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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


New advance in 3-D printing and tissue engineering technology

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:47 PM PST

Researchers have introduced a unique micro-robotic technique to assemble the components of complex materials, the foundation of tissue engineering and 3-D printing.

Special glasses help surgeons 'see' cancer​​​​​​​​

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:42 PM PST

High-tech glasses may help surgeons visualize cancer cells, which glow blue when viewed through the eyewear. The wearable technology, so new it's yet unnamed, was used during surgery for the first time today at Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.

Nonflammable lithium ion battery developed

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:13 PM PST

Researchers have created a nonflammable lithium-ion battery, a discovery that could renew consumer confidence in a technology that has attracted significant concern after recent lithium battery fires in Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Tesla Model S vehicles.

Flowing water on Mars appears likely but hard to prove: Studies examine puzzling summertime streaks

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:12 PM PST

Martian experts have known since 2011 that mysterious, possibly water-related streaks appear and disappear on the planet's surface. These features were given the descriptive name of recurring slope lineae (RSL) because of their shape, annual reappearance and occurrence generally on steep slopes such as crater walls. Researchers have been taking a closer look at this phenomenon, searching for minerals that RSL might leave in their wake, to try to understand the nature of these features: water-related or not?

New live-cell printing technology works like ancient Chinese woodblocking

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:11 PM PST

With a nod to 3rd century Chinese woodblock printing and children's rubber stamp toys, researchers have developed a way to print living cells onto any surface, in virtually any shape. Unlike recent, similar work using inkjet printing approaches, almost all cells survive the process.

Chips that listen to bacteria: CMOS technology provides new insights into how biofilms form

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:11 PM PST

Researchers have shown integrated circuit technology can be used for a most unusual application -- the study of signaling in bacterial colonies. They have developed a chip based on CMOS technology that enables them to electrochemically image the signaling molecules from these colonies spatially and temporally -- they've developed chips that "listen" to bacteria.

Ways to improve common furniture fire test

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 08:45 AM PST

The test widely used to evaluate whether a burning cigarette will ignite upholstered furniture may underestimate the tendency of component materials to smolder when these materials are used in sofas and chairs supported by springs or cloth, according to researchers.

EHR-based screening program for aneurysms cuts number of at-risk men by more than half

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 08:45 AM PST

A screening program for abdominal aortic aneurysms, integrated into an electronic health record, dramatically reduced the number of unscreened at-risk men by more than 50 percent within 15 months, according to a Kaiser Permanente study. An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a balloon-like bulge in the aorta, which -- if ruptured -- can result in death. It is estimated that more than one million Americans are living with undiagnosed AAA.

Massive neutrinos solve a cosmological conundrum

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 07:19 AM PST

Scientists have solved a major problem with the current standard model of cosmology identified by combining results from the Planck spacecraft and measurements of gravitational lensing in order to deduce the mass of ghostly sub-atomic particles called neutrinos.

Flat-pack lens boosts solar power: Fresnel lens concentrates solar without bulk

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 07:19 AM PST

Micro-machining could be used to create almost flat, Fresnel lenses, that boost the electrical efficiency of solar panels, according to new research.

Sometimes the average just isn't good enough: Averaging not always best for analying protein crystal structures

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 07:19 AM PST

Computational biologists show that averaging is not always a good thing when it comes to analyzing protein crystal structures. Their recent work shows that protein structures could be more dynamic and heterogeneous than current methods of X-ray analysis suggest.

MRI to offer advances in treatment for chronic kidney disease

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 07:18 AM PST

Detailed structural and functional 'maps' of the human kidney made using advanced scanning technology are to be developed by scientists, in hopes that the effort advances treatment for those suffering from chronic kidney disease.

Nanomotors are controlled, for the first time, inside living cells

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 06:53 AM PST

Nanomotors have been controlled inside living cells for the first time, report a team of chemists and engineers. The scientists placed tiny rocket-shaped synthetic motors inside live human cells, propelled them with ultrasonic waves and steered them magnetically to spin and to battering against the cell membrane.

Research reveals give and take of urban temperature mitigating technologies

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:32 AM PST

Greenhouse-gas induced warming and megapolitan expansion are both significant drivers of our warming planet. Researchers are now assessing adaptation technologies -- such as cool roofs, green roofs and hybrids of the two -- that could help us acclimate to these changing realities. A team of researchers has begun exploring the relative effectiveness of some of the most common adaptation technologies aimed at reducing warming from urban expansion.

Measuring wind turbines remotely using new information technology

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:31 AM PST

The rotor and mast of a wind turbine can oscillate even in normal operation. The analysis of these oscillations plays an important role when the equipment is being developed and maintained. Up to now, this analysis has only been possible at discrete points located directly on equipment. Researchers have now demonstrated that using modern information technology to remotely measure the oscillatory pattern over the entire structure of the facility is possible from several hundred meters away.

Wind farms to flash, warning aircraft, only when necessary

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:31 AM PST

They can be seen from afar -- the blinking beacons on wind turbines -- intended to warn approaching aircraft at night. However, the continual blinking disturbs many people. Beacons that only switch on when necessary find more acceptance.

Invisibility cloak for hearing aids, implants

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:31 AM PST

Microsystems are at the heart of portable hearing aids and implants. Now researchers are developing a miniature, low-power wireless microsystem to make these medical aids smaller, more comfortable and more efficient.

Smart grids to help optimize utilization of power grids

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:31 AM PST

Germany's power grids are not yet well prepared for the current consequences of the country's Energiewende, wide fluctuations in the supply of electricity from renewable sources, which conflict with patterns of demand. Smart grids that manage electricity demand at the local -- microgrid -- level may help to reduce the transmission of electricity over long distances to balance regional over- and undersupply. In the GreenCom project, international partners from industry and research develop and evaluate such a "Smart Energy Management System".

Astronomers discover oldest star: Formed shortly after the Big Bang 13. 7 billion years ago

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 05:08 PM PST

A team of astronomers has discovered the oldest known star in the Universe, which formed shortly after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. The discovery has allowed astronomers for the first time to study the chemistry of the first stars, giving scientists a clearer idea of what the Universe was like in its infancy.

Hubble looks in on a nursery for unruly young stars

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 04:59 PM PST

A striking new image, captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, reveals a star in the process of forming within the Chameleon cloud. This young star is throwing off narrow streams of gas from its poles -- creating this ethereal object known as HH 909A. These speedy outflows collide with the slower surrounding gas, lighting up the region.

Optogenetic toolkit goes multicolor: Viewing brain functions with light-sensitive proteins

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 12:24 PM PST

Researchers have found new light-sensitive proteins that allow scientists to study how multiple sets of neurons interact with each other.

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