ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

---

• NASA's Spitzer observes gas emission from Comet ISON
• Choosing a wave could accelerate airplane maintenance
• Valley networks suggest ancient snowfall on Mars
• Purple bacteria on Earth could survive alien light
• Harvesting electricity from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide
• Perfecting digital imaging
• Controlling genes with light: New technique can rapidly turn genes on and off, helping scientists better understand their function
• Protons hop from one water molecule to another given suitable energy conditions
• New record for cosmic X-ray sightings: Exploring extreme universe with rich new resource
• Non-toxic flame retardants

NASA's Spitzer observes gas emission from Comet ISON Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:57 PM PDT Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have observed what most likely are strong carbon dioxide emissions from Comet ISON ahead of its anticipated pass through the inner solar system later this year.

Choosing a wave could accelerate airplane maintenance Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:50 PM PDT Ultrasonic waves can find bubbles and cracks in adhesive bonds holding airplane composite parts together, and now aerospace engineers can select the best frequencies to detect adhesive failures in hard-to-reach places more quickly.

Valley networks suggest ancient snowfall on Mars Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:50 PM PDT Researchers have shown that some Martian valleys appear to have been caused by runoff from orographic precipitation -- moisture carried part of the way up a mountain and deposited on the slopes. The findings help to answer the question of whether water flowing on ancient Mars bubbled up from the ground or fell down from the atmosphere.

Purple bacteria on Earth could survive alien light Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:45 AM PDT Purple bacteria contain pigments that allow them to use sunlight as their source of energy, hence their color. Physicists recently found that these organisms can also survive in the presence of extreme alien light. The findings show that the way in which light is received by the bacteria can dictate the difference between life and death.

Harvesting electricity from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT A new method for producing electricity from carbon dioxide could be the start of a classic trash-to-treasure story for the troublesome greenhouse gas, scientists are reporting. The method uses CO2 from electric power plant and other smokestacks as the raw material for making electricity.

Perfecting digital imaging Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:43 AM PDT Computer graphics and digital video lag behind reality; despite advances, the best software and video cameras still cannot seem to get computer-generated images and digital film to look exactly the way our eyes expect them to.

Controlling genes with light: New technique can rapidly turn genes on and off, helping scientists better understand their function Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:37 AM PDT New technology can rapidly start or halt the expression of any gene of interest simply by shining light on the cells.

Protons hop from one water molecule to another given suitable energy conditions Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:36 AM PDT Protons, as positively charged hydrogen ions, move very rapidly in water from one water molecule to the next, which is why the conductivity of water is relatively high. The principle of proton conduction in water has been known for 200 years and is named the Grotthuss mechanism after its discoverer, Theodor Grotthuss.

New record for cosmic X-ray sightings: Exploring extreme universe with rich new resource Posted: 23 Jul 2013 06:54 AM PDT Scientists have set a new record for cosmic X-ray sources ever sighted -- creating an unprecedented cosmic X-ray catalog that will provide a valuable resource allowing astronomers to explore the extreme Universe.

Non-toxic flame retardants Posted: 23 Jul 2013 04:39 AM PDT Flame retardants are often extremely harmful to health. Despite this, they are found in many types of synthetic materials which would otherwise ignite quickly. Researchers have now succeeded in producing non-harmful flame retardants.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Technology News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610