ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Monday, May 23, 2011 ~ techdeck

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Monday, May 23, 2011

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

Engineers scale up process that could improve economics of ethanol production (May 22, 2011) -- Engineers have built a pilot plant to test a process designed to improve ethanol production. They're growing fungi on some of ethanol's leftovers to make a quality animal feed and to clean water so it can be recycled back into fuel production. The researchers think the fungi could also be developed into a low-cost nutritional supplement for people. ... > full story

Video game effects on kids: Not all black and white, expert argues (May 22, 2011) -- A new article argues that existing video game literature can't be classified in black and white terms. Instead, there's a vast gray area when considering the multiple dimensions of video game effects on kids -- with at least five dimensions on which video games can affect players simultaneously. ... > full story

New method of unreeling cocoons could extend silk industry beyond Asia (May 22, 2011) -- The development and successful testing of a method for unreeling the strands of silk in wild silkworm cocoons could clear the way for establishment of new silk industries not only in Asia but also in vast areas of Africa and South America. ... > full story

Wii key to helping kids balance (May 21, 2011) -- By cleverly linking five Wii Balance Boards, a team of university undergraduates has combined the appeal of a video game with the utility of a computerized motion-tracking system that can enhance patient progress. ... > full story

First macro-scale thin-film solid-oxide fuel cell: Strong, nanostructured membrane enables scaling for clean-energy applications (May 21, 2011) -- Materials scientists have demonstrated the first macro-scale thin-film solid-oxide fuel cell. While SOFCs have previously worked at the micro-scale, this is the first time any research group has overcome the structural challenges of scaling the technology up to a practical size with a proportionally higher power output. ... > full story

Pharmacies' software systems miss potentially dangerous interactions, study finds (May 21, 2011) -- Only 28 percent of pharmacies' clinical decision support software systems -- the computer programs that are in place to alert pharmacists to possible medication problems -- correctly identified potentially dangerous drug-drug interactions, according to a new study. ... > full story

Artificial tissue promotes skin growth in wounds (May 21, 2011) -- Improved tissue grafts designed by scientists that promote vascular growth could hasten healing, encourage healthy skin to invade the wounded area and reduce the need for surgeries. ... > full story

Smooth single-molecule layers of materials: Expanding the degrees of surface freezing (May 21, 2011) -- As part of the quest to form perfectly smooth single-molecule layers of materials for advanced energy, electronic, and medical devices, researchers have discovered that the molecules in thin films remain frozen at a temperature where the bulk material is molten. ... > full story

Radio telescopes capture best-ever snapshot of black hole jets (May 20, 2011) -- An international team, using radio telescopes located throughout the Southern Hemisphere, has produced the most detailed image of particle jets erupting from a supermassive black hole in a nearby galaxy. ... > full story

Buying 'legal highs' from the Internet is risky business (May 20, 2011) -- Many drugs sold as "legal highs" on the Internet do not contain the ingredients they claim. Some instead contain controlled substances and are illegal to sell over the internet. These are findings of a doctor, who bought a range of tablets from different websites to see what each contained. ... > full story

Researchers create nanopatch for the heart (May 20, 2011) -- Engineers have a promising new approach to treating heart-attack victims. The researchers created a nanopatch with carbon nanofibers and a polymer. In laboratory tests, natural heart-tissue cell density on the nanoscaffold was six times greater than the control sample, while neuron density had doubled. ... > full story

Laser modules in matchbox size (May 20, 2011) -- Miniaturized laser beam sources which are suitable for a variety of applications, from material processing to display technology have recently been developed. ... > full story

Record efficiency of 18.7 percent for flexible solar cells on plastics, Swiss researchers report (May 20, 2011) -- Swiss scientists have further boosted the energy conversion efficiency of flexible solar cells made of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (also known as CIGS) to a new world record of 18.7 percent -- a significant improvement over the previous record of 17.6 percent achieved by the same team in June 2010. The measurements have been independently certified. ... > full story

Wireless sensor network monitors microclimate in the forest (May 20, 2011) -- During a forest monitoring operation, forestry scientists measure various environmental values. This is how they obtain indications about how the forests are changing and what can be done to preserve them. However, installing and maintaining the wired measuring stations is complex: Researchers developed a wireless alternative. ... > full story

It's not easy being green: Scientists grow understanding of how photosynthesis is regulated (May 19, 2011) -- The seeds sprouting in your spring garden may still be struggling to reach the sun. If so, they are consuming a finite energy pack contained within each seed. Once those resources are depleted, the plant cell nucleus must be ready to switch on a "green" photosynthetic program. Researchers recently showed a new way that those signals are relayed. ... > full story

Looking deep into a huge storm on Saturn (May 19, 2011) -- The atmosphere of the planet Saturn normally appears placid and calm. But about once per Saturn year (about thirty Earth years), as spring comes to the northern hemisphere of the giant planet, something stirs deep below the clouds that leads to a dramatic planet-wide disturbance. This is only the sixth of these huge storms to be spotted since 1876. It is the first ever to be studied in the thermal infrared -- to see the variations of temperature within a Saturnian storm -- and the first ever to be observed by an orbiting spacecraft. ... > full story

