ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Synthetic biology research: Could fuel for cars or household power supplies be created from naturally-occurring fatty acids?
• 'Gusty winds' in space turbulence: First direct measurement of its kind in the lab
• Nanofibers clean sulfur from fuel
• New technology may enable earlier cancer diagnosis: Nanoparticles amplify tumor signals, making them much easier to detect in urine
• New window on Parkinson's disease: Metallic probe proves able to detect fibrils from misfolded proteins in real time
• Major breakthrough in indoor positioning research
• Re-engineered optogenetic switches allow direct measurement of complex cellular systems
• Immune cells use tethered slings to avoid being swept away
• Fitting 'smart' mobile phone with magnifying optics creates 'real' cell phone
• Investigating ocean currents using uranium-236 from the 1960s
• A layer of cool, healthy air: Stratum ventilation systems may reduce spread of airborne diseases
• CERN: First Large Hadron Collider (LHC) protons run ends with new milestone
• Math formula gives new glimpse into the magical mind of Ramanujan
• Flexing fingers for micro-robotics: Scientists create a powerful, microscale actuator
• Noise power on adhesion: New model may help robotic fingers, made of a soft surface, manipulate small objects
• How white dwarfs mimic black holes
• Measuring flow using a tiny wobbling tube
• Exploding star missing from formation of solar system

Synthetic biology research: Could fuel for cars or household power supplies be created from naturally-occurring fatty acids? Posted: 17 Dec 2012 12:26 PM PST Scientists have identified a biocatalyst which could produce chemicals found in ice-cream and household items such as soap and shampoo – possibly leading to the long-term replacement of chemicals derived from fossil fuels. This development could mean fuel for cars or household power supplies could be created from naturally-occurring fatty acids.

'Gusty winds' in space turbulence: First direct measurement of its kind in the lab Posted: 17 Dec 2012 12:25 PM PST Imagine riding in an airplane as the plane is jolted back and forth by gusts of wind that you can't prove exist but are there nonetheless. Similar turbulence exists in space, and a research team has directly measured it for the first time in the laboratory.

Nanofibers clean sulfur from fuel Posted: 17 Dec 2012 11:07 AM PST Sulfur compounds in petroleum fuels have met their nano-structured match. Researchers developed mats of metal oxide nanofibers that scrub sulfur from petroleum-based fuels much more effectively than traditional materials. Sulfur has to be removed because it emits toxic gasses and corrodes catalysts. Such efficiency could lower costs and improve performance for fuel-based catalysis, advanced energy applications and toxic gas removal.

New technology may enable earlier cancer diagnosis: Nanoparticles amplify tumor signals, making them much easier to detect in urine Posted: 17 Dec 2012 11:07 AM PST Finding ways to diagnose cancer earlier could greatly improve the chances of survival for many patients. One way to do this is to look for specific proteins secreted by cancer cells, which circulate in the bloodstream. However, the quantity of these biomarkers is so low that detecting them has proven difficult. A new technology may help to make biomarker detection much easier. Researchers have developed nanoparticles that can home to a tumor and interact with cancer proteins to produce thousands of biomarkers, which can then be easily detected in the patient's urine.

New window on Parkinson's disease: Metallic probe proves able to detect fibrils from misfolded proteins in real time Posted: 17 Dec 2012 11:06 AM PST Scientists discover a new molecular probe to track aggregated fibroids inside living cells that cause Parkinson's disease.

Major breakthrough in indoor positioning research Posted: 17 Dec 2012 11:06 AM PST Researchers have recently developed a new method to build a WiFi radio map that does not require GPS signals.

Re-engineered optogenetic switches allow direct measurement of complex cellular systems Posted: 17 Dec 2012 11:05 AM PST A chemical biology lab has re-engineered optogenetic switches so that switches run backward, firing bursts of fluorescent light that reveal newly detailed patterns of electrical activity in neural networks, beating cardiac cells and developing embryos.

