ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Friday, August 5, 2011 ~ techdeck

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Friday, August 5, 2011

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Engineers solve longstanding problem in photonic chip technology: Findings help pave way for next generation of computer chips (August 5, 2011) -- Stretching for thousands of miles beneath oceans, optical fibers now connect every continent except for Antarctica. But although optical fibers are increasingly replacing copper wires, carrying information via photons instead of electrons, today's computer technology still relies on electronic chips. Now, researchers are paving the way for the next generation of computer-chip technology: photonic chips. ... > full story

Designing diamond circuits for extreme environments (August 5, 2011) -- There is a new way to design computer chips and electronic circuitry for extreme environments: make them out of diamond. ... > full story

Theft protection developed for virtual machines (August 5, 2011) -- Scientists have found a way to promptly detect hacker attacks on virtual machines. Companies and government agencies that employ virtual machines can thus protect data stored on them against theft. ... > full story

Soft spheres settle in somewhat surprising structure (August 4, 2011) -- Latex paints and drug suspensions such as insulin or amoxicillin that do not need to be shaken or stirred may be possible thanks to a new understanding of how particles separate in liquids, according to chemical engineers, who have developed a method for predicting the way colloidal components separate based on energy. ... > full story

Physicists show that quantum ignorance is hard to expose (August 4, 2011) -- No one likes a know-it-all but it turns out that a quantum know-it-all is the worst. New research has shown that the quantum world allows you to answer questions correctly when you don't even have all the information you should need. ... > full story

One box of Girl Scout Cookies worth billion: Lab shows troop how any carbon source can become valuable graphene (August 4, 2011) -- Scientists can make graphene out of just about anything with carbon -- even Girl Scout Cookies. Graduate students in the Rice University lab of chemist James Tour proved it when they invited a troop of Houston Girl Scouts to their lab to show them how it's done. ... > full story

First opal-like crystals discovered in meteorite (August 4, 2011) -- Scientists have found opal-like crystals in the Tagish Lake meteorite, which fell to Earth in Canada in 2000. This is the first extraterrestrial discovery of these unusual crystals, which may have formed in the primordial cloud of dust that produced the sun and planets of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. ... > full story

Making runways safer (August 4, 2011) -- Airplanes undergo significant stresses during take-off and landing, and parts often become detached, putting subsequent runway users at risk. Until now, airport staff have had to monitor runways without technical assistance -- an activity that is prone to errors. A new radar system is set to increase safety at airports. ... > full story

Scientists invent heat-regulating building material (August 4, 2011) -- A new material that can retain and release heat according to specific temperature requirements could make a significant difference to the cost of heating and cooling buildings, scientists say. ... > full story

Water flowing on Mars, NASA spacecraft data suggest (August 4, 2011) -- Observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed possible flowing water during the warmest months on Mars. ... > full story

Accident protection device for small cars (August 4, 2011) -- Driver-assistance systems help prevent accidents. Quite simply, the more a car knows about its surroundings, the more intelligently it can respond to them. Researchers have now developed an optical sensor for the windshield that can even tell the difference between fog and darkness. ... > full story

DNA strands that select nanotubes are first step to a practical 'quantum wire' (August 4, 2011) -- DNA, a molecule famous for storing the genetic blueprints for all living things, can do other things as well. In a new paper, researchers describe how tailored single strands of DNA can be used to purify the highly desired "armchair" form of carbon nanotubes. Armchair-form single wall carbon nanotubes are needed to make "quantum wires" for low-loss, long distance electricity transmission and wiring. ... > full story

Gold nanoparticles used to diagnose flu in minutes (August 4, 2011) -- Arriving at a rapid and accurate diagnosis is critical during flu outbreaks, but until now, physicians and public health officials have had to choose between a highly accurate yet time-consuming test or a rapid but error-prone test. A new detection method however, offers the best of both worlds. ... > full story

'Watermark ink' device identifies unknown liquids instantly (August 4, 2011) -- Materials scientists and applied physicists have invented a new device that can instantly identify an unknown liquid. ... > full story

Mindful eating: Researchers are making every bite count (August 4, 2011) -- Two researchers seek to make diners mindful of mindless eating. A psychology professor and an electrical and computer engineering professor have created the Bite Counter, a measurement device that will make it easier for people to monitor how much they eat. ... > full story

Ninety-six star clusters discovered hidden behind dust of Milky Way (August 4, 2011) -- Astronomers have discovered 96 new open star clusters hidden by the dust in the Milky Way. These tiny and faint objects were invisible to previous surveys, but they could not escape the sensitive infrared detectors of the world's largest survey telescope, which can peer through the dust. This is the first time so many faint and small clusters have been found at once. ... > full story

Evolutionary computation offers flexibility, insight (August 4, 2011) -- A professor recently developed an evolutionary computation approach that offers researchers the flexibility to search for models that can best explain experimental data derived from many types of applications, including economics. ... > full story

