ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Friday, August 26, 2011 ~ techdeck

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Friday, August 26, 2011

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Milky Way's halo raining ionized gas to fuel continued star formation (August 26, 2011) -- Astrophysicists have concluded that the Milky Way will have the fuel to continue forming stars, thanks to massive clouds of ionized gas raining down from its halo and intergalactic space. The Milky Way would rapidly change its gas into stars if no supply of new matter were available to replenish the gas. ... > full story

Using math to fight cancer (August 26, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a mathematical model to understand and predict the progress of a tumor, from its early stages to metastasis, in hopes of creating highly personalized treatment strategies for patients who have cancer. ... > full story

Simple way to grow muscle tissue with real muscle structure (August 26, 2011) -- Researchers have found a simple way to grow muscle tissue with a real muscle structure in the laboratory. They found that the muscle cells automatically align themselves if they are subjected to tension in one direction -- this is essential for the ability of the muscle cells to exert a force. ... > full story

New model predicts environmental effect of pharmaceutical products (August 26, 2011) -- Most synthetic chemical products used in consumer goods end up unchanged in the environment. Given the risks this could pose for the environment and human health, researchers in Spain have developed a new tool to effectively predict what will happen to current and future pharmaceutical products. ... > full story

Scientists discover an 'instant cosmic classic' supernova (August 25, 2011) -- A supernova discovered August 24 is closer to Earth -- approximately 21 million light-years away -- than any other of its kind in a generation. Astronomers believe they caught the supernova within hours of its explosion, a rare feat made possible with a specialized survey telescope and state-of-the-art computational tools. ... > full story

Surprise difference in neutrino and antineutrino mass lessening with new measurements from a Fermilab experiment (August 25, 2011) -- The physics community got a jolt last year when results showed for the first time that neutrinos and their antimatter counterparts, antineutrinos, might have different masses. A new from the MINOS experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory appears to quell concerns raised by a MINOS result in June 2010 and brings neutrino and antineutrino masses more closely in sync. ... > full story

Pulsar transformed into small planet made of diamond discovered in Milky Way (August 25, 2011) -- A once-massive star that's been transformed into a small planet made of diamond: that's what astronomers think they've found in our Milky Way. ... > full story

Math-based model for deep-water oil drilling (August 25, 2011) -- A new mathematical model has applications to the study of gas kicks in deep-water oil wells, which in worst-case scenarios can lead to blowouts. ... > full story

Researchers discover superdense aluminum (August 25, 2011) -- An international research team has discovered a new material, superdense aluminum, which has never before been found on Earth. In a new paper, the researchers describe how the material can only exist under extreme pressure, similar to that found in our planet's core. ... > full story

Beams to order from table-top accelerators (August 25, 2011) -- Laser plasma accelerators could create powerful electron beams within a fraction of the space required by conventional accelerators and light sources -- and at a fraction of the cost. But fulfilling the promise of "table-top accelerators" requires the ability to tune stable, high-quality beams through a range of energies. Scientists have now demonstrated a two-stage, tunable laser plasma accelerator that meets the goal. ... > full story

Why spiders don't drop off of their threads: Source of spider silk's extreme strength unveiled (August 25, 2011) -- It has five times the tensile strength of steel and is stronger than even the best currently available synthetic fibers: Spider thread. Scientists have now succeeded in unveiling a further secret of silk proteins and the mechanism that imparts spider silk with its strength. ... > full story

Tunable nano-suspensions for light harvesting; Discovery may be key to solar energy and smart glass technologies (August 25, 2011) -- A researcher has developed a patent-pending robust process to manufacture stable suspensions of metal nanoparticles capable of capturing sunlight. ... > full story

How a distant black hole devoured a star (August 25, 2011) -- Astronomers have provided new insights into a cosmic accident that has been streaming X-rays toward Earth since late March. NASA's Swift satellite first alerted astronomers to intense and unusual high-energy flares from the new source in the constellation Draco. ... > full story

Storing vertebrates in the cloud: Cloud-based data make searching the world’s museum collections easier (August 25, 2011) -- Researchers are taking information about the vertebrate collections in museums around the world and store it in "the cloud" for easy use by researchers and citizen scientists alike. VertNet combines four earlier databases -- for mammals, birds, herps and fish -- and makes them more easily searchable and viewable via powerful applications being developed to manipulate and display cloud-based data. Already, online databases are spurring broad studies of biodiversity change. ... > full story

Engineers discover nanoscale balancing act that mirrors forces at work in living systems (August 25, 2011) -- A delicate balance of atomic forces can be exploited to make nanoparticle superclusters that are uniform in size -- an attribute that's important for many nanotech applications but hard to accomplish, researchers say. The same type of forces are at work bringing the building blocks of viruses together, and the inorganic supercluster structures in this research are in many ways similar to viruses. ... > full story

DNA cages 'can survive inside living cells' (August 25, 2011) -- Scientists have shown for the first time that molecular cages made from DNA can enter and survive inside living cells. ... > full story

