Going green: U.S. equipped to grow serious amounts of pond scum for fuel

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:09:09 EDT

A new analysis shows that the nation's land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based fuel a year in the United States, one-twelfth of the country's yearly needs. For the best places to produce algae for fuel, think hot, humid and wet. Especially promising are the Gulf Coast and the Southeastern seaboard.

NASA launching experiment to examine the beginnings of the universe

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:40:40 EDT

When did the first stars and galaxies form in the universe? How brightly did they burn their nuclear fuel? Scientists will seek to gain answers to these questions with the launch of the Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRIment (CIBER) on a Black Brant XII suborbital sounding rocket between 11 and 11:59 p.m. EDT, June 4 from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Single-cell transfection tool enables added control for biological studies

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:22:22 EDT

Researchers have developed a novel tool for single-cell transfection, in which they deliver molecules into targeted cells through temporary nanopores in the cell membrane created by a localized electric field.

New method for tailoring optical processors

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:16:16 EDT

Physicists and engineers have unveiled a robust new method for arranging metal nanoparticles in geometric patterns that can act as optical processors that transform incoming light signals into output of a different color.

Observations of stellar visibility by citizen scientists accurately measure the brightness of the night sky

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:54:54 EDT

Observations of stellar visibility by citizen scientists accurately measure the brightness of the night sky. The researchers hope that such data can eventually be used to track changes in artificial night sky brightness, also known as skyglow, worldwide.

A tiny programmable fly's eye

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:54:54 EDT

A novel curved artificial compound eye (CurvACE) has been created. Compared to single-lens eyes, compound eyes offer lower resolution, but significantly larger fields of view, thin package, and with negligible distortion.

Magnetic fingerprints of superfluid helium-3

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:54:54 EDT

Superconducting sensors have allowed for highly sensitive measurements of the nuclear magnetic resonance of thin helium-3 layers.

Soft matter offers new ways to study how materials arrange

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:52:52 EDT

A fried breakfast food popular in Spain provided the inspiration for the development of doughnut-shaped droplets that may provide scientists with a new approach for studying fundamental issues in physics, mathematics and materials.

NASA builds unusual testbed for analyzing X-ray navigation technologies

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:55:55 EDT

Pulsars have a number of unusual qualities. Like zombies, they shine even though they're technically dead, and they rotate rapidly, emitting powerful and regular beams of radiation that are seen as flashes of light, blinking on and off at intervals from seconds to milliseconds. A NASA team has built a first-of-a-kind testbed that simulates these distinctive pulsations.

The mammoth's lament: How cosmic impact sparked devastating climate change

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:55:55 EDT

Researchers have found evidence of a major cosmic event near the end of the Ice Age. The ensuing climate change forced many species to adapt or die.

NASA Mars rover Curiosity drills second rock target

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:32:32 EDT

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has used the drill on its robotic arm to collect a powdered sample from the interior of a rock called "Cumberland." Plans call for delivering portions of the sample in coming days to laboratory instruments inside the rover. This is only the second time that a sample has been collected from inside a rock on Mars.

Human-like opponents lead to more aggression in video game players

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:39:39 EDT

Video games that pit players against human-looking characters may be more likely to provoke violent thoughts and words than games where monstrous creatures are the enemy, according to a new study.

Iron-platinum alloys could be new-generation hard drives

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:39:39 EDT

Researchers have found a convenient way to make layered iron-platinum alloys and tailor their properties, a promising material for a potential new generation of data storage media.

Non-wetting fabric that drains sweat invented

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:36:36 EDT

Waterproof fabrics that whisk away sweat could be the latest application of microfluidic technology developed by bioengineers.

Ant study could help future robot teams work underground

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:32:32 EDT

Future teams of subterranean search and rescue robots may owe their success to the lowly fire ant, a much-despised insect whose painful bites and extensive networks of underground tunnels are all-too-familiar to people living in the southern United States.

Fastest measurements ever made of ion channel proteins

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:42:42 EDT

Engineers have used miniaturized electronics to measure the activity of individual ion-channel proteins with temporal resolution as fine as one microsecond, producing the fastest recordings of single ion channels ever performed. They designed a custom integrated circuit to perform these measurements, in which an artificial cell membrane and ion channel are attached directly to the surface of the amplifier chip.

Opening doors to foldable electronics with inkjet-printed graphene

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:42:42 EDT

Imagine a bendable tablet computer or an electronic newspaper that could fold to fit in a pocket. The technology for these devices may not be so far off, thanks to new research.

Coming into existence: Lab sets a new record for creating heralded photons

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:42:42 EDT

A new experiment establishes a heralding efficiency that might allow loopholes to be eliminated in the validation of spooky action-at-a-distance in quantum reality.

