ScienceDaily Technology Headlines -- for Monday, September 19, 2011 ~ techdeck

ScienceDaily Technology Headlines

for Monday, September 19, 2011

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Quantum behavior with a flash: Laser pulses can reveal quantum features of large objects (September 19, 2011) -- Just as a camera flash illuminates unseen objects hidden in darkness, a sequence of laser pulses can be used to study the elusive quantum behavior of a large "macroscopic" object, scientists report. This method enables experiments that push the boundaries of the quantum world to larger and larger scales. ... > full story

Ground glass solution for cleaner water (September 19, 2011) -- British science has led to a use for waste glass that cannot be recycled that could help clean up polluted waterways by acting as an ion-exchange filter to remove lead, cadmium and other toxic metals. ... > full story

New light on detection of bacterial infection: Polymers fluoresce in the presence of bacteria (September 18, 2011) -- Researchers have developed polymers that fluoresce in the presence of bacteria, paving the way for the rapid detection and assessment of wound infection using ultra-violet light. ... > full story

Safer skies: New algorithm could help prevent midair collisions (September 18, 2011) -- The FAA has mandated that by 2020, all aircrafts must be equipped with a new tracking system that broadcasts GPS data, providing more accurate location information than ground-based radar. Researchers now have early result of an investigation, a new algorithm that uses data from the tracking system to predict and prevent collisions between small aircraft. ... > full story

Lasers could be used to detect roadside bombs (September 18, 2011) -- Scientists have just developed a laser that could detect roadside bombs. The laser potentially has the sensitivity and selectivity to canvas large areas and detect improvised explosive devices -- weapons that account for around 60 percent of coalition soldiers' deaths. ... > full story

3-D face models that give animators intuitive control of expressions (September 18, 2011) -- Flashing a wink and a smirk might be second nature for some people, but computer animators can be hard-pressed to depict such an expression realistically. Now scientists have created computerized models derived from actors' faces that reflect a full range of natural expressions while also giving animators the ability to manipulate facial poses. ... > full story

Opportunity on verge of new discovery: Mars rover poised on rock that may yield yet more evidence of a wet Red Planet (September 17, 2011) -- The Mars rover Opportunity, which was designed to operate for three months and to rove less than a mile, has now journeyed more than seven years crossing more than 21 miles. Today, it is poised at the edge of a heavily eroded impact basin, the possible location of clay minerals formed in low-acid wet conditions on the red planet. ... > full story

Gamma-ray bursts shed light on the nature of dark energy (September 17, 2011) -- Dark energy is the basic constituent of the today's Universe, one that is responsible for its accelerated expansion. Although astronomers observe the cosmological effects of the impact of dark energy, they still do not know exactly what it is. A new method for measuring the largest distances in the Universe helps solve the mystery. A key role is played by the most powerful cosmic explosions -- gamma-ray bursts. ... > full story

How single stars lost their companions (September 16, 2011) -- Not all stars are loners. In our home galaxy, the Milky Way, about half of all stars have a companion and travel through space in a binary system. But explaining why some stars are in double or even triple systems while others are single has been something of a mystery. Now a team of astronomers think they have the answer -- different stellar birth environments decide whether a star holds on to its companion. ... > full story

Biochemical cell signals quantified: Data capacity much lower than expected, scientists find (September 16, 2011) -- Just as cell phones and computers transmit data through electronic networks, the cells of your body send and receive chemical messages through molecular pathways. The term "cell signaling" was coined more than 30 years ago to describe this process. For the first time, scientists have quantified the data capacity of a biochemical signaling pathway and found a surprise -- it's lower than a dial-up modem. ... > full story

Shake, rattle and … power up? New device generates energy from small vibrations (September 16, 2011) -- Today's wireless-sensor networks can do everything from supervising factory machinery to tracking environmental pollution to measuring the movement of buildings and bridges. Working together, distributed sensors can monitor activity along an oil pipeline or throughout a forest, keeping track of multiple variables at a time. While uses for wireless sensors are seemingly endless, there is one limiting factor to the technology -- power. A new tiny energy harvester picks up a wider range of vibrations than current designs, and is able to generate 100 times the power of devices of similar size. ... > full story