Neutrons provide first sub-nanoscale snapshots of Huntington's disease protein (May 19, 2011) -- Scientists have for the first time successfully characterized the earliest structural formation of the disease type of the protein that causes Huntington's disease. The researchers have used a small-angle neutron scattering instrument, called Bio-SANS, to explore the earliest aggregate species of the protein that are believed to be the most toxic. ... > full story

Microscope: Handy, quick and flat (May 19, 2011) -- In the future, doctors can pull out a new type of microscope to get to the bottom of suspicious changes in the skin that may indicate melanoma. The new device provides a high-resolution image of skin areas of any size -- and so quickly that you can hold it in your hand without blurring the resulting picture. ... > full story

Antibody production gets confused during long-term spaceflight (May 19, 2011) -- The trip to Mars just got more difficult since researchers discovered that antibodies that fight off disease might become compromised during long-term space flights. A new report shows that antibodies produced in space are less effective than those produced on Earth. This reduced effectiveness of antibodies makes astronauts more susceptible to illness, increasing the danger posed by bacteria and viruses likely to coexist with wayfaring astronauts. ... > full story

Cell phone use may reduce male fertility, Austrian-Canadian study suggests (May 19, 2011) -- Men who have been diagnosed with poor sperm quality and who are trying to have children should limit their cell phone use, a new study suggests. Researchers in Austria and Canada have found that while cell phone use appears to increase the level of testosterone circulating in the body, it may also lead to low sperm quality and a decrease in fertility. ... > full story

Ensuring the safety of radiation therapy (May 19, 2011) -- Radiation oncologists took a blow in a series of front-page newspaper stories published last year on injuries that occurred nationwide in the delivery of radiation treatment. Radiation oncologists have now responded to the public charge with a series of steps that will ensure that patients are protected at all points in the treatment process. Researchers have designed a new program that seeks to improve the quality of complex processes by identifying and removing the causes of errors, and reducing variables that increase the risk of mistakes. ... > full story

Liquid crystal droplets discovered to be exquisitely sensitive to an important bacterial lipid (May 19, 2011) -- In the computer displays of medical equipment in hospitals and clinics, liquid crystal technologies have already found a major role. New research suggests that micrometer-sized droplets of liquid crystal, which have been found to change their ordering and optical appearance in response to the presence of very low concentrations of a particular bacterial lipid, might find new uses in a range of biological contexts. ... > full story

Dark energy is driving universe apart: NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer finds dark energy repulsive (May 19, 2011) -- A five-year survey of 200,000 galaxies, stretching back seven billion years in cosmic time, has led to one of the best independent confirmations that dark energy is driving our universe apart at accelerating speeds. ... > full story

'Critical baby step' taken for spying life on a molecular scale (May 19, 2011) -- The ability to image single biological molecules in a living cell is something that has long eluded researchers. However, a novel technique -- using the structure of diamond -- may well be able to do this and potentially provide a tool for diagnosing, and eventually developing a treatment for, hard-to-cure diseases such as cancer. ... > full story

Virtual workout partners spur better results, study finds (May 19, 2011) -- Can't find anyone to exercise with? Don't despair: New research reveals working out with a virtual partner improves motivation during exercise. The study is the first to investigate the Kohler effect on motivation in health video games; that phenomenon explains why inferior team members perform better in a group than they would by themselves. ... > full story

New technique sheds light on the mysterious process of cell division (May 19, 2011) -- A new technique that constructs models of primitive cells has demonstrated that the structure of a cell's membrane and cytoplasm may be as important to cell division as a cell's enzymes, DNA, or RNA. The study may provide important clues to how life originated from non-life and how modern cells came to exhibit complex behaviors. ... > full story

Carbon black nanoparticles can cause cell death, inflammation in lungs, researchers find (May 19, 2011) -- Inhaled carbon black nanoparticles create a double source of inflammation in the lungs, according to new research. ... > full story

Autonomous robot for underwater intervention tasks successfully tested (May 19, 2011) -- Researchers in Spain have successfully tested the autonomy of the robot for developing underwater intervention tasks. The robot has managed to recover an object similar to an aircraft black box without the direction of any operator. ... > full story

Rainbows without pigments offer new defense against fraud (May 19, 2011) -- Scientists have developed pigment-free, intensely colored polymer materials, which could provide new, anti-counterfeit devices on passports or banknotes due to their difficulty to copy. ... > full story

What electric car convenience is worth (May 19, 2011) -- A U.S. nationwide survey asked consumers what changes to the common complaints of charging time and limited range are worth. For longer range, they'd pay -/mile. For faster charging, they'd pay up to ,250/hour. A second study showed longer range isn't absolutely necessary for many. The current 100-mile range could work for 32 percent of people. ... > full story

Potentially toxic flame retardants detected in baby products (May 19, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting detection of potentially toxic flame retardants in car seats, bassinet mattresses, nursing pillows, high chairs, strollers and other products that contain polyurethane foam and are designed for newborns, infants and toddlers. In a new study, they describe hints that one flame retardant, banned years ago in some areas, actually remains in use. ... > full story

