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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


Dangers and potential of nanomaterials examined

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 12:36 PM PDT

After a decade of rapidly growing industrial use, unimaginably tiny particles surround us everywhere, every day, in everything we do. Used in the manufacturing of cosmetics, clothing, paints, food, drug delivery systems and many other familiar products we all use daily, little is known about the effects these materials have on health. Scientists are now finding inhalation of engineered nanomaterials negatively impacts gestational development in animal models.

Astronomers discover densest galaxy ever

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 11:17 AM PDT

Imagine the distance between the sun and the star nearest to it -- a star called Alpha Centauri. That's a distance of about four light years. Now, imagine as many as 10,000 of our suns crammed into that relatively small space. That is about the density of a galaxy that was recently discovered by an international team of astronomers led by a Michigan State University faculty member.

Emissions and costs of power plant cycling necessary for increased wind and solar calculated

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 11:16 AM PDT

New research quantifies the potential impacts of increasing wind and solar power generation on the operators of fossil-fueled power plants in the West. To accommodate higher amounts of wind and solar power on the electric grid, utilities must ramp down and ramp up or stop and start conventional generators more frequently to provide reliable power for their customers -- a practice called cycling.

New steering tech for heavy equipment saves fuel, ups efficiency

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 09:28 AM PDT

Researchers have shown how to reduce fuel consumption while improving the efficiency of hydraulic steering systems in heavy construction equipment.

Fusion, anyone? Not quite yet, but scientists show just how close we've come

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 08:31 AM PDT

The dream of igniting a self-sustained fusion reaction with high yields of energy, a feat likened to creating a miniature star on Earth, is getting closer to becoming reality, according to a new review of recent research.

iPhones for the eyes: Smart phone photography to help diagnose eye disease

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 07:30 AM PDT

Researchers describe the relatively simple technique of fundus photography in eyes using a smartphone, an inexpensive app for the smartphone, and instruments that are readily available in an ophthalmic practice.

New theory for analysing interacting nuclear spins in solvents

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 06:15 AM PDT

Hardly a spectroscopic method boasts so many different applications as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, better known as "NMR." The approach of NMR spectroscopy is based on monitoring the so-called nuclear spin, namely the angular momentum of atoms, or, more precisely: the magnetic moment associated with them. The atom thus becomes a bar magnet, whose axis is aligned within a magnetic field but is otherwise arbitrarily oriented within its environment.

New device to revolutionize gaming in virtual realities

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 06:15 AM PDT

How is it possible to walk through 3-D virtual realities while staying in one place? Engineers have solved this problem and are now introducing their "Virtualizer".

Scientists develop artificial surfaces insects cannot stick to

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 06:13 AM PDT

Beetles, cockroaches, and ants will have a harder time walking up the sides of buildings or air conditioners in the future -- thanks to the bio-inspired, anti-adhesive surfaces. The team studied plant surfaces in order to determine what influence cell form and microstructure as well as surface chemistry exert on the adhesion behavior of insects.

The dragon awakens: Colossal explosion from supermassive black hole at centre of galaxy revealed

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 06:13 AM PDT

Two million years ago, a supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy erupted in an explosion so immensely powerful that it lit up a cloud 200,000 light years away, astronomers have revealed.

Counting on neodymium: Promising candidate for information processing with magnetic molecules

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 06:13 AM PDT

Magnetic molecules are regarded as promising functional units for the future of information processing. Scientists have now produce particularly robust magnetic molecules that enable a direct electrical readout of magnetic information. This was made possible by selecting the rare earth metal neodymium as the central building block of the molecule.

Voyager 1 magnetic data surprise intrigues researchers

Posted: 24 Sep 2013 06:05 AM PDT

Scientists are exploring surprising data from Voyager 1's crossing of the heliopause into the interstellar medium of our galaxy.

New password in a heartbeat

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 02:59 PM PDT

Researchers propose a system to prevent cyberattacks on pacemakers, defibrillators and other devices that use wireless communications.

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