Smartphone battery life could dramatically improve with new invention (September 16, 2011) -- A new "subconscious mode" for smartphones and other WiFi-enabled mobile devices could extend battery life by as much as 54 percent for users on the busiest networks. ... > full story

Electronic bucket brigade could boost solar cell voltages (September 16, 2011) -- Some ferroelectric materials can develop extremely high voltages when light falls on them, which might greatly improve solar cells if scientists could figure out how they do it. Researchers have solved the mystery for one ferroelectric, bismuth ferrite, revealing a principle that should apply to other materials too. The secret is an electronic "bucket brigade" that passes electrons stepwise from one electrically polarized region to the next. ... > full story

Carbon nanoparticles break barriers -- and that may not be good (September 16, 2011) -- In a new study, researchers studied cellular alterations in the urine-blood barrier in the kidney caused by repeated exposure to low concentrations of carbon nanoparticles. Among the first to study concentrations of these tiny particles that are low enough to mimic the actual exposure of an ordinary individual, researchers say this is the initial step to understanding the assault on the human body of accidental exposure to CNPs. ... > full story

New method for detecting lung cancer unveiled (September 16, 2011) -- When lung cancer strikes, it often spreads silently into more advanced stages before being detected. In a new article, biological engineers and medical scientists reveal how their discovery could provide a much earlier warning signal. ... > full story

Researchers create new Urban Network Analysis toolbox (September 16, 2011) -- Researchers have created a new Urban Network Analysis (UNA) toolbox that enables urban designers and planners to describe the spatial patterns of cities using mathematical network analysis methods. Such tools can support better informed and more resilient urban design and planning in a context of rapid urbanization. ... > full story

Small distant galaxies host supermassive black holes, astronomers find (September 16, 2011) -- Using the Hubble Space Telescope to probe the distant universe, astronomers have found supermassive black holes growing in surprisingly small galaxies. The findings suggest that central black holes formed at an early stage in galaxy evolution. ... > full story

Archivist in the sound library: New model for speech and sound recognition (September 16, 2011) -- A new mathematical model mimics the process of speech and noise recognition in the human brain efficiently. It may explain experimental findings that remained unclear so far. ... > full story

New study quantifies use of social media in Arab Spring (September 16, 2011) -- After analyzing more than three million tweets, gigabytes of YouTube content and thousands of blog posts, a new study finds that social media played a central role in shaping political debates in the Arab Spring. Conversations about revolution often preceded major events, and social media has carried inspiring stories of protest across international borders. ... > full story

Balloon-based experiment to measure gamma rays 6,500 light years distant (September 16, 2011) -- Beginning Sunday, September 18, 2011 at NASA's launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, space scientists will attempt to send a balloon up to 130,000 feet with a one-ton instrument payload to measure gamma rays from the Crab Pulsar, the remains of a supernova explosion that lies 6,500 light years from Earth. ... > full story

NASA Mars research helps find buried water on Earth (September 15, 2011) -- A NASA-led team has used radar sounding technology developed to explore the subsurface of Mars to create high-resolution maps of freshwater aquifers buried deep beneath an Earth desert, in the first use of airborne sounding radar for aquifer mapping. ... > full story

Meteor likely cause of Southwest U.S. light show (September 15, 2011) -- A meteor is the most probable cause of a bright, colorful fireball witnessed by people in a wide swath of the southwestern United States, according to NASA. ... > full story

Mobile phone electromagnetic field affects local glucose metabolism in the human brain, Finnish study finds (September 15, 2011) -- Recent PET-measurements in Turku, Finland, show that the GSM mobile phone electromagnetic field suppresses glucose metabolism in temporoparietal and anterior temporal areas of the hemisphere next to the antenna. ... > full story

