ScienceDaily Technology Headlines
Stretching Silicon: A New Method To Measure How Strain Affects Semiconductors (November 9, 2008) -- Engineers and physicists have developed a method of measuring how strain affects thin films of silicon that could lay the foundation for faster flexible electronics. ... > full story
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Tracking Hair Loss And Growth Mathematically (November 8, 2008) -- Scientists have developed maths-based imaging technology to measure hair on different parts of the human body. ... > full story
Many Motorists Don't See Need To Heed Speed Limits (November 8, 2008) -- Research suggests US motorists are growing increasingly cynical about the relevance of speed limits, and a new study indicates many motorists are more likely to think they can drive safely while speeding as long as they won't get caught. ... > full story
Pool Of Distant Galaxies: Deepest Ultraviolet Image Of The Universe Yet (November 8, 2008) -- This uniquely beautiful patchwork image, with its myriad of brightly colored galaxies, shows the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S), arguably the most observed and best studied region in the entire sky. The CDF-S is one of the two regions selected as part of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS), an effort of the worldwide astronomical community that unites the deepest observations from ground- and space-based facilities at all wavelengths from X-ray to radio. ... > full story
Accident Ahead? New Software Will Enable Cars To Make Coordinated Avoidance Maneuvers (November 8, 2008) -- A road construction barrier falls over: The car driver can't avoid it, since there are cars on the lane next to him. In future, a new software program will enable cars to coordinate maneuvers together in dangerous situations. ... > full story
Tuning In To The Virtues Of Virtual Labs (November 8, 2008) -- The grid’s huge communication and computation capacities could let scientists gather data and run remote experiments anywhere in the world. Researchers have now mapped out how that can be done. ... > full story
Robots Show That Brain Activity Is Linked To Time As Well As Space (November 7, 2008) -- Humanoid robots have been used to show that that functional hierarchy in the brain is linked to time as well as space. Researchers in Japan have created a new type of neural network model which adds to the previous literature that suggests neural activity is linked solely to spatial hierarchy within the animal brain. ... > full story
'Beauty Machine' Makes Average Face A Knockout With A Single Click (November 7, 2008) -- Our mothers told us that true beauty is more than skin deep — but researchers are now challenging Mom. They’ve built a beauty machine that, with the press of a button, turns a picture of your own ordinary face into that of a cover model. ... > full story
Harnessing Network Anarchy For The Common Good (November 7, 2008) -- Anarchy may be the bane of political conservatives, but on the Internet it is the essence of the information superhighway. ... > full story
Hybrid Materials For Future Solar Cells Under Development (November 7, 2008) -- Scientists are developing composite materials based on semiconductor nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes for use in efficient light emitting diodes and photovoltaic devices. ... > full story
Detecting Tiny Twists With A Nanomachine (November 7, 2008) -- Scientists have developed a nanoscale spin-torsion oscillator that can measure miniscule amounts of twisting or torque in a metallic nanowire. The device can be used to uncover spin-dependent fundamental forces in particle physics and have applications in spintronics, chemistry, biology and fundamental physics. ... > full story
Gold Nanostars Hold Promise In Medical Diagnoses And Tests For Environmental Contaminants (November 7, 2008) -- Tiny gold stars, smaller than a billionth of a meter, may hold the promise for new approaches to medical diagnoses or testing for environmental contaminants. ... > full story
Computers Effective In Verifying Mathematical Proofs (November 7, 2008) -- New computer tools have the potential to revolutionize the practice of mathematics by providing more-reliable proofs of mathematical results than have ever been possible in the history of humankind. These tools, based on the notion of "formal proof," have in recent years been used to provide nearly infallible proofs of many important results. ... > full story
Tiny Solar Cells Built To Power Microscopic Machines (November 7, 2008) -- Some of the tiniest solar cells ever built have been successfully tested as a power source for even tinier microscopic machines -- for example, an inch-long array of 20 of these cells, each one about a quarter the size of a lowercase "o" in a standard 12-point font. ... > full story
Tiny Backpacks For Cells: Polymer Patches Could Ferry Drugs, Assist In Cancer Diagnosis (November 7, 2008) -- MIT engineers have outfitted cells with tiny "backpacks" that could allow them to deliver chemotherapy agents, diagnose tumors or become building blocks for tissue engineering. ... > full story
Just Scratching The Surface: New Technique Maps Nanomaterials As They Grow (November 7, 2008) -- Researchers have developed a measurement technique that will help scientists and companies map nanomaterials as they grow. The discovery could help create superior nanotechnologies and lead to the development of more efficient solar panels and increased magnetic data storage. ... > full story
Reducing Pollution: Green Future For Scrap Iron (November 7, 2008) -- Engineers have shown that the biological treatment of industrial wastewater can be dramatically enhanced by pretreating the waste with non-oxidized iron. Researchers use zero valent iron to detoxify pollutants in industrial wastewater. ... > full story
Bacteria Manage Perfume Oil Production From Grass (November 7, 2008) -- Scientists in Italy have found bacteria in the root of a tropical grass whose oils have been used in the cosmetic and perfumery industries. ... > full story
