ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Tuesday, August 16, 2011 ~ techdeck

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Tuesday, August 16, 2011

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Measurements reveal extent of leakage from Japan's damaged Fukushima reactor (August 16, 2011) -- From distance of 5,800 miles, researchers calculated how much radiation leaked from damaged fuel at the Fukushima nuclear reactor after an earthquake and tsunami disabled normal cooling systems. Nuclear reactions in the seawater used to douse overheating fuel created a pulse of radioactive sulfur dioxide gas and sulfate particles that revealed the magnitude of the leak. This labeled sulfur will also help researchers to trace sulfur in the atmosphere, an important factor for understanding climate change. ... > full story

New device exposes explosive vapors (August 16, 2011) -- Researchers have designed an ultra-portable device to detect trace amounts of explosives such as TNT. The prototype is sensitive and inexpensive, and may one day be adapted to help clear dangerous landmines. ... > full story

Pathogen research inspires robotics design for medicine and military (August 16, 2011) -- Researchers have made significant findings about the swimming and attachment of the microorganism Giardia. The findings can aid in designs for drug discovery and underwater vehicles. ... > full story

Astronomy: A spectacular spiral in Leo (August 15, 2011) -- A new picture shows NGC 3521, a spiral galaxy located about 35 million light years away in the constellation of Leo (The Lion). Spanning about 50,000 light-years, this spectacular object has a bright and compact nucleus, surrounded by richly detailed spiral structure. ... > full story

Disorder is key to nanotube mystery (August 15, 2011) -- Researchers have observed that water spontaneously flows into extremely small tubes of graphite or graphene, called carbon nanotubes. However, no one has managed to explain why. Now, using a novel method to calculate the dynamics of water molecules, researchers believe they have solved the mystery. It turns out that entropy, a measurement of disorder, has been the missing key. ... > full story

Scientists find easier, cheaper way to make a sought-after chemical modification to pharmaceuticals (August 15, 2011) -- Scientists have devised a much easier technique for performing a chemical modification used widely in the synthesis of drugs and other products. ... > full story

Staying in shape: How the Internet architecture got its hourglass shape and what that means for future Internet architectures (August 15, 2011) -- A new computer model that describes the evolution of the Internet's architecture suggests that a process similar to natural evolution took place to determine which protocols survived and which ones became extinct. Understanding the evolution may help the designers of future Internet architectures. ... > full story

First data from Daya Bay: Closing in on a neutrino mystery (August 15, 2011) -- The international Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment in southern China has just begun collecting data on the elusive final measurement needed before the masses of the different kinds of neutrinos can be determined. ... > full story

Acoustic cloaking device echoes advances in optical cloaking (August 15, 2011) -- Sound waves that would normally bounce and scatter off objects may be coaxed into slipping past them as if they weren't there, according to a new study that suggests the potential of an acoustical cloaking device. ... > full story

A cosmic inkblot test: Spitzer captures view of Dumbbell Nebula (August 15, 2011) -- If this were an inkblot test, you might see a bow tie or a butterfly depending on your personality. An astronomer would likely see the remains of a dying star scattered about space -- precisely what this is. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope captured this infrared view of what's called a planetary nebula, which is a cloud of material expelled by a burnt out star, called a white dwarf. This object is named the Dumbbell Nebula after its resemblance to the exercise equipment in visible-light views. ... > full story

Forecasting and preventing pipe fractures (August 15, 2011) -- A computer model that tests automobile components for crashworthiness could also be of use to the oil and gas industry, according to researchers, who are now using their simulations of material deformation in car crashes to predict how pipes may fracture in offshore drilling accidents. ... > full story

Effortless sailing with fluid flow cloak (August 15, 2011) -- Engineers have already shown that they can "cloak" light and sound, making objects invisible. Now, they have demonstrated the theoretical ability to significantly increase the efficiency of ships by tricking the surrounding water into staying still. ... > full story

Avatar-based Virtual Co-driver System replaces vehicle owner's manuals (August 15, 2011) -- Flashing signal lamps and unfamiliar control elements tend to worry car drivers. Scientists in Germany in cooperation with engineers at Audi AG have developed an Avatar-based Virtual Co-driver System (AviCoS) to support the driver with explicit information on the vehicle in a natural-language dialog -- supported by images and videos -- making cumbersome paging through owner's manuals a thing of the past. ... > full story

TV time: Why children watch multi-screens (August 15, 2011) -- New research examines the relationship children have with electronic viewing devices and their habits of interacting with more than one at a time. ... > full story

An octave spanning chip-based optical ruler: Scientists develop octave-spanning frequency comb with a microresonator (August 15, 2011) -- Developed moore than a decade ago, the frequency comb technique has stimulated fundamental research as well as laser development and its applications because it gave rise to a major increase in the accuracy of measuring optical frequencies. Already a couple of years ago, a team of scientists succeeded for the first time in generating optical frequency combs using chip-based quartz glass toroids with diameters on the micrometer scale. Now the scientists have made a big step further: their new microresonators produce light over a range of more than an octave and are at the same time precisely tunable ... > full story

