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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


To deter cyberattacks, build a public-private partnership

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 12:26 PM PDT

The best way to combat cyberattacks may be a joint public-private partnership between government and business, says a new paper. Cybersecurity is a big deal, and the protection of critical network infrastructure is a matter of national security," said one expert. "If nothing else, cyberattacks are very expensive, costing the global economy almost a half-trillion dollars per year, according to some estimates. For either of those reasons alone it should be given more attention."

Tilted acoustic tweezers separate cells gently

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 12:26 PM PDT

Precise, gentle and efficient cell separation from a device the size of a cell phone may be possible thanks to tilt-angle standing surface acoustic waves, according to a team of engineers.

Sweet! Glycocongugates are more than the sum of their sugars

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 11:21 AM PDT

Conventional wisdom says that the scaffold in an important class of biological molecules called 'glycoconjugates' is essentially inert. Work by a chemist suggests otherwise. The discovery opens up new avenues for research, in particular the development of more and better pharmaceuticals. Glycoconjugates are found naturally in the body, but they are also an important class of drugs that includes anything from cancer treatments to vaccines.

Organic vs. paid advertising? Inside the mind of an online browser

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 10:01 AM PDT

The keyword term a consumer uses in their search engine query can predict the likelihood that they will click on an organic or paid advertisement. That's according to new research that takes a unique look at a consumer's behavior between the keyword search and the point-of-click. The new information may give marketers the edge in converting even more consumer clicks on their sites.

Learning by watching, toddlers show intuitive understanding of probability

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 09:33 AM PDT

Most people know children learn many skills simply by watching people around them. Without explicit instructions youngsters know to do things like press a button to operate the television and twist a knob to open a door. Now researchers have taken this further, finding that children as young as age 2 intuitively use mathematical concepts such as probability to help make sense of the world around them.

Promise in automated reasoning, hypothesis generation over complete medical literature

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 08:50 AM PDT

With approximately 50 million scientific papers available in public databases -- and a new one publishing nearly every 30 seconds -- scientists cannot know about every relevant study when they are deciding where to take their research next. A new tool in development by computational biologists and analytics experts tested as a 'proof-of-principle' may one day help researchers mine all public medical literature and formulate hypotheses that promise the greatest reward when pursuing new scientific studies.

Biomimetic photodetector 'sees' in color

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 08:50 AM PDT

A CMOS-compatible, biomimetic color photodetector has been developed that directly responds to red, green and blue light in much the same way the human eye does. It uses an aluminum grating that can be added to silicon photodetectors with the silicon microchip industry's mainstay technology, "complementary metal-oxide semiconductor," or CMOS.

World's first ZigBee-based inter-satellite comms system

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 07:00 AM PDT

Engineers have successfully piloted the world's first ZigBee-based inter-satellite communication system. Designed to evaluate the performance of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in space, the experiment marks a breakthrough in aeronautical engineering.

Physics research removes outcome unpredictability of ultracold atomic reactions

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 06:58 AM PDT

A physics model helps scientists accurately predict the likely outcome of a chemical reaction as well as sheds new light on mysterious quantum states, including the Efimov effect.

'Robo Brain' will teach robots everything from the Internet

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:49 AM PDT

Robo Brain -- a large-scale computational system that learns from publicly available Internet resources -- is currently downloading and processing about 1 billion images, 120,000 YouTube videos, and 100 million how-to documents and appliance manuals. The information is being translated and stored in a robot-friendly format that robots will be able to draw on when they need it.

Creation of a highly efficient technique to develop low-friction materials

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:48 AM PDT

Scientists have created an unprecedented highly efficient method for developing friction materials with a desired frictional property. The completely new technique enables highly efficient materials development that only requires one trial experiment, eliminating the need to conduct related experiments multiple times.

Lung cancer rarely detected by current X-ray procedures

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:48 AM PDT

Current X-ray examinations capture only 20 percent of cases of lung cancer, researcher say. With modern ultralow-dose CT, the radiologists hit the bull's eye 90 per cent of the time.

Predicting aggressive lymphoma

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:46 AM PDT

A new statistical genetic analysis can detect when lymphoma will be aggressive, researchers report, thereby, allowing treatment to be initiated in time. The statistical method will be able to determine who will need a bone-marrow transplantation and who can be spared the extreme burden that this excruciating treatment entails.

Core mechanism for root growth identified

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:46 AM PDT

During plant growth, dividing cells in meristems must coordinate transitions from division to expansion and differentiation. Three distinct developmental zones are generated, while at the same time, plants can rapidly adjust their direction of growth to adapt to environmental conditions. Now researchers have found out, with the help of experimentation and mathematical modelling, how many factors together regulate root growth.

Removing odor from wastewater using bacteria

Posted: 25 Aug 2014 05:46 AM PDT

EcoVerde removes odor and other contaminants through a biological process based on bacteria that feed on hydrogen sulfide. Air is extracted from sewage or industrial wastewater and sent to system called bioscrubber EG. There a mechanism evaporates it and directs contaminants (ammonia, mercaptan and hydrogen sulfide) that cause odor to the filter were bacteria eliminate them, designers report.

C2D2 fighting corrosion

Posted: 22 Aug 2014 09:45 AM PDT

Bridges become an infrastructure problem as they get older, as de-icing salt and carbon dioxide gradually destroy the reinforced concrete. A new robot can now check the condition of these structures, even in places that people cannot reach.

Water quality in glass, plastic bottles: Better than expected in Spanish study

Posted: 22 Aug 2014 05:39 AM PDT

Bottled water sold in Spain is practically free of constituents given off by plastic packaging or glass bottle lids. They are only detected in some cases, albeit in quantities much lower than limits found harmful for health, an analysis of more than 130 types of mineral water reveals. Plastic materials used in food packaging are made up of small molecules or monomers which, together with their additives, can migrate into the product during packaging manufacturing, filling or storage.

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