High-temperature Superconductors: New Method Exploring 'Energy Gap' Shows Electron Pairs Exist Before Superconductivity Sets In (November 7, 2008) -- Like astronomers tweaking images to gain a more detailed glimpse of distant stars, physicists have found ways to sharpen images of the energy spectra in high-temperature superconductors -- materials that carry electrical current effortlessly when cooled below a certain temperature. These new imaging methods confirm that the electron pairs needed to carry current emerge above the transition temperature, before superconductivity sets in. ... > full story
Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Flies Into Space (November 7, 2008) -- “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a sprit of brotherhood”, states Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). ... > full story
Protecting Soils And Producing Biofuel With Corn Stover (November 7, 2008) -- Those lonely cornstalks--called corn stover--left behind in the fields after the grain harvest is complete could someday become valuable raw material for the production of cellulosic ethanol. In the meantime, ) soil scientists are determining which portion of the plant would work best for cellulosic ethanol production. ... > full story
Tennis: Referees More Likely To Make Mistakes When Calling Balls 'Out' (November 6, 2008) -- A universal bias in the way people perceive moving objects means that tennis referees are more likely to make mistakes when they call balls "out" than when they call them "in," according to a new report. Because recent rule changes allow professional tennis players to challenge the refs' calls, athletes could exploit the new findings to their advantage. ... > full story
Computer Model Improves Ultrasound Image (November 6, 2008) -- Doctors use diagnostic sonography or ultrasound to visualize organs and other internal structures of the human body. Scientist have now developed a computer model that can predict the sound transmission of improved designs for ultrasound instruments. The computer model is capable of processing large quantities of data and can be run on both a PC and a parallel supercomputer. ... > full story
Computer That Reacts To Thought A Lifeline For Brain Injured (November 6, 2008) -- People who have suffered traumatic brain injuries and who are unable to speak or move are being given the first chance to communicate using just the power of thought -- and a laptop loaded with sophisticated algorithms. ... > full story
Chandrayaan-1 Now In Lunar Transfer Trajectory (November 6, 2008) -- Following a fifth orbit-raising maneuver, the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft successfully settled into a trajectory that will take it to the Moon. ... > full story
Reducing Epidemic Proportions: High-tech System Cuts Hospital-related Infections By Half (November 6, 2008) -- Hospitals are supposed to be havens for healing, but the numbers tell a different story. Too many people are infected by illnesses they acquire after they’ve been admitted, and hospital-related infections continue to be the number-two killer of hospitalized Americans after heart disease. Now, a radical new high-tech software program developed to fight these infections is now catching on faster than the flu. ... > full story
Rocks Could Be Harnessed To Sponge Vast Amounts Of Carbon Dioxide From Air (November 6, 2008) -- Scientists say that a type of rock found in the Mideast nation of Oman and other areas around the world could be harnessed to soak up huge quantities of globe-warming carbon dioxide. Their studies show that the rock, known as peridotite, reacts naturally at surprisingly high rates with CO2 and that the process could be speeded a million times with simple drilling and injection methods. ... > full story
Giant Simulation Could Solve Mystery Of 'Dark Matter' (November 6, 2008) -- The search for a mysterious substance which makes up most of the universe could soon be at an end, according to new research. ... > full story
Nanoscale Dimensioning Is Fast, Cheap With New Optical Technique (November 6, 2008) -- A novel technique under development uses a relatively inexpensive optical microscope to quickly and cheaply analyze nanoscale dimensions with nanoscale measurement sensitivity. ... > full story
Rock Reinforcement: New Technology Makes Excavations Safer (November 6, 2008) -- One of the biggest challenges facing the mining industry is rock wall failure. A new invention could change all that, by making excavations safer. ... > full story
Fingers, Loops And Bays In The Crab Nebula's Pulsar Wind Viewed By Chandra X-ray Observatory (November 6, 2008) -- NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has provided the first clear view of the faint boundary of the Crab Nebula's X-ray-emitting pulsar wind nebula. ... > full story
Gene Against Bacterial Attack Unraveled (November 6, 2008) -- Researchers have unraveled a genetic defense mechanism against the lethal bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. The research is the next step towards a vaccine against this bacterium suitable for bioweapons. ... > full story
Bare Bones Of Crystal Growth: Biomolecules Enhance Metal Contents In Calcite (November 6, 2008) -- A finding that a hydrophilic peptide significantly enhances the magnesium-content of calcite is especially meaningful for geologists because Mg-content in carbonates is used as a 'paleo thermometer'. The findings also offer new insights for materials synthesis. ... > full story
Identity Theft Risk: Huge Amount Of Sensitive Data Still On Redundant Computer Hard Disks (November 5, 2008) -- A new report suggests that there is a huge amount of sensitive data still on redundant computer hard disks. These devices are often disposed of or sold into the second-hand market by corporations, organizations, and individuals with the data intact. The report's authors say that this data represents a significant level of risk for commercial sabotage, identity theft, and even political compromise, and suggest that better education is essential to reduce the risk of harm. ... > full story
Measuring 'Inaudible' Sounds To Detect Illegal Nuclear Tests, And Analyze Atmosphere (November 5, 2008) -- By measuring 'inaudible' sounds, events like illegal nuclear tests can be detected. This 'infrasound' can also help us understand more about the upper atmosphere, according to new research. ... > full story