New neutrino detection experiment in China up and running (August 15, 2011) -- Deep under a hillside near Hong Kong, a pair of new antineutrino detectors are warming up for some serious physics. ... > full story

Hubble offers dazzling Necklace Nebula (August 14, 2011) -- A giant cosmic necklace glows brightly in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. The object, aptly named the Necklace Nebula, is a recently discovered planetary nebula, the glowing remains of an ordinary, Sun-like star. The nebula consists of a bright ring, measuring 12 trillion miles wide, dotted with dense, bright knots of gas that resemble diamonds in a necklace. ... > full story

Catalyst that makes hydrogen gas breaks speed record (August 14, 2011) -- Looking to nature for their muse, researchers have used a common protein to guide the design of a material that can make energy-storing hydrogen gas. The synthetic material works 10 times faster than the original protein found in water-dwelling microbes, the researchers clocking in at 100,000 molecules of hydrogen gas every second. ... > full story

Schoolchildren can also learn complex subject matters on their own, researchers find (August 14, 2011) -- Self-directed learning has long been heralded as the key to successful education. Yet until now, there has been little research into this theory. Educational researchers in Germany have now shown that schoolchildren can independently develop strategies for solving complex mathematical tasks, with weaker students proving just as capable as their stronger classmates. ... > full story

Searching for spin liquids: Much-sought exotic quantum state of matter can exist (August 14, 2011) -- The world economy is becoming ever more reliant on high tech electronics such as computers featuring fingernail-sized microprocessors crammed with billions of transistors. For progress to continue, for Moore's Law -- according to which the number of computer components crammed onto microchips doubles every two years, even as the size and cost of components halves -- to continue, new materials and new phenomena need to be discovered. Researchers have now discovered a "kaleidoscope" of phases, which represent the lowest-energy states that are allowed given the magnetic interactions. ... > full story

Virtual rats to help researchers study disease (August 14, 2011) -- Most lab rats have to be housed, fed and bred. But not the group one researcher has in mind for his new systems biology center. They'll be virtual. ... > full story

Physicists explore the key energy transport process underlying solar energy harvesting (August 13, 2011) -- Physicists have developed an imaging technique that makes it possible to directly observe light-emitting excitons as they diffuse in rubrene, a new material being explored for its extraordinary electronic properties. ... > full story

NASA's asteroid photographer beams back science data (August 12, 2011) -- The Dawn spacecraft has completed a graceful spiral into the first of four planned science orbits during the spacecraft's yearlong visit to Vesta. The spacecraft started taking detailed observations on Aug. 11 at 9:13 a.m. PDT (12:13 a.m. EDT), which marks the official start of the first science-collecting orbit phase at Vesta, also known as the survey orbit. ... > full story

New anti-censorship scheme could make it impossible to block individual Web sites (August 12, 2011) -- A radical new approach to thwarting Internet censorship would essentially turn the whole Web into a proxy server, making it virtually impossible for a censoring government to block individual Web sites. ... > full story

Darkest known exoplanet: Alien world is blacker than coal (August 12, 2011) -- Astronomers have discovered the darkest known exoplanet -- a distant, Jupiter-sized gas giant known as TrES-2b. Their measurements show that TrES-2b reflects less than one percent of the sunlight falling on it, making it blacker than coal or any planet or moon in our solar system. ... > full story

Bilayer graphene: Another step towards graphene electronics (August 12, 2011) -- The Nobel Prize winning scientists Professor Andre Geim and Professor Kostya Novoselov have taken a huge step forward in studying the wonder material graphene and revealing its exciting electronic properties for future electronic applications. ... > full story

Engineers redefine how the brain plans movement (August 12, 2011) -- New neurological measurement technologies and algorithms are allowing researchers a more complete look into how the brain functions. Engineers are using these tools to better understand how the brain prepares to initiate a body motion and why sometimes we react more quickly than others. ... > full story

Tracking illegal online pharmacies: Evidence of web manipulation (August 12, 2011) -- A research team found rogue websites were rediercting consumers to illicit pharmacies. ... > full story

Smart skin: Electronics that stick and stretch like a temporary tattoo (August 12, 2011) -- Engineers have developed a device platform that combines electronic components for sensing, medical diagnostics, communications and human-machine interfaces, all on an ultrathin skin-like patch that mounts directly onto the skin with the ease, flexibility and comfort of a temporary tattoo. ... > full story

Researchers fight cholera with computer forecasting (August 12, 2011) -- Just as the rainy season is driving a new surge of cholera cases in Haiti, a new computational model could forecast where outbreaks are likely to occur. Researchers hope to target anti-cholera efforts where they are most needed in the earthquake-ravaged country. ... > full story

GRAIL twin lunar probes launch less than one month away (August 12, 2011) -- NASA's twin lunar probes -- GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B -- completed their final inspections and were weighed one final time at the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., on Tuesday. The two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft will orbit the moon in formation to determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. GRAIL's launch period opens Sept. 8, 2011, and extends through Oct. 19. For a Sept. 8 liftoff, the launch window opens at 5:37 a.m. PDT (8:37 a.m. EDT) and remains open through 6:16 a.m. PDT (9:16 a.m. EDT). ... > full story