Immune cells use tethered slings to avoid being swept away Posted: 17 Dec 2012 11:05 AM PST Neutrophils, critical components of the immune system's response to bacteria and other pathogens, throw out tube-like tethers that act as anchor points, controlling their speed as they roll along the walls of blood vessels during extremely fast blood flow en route to an infection site.

Fitting 'smart' mobile phone with magnifying optics creates 'real' cell phone Posted: 17 Dec 2012 11:05 AM PST By fitting a "smart" mobile phone with magnifying optics, researchers created a real "cell" phone. a diagnostic-quality microscope for clinics in developing countries as well as American biology classrooms.

Investigating ocean currents using uranium-236 from the 1960s Posted: 17 Dec 2012 09:16 AM PST New research has identified the bomb-pulse of uranium-236 in corals from the Caribbean Sea for the first time. 236U was distributed world-wide in the period of atmospheric nuclear testing in the 1960s. Readily dissolved in seawater it is an ideal tool for investigating ocean currents.

A layer of cool, healthy air: Stratum ventilation systems may reduce spread of airborne diseases Posted: 17 Dec 2012 08:07 AM PST Stratum ventilation systems have been touted as a much more energy efficient system for cooling buildings such as school rooms and offices in hotter climes based on the provisions of the recent ANSI/ASHRAE 55-2010. They may also reduce the risk of the spread of airborne diseases according to a new study.

CERN: First Large Hadron Collider (LHC) protons run ends with new milestone Posted: 17 Dec 2012 08:06 AM PST CERN has completed the first Large Hadron Collider (LHC) proton run. The remarkable first three-year run of the world's most powerful particle accelerator was crowned by a new performance milestone. The space between proton bunches in the beams was halved to further increase beam intensity.

Math formula gives new glimpse into the magical mind of Ramanujan Posted: 17 Dec 2012 06:16 AM PST Dec. 22 marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of Srinivasa Ramanujan, an Indian mathematician renowned for intuiting extraordinary numerical patterns without the use of proofs or modern mathematical tools. A mathematician has now solved one of the greatest puzzles left behind by the enigmatic Indian genius with the development of a formula for mock modular forms that may prove useful to physicists who study black holes.

Flexing fingers for micro-robotics: Scientists create a powerful, microscale actuator Posted: 17 Dec 2012 06:15 AM PST Researchers have developed an elegant and powerful new microscale actuator that can flex like a tiny beckoning finger. Based on an oxide material that expands and contracts dramatically in response to a small temperature variation, the actuators are smaller than the width of a human hair and are promising for microfluidics, drug delivery, and artificial muscles.

Noise power on adhesion: New model may help robotic fingers, made of a soft surface, manipulate small objects Posted: 17 Dec 2012 06:13 AM PST A new model could ultimately help robotic fingers, made of a soft surface, manipulate small objects. Imagine a solid ball rolling down a slightly inclined ramp. Scientists have studied the effect of random noise, such as vibrations, on a ball. They found it could lower the energy barrier to set the ball in motion.

How white dwarfs mimic black holes Posted: 17 Dec 2012 06:13 AM PST Astronomers have revealed that bright X-ray flares in nearby galaxies, once assumed to indicate the presence of black holes, can in fact be produced by white dwarfs. They made the discovery by detecting a dramatic, short-lived X-ray flare that was picked up by an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station.

Measuring flow using a tiny wobbling tube Posted: 17 Dec 2012 06:11 AM PST One milligram per hour: fluid flow can be measured with great precision using a tiny 'wobbling' tube with a diameter of only 40 micrometers. Thanks to a new technique, the sensor, which makes use of the 'Coriolis effect', can be made even more compact, e.g. for medical applications.

Exploding star missing from formation of solar system Posted: 17 Dec 2012 06:10 AM PST A new study challenges the notion that the force of an exploding star forced the formation of the solar system.

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