Hedge funds sold stocks quickly while mutual fund investors suffered larger losses during crisis (August 25, 2011) -- A new study of stock trading during the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009 found that hedge funds sold their stocks much more aggressively than mutual funds at the first signs of poor performance. These sell-offs occurred in response to falling stock values, the study found. Hedge fund investors withdrew almost three times as much of the money they invested as compared to mutual fund investors. ... > full story

Nearest supernova observed in 40 years (August 25, 2011) -- Astronomers have discovered a bright, nearby supernova, otherwise known as an exploding star and say it is the nearest of its type observed for 40 years. The supernova was spotted in the Pinwheel Galaxy, M101, a spiral galaxy a mere 21 million light years away, lying in the famous constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major). ... > full story

Researchers produce viable bacterium in which one of four DNA bases is replaced by synthetic analog (August 25, 2011) -- An international team of researchers has achieved a world-first by producing a viable bacterium in which one of the four DNA bases has been replaced by a synthetic analog compound. The advantage of the new bacterium is that it would eventually be dependent on this compound, which does not exist in nature, and would therefore be unable to compete or exchange genetic material with natural organisms. ... > full story

New Mars rover snapshots capture Endeavour crater vistas (August 24, 2011) -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has captured new images of intriguing Martian terrain from a small crater near the rim of the large Endeavour crater. The rover arrived at the 13-mile-diameter (21-kilometer-diameter) Endeavour on Aug. 9, after a journey of almost three years. ... > full story

New theory may shed light on dynamics of large-polymer liquids (August 24, 2011) -- A new physics-based theory predicts why entangled polymers are confined to a tube-like region of space and how they respond to applied forces. This advance provides insight into behavior of both synthetic polymers used in plastics and bioploymers like the filaments that gives cells structure. ... > full story

Health risks with nanotechnology? Nanoparticles can hinder intracellular transport (August 24, 2011) -- Scientists have now shown that uptake and accumulation of nanoparticles in cells can disrupt important intracellular transport pathways. The researchers discovered that the nanoparticles interrupt the transport of vital substances in and out of a cell, causing undesirable changes in the cell's physiology and disrupting normal cell functioning. ... > full story

Simple security for wireless (August 24, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated the first wireless security scheme that can protect against "man-in-the-middle" attacks -- but doesn't require a password. ... > full story

NASA's WISE mission discovers coolest class of stars (August 24, 2011) -- Scientists using data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have discovered the coldest class of star-like bodies, with temperatures as cool as the human body. Astronomers hunted these dark orbs, termed Y dwarfs, for more than a decade without success. When viewed with a visible-light telescope, they are nearly impossible to see. WISE's infrared vision allowed the telescope to finally spot the faint glow of six Y dwarfs relatively close to our sun, within a distance of about 40 light-years. ... > full story

Scientists develop new approaches to predict the environmental safety of chemicals (August 24, 2011) -- Environmental researchers have proposed in a new study a different approach to predict the environmental safety of chemicals by using data from other similar chemicals. ... > full story

Unexpected adhesion properties of graphene may lead to new nanotechnology devices (August 24, 2011) -- Graphene, considered the most exciting new material under study in the world of nanotechnology, just got even more interesting, according to a new study. ... > full story

Human gait could soon power portable electronics (August 24, 2011) -- In a new paper, researchers describe a new energy-harvesting technology that promises to dramatically reduce our dependence on batteries and instead capture the energy of human motion to power portable electronics. ... > full story

Nanowires get into the groove (August 24, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered that growing nanowires out, not up, can keep them in line. ... > full story

Ancient 'daddy long legs' revealed in 3-D models (August 24, 2011) -- Two ancient types of harvestmen, or 'daddy long legs,' which skittered around forests more than 300 million years ago, are revealed in new three-dimensional virtual fossil models. ... > full story

NASA's GRAIL moon twins are joined to their booster (August 24, 2011) -- NASA's lunar-bound GRAIL twins were mated to their Delta II launch vehicle at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 17 on Aug. 18, 2011. The 15-mile (25-kilometer) trip from Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., is the last move for GRAIL before it begins its journey to the moon. NASA's dynamic duo will orbit the moon to determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. ... > full story

James Webb Space Telescope instrument completes cryogenic testing (August 24, 2011) -- A pioneering camera and spectrometer that will fly aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has completed cryogenic testing designed to mimic the harsh conditions it will experience in space. ... > full story

NASA picks three proposals for flight demonstration (August 24, 2011) -- NASA has selected three proposals, including one from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., as Technology Demonstration Missions to transform space communications, deep space navigation and in-space propulsion capabilities. The projects will develop and fly a space solar sail, deep space atomic clock, and space-based optical communications system. ... > full story

Database of water, wastewater pipeline infrastructure systems (August 24, 2011) -- A national database on technologies to assess the conditions and rehabilitation of the underground pipes will be available to utilities and the general public, starting on Sept. 1, 2011. ... > full story

