ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Europe's resilience of natural gas networks during conflicts and crises probed with maths
• 'Ultracold' molecules promising for quantum computing, simulation
• Quantum chaos in ultracold gas discovered
• Building new drugs just got easier
• Material rivaling graphene may be mined out of rocks
• Happiness and mitigation of climate change: Economic degrowth compatible with wellbeing if work stability is maintained
• Good vibes for catalytic chemistry: A way to make better catalysts for meds, industry and materials
• Texting program good option for teen girls' health, study shows
• Surface characteristics influence cellular growth on semiconductor material
• Colloidal silicon quantum dots: Synthesis and luminescence tuning from the near-UV to the near-IR range
• Novel magnetism discovered in iridium compound CuIr2S4
• First thin films of spin ice reveal cold secrets
• VLT spots largest yellow hypergiant star: Mix of new and old observations reveals exotic binary system
• Racing cars on walls would be possible, according to student paper
• Signal control with light frequencies
• Quantum physics secures new cryptography scheme
• Students' space experiment recovered from Arctic Circle
• Acoustic cloaking device hides objects from sound
• Lignin breakthroughs serve as GPS for plant research
• Scientists 'herd' cells in new approach to tissue engineering
• Operating room computer program improves care, could save U.S. health care system millions
• Solar policy pathways for U.S. states examined
• Free online software helps speed up genetic discoveries
• MRI to 'see through' metal screws developed to follow patients after hip fracture surgery
• More secure communications thanks to quantum physics
• Concerns and considerations with the naming of Mars craters
• Cancer cells don't take 'drunken' walks through body
• How Twitter shapes public opinion
• Chip-scale tunable laser to enable bandwidth-on-demand in advanced optical networks
• Bending the light with a tiny chip: Silicon chip acts as a lens-free projector, may one day fit in cell phones
• Face matching for passports and IDs incredibly fallible
• Saturn and Jupiter: X-ray laser spies deep into giant gas planets
• New software records vast amounts of hyerspectral data in real time
• LED lamps: Less energy, more light
• Milky Way amidst a 'Council of Giants'
• Effective thermal camouflage and invisibility device for soldiers created
• Elevated mercury from in-ground wastewater disposal found by researchers
• Diagnosing diseases with smartphones in real time
• Doctors often uncertain in ordering, interpreting lab tests
• Optimized ski sled for Paralympics athlete
• Making it easier to plan offshore wind farms: New tool to help development

Europe's resilience of natural gas networks during conflicts and crises probed with maths Posted: 12 Mar 2014 03:20 PM PDT Gas networks in Eastern European countries, such as Ukraine and Belarus are less resilient than the UK during conflicts and crises, according to new research from mathematicians. A decentralized approach to managing congestion on gas pipeline networks could be crucial for energy security during geopolitical conflicts or natural disasters, research suggests.

'Ultracold' molecules promising for quantum computing, simulation Posted: 12 Mar 2014 12:02 PM PDT Researchers have created a new type of 'ultracold' molecule, using lasers to cool atoms nearly to absolute zero and then gluing them together, a technology that might be applied to quantum computing, precise sensors and advanced simulations.

Quantum chaos in ultracold gas discovered Posted: 12 Mar 2014 12:01 PM PDT Researchers have discovered that even simple systems, such as neutral atoms, can possess chaotic behavior, which can be revealed using the tools of quantum mechanics. The ground-breaking research opens up new avenues to observe the interaction between quantum particles.

Building new drugs just got easier Posted: 12 Mar 2014 12:00 PM PDT A method for modifying organic molecules has been developed that significantly expands the possibilities for developing new pharmaceuticals and improving old ones. The innovation makes it easier to modify existing organic compounds by attaching biologically active "functional group" to drug molecules. A typical small-molecule drug derives its activity from such functional groups, which are bound to a relatively simple backbone structure consisting chiefly of carbon atoms.

Material rivaling graphene may be mined out of rocks Posted: 12 Mar 2014 10:26 AM PDT Will one-atom-thick layers of molybdenum disulfide, a compound that occurs naturally in rocks, prove to be better than graphene for electronic applications? There are many signs that might prove to be the case. But physicists have shown that the nature of the phenomena occurring in layered materials are still ill-understood and require further research.

Happiness and mitigation of climate change: Economic degrowth compatible with wellbeing if work stability is maintained Posted: 12 Mar 2014 10:23 AM PDT Policies aimed at effectively mitigating climate change through a reduction in economic growth and consumption of fossil fuels would have a monetary impact on the economy, but also an impact on the wellbeing and happiness of individuals. Researchers have taken advantage of the current economic crisis to analyze the impact this situation would have.

Good vibes for catalytic chemistry: A way to make better catalysts for meds, industry and materials Posted: 12 Mar 2014 10:23 AM PDT Chemists have discovered how vibrations in chemical bonds can be used to predict chemical reactions and thus design better catalysts to speed reactions that make medicines, industrial products and new materials.