Steering a beam of 'virtual particles' to manipulate ultra-small-scale particles in real time (August 11, 2011) -- The steady improvement in speed and power of modern electronics may soon hit the brakes unless new ways are found to pack more structures into microscopic spaces. To do this, researchers are looking into precisely steering, in real time, a curve-shaped beam of weird "virtual particles" known as surface plasmons. This technique opens the possibility of even smaller, faster communications systems and optoelectronic devices. ... > full story

Software predicted risk in California West Nile virus epidemic (August 11, 2011) -- A computer model of the spread of West Nile virus was able to predict areas where human cases would be concentrated, especially around Sacramento in 2005. The success of the model, say researchers, depended on its focus on biological factors and on a high volume of reports from members of the public. ... > full story

Shooting light a curve: New tool may yield smaller, faster optoelectronics (August 11, 2011) -- Paving the way for fast-as-light, ultra-compact communication systems and optoelectronic devices, scientists have developed a technique for steering the curved path of plasmonic Airy beams -- combinations of laser light and quasi-particles called surface plasmon polaritons. ... > full story

Wikipedia gender biases revealed (August 11, 2011) -- Computer science researchers have confirmed a substantial gender gap among editors of Wikipedia and a corresponding gender-oriented disparity in the content. ... > full story

Supernovae parents found: Clear signatures of gas outflows from stellar ancestors (August 11, 2011) -- Observations of Type Ia supernovae has led to the discovery that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate and the notion of dark energy. However, astronomers do not know for certain how the explosions take place and whether they all share the same origin. Now, a team of researchers has examine 41 of these objects and concluded that there are clear signatures of gas outflows from the supernova ancestors, which are likely not white dwarfs. ... > full story

High levels of potentially toxic flame retardants in California pregnant women (August 11, 2011) -- Pregnant women in Northern California have the highest PBDE flame retardant exposures reported to date among pregnant women worldwide. A new article describes some of the first evidence from humans that certain flame retardants may interfere with thyroid hormone signaling during pregnancy, which is critical to brain development. ... > full story

Escaping gravity's clutches: Information could escape from black holes after all, study suggests (August 11, 2011) -- New research gives a fresh perspective on the physics of black holes. Conventional thinking asserts that black holes swallow everything that gets too close and that nothing can escape, but a new study suggests that information could escape from black holes after all. ... > full story

Paper money worldwide contains bisphenol A (August 11, 2011) -- The cash register receipts that people place near paper money in billfolds and pockets has led to a worldwide contamination of paper money with bisphenol A (BPA) -- a potentially toxic substance. The amounts of BPA on currencies are higher than in dust, but human intake from currency is at least 10 times less than that from house dust, according to a new study. ... > full story

Quantum computers? Physicists 'entangle' two atoms using microwaves for the first time (August 11, 2011) -- Physicists have for the first time linked the quantum properties of two separated ions (electrically charged atoms) by manipulating them with microwaves instead of the usual laser beams. ... > full story

Working towards replacing platinum in fuel cells: Performance of iron-based catalysts improved (August 11, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a new and improved iron-based catalyst capable of generating even more electric power in fuel cells for transportation applications. Previously, only platinum-based catalysts could produce similar performance. ... > full story

Stick-on tattoos go electric: Micro-electronics, elegant design and existing tattoo tech combine to create complex device (August 11, 2011) -- Through a combination of careful theoretical modeling and precise micro-manufacturing, a team of engineers and scientists has developed a new type of ultra-thin, self-adhesive electronics device that can effectively measure data about the human heart, brain waves and muscle activity -- all without the use of bulky equipment, conductive fluids, or glues. ... > full story

Rehab robots lend stroke patients a hand (August 10, 2011) -- Robot-assisted therapy has measurable benefits for patients with a weaker arm following a stroke. ... > full story

Telephone trumps social media when communicating with teens about research (August 10, 2011) -- If you think teenagers prefer social media over the telephone, you may want to think again, at least when it comes to teens involved in research studies. ... > full story

NASA Mars rover arrives at new site on Martian surface (August 10, 2011) -- After a journey of almost three years, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached the Red Planet's Endeavour crater to study rocks never seen before. ... > full story

Exotic quantum crystal exists: Researchers discover novel state of crystal matter (August 10, 2011) -- Nature knows two opposite types of solids: One that emerges upon compression from a liquid and a second that appears if the pressure on a liquid is reduced. While the former is typical for substances in our everyday life the latter occurs for example in a dense quantum liquid of electrons (such as in metals) or ions (in exotic white dwarf or neutron stars). Now it has been shown that there exists yet a third form of matter that inherits both of these properties. ... > full story

High energy output found from algae-based fuel, but 'no silver bullet' (August 10, 2011) -- Algae-based fuel is one of many options among the array of possible future energy sources. New research shows that while algae-based transportation fuels produce high energy output with minimal land use, their production could come with significant environmental burdens. ... > full story

Revolutionary material dramatically increases explosive force of weapons (August 10, 2011) -- A revolutionary material that will replace steel in warhead casings will bring added lethality and increase the likelihood of a hit on an enemy target, Navy researchers say. ... > full story

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