Cancer information on Wikipedia is accurate, but not very readable, study finds (September 15, 2011) -- It is a commonly held that information on Wikipedia should not be trusted, since it is written and edited by non-experts without professional oversight. But researchers have found differently, according to a new study. ... > full story

New material synthesized: Graphene nanoribbons inside of carbon nanotubes (September 15, 2011) -- Physicists from Sweden and Finland have found an efficient way to synthesize graphene nanoribbons directly inside of single-walled carbon nanotubes. ... > full story

NASA's Kepler discovery confirms first planet orbiting two stars (September 15, 2011) -- The existence of a world with a double sunset, as portrayed in the film Star Wars more than 30 years ago, is now scientific fact. NASA's Kepler mission has made the first unambiguous detection of a circumbinary planet -- a planet orbiting two stars -- 200 light-years from Earth. ... > full story

Scientists take first step towards creating 'inorganic life' (September 15, 2011) -- Scientists in Scotland say they have taken their first tentative steps towards creating 'life' from inorganic chemicals potentially defining the new area of 'inorganic biology'. ... > full story

Milky Way's spiral arms are the product of an intergalactic collision course; Models show dark matter packs a punch (September 15, 2011) -- Astronomers have shown how the Milky Way galaxy's iconic spiral arms form, according to new research. A dwarf galaxy named Sagittarius loaded with dark matter has careened twice through our much larger home galaxy in the past two billion years, according to telescope data and detailed simulations, and is lined up to do it again. As the galaxies collide, the force of the impact sends stars streaming from both in long loops. ... > full story

Preschoolers' grasp of numbers predicts math performance in school years; Early number sense linked to elementary math scores (September 15, 2011) -- A new study reports that the precision with which preschoolers estimate quantities, prior to any formal education in mathematics, predicts their mathematics ability in elementary school, according to researchers. ... > full story

New technology for recovering valuable minerals from waste rock (September 15, 2011) -- Researchers report discovery of a completely new technology for more efficiently separating gold, silver, copper, and other valuable materials from rock and ore. The process uses nanoparticles to latch onto those materials and attach them to air bubbles in a flotation machine. ... > full story

Chemists help astronauts make sure their drinking water is clean (September 15, 2011) -- Researchers have developed chemistry and procedures that astronauts can use to test the quality of their drinking water at the International Space Station. The testing technology is now considered operational hardware at the space station. Astronauts will begin using refinements to the tests in late September. ... > full story

3-D television without glasses (September 15, 2011) -- When the boundaries merge between the action and the viewer, television becomes a special experience. Research scientists in Germany are optimizing the technologies that make it possible to watch TV in 3-D without technical aids such as 3-D glasses. A new four-camera system will even be able to handle live transmissions. ... > full story

Cancer-killing cells are caught on film in more 3-D detail than ever before (September 15, 2011) -- Scientists reveal in more detail than ever before how white blood cells kill diseased tissue using deadly granules. The researchers used 'optical' laser tweezers and a super-resolution microscope to see the inner workings of white blood cells at the highest resolution ever. The researchers describe how a white blood cell rearranges its scaffolding of actin proteins on the inside of its membrane, to create a hole through which it delivers deadly enzyme-filled granules to kill diseased tissue. ... > full story

Pioneering device reduces the cost and power consumption of telecommunications systems (September 15, 2011) -- Researchers have developed the first broadband radio frequency (RF) photonic phase shifter which is tunable and based on a single semiconductor element. This means that producing it will be cheaper, and it will also provide a saving in energy consumption of up to 80%. ... > full story

Astronomer: 'Beware the wildlife, even in apparently quiet galaxies' (September 15, 2011) -- Even though a dwarf galaxy clear across the Milky Way looks to be a mouse, it may have once been a bear that slashed through the Milky Way and created the galaxy's spiral arms, writes an University astronomer in a new article. ... > full story