Quick and cheap data storage? New multiferroic material is both electrically charged and magnetic (August 23, 2011) -- Researchers have engineered a material that exhibits a rare and versatile trait in magnetism at room temperature. It's called a "multiferroic," and it means that the material has properties allowing it to be both electrically charged (ferroelectric) and also the ability to be magnetic (ferromagnetic), with its magnetization controlled by electricity. ... > full story

Exploring the possibilities for zeolites: Team creates database of 2.6 million varieties of molecular sieves (August 23, 2011) -- A new paper hints at the untapped possibilities for making synthetic zeolites -- microporous materials that are used as molecular sieves and catalysts for everything from petroleum processing to nuclear waste disposal. Using computer models, researchers compiled a list of 2.6 million potential zeolite structures that are searchable by geometric arrangement, crystallographic structure and other criteria. ... > full story

World-record pulsed magnetic field achieved; Lab moves closer to 100-tesla mark (August 23, 2011) -- Researchers have set a new world record for the strongest magnetic field produced by a nondestructive magnet. The scientists achieved a field of 92.5 tesla on Thursday, Aug. 18, taking back a record that had been held by a team of German scientists and then, the following day, surpassed their achievement with a whopping 97.4-tesla field. Such a powerful nondestructive magnet could have a profound impact on a wide range of scientific investigations, from how to design and control material functionality to research into the microscopic behavior of phase transitions. ... > full story

New set of building blocks for simple synthesis of complex molecules (August 23, 2011) -- Assembling chemicals can be like putting together a puzzle. Chemists have developed a way of fitting the pieces together to more efficiently build complex molecules, beginning with a powerful and promising antioxidant. ... > full story

Melanin's 'trick' for maintaining radioprotection studied (August 23, 2011) -- Researchers have made new insights into the electrochemical mechanism that gives the complex polymer known as melanin its long-term ability to protect some species from ionizing radiation, with a goal of using that knowledge to develop materials that mimic those natural properties. ... > full story

Text search tool for electronic medical records shows promise for identifying postoperative complications (August 23, 2011) -- Use of natural language processing, such as in the form of free-text searches of electronic medical records (EMRs) of clinical and progress notes of patients performed better at identifying postoperative surgical complications than the commonly used administrative data codes in EMRs, according to a new study. ... > full story

Nickel nanoparticles may contribute to lung cancer (August 23, 2011) -- Lab experiments find that nickel particles with diameters billionths of a meter wide can trigger a cellular pathway that promotes cancer growth. ... > full story

Nano bundles pack a powerful punch: Solid-state energy storage takes a leap forward (August 23, 2011) -- Researchers have created a solid-state, nanotube-based supercapacitor that promises to combine the best qualities of high-energy batteries and fast-charging capacitors in a device suitable for extreme environments. ... > full story

Are stellar explosions created equal? Scientists recheck a standard model for supernovae on which cosmic distance measurement is based (August 23, 2011) -- A new analysis of Type Ia supernova, used to measure cosmic distance, suggests many of them develop from similar initial conditions. ... > full story

Large Hadron Collider experiments eliminate more Higgs hiding spots (August 23, 2011) -- Two experimental collaborations at the Large Hadron Collider, located at CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland, announced that they have significantly narrowed the mass region in which the Higgs boson could be hiding. The ATLAS and CMS experiments excluded with 95 percent certainty the existence of a Higgs over most of the mass region from 145 to 466 GeV. ... > full story

Algorithm developed to improve remote electrocardiography (August 23, 2011) -- Engineers and physicians have developed an award-winning algorithm that improves the effectiveness of ECGs. ... > full story

Careers advice 'crucial' in encouraging greater science take-up (August 23, 2011) -- More pupils do physics and chemistry after the age of 16 in schools which provide a more comprehensive range of careers supervision and advice, according to new research. ... > full story

Measurement tools for traffic crash injury severity improving (August 22, 2011) -- Efforts to improve traffic safety have been aided by mathematical models that allow researchers to better assess those factors that impact the degree of injury suffered as a result of traffic crashes, researchers say. ... > full story

Sketching with superconductors: Breakthrough in controlling defects could lead to new generation of electronic devices (August 22, 2011) -- Researchers in the UK and Italy have discovered a technique to "draw" superconducting shapes using an X-ray beam. This ability to create and control tiny superconducting structures has implications for a completely new generation of electronic devices. ... > full story

Astronomers find ice and possibly methane on Snow White, a distant dwarf planet (August 22, 2011) -- Astronomers have discovered that the dwarf planet 2007 OR10 -- nicknamed Snow White -- is an icy world, with about half its surface covered in water ice that once flowed from ancient, slush-spewing volcanoes. The new findings also suggest that the red-tinged dwarf planet may be covered in a thin layer of methane, the remnants of an atmosphere that's slowly being lost into space. ... > full story