ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Wednesday, May 25, 2011 ~ techdeck

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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

Seeing an atomic thickness (May 25, 2011) -- Scientists in the UK and Sweden have shown that regions of graphene of different thickness can be easily identified in ambient conditions using electrostatic force microscopy. ... > full story

Once thought a rival phase, antiferromagnetism coexists with superconductivity (May 25, 2011) -- Using neutron scattering and scanning tunneling microscopy, an international team of researchers found that antiantiferromagnetism co-exists -- rather than exclusively competing -- with superconductivity, according to a new study. The findings add further evidence to the team's earlier discovery that spin excitations play a crucial role in superconductivity. ... > full story

Expanded Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope flexing new scientific muscle (May 25, 2011) -- The famous Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope has become the Expanded VLA -- a completely new scientific instrument with dramatically improved capabilities. Results from early users show these new capabilities can impact nearly the entire breadth of astronomical research. ... > full story

A new system increases network communication security and anonymity (May 25, 2011) -- Researchers have developed an anonymous system with automatic routing management. The system sets up a data transmission communication environment whose users are unidentifiable. This safeguards user privacy, as well as improving information exchange security, making both data sending and receiving more effective. To do this, it uses multipoint software based on client-server applications. ... > full story

How to learn a star's true age (May 24, 2011) -- For many movie stars, their age is a well-kept secret. In space, the same is true of the actual stars. Like our sun, most stars look almost the same for most of their lives. So how can we tell if a star is one billion or 10 billion years old? Astronomers may have found a solution -- measuring the star's spin. ... > full story

Biomedical engineering students fight hypothermia on the battlefield (May 24, 2011) -- A team of biomedical engineering students is developing a new device to combat hypothermia among wounded soldiers. ... > full story

Too easy to steal cargo from transport networks: Research points to solutions (May 24, 2011) -- Each year, billions of euros worth of goods are being stolen from European transport networks. A discouraged transport and logistics sector has more or less chosen to tolerate the problem. But there are solutions, according to one researcher. ... > full story

Universe's not-so-missing mass (May 24, 2011) -- An Australian student has made a breakthrough in the field of astrophysics, discovering what has until now been described as the universe's "missing mass." Amelia Fraser-McKelvie, working within a team of physicists, conducted a targeted X-ray search for the matter and within just three months found it – or at least some of it. ... > full story

Mathematically ranking ranking methods (May 24, 2011) -- In a world where everything from placement in a Google search result to World Cup eligibility depends on ranking and numerical ratings of some kind, it is becoming increasingly important to analyze the algorithms and techniques that underlie such ranking methods in order to ensure fairness, eliminate bias and tailor them to specific applications. A new paper three commonly used ranking methods. ... > full story

Nearby supernova factory ramps up (May 24, 2011) -- A local supernova factory has recently started production, according to a wealth of new data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory on the Carina Nebula. This discovery may help astronomers better understand how some of the Galaxy's heaviest and youngest stars race through their lives and release newly-forged elements into their surroundings. ... > full story

New way to analyze a bloody crime scene: Chicken wing sauce and trigonometry brought to bear on CSI enigma (May 24, 2011) -- Physicists have worked out a system that can often determine exactly where blood spatters originate, a critical piece of evidence in not only solving a crime but securing a conviction. ... > full story

Common fire retardant harmful to aquatic life (May 24, 2011) -- Environmental health researchers found that zebra fish exposed to several different technical mixtures of polybrominated diphenyl ethers -- a common fire retardant -- during early development can have developmental malformations, changes in behavior and death. ... > full story

Violence doesn't add to children's enjoyment of TV shows, movies (May 24, 2011) -- Despite growing concern about the effects of media violence on children, violent television shows and movies continue to be produced and marketed to them. A new research study concludes that violence doesn't add anything to their enjoyment of such programs and their characters. ... > full story

Novel artificial material could facilitate wireless power (May 24, 2011) -- Electrical engineers have determined that unique artificial materials should theoretically make it possible to improve the power transfer to small devices, such as laptops or cell phones, or ultimately to larger ones, such as cars or elevators, without wires. ... > full story

Hubble views the star that changed the universe (May 24, 2011) -- Though the universe is filled with billions upon billions of stars, the discovery of a single variable star in 1923 altered the course of modern astronomy. And, at least one famous astronomer of the time lamented that the discovery had shattered his world view. The star goes by the inauspicious name of Hubble variable number one, or V1, and resides in the outer regions of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, or M31. ... > full story

Particle trap paves way for personalized medicine (May 24, 2011) -- Researchers have trapped individual charged particles in an aqueous solution using a method called "Paul trapping," which uses oscillating electric fields to confine the particles to a space only nanometers in size. The technique paves the way for DNA trapping and sequencing, which would allow for diagnostic testing, therapies and treatments based on each patient's individual genetic makeup. ... > full story