Texting program good option for teen girls' health, study shows Posted: 12 Mar 2014 08:48 AM PDT An emergency medicine physician recently led a study that found a text-message program may be an effective violence prevention tool for at-risk teen girls. The team interviewed girls between the ages of 13 and 17 who reported past-year peer violence and depressive symptoms during emergency department visits for any medical issue. Overwhelmingly, the interviews showed that at-risk teen girls coming to the ED for care are very interested in receiving a text-message violence prevention intervention. The teens felt that a text-message program would enhance their existing coping strategies, and that they would not only use it themselves, but also refer their friends to it.

Surface characteristics influence cellular growth on semiconductor material Posted: 12 Mar 2014 07:34 AM PDT Changing the texture and surface characteristics of a semiconductor material at the nanoscale can influence the way that neural cells grow on the material. The finding may have utility for developing future neural implants. In the study, the researchers grew PC12 cells on GaN squares with four different surface characteristics: some squares were smooth; some had parallel grooves (resembling an irregular corduroy pattern); some were randomly textured (resembling a nanoscale mountain range); and some were covered with nanowires (resembling a nanoscale bed of nails).

Colloidal silicon quantum dots: Synthesis and luminescence tuning from the near-UV to the near-IR range Posted: 12 Mar 2014 07:30 AM PDT Scientists summarize the peculiarities of high-quantum yield silicon nanoparticles focusing on their emission, which depends on the preparation method and surface chemistry.

Novel magnetism discovered in iridium compound CuIr2S4 Posted: 12 Mar 2014 07:30 AM PDT Researchers have discovered the first experimental evidence showing the importance of spin-orbit interactions that were previously overlooked in CuIr2S4. It opens up a new area of research with respect to spin-orbit interactions in transition metals.

First thin films of spin ice reveal cold secrets Posted: 12 Mar 2014 05:27 AM PDT Thin films of spin ice have been shown to demonstrate surprising properties which could help in the development of applications of magnetricity, the magnetic equivalent of electricity.

VLT spots largest yellow hypergiant star: Mix of new and old observations reveals exotic binary system Posted: 12 Mar 2014 05:27 AM PDT The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope has revealed the largest yellow star -- and one of the 10 largest stars found so far. This hypergiant has been found to measure more than 1,300 times the diameter of the Sun, and to be part of a double star system, with the second component so close that it is in contact with the main star. Observations spanning over 60 years also indicate that this remarkable object is changing very rapidly.

Racing cars on walls would be possible, according to student paper Posted: 12 Mar 2014 05:25 AM PDT Driving a racing car at an angle of 90 degrees to the ground could be possible with the right track design, new research suggests. Student researchers wanted to investigate this because it has been previously shown that speedway cars actually travel at their fastest around the steep bends of speedway tracks. The group chose to look at two different vehicles -- an open wheeled Penske-Reynard-Honda racing car and an Audi TT road car -- to compare how different car shapes and characteristics would affect their gravity-defying capabilities.

Signal control with light frequencies Posted: 12 Mar 2014 05:25 AM PDT Light waves have the potential to boost the efficiency of conventional electronics by a factor of 100,000. Researchers describe how this vision may one day become a reality. In their scenario, one would exploit the electric field of laser light to control the flow of electrons in dielectric materials, which, in turn, may modulate transmitted light and switch current in electronic circuits at light frequencies.

Quantum physics secures new cryptography scheme Posted: 12 Mar 2014 05:25 AM PDT The way we secure digital transactions could soon change. An international team has demonstrated a form of quantum cryptography that can protect people doing business with others they may not know or trust -- a situation encountered often on the Internet and in everyday life -- for example, at a bank's ATM.

Students' space experiment recovered from Arctic Circle Posted: 12 Mar 2014 05:25 AM PDT A team of students has recovered crucial data from an innovative experiment that could reduce the cost of space construction -- with help from Swedish hunters.

Acoustic cloaking device hides objects from sound Posted: 11 Mar 2014 03:47 PM PDT Engineers have demonstrated the world's first three-dimensional acoustic cloak. The new device reroutes sound waves to create the impression that the cloak and anything beneath it are not there. The phenomenon works in all three dimensions, no matter which direction the sound is coming from or where the observer is located, and holds potential for future applications such as sonar avoidance and architectural acoustics.

Lignin breakthroughs serve as GPS for plant research Posted: 11 Mar 2014 03:46 PM PDT By thoroughly mapping a single specialized tissue involved in wood formation, scientists have developed the equivalent of turn-by-turn directions for future plant scientists to understand how plants adapt to the environment and to improve plants' productivity and biofuel potential. Lignin, an important and complex polymer responsible for plant growth and development, provides mechanical strength and water transport that enables some trees to grow 100 meters tall. However, lignin must be removed for biofuel, pulp and paper production-a process that involves harsh chemicals and expensive treatments.