New high-speed 3-D imaging system holds potential for improved cancer screening (August 4, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a new imaging system that enables high-speed, three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of microscopic pre-cancerous changes in the esophagus or colon. The new system is based on an emerging technology called optical coherence tomography, which offers a way to see below the surface with 3-D, microscopic detail in ways that traditional screening methods can't. ... > full story

Italian academia: A family business? Statistical analysis points to high frequency of last names in disciplines, institutions (August 4, 2011) -- Unusually high clustering of last names within Italian academic institutions and disciplines indicates widespread nepotism in the country's schools, according to a new computational analysis. ... > full story

New paper examines future of seawater desalinization (August 4, 2011) -- Researchers have made a critical review of the state of seawater desalination technology. ... > full story

Breakthrough in photonic chip research paves way for ultrafast information sharing (August 4, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a way to prevent light signals on a silicon chip from reflecting backwards and interfering with its operation. Otherwise, the light beams would interfere with lasers and other photonic components on the chip and make the chip unstable. The breakthrough marks a significant achievement in the development of integrated photonic chips that could replace electronic chips as the backbone of information technology. ... > full story

Briny water may be at work in seasonal flows on Mars (August 4, 2011) -- Dark, narrow features running down slopes in the warmer regions of Mars point to the possibility of salty water as the causing agent. Never observed before and strongly associated with the warmer seasons on Mars, the features show growth, suggesting they may form near the surface today in rare times and places.Never observed before and strongly associated with the warmer seasons on Mars, the features show growth, suggesting they may form near the surface today in rare times and places. ... > full story

Protection against falling rock (August 4, 2011) -- In the mountains, rock falls occur at the end of fall and beginning of spring, when thermal variation is the greatest. Rockfall nets and other types of structures can be installed to protect the buildings and roads below. However, field observations have revealed that mountain forests play a protective role. They slow and can even stop the downward progression of rocks, thus constituting an ecological and economic alternative to man-made structures. ... > full story

Scientists find way to identify synthetic biofuels in atmosphere (August 3, 2011) -- Chemists have discovered a technique to track urban atmospheric plumes, thanks to a unique isotopic signature found in vehicle emissions. ... > full story

Novel coatings show great promise as flame retardants in polyurethane foam (August 3, 2011) -- Gram for gram, novel carbon nanofiber-filled coatings outperformed conventional flame retardants used in the polyurethane foam of upholstered furniture chairs, and mattresses by at least 160 percent and perhaps by as much as 1,130 percent. ... > full story

Getting to the heart of the appeal of video games (August 3, 2011) -- People spend 3 billion hours a week playing video games but little is known scientifically about why they are actually fun in the first place. ... > full story

'Big splat' may explain the moon's mountainous far side (August 3, 2011) -- The mountainous region on the far side of the moon, known as the lunar farside highlands, may be the solid remains of a collision with a smaller companion moon, according to a new study. ... > full story

Simulated atmosphere research to help NASA interpret data from Juno mission to Jupiter (August 3, 2011) -- In August of 2016, when NASA's Juno Mission begins sending back information about the atmosphere of the planet Jupiter, research done by engineers using a 2,400-pound pressure vessel will help scientists understand what the data means. ... > full story

Is our universe inside a bubble? First observational test of the 'multiverse' (August 3, 2011) -- The theory that our universe is contained inside a bubble, and that multiple alternative universes exist inside their own bubbles -- making up the "multiverse" -- is, for the first time, being tested by physicists. ... > full story

Ethanol-loving bacteria accelerate cracking of pipeline steels (August 3, 2011) -- US production of ethanol for fuel has been rising quickly. Researchers now caution that ethanol, and especially the bacteria sometimes found in it, can dramatically degrade pipelines. ... > full story

Lattice of magnetic vortices: Researchers find magnetic skyrmions in atomically thin metal film (August 3, 2011) -- Physicists in Germany have found for the first time a regular lattice of magnetic skyrmions -- cycloidal vortex spin structures of exceptional stability -- on a surface. The researchers discovered the magnetic skyrmions, which consist of 15 atoms, in an atomic layer of iron on the surface of an iridium crystal. This discovery could give new impetus to the area of spintronics. ... > full story

Researchers develop webcam tool to improve office worker posture (August 3, 2011) -- Scientists have developed a new training method using a desktop webcam to improve ergonomic posture and reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) among office workers using computers. The results showed that both training methods provided effective short-term posture improvement; however, sustained improvement was only attained with the photo-training method. ... > full story

Researchers propose Internet consumer 'nutrition label' (August 3, 2011) -- When it comes to broadband speeds, US Internet service providers largely deliver on their promises, says a new report, but "throughput" is only one of several metrics listed in the report that affect network performance. ISPs should provide a broadband "nutrition label" -- easy-to-understand information about service-limiting factors -- and users need better ways of measuring the performance their ISPs are delivering, concludes a new study. ... > full story