From Star Wars to science fact: Tatooine-like planet discovered (September 15, 2011) -- Although cold and gaseous rather than a desert world, the newfound planet Kepler-16b is still the closest astronomers have come to discovering Luke Skywalker's home world of Tatooine. Like Tatooine, Kepler-16b enjoys a double sunset as it circles a pair of stars approximately 200 light-years from Earth. It's not thought to harbor life, but its discovery demonstrates the diversity of planets in our galaxy. ... > full story

Tatooine-like planet discovered (September 15, 2011) -- A planet with two suns may be a familiar sight to fans of the "Star Wars" film series, but not, until now, to scientists. A team of researchers, including Carnegie's Alan Boss, has discovered a planet that orbits around a pair of stars. Their remarkable findings will be published Sept. 16 in Science. ... > full story

New report on creating clinical public use microdata files (September 15, 2011) -- Many governments in Europe and the US are looking at ways to make more data publicly available. Federally, there is also an open government initiative in Canada. Privacy concerns may be leading to some hesitation in pushing forward with such efforts -- but as demonstrated in this study, privacy concerns can be addressed in a defensible manner. ... > full story

How the Milky Way got its spiral: Supercomputer simulation uncovers how collision with dwarf galaxy triggered formation of spiral arms (September 15, 2011) -- The signature spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy were likely formed by an epic collision between the Milky Way and the Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy, according to researchers. ... > full story

Air pollution caused by ships plummets when vessels shift to cleaner, low-sulfur fuels, study finds (September 14, 2011) -- New clean fuel regulations in California and voluntary slowdowns by shipping companies substantially reduce air pollution caused by near-shore ships, according to a new study. ... > full story

'Synthetic biology' could replace oil for chemical industry (September 14, 2011) -- Vats of blue-green algae could one day replace oil wells in producing raw materials for the chemical industry, a chemist predicts. ... > full story

Novel software used in first global camera trap mammal study (September 14, 2011) -- A novel software system has been used in the first global camera trap study of mammals. The research emphasizes the importance of protected areas to ensure the diversity and survival of a wide range of animal populations. ... > full story

NASA announces design for new deep space exploration system: New heavy-lift rocket will take humans far beyond Earth (September 14, 2011) -- NASA has selected the design of a new Space Launch System that will take the agency's astronauts farther into space than ever before, create high-quality jobs here at home, and provide the cornerstone for America's future human space exploration efforts. This new heavy-lift rocket-in combination with a crew capsule already under development, increased support for the commercialization of astronaut travel to low Earth orbit, an extension of activities on the International Space Station until at least 2020. ... > full story

Messy better than neat: Tangled coat of nanowires increases solar cell efficiency by absorbing more light (September 14, 2011) -- Sometimes neatness may not be necessary. Researchers have demonstrated that a tangled coating of randomly positioned nanowires can increase solar cell efficiency by absorbing more light. ... > full story

Crashes common among helicopters used in oil and gas operations, study finds (September 14, 2011) -- A new study finds that helicopters that service the drilling platforms and vessels in the Gulf of Mexico crash on average more than six times per year resulting in an average of five deaths per year. ... > full story

Double jeopardy: Building codes may underestimate risks due to multiple hazards (September 14, 2011) -- As large parts of the United States recover from nature's one-two punch -- an earthquake followed by Hurricane Irene -- building researchers warn that a double whammy of seismic and wind hazards can increase the risk of structural damage to as much as twice the level implied in building codes. ... > full story

Polonium poisoning case sheds light on infection control practices (September 14, 2011) -- A new study uses a famous case of international intrigue and murder to shed new light on the risks health care workers face while treating patients with radiation poisoning. ... > full story

Superconductivity: New piece in the puzzle (September 14, 2011) -- By destabilizing superconductivity with a strong magnetic field, the electrons of a “high temperature” superconductor align into linear filaments. This phenomenon has been demonstrated by a team of researchers in France. The results add a new piece to the puzzle that condensed-matter physicists have been trying to put together for nearly 25 years. ... > full story