Scientists 'herd' cells in new approach to tissue engineering Posted: 11 Mar 2014 12:19 PM PDT An electrical current can be used to orchestrate the flow of a group of cells, engineers have discovered. This achievement sets the stage for more controlled forms of tissue engineering and for potential applications such as 'smart bandages' that use electrical stimulation to help heal wounds. "This is the first data showing that direct current fields can be used to deliberately guide migration of a sheet of epithelial cells," said the study's lead author.

Operating room computer program improves care, could save U.S. health care system millions Posted: 11 Mar 2014 12:16 PM PDT OrthoSecure(TM), a novel computer-based system for operating rooms that is designed to improve the care of patients undergoing a knee or hip replacement and to minimize the number of implant parts that are erroneously opened and not used, has been launched in an American hospital for the first time. OrthoSecure(TM) could lead to increased efficiency and significant saving to the U.S. health care industry.

Solar policy pathways for U.S. states examined Posted: 11 Mar 2014 11:15 AM PDT The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has published a report that aligns solar policy and market success with state demographics. By organizing the 48 contiguous states into four peer groups based on shared non-policy characteristics, the research team was able to contextualize the impact of various solar policies on photovoltaic installations.

Free online software helps speed up genetic discoveries Posted: 11 Mar 2014 11:14 AM PDT Microarray analysis -- a complex technology commonly used in many applications such as discovering genes, disease diagnosis, drug development and toxicological research -- has just become easier and more user-friendly. Scientists have created free software that makes detection of genetic components of disease faster and easier; could help speed up genetic discoveries.

MRI to 'see through' metal screws developed to follow patients after hip fracture surgery Posted: 11 Mar 2014 10:36 AM PDT People who sustain the most common type of hip fracture are at increased risk of complications. A special type of MRI has been developed that can show a detailed image following fracture repair, without the distortion caused by metal surgical screws that are problematic in standard MRIs. Each year, more than 340,000 people suffer a broken hip in the United States.

More secure communications thanks to quantum physics Posted: 11 Mar 2014 09:40 AM PDT One of the recent revelations by Edward Snowden is that the U.S. National Security Agency is currently developing a quantum computer. Physicists aren't surprised by this news; such a computer could crack the encryption that is commonly used today in no time and would therefore be highly attractive  for the NSA.

Concerns and considerations with the naming of Mars craters Posted: 11 Mar 2014 09:40 AM PDT Recently initiatives that capitalise on the public's interest in space and astronomy have proliferated, some putting a price tag on naming space objects and their features, such as Mars craters. The International Astronomical Union would like to emphasize that such initiatives go against the spirit of free and equal access to space, as well as against internationally recognized regulations. Hence no purchased names can ever be used on official maps and globes.

Cancer cells don't take 'drunken' walks through body Posted: 11 Mar 2014 09:38 AM PDT Biologists have believed that cancers cells spread through the body in a slow, aimless fashion, resembling a drunk who can't walk three steps in a straight line. They now know that's true in a flat petri dish, but not in the three-dimensional space of an actual body. This finding is important because it should lead to more accurate results for scientists studying how cancer spreads through the body, often leading to a grim prognosis. To address this dimensional disagreement, the study's authors have produced a new mathematical formula that they say better reflects the behavior of cells migrating through 3D environments.

How Twitter shapes public opinion Posted: 11 Mar 2014 09:38 AM PDT How exactly does Twitter, with its 241 million users tweeting out 500 million messages daily, shape public opinion? That question was tackled by a group of researchers in China, who investigated how opinions evolve on Twitter by gathering about 6 million messages (tweeted over a six month period), which they ran through algorithms and analyzed. The work reveals several surprises about how Twitter shapes public opinion, researchers say.

Chip-scale tunable laser to enable bandwidth-on-demand in advanced optical networks Posted: 11 Mar 2014 09:37 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated the smallest wavelength-tunable laser fabricated by microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. The laser features a wide tuning range which enables telecommunications providers to cost-effectively expand system capacity in advanced optical networks to support high data packets at ultra fast speed. By having one laser, instead of several, that can generate light over a range of wavelengths, the network infrastructure is greatly simplified, and inventory and operational costs are dramatically reduced, thus strengthening the capability of telecommunications providers to deliver bandwidth-on-demand services at higher profit margins.

Bending the light with a tiny chip: Silicon chip acts as a lens-free projector, may one day fit in cell phones Posted: 11 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PDT Traditional projectors -- like those used to project a film or classroom lecture notes -- pass a beam of light through a tiny image, using lenses to map each point of the small picture to corresponding points on a large screen. A tiny silicon chip eliminates the need for bulky and expensive lenses, and instead projects the image electronically by 'bending the light' with no mechanically moving parts.

