ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Studying meteorites may reveal Mars' secrets of life
• Printable functional 'bionic' ear melds electronics and biology
• New measurement tool is on target for the fast-growing MEMS industry
• Shaking things up: Researchers propose new old way to purify carbon nanotubes
• Transfer of ultraprecise time signals over a wireless optical channel demonstrated
• Use of laser light yields versatile manipulation of a quantum bit
• Seahorse's armor gives engineers insight into robotics designs
• Bug's view inspires new digital camera's unique imaging capabilities
• Global networks must be redesigned, experts urge
• Best of both worlds: Towards a quantum Internet with combined optical and electrical technique
• The day NASA's Fermi dodged a 1.5-ton bullet
• Talking tissue boxes and other smart objects may be welcomed by most people
• Mysterious catalyst explained: How tiny gold particles aid the production of plastic components
• Revolutionary shape-changing phone curls when called

Studying meteorites may reveal Mars' secrets of life Posted: 01 May 2013 04:32 PM PDT In an effort to determine if conditions were ever right on Mars to sustain life, a team of scientists has examined a meteorite that formed on the Red Planet more than a billion years ago.

Printable functional 'bionic' ear melds electronics and biology Posted: 01 May 2013 04:32 PM PDT Scientists used off-the-shelf printing tools to create a functional ear that can "hear" radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability. The researchers' primary purpose was to explore an efficient and versatile means to merge electronics with tissue. The scientists used 3-D printing of cells and nanoparticles followed by cell culture to combine a small coil antenna with cartilage, creating what they term a bionic ear.

New measurement tool is on target for the fast-growing MEMS industry Posted: 01 May 2013 11:51 AM PDT As markets for miniature, hybrid machines known as MEMS grow and diversify, researchers have introduced a long-awaited measurement tool that will help growing numbers of device designers, manufacturers and customers to see eye to eye on eight dimensional and material property measurements that are key to device performance.

Shaking things up: Researchers propose new old way to purify carbon nanotubes Posted: 01 May 2013 11:51 AM PDT An old, somewhat passé, trick used to purify protein samples based on their affinity for water has found new fans: materials scientists are using it to divvy up solutions of carbon nanotubes, separating the metallic nanotubes from semiconductors. They say it's a fast, easy and cheap way to produce high-purity samples of carbon nanotubes for use in nanoscale electronics and many other applications.

Transfer of ultraprecise time signals over a wireless optical channel demonstrated Posted: 01 May 2013 11:51 AM PDT By bouncing eye-safe laser pulses off a mirror on a hillside, researchers have transferred ultra-precise time signals through open air with unprecedented precision equivalent to the "ticking" of the world's best next-generation atomic clocks.

Use of laser light yields versatile manipulation of a quantum bit Posted: 01 May 2013 11:51 AM PDT By using light, researchers have manipulated the quantum state of a single atomic-sized defect in diamond -- the nitrogen-vacancy center -- in a method that not only allows for more unified control than conventional processes, but is more versatile, and opens up the possibility of exploring new solid-state quantum systems.

Seahorse's armor gives engineers insight into robotics designs Posted: 01 May 2013 10:21 AM PDT The tail of a seahorse can be compressed to about half its size before permanent damage occurs, engineers have found. The tail's flexibility is due to its structure, made up of bony, armored plates, which slide past each other. Researchers are hoping to use a similar structure to create a flexible robotic arm, which could be used in medical devices, underwater exploration and unmanned bomb detection and detonation.

Bug's view inspires new digital camera's unique imaging capabilities Posted: 01 May 2013 10:19 AM PDT An insect-inspired device uses hemispherical, compound optics to capture wide, undistorted fields of view.

Global networks must be redesigned, experts urge Posted: 01 May 2013 10:19 AM PDT The increasing interdependencies between the world's technological, socio-economic, and environmental systems have the potential to create global catastrophic risks. We may have to redesign global networks,or else they could turn into "global time bombs," experts say.

Best of both worlds: Towards a quantum Internet with combined optical and electrical technique Posted: 01 May 2013 10:18 AM PDT Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in quantum science that brings the prospect of a network of ultra-powerful quantum computers -- connected via a quantum internet -- closer to reality. The team is the first to have detected the spin, or quantum state, of a single atom using a combined optical and electrical approach.

The day NASA's Fermi dodged a 1.5-ton bullet Posted: 01 May 2013 07:12 AM PDT NASA scientists don't often learn that their spacecraft is at risk of crashing into another satellite. But when Julie McEnery, the project scientist for NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, checked her email on March 29, 2012, she found herself facing this precise situation.

Talking tissue boxes and other smart objects may be welcomed by most people Posted: 01 May 2013 06:18 AM PDT Just as people have embraced computers and smart phones, they may also give their blessing to talking tissue boxes and other smart objects, according to researchers.

Mysterious catalyst explained: How tiny gold particles aid the production of plastic components Posted: 30 Apr 2013 06:16 AM PDT From methanol to formaldehyde -- this reaction is the starting point for the synthesis of many everyday plastics. Using catalysts made of gold particles, formaldehyde could be produced without the environmentally hazardous waste generated in conventional methods. Scientists now report in detail on what happens on the gold surface during the chemical reaction.

Revolutionary shape-changing phone curls when called Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:36 AM PDT Researchers at Queen's University's Human Media Lab have developed a new smartphone -- called MorePhone -- which can morph its shape to give users a silent yet visual cue of an incoming phone call, text message or email.

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