Juno to show Jupiter's magnetic field in high-def (August 3, 2011) -- When it comes to magnetic fields, Jupiter is the ultimate muscle car. It's endowed with the biggest, brawniest field of any planet in the solar system, powered by a monster engine under the hood. ... > full story

Engineers develop one-way transmission system for sound waves (August 3, 2011) -- While many hotel rooms, recording studios, and even some homes are built with materials to help absorb or reflect sound, mechanisms to truly control the direction of sound waves are still in their infancy. However, researchers have now created the first tunable acoustic diode -- a device that allows acoustic information to travel only in one direction, at controllable frequencies. ... > full story

Special software helps researchers identify individual animals when studying behavior in the wild (August 3, 2011) -- With the aim of better protecting endangered species, game wardens are studying the behavior of surviving great apes in the wild. This is often painstaking work because it is difficult to distinguish between different individuals. A new software system will make things easier by analyzing the animals' faces for individual identification. ... > full story

A simple slice of energy storage (August 3, 2011) -- Turning graphite oxide (GO) into full-fledged supercapacitors turns out to be simple. But until a laboratory figured out how, it was anything but obvious. ... > full story

RIBA-II: The next generation care-giving robot (August 3, 2011) -- A new robot using high-precision tactile sensors and flexible motor control technology has taken Japan one step closer to its goal of providing high-quality care for its growing elderly population. The new robot can lift a patient up to 80 kilograms in weight off floor-level bedding and into a wheelchair, freeing care facility personnel of one of their most difficult and energy-consuming tasks. ... > full story

Nanotechology's impact on mass spectrometry (August 3, 2011) -- A move toward smaller and smaller sample sizes is leading to a new generation of mass spectrometry instrumentation. ... > full story

Researchers create a successful scheduling method for umpires in Major League Baseball (August 3, 2011) -- Scheduling umpire crews in Major League Baseball can be a daunting task. However, a professor of management science and his collaborators have created a novel solution. The team developed an efficient method to generate high-quality schedules for the MLB. ... > full story

New computer hardware prototyping board designed in Crete successfully tested (August 3, 2011) -- A new computer hardware prototyping board, designed in Crete, has been successfully tested. Sixty four copies of it are currently being built, to be subsequently interconnected to each other, in order to make a prototype of a future architecture -- a half-a-thousand-processor parallel "manycore" computer. The board, called Formic, is of general interest: it is a low-cost prototyping platform that features eight high-speed communication links -- quite more than what one finds on other similar-cost boards. ... > full story

The origin of comet material formed at high temperatures (August 2, 2011) -- Comets are icy bodies, yet they are made of materials formed at very high temperatures. Where do these materials come from? Researchers have now provided the physical explanation behind this phenomenon. They have demonstrated how these materials migrated from the hottest parts of the solar system to its outer regions before entering the composition of comets. ... > full story

A bit of boron, a pinch of palladium: One-stop shop for the Suzuki reaction (August 2, 2011) -- Thanks to chemists in Munich, a crucial type of intermediate in the so-called Suzuki reaction can now be synthesized using an economical "one-pot" strategy. These compounds are used on an industrial scale to make the carbon scaffolds that form the basis of useful drugs and innovative materials. ... > full story

Avoiding Nemesis: Does impact rate for asteroids and comets vary periodically with time? (August 2, 2011) -- Is Earth more likely or less likely to be hit by an asteroid or comet now as compared to, say, 20 million years ago? Several studies have claimed to have found periodic variations, with the probability of giant impacts increasing and decreasing in a regular pattern. Now a new analysis shows those simple periodic patterns to be statistical artifacts. The results indicate either that Earth is as likely to suffer a major impact now as it was in the past, or that there has been a slight increase impact rate events over the past 250 million years. ... > full story

Solar cells get a boost from bouncing light (August 2, 2011) -- A new twist on an old solar cell design sends light ricocheting through layers of microscopic spheres, increasing its electricity-generating potential by 26 percent. ... > full story

Digital photos can animate a face so it ages and moves before your eyes (August 2, 2011) -- Computer scientists have created a way to take images from the web or personal photos collections and in seconds create an animation of a person's face. The tool can make a face appear to age over time, or gradually change the expression from a smile to a frown. ... > full story

Dream screens from graphene: Indium-free transparent, flexible electrodes developed (August 2, 2011) -- Flexible, transparent electronics are closer to reality with the creation of graphene-based electrodes. Researchers have created thin films that could revolutionize touch-screen displays, solar panels and LED lighting. ... > full story

Engineers fly world's first 'printed' aircraft (August 2, 2011) -- Engineers have designed and flown the world's first 'printed' aircraft, which could revolutionize the economics of aircraft design. ... > full story