Video game playing increases food intake in teens, study confirms (May 19, 2011) -- A new study provides preliminary evidence that male teens playing video games for one hour consume more calories in the short-term than they do after one hour of rest. ... > full story

Nuclear magnetic resonance with no magnets (May 19, 2011) -- Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful tool for chemical analysis and, in the form of magnetic resonance imaging, a valuable technique for medical diagnosis. But its applications have been limited by the need for big, expensive, superconducting magnets producing strong magnetic fields. Now scientists have demonstrated NMR in a zero magnetic field without using any magnets at all. ... > full story

Hospitals misleading patients about benefits of robotic surgery, study suggests (May 19, 2011) -- An estimated four in 10 hospital websites in the United States publicize the use of robotic surgery, with the lion's share touting its clinical superiority despite a lack of scientific evidence that robotic surgery is any better than conventional operations, a new study finds. ... > full story

Why have Murillo’s skies turned grey? Researchers find key to pigment fading (May 19, 2011) -- Smalt was one of the blue pigments the most commonly used by the artists between the 16th and 18th centuries. Unfortunately, this pigment is unstable and tends to fade with time. Researchers found the key of this fading, described for four centuries. These results, obtained through the synchrotron analysis of microsamples of paint from works by Baroque painter Murillo and other artists, have been published. ... > full story

Imaging technology reveals intricate details of 49-million-year-old spider (May 18, 2011) -- Scientists have used the latest computer-imaging technology to produce stunning three-dimensional pictures of a 49-million-year-old spider trapped inside an opaque piece of fossilized amber resin. ... > full story

Do microbes swim faster or slower in elastic fluids? Research answers long-standing question (May 18, 2011) -- A biomechanical experiment has answered a long-standing theoretical question: Will microorganisms swim faster or slower in elastic fluids? For a prevalent type of swimming, undulation, the answer is "slower." ... > full story

Free-floating planets may be more common than stars (May 18, 2011) -- Astronomers, including a NASA-funded team member, have discovered a new class of Jupiter-sized planets floating alone in the dark of space, away from the light of a star. The team believes these lone worlds were probably ejected from developing planetary systems. ... > full story

Invisibility cloak: Scientists achieve optical invisibility in visible light range of spectrum (May 18, 2011) -- Physicists in Germany are refining the structure of an invisibility cloak to such an extent that it is also effective in the visible spectral range. The minute invisibility cloak is smaller than the diameter of a human hair. It makes the curvature of a metal mirror appear flat, as a result of which an object hidden underneath becomes invisible ... > full story

Odds are against ESP: New statistical approach doesn't support claims that extra-sensory perception exists (May 18, 2011) -- Can people truly feel the future? Not according to a new study by researchers in the United States and the Netherlands. Their study uses a novel statistical approach that doesn't support claims that extra-sensory perception exists. ... > full story

Splitting water for renewable energy simpler than first thought? Manganese-based catalyst shows promise (May 18, 2011) -- Scientists have found the key to the hydrogen economy could come from a very simple mineral, commonly seen as a black stain on rocks. ... > full story

Diminutive 3-D printers to enable home manufacturing of custom objects (May 18, 2011) -- New research could turn futuristic 3-D printers into affordable everyday items. Printers, which can produce three-dimensional objects have been available for years. However, a printing device has now been developed, which is much smaller, lighter and cheaper than ordinary 3-D printers. With this kind of printer, everyone could produce small, tailor-made 3-D objects at home, using building plans from the Internet -- and this could save money for expensive custom-built spare parts. ... > full story

Scientists track environmental influences on giant kelp with help from satellite data (May 18, 2011) -- Scientists have developed new methods for studying how environmental factors and climate affect giant kelp forest ecosystems at unprecedented spatial and temporal scales. ... > full story

Sharpening the nanofocus (May 18, 2011) -- Researchers have developed an antenna-enhanced plasmonic sensing technique for the observation of single catalytic processes in nanoreactors, or the optical detection of low concentrations of biochemical agents and gases. ... > full story

Hardware encryption developed for new computer memory technology (May 18, 2011) -- Security concerns are one of the key obstacles to the adoption of new non-volatile main memory (NVMM) technology in next-generation computers, which would improve computer start times and boost memory capacity. But now researchers have developed new encryption hardware for use with NVMM to protect personal information and other data. ... > full story

Diamond aerogel: New form of diamond is lighter than ever (May 18, 2011) -- By combining high pressure with high temperature, researchers have created a nanocyrstalline diamond aerogel that could improve the optics something as big as a telescope or as small as the lenses in eyeglasses. ... > full story

Radiation protection expert criticises comparison of Fukushima to Chernobyl (May 18, 2011) -- In a new editorial, a radiological protection expert from the UK gives a detailed account of events at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station, and poses several questions that remain unanswered, several weeks on from the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. ... > full story

Autonomous robots made to explore and map buildings (May 17, 2011) -- Researchers are giving autonomous robots the ability to work together to explore and map the interior of buildings. Beyond soldiers, the capability could also help firefighters and other first responders. ... > full story