ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• High-resolution endoscope as thin as a human hair
• New technique creates stronger, lightweight magnesium alloys
• Extreme water in Earth's interior
• Earth-sized planets in habitable zones are more common than previously thought
• Device may lead to quicker, more efficient diagnostics
• New automated process simplifies alignment and splicing of multicore optical fibers
• Ultra-high-speed optical communications link sets new power efficiency record
• New distance record for 400 Gb/s data transmission
• NASA Rover Finds Conditions Once Suited for Ancient Life on Mars
• Fungi may be able to replace plastics one day
• Catalysts that produce 'green' fuel
• Breaking the final barrier: Room-temperature electrically powered nanolasers
• Biological wires carry electricity thanks to special amino acids
• Astronomers discover extremely rare triple quasar
• Taking transistors into a new dimension

High-resolution endoscope as thin as a human hair Posted: 13 Mar 2013 07:04 AM PDT Engineers have developed a prototype single-fiber endoscope that improves the resolution of these much-sought-after instruments fourfold over existing designs. The advance could lead to an era of needle-thin, minimally invasive endoscopes able to view features out of reach of today's instruments.

New technique creates stronger, lightweight magnesium alloys Posted: 13 Mar 2013 07:04 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new technique for creating stronger, lightweight magnesium alloys that have potential structural applications in the automobile and aerospace industries.

Extreme water in Earth's interior Posted: 13 Mar 2013 06:54 AM PDT Earth is the only known planet that holds water in massive quantities and in all three of the main phase states. But the earthly, omnipresent compound water has very unusual properties that become particularly evident when subjected to high pressure and high temperatures.

Earth-sized planets in habitable zones are more common than previously thought Posted: 12 Mar 2013 12:20 PM PDT The number of potentially habitable planets is greater than previously thought, according to a new analysis by a Penn State researcher, and some of those planets are likely lurking around nearby stars.

Device may lead to quicker, more efficient diagnostics Posted: 12 Mar 2013 10:49 AM PDT A twist on thin-film technology may provide a way to optically detect and analyze multiple substances simultaneously, leading to quicker diagnostics in such industries as health care and homeland security, according to researchers.

New automated process simplifies alignment and splicing of multicore optical fibers Posted: 12 Mar 2013 10:46 AM PDT New multicore optical fibers have many times the signal-carrying capacity of traditional single-core fibers, but their use in telecommunications has been restricted because of the challenge in splicing them together. Now, a new technique offers an automated method for aligning and splicing multicore fibers, allowing engineers to take manual splicing out of the lab and into an automated production line.

Ultra-high-speed optical communications link sets new power efficiency record Posted: 12 Mar 2013 10:46 AM PDT Ultrafast supercomputers that operate at speeds 100 times faster than current systems are now one step closer to reality. Researchers have found a way to transmit massive amounts of data with unprecedentedly low power consumption.

New distance record for 400 Gb/s data transmission Posted: 12 Mar 2013 10:46 AM PDT Scientists have devised a new patent-pending technique enabling 400 Gb/s signals to be sent over today's 100 gigahertz-grid optical networks over ultra-long distances for the first time.

NASA Rover Finds Conditions Once Suited for Ancient Life on Mars Posted: 12 Mar 2013 10:17 AM PDT An analysis of a rock sample collected by NASA's Curiosity rover shows ancient Mars could have supported living microbes. Scientists identified sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon -- some of the key chemical ingredients for life -- in the powder Curiosity drilled out of a sedimentary rock near an ancient stream bed in Gale Crater on the Red Planet last month.

Fungi may be able to replace plastics one day Posted: 12 Mar 2013 09:08 AM PDT Fungi, with the exception of shitake and certain other mushrooms, tend to be something we associate with moldy bread or dank-smelling mildew. But they really deserve more respect, say researchers. Fungi have fantastic capabilities and can be grown, under certain circumstances, in almost any shape and be totally biodegradable. And, if this weren't enough, they might have the potential to replace plastics one day. The secret is in the mycelia.

Catalysts that produce 'green' fuel Posted: 12 Mar 2013 07:22 AM PDT The energy produced by solar panels, be it heat or electricity, has to be used right away. It is hard to store and preserve and also its transportation can be rather complicated. Creating solar cells capable of producing energy in an easily storable and transportable way, that is to say fuel, is therefore the future challenge of solar energy. Scientists are now working on a catalyst that imitates and improves what nature has been able to do for millions of years.

Breaking the final barrier: Room-temperature electrically powered nanolasers Posted: 12 Mar 2013 06:26 AM PDT An engineering research team has made an advance in nano-scale laser technology that should enable the improvement of many electronic devices, producing a nanolaser that operates at room temperature without need of a refrigeration system, is powered by a simple battery instead of by another laser, and is able to emit light continuously.

Biological wires carry electricity thanks to special amino acids Posted: 12 Mar 2013 06:26 AM PDT Slender bacterial nanowires require certain key amino acids in order to conduct electricity, according to a new study.

Astronomers discover extremely rare triple quasar Posted: 12 Mar 2013 06:25 AM PDT For only the second time in history, astronomers have discovered an extremely rare triple quasar system. Quasars are extremely bright and powerful sources of energy that sit in the center of a galaxy, surrounding a black hole. In systems with multiple quasars, the bodies are held together by gravity and are believed to be the product of galaxies colliding.

Taking transistors into a new dimension Posted: 11 Mar 2013 09:38 AM PDT A new breakthrough could push the limits of the miniaturization of electronic components further than previously thought possible. Researchers have built a nanometric transistor that displays exceptional properties for a device of its size. To achieve this result, the researchers developed a novel three-dimensional architecture consisting of a vertical nanowire array whose conductivity is controlled by a gate measuring only 14 nm in length.

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