Supercapacitors: Cheaper, greener, alternative energy storage (May 24, 2011) -- Students are working on a supercapacitor that will allow us to harness more solar energy through biochar electrodes for supercapacitors, resulting in a cleaner, greener planet. ... > full story

New device could reduce surgical scarring (May 24, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a special wound dressing that they report was able to significantly reduced scar tissue caused by incisions. ... > full story

Ants give new evidence for interaction networks (May 24, 2011) -- Social networks may function differently than previously thought, researchers have discovered by taking clues from ant colonies. ... > full story

'Surrogates' aid design of complex parts and controlling video games (May 24, 2011) -- Researchers have defined a new class of software, calling it "surrogate interaction," which enables designers and video gamers to more easily change features of complex objects like automotive drawings or animated characters. ... > full story

NASA's two lunar-bound spacecraft, vacuum-packed (May 24, 2011) -- NASA's two Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (Grail) spacecraft have completed all assembly and testing prior to shipment to Florida. ... > full story

Poorer reading skills following changed computer habits of children (May 24, 2011) -- Sweden and the US are two countries in which increased leisure use of computers by children can lead to poorer reading ability, according to a new analysis. ... > full story

California's energy future: Aggressive efficiency and electrification needed to cut emissions (May 24, 2011) -- In the next 40 years, California's demand for energy is expected to double. So can it really reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, as required by an executive order? Scientists who authored a new report on California's energy future are optimistic that the target can be achieved, though not without bold policy and behavioral changes as well as some scientific innovation. ... > full story

World record in ultra-rapid data transmission (May 23, 2011) -- Scientists in Germany have succeeded in encoding data at a rate of 26 terabits per second on a single laser beam, transmitting the data over a distance of 50 kilometers, and decoding the information successfully. This is the largest data volume ever transported on a laser beam. The process enables the transmission of 700 DVDs' worth of content in just one second. ... > full story

Used football faceshields are susceptible to breaking on impact (May 23, 2011) -- Game-worn football faceshields are more susceptible to breaking when subjected to high-velocity impact than are new faceshields, according to new research. Researchers shot baseballs at new and used polycarbonate faceshields. All of the new shields withstood the strongest impact tested, which was designed to match the force of a kick to the face. More than a third of the game-worn faceshields fractured in response to the testing, which included lower forces of impact as well. ... > full story

High performance electric motorcycle developed (May 23, 2011) -- Engineers have developed a prototype of a high-performance electric motorcycle, which has recently participated in the first electric motorcycle world championship. ... > full story

Just four percent of galaxies have neighbors like the Milky Way (May 23, 2011) -- How unique is the Milky Way? To find out, astrophysicists compared the Milky Way to similar galaxies and found that just four percent are like the galaxy Earth calls home. ... > full story

Portable hydrogen reactor for fuel cells (May 23, 2011) -- Chemical engineering students have developed a portable microreactor that converts liquid fuels into hydrogen for fuel cell batteries. ... > full story

Genomics and social network analysis team up to solve disease outbreaks (May 23, 2011) -- Combining the cutting-edge technology of whole genome sequencing of bacteria with social networking analysis, public health officials can get a more detailed picture of disease outbreaks that will better help track and stop them, say researchers say. ... > full story

Black holes spin faster and faster (May 23, 2011) -- Astronomers have found that the giant black holes in the center of galaxies are on average spinning faster than at any time in the history of the universe. Scientists made the new discovery by using radio, optical and X-ray data. ... > full story

Species reemergence after collapse: Possible but different, mathematical model shows (May 23, 2011) -- Species pairs that disappear through hybridization after human-induced changes to the environment can reemerge if the disturbance is removed, according to a new mathematical model that shows the conditions under which reemergence might happen. ... > full story

To bluff, or not to bluff? Modern-day game theory techniques sheds light on legendary military bluffs (May 23, 2011) -- In a new article, an economist has used game theory to explore two of the most famous military bluffs in history. ... > full story

New green technology for hydrogen production (May 23, 2011) -- A researcher has completed a proof-of-concept for a new and clean technology to produce high purity hydrogen from natural gas. This allows hydrogen to be produced in an elegant technique at much lower temperatures, and without releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. ... > full story

Scientists present Large Hadron Collider findings at Quark Matter 2011 Conference (May 23, 2011) -- Scientists have presented findings from three Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments that study lead ion collisions at the annual Quark Matter conference, held this year in Annecy, France. The results are based on analysis of data collected during the last two weeks of the 2010 LHC run, when the LHC switched from protons to lead-ions. ... > full story

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