Nanoantennas improve infrared sensing

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:29:29 EDT

Engineers have used a pattern of nanoantennas to develop a new way of turning infrared light into mechanical action, opening the door to more sensitive infrared cameras and more compact chemical-analysis techniques.

Not just blowing in the wind: Compressing air for renewable energy storage

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:28:28 EDT

A comprehensive study into the potential for compressed air energy storage in the Pacific Northwest has identified two locations in Washington state that could store enough Northwest wind energy combined to power about 85,000 homes each month.

Advance in nanotech gene sequencing technique

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:37:37 EDT

The allure of personalized medicine has made new, more efficient ways of sequencing genes a top research priority. One promising technique involves reading DNA bases using changes in electrical current as they are threaded through a nanoscopic hole. Now, physicists has used solid-state nanopores to differentiate single-stranded DNA molecules containing sequences of a single repeating base.

Bionimbus protected data cloud to enable researchers to analyze cancer data

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:32:32 EDT

The University of Chicago has launched the first secure cloud-based computing system that enables researchers to access and analyze human genomic cancer information without the costly and cumbersome infrastructure normally needed to download and store massive amounts of data.

Competition in the quantum world

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:48:48 EDT

Physicists have gained a deep insight into the nature of quantum mechanical phase transitions. Scientists have simulated the competition between two rival dynamical processes at a novel type of transition between two quantum mechanical orders.

Bacteria use hydrogen, carbon dioxide to produce electricity

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:11:11 EDT

Researchers have engineered a strain of electricity-producing bacteria that can grow using hydrogen gas as its sole electron donor and carbon dioxide as its sole source of carbon.

Kinks and curves at the nanoscale: New research shows 'perfect twin boundaries' are not so perfect

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:04:04 EDT

Since 2004, materials scientists and nanotechnology experts have been excited about a special of arrangement of atoms called a "coherent twin boundary" that can add enormous strength to metals like gold and copper. The CTBs are described as "perfect," appearing like a one-atom-thick plane in models and images. New research shows that these boundaries are not perfect. Even more surprising, the newly discovered kinks and defects appear to be the cause of the CTB's strength.

Computational tool translates complex data into simplified two-dimensional images

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:56:56 EDT

Researchers have developed a computational method that enables scientists to visualize and interpret "high-dimensional" data produced by single-cell measurement technologies such as mass cytometry. The method has particular relevance to cancer research and therapeutics.

Mars rover Opportunity examines clay clues in rock

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:06:06 EDT

NASA's senior Mars rover, Opportunity, is driving to a new study area after a dramatic finish to 20 months on "Cape York" with examination of a rock intensely altered by water.

Nine-year-old Mars rover passes 40-year-old record

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:09:09 EDT

While Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt visited Earth's moon for three days in December 1972, they drove their mission's Lunar Roving Vehicle 19.3 nautical miles (22.210 statute miles or 35.744 kilometers). That was the farthest total distance for any NASA vehicle driving on a world other than Earth until yesterday.

Electric and magnetic characteristics of a material which could be used in spintronics: Promising doped zirconia

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:46:46 EDT

Materials belonging to the family of dilute magnetic oxides (DMOs) - an oxide-based variant of the dilute magnetic semiconductors - are good candidates for spintronics applications.

World's smallest liquid droplets ever made in the lab, experiment suggests

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:06:06 EDT

Physicists may have created the smallest drops of liquid ever made in the lab. That possibility has been raised by the results of a recent experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and most powerful particle collider located at the European Laboratory for Nuclear and Particle Physics (CERN) in Switzerland. Evidence of the minuscule droplets was extracted from the results of colliding protons with lead ions at velocities approaching the speed of light.

Stacking 2-D materials produces surprising results

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:20:20 EDT

New experiments reveal previously unseen effects, could lead to new kinds of electronics and optical devices.

Galaxy's 'burning ring of fire' is frenetic region of star formation

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:53:53 EDT

Johnny Cash may have preferred this galaxy's burning ring of fire to the one he sang about falling into in his popular song. The "starburst ring" seen at center of a new image in red and yellow hues is not the product of love, as in the song, but is instead a frenetic region of star formation. The galaxy, a spiral beauty called Messier 94, is located about 17 million light-years away.

New method proposed for detecting gravitational waves from ends of universe

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:17:17 EDT

A new window into the nature of the universe may be possible with a device proposed by scientists that would detect elusive gravity waves from the other end of the cosmos.

Add boron for better batteries

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:17:17 EDT

A graphene-boron compound is theoretically capable of storing double the energy of common graphite anodes used in lithium-ion batteries.