Face matching for passports and IDs incredibly fallible Posted: 11 Mar 2014 07:59 AM PDT New research finds face matching, as when customs agents check passports, to be incredibly fallible, with error rates between 10 and 20 percent under ideal, laboratory-induced conditions, and much worse in more realistic settings.

Saturn and Jupiter: X-ray laser spies deep into giant gas planets Posted: 11 Mar 2014 07:58 AM PDT Using DESY's X-ray laser FLASH, researchers took a sneak peek deep into the lower atmospheric layers of giant gas planets such as Jupiter or Saturn. The observations reveal how liquid hydrogen becomes a plasma, providing information on the material's thermal conductivity and its internal energy exchange -- important ingredients for planetary models.

New software records vast amounts of hyerspectral data in real time Posted: 11 Mar 2014 07:07 AM PDT Cameras with hyperspectral sensors can observe far more than the human eye. Unlike the retina, which has only three color receptors (red, green and blue), these sensors can generate 130 different color values per pixel. Using this high-grade color resolution, an entire range of different materials can be differentiated impeccably -- even if, at first glance, they appear the same to the human eye. Researchers are now unveiling the SpectralFinder -- a software application that can record vast amounts of hyperspectral data on a mobile platform and analyze them in real time.

LED lamps: Less energy, more light Posted: 11 Mar 2014 07:06 AM PDT LEDs are durable and save energy. Now researchers have found a way to make LED lamps even more compact while supplying more light than commercially available models. The key to success: transistors made of the semiconductor material gallium nitride.

Milky Way amidst a 'Council of Giants' Posted: 11 Mar 2014 07:06 AM PDT We live in a galaxy known as the Milky Way -- a vast conglomeration of 300 billion stars, planets whizzing around them, and clouds of gas and dust floating in between. Though it has long been known that the Milky Way and its orbiting companion Andromeda are the dominant members of a small group of galaxies, the Local Group, which is about 3 million light years across, much less was known about our immediate neighborhood in the universe. Now, a new article maps out bright galaxies within 35-million light years of the Earth, offering up an expanded picture of what lies beyond our doorstep.

Effective thermal camouflage and invisibility device for soldiers created Posted: 11 Mar 2014 07:03 AM PDT Scientists have created a thermal illusion device to control thermal camouflage and invisibility using thermotic materials. Every natural object exhibits thermal signatures. However, if these signals are blocked or masked, then these objects become undetectable. The new device can block thermal signatures (leading to invisibility) and provide illusionary camouflage at the same time. This cloaking technology is cost-effective, easily scalable, as well as applicable to even bigger objects (such as soldiers on night missions), and it has also overcome limitations like narrow bandwidth and polarization-dependence. The technology is ready to roll out for military applications.

Elevated mercury from in-ground wastewater disposal found by researchers Posted: 10 Mar 2014 09:14 AM PDT As towns across Cape Cod struggle with problems stemming from septic systems, a recent study found. New work has focused on one specific toxic by-product: mercury. In a study of local groundwater, a biogeochemist found microbial action on wastewater transforms it into more mobile, more toxic forms of the element.

Diagnosing diseases with smartphones in real time Posted: 10 Mar 2014 08:18 AM PDT A disease diagnostic system is being developed that offers results that could be read using only a smart phone and a $20 lens attachment. This new device relies on specific chemical interactions that form between something that causes a disease -- a virus or bacteria, for example -- and a molecule that bonds with that one thing only, like a disease-fighting antibody.

Doctors often uncertain in ordering, interpreting lab tests Posted: 10 Mar 2014 08:17 AM PDT A survey of primary care physicians suggests they often face uncertainty in ordering and interpreting clinical laboratory tests. Physicians have developed their own strategies for ordering and interpreting lab tests, such as asking a physician colleague or specialist, consulting a text or electronic reference, or calling the laboratory. But physicians reported they would welcome better decision-support software embedded in electronic medical records and direct access to lab personnel through lab hotlines.

Optimized ski sled for Paralympics athlete Posted: 10 Mar 2014 06:07 AM PDT At the Paralympics in Sochi, a novel ski sled that has been optimized with respect to biomechanics and friction technology will be used. The high-performance sled might also be of benefit for recreational sports of persons with walking disabilities. With the help of biomechanical movement analyses, the athlete kneels on the metal sled and pushes it forwards with the help of ski poles.

Making it easier to plan offshore wind farms: New tool to help development Posted: 10 Mar 2014 06:06 AM PDT When planning an offshore wind farm, it is important to consider the wind, waves and the seabed at the location where the turbines will stand. Researchers have now developed a dedicated tool that gives a combined overview of all the challenges that need to be considered by developers.

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