ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Earth's radiation belt: Van Allen probes reveal zebra stripes in space
• Radiation damage at the root of Chernobyl's ecosystems
• Forest corridors help plants disperse their seeds, study shows
• Catching the early spread of breast cancer
• Best value for top quark's mass: Tevatron and LHC scientists announces first joint result
• New technique makes LEDs brighter, more resilient
• Magnetic behavior discovery could advance nuclear fusion
• Pocket diagnosis: App turns any smartphone into a portable medical diagnostic device
• Global attack needed to catch credit thieves
• Thermal conductance can be controlled like waves using nanostructures
• Vaccination: No-refrigeration, spray vaccine could curb diseases in remote areas
• GPS also helps analyze global water resources
• Rewrite the textbooks on water's surface tension: Air-water interface is negatively charged by the adsorption of hydroxide ions
• New biotechnology product to make waterproof paper using natural enzymes
• Fast synthesis could boost drug development
• Football displays fractal dynamics: Real-time dynamics in a football game subject to self-similarity characteristics
• A majority prefers letting computers decide
• Cryogenic treatment improves the characteristics of materials and cuts their costs
• Business: Why innovation takes a nosedive
• Information systems professors determine successful software programming aids
• Deepwater Horizon oil spill modeled
• Making diagnostic imaging possible for patients with cardiac implants
• Innovative quantum computer under scrutiny
• When the flu bug bit the Big Apple, Twitter posts told the tale
• A new algorithm improves the efficiency of small wind turbines
• Nanotube composites greatly increase efficiency of next generation of solar cells
• High-strength materials from the pressure cooker: New materials made quickly and in eco-friendly manner

Earth's radiation belt: Van Allen probes reveal zebra stripes in space Posted: 19 Mar 2014 12:32 PM PDT Scientists have discovered a new, persistent structure in one of two radiation belts surrounding Earth. NASA's twin Van Allen Probes spacecraft have shown that high-energy electrons in the inner radiation belt display a persistent pattern that resembles slanted zebra stripes. Surprisingly, this structure is produced by the slow rotation of Earth, previously considered incapable of affecting the motion of radiation belt particles, which have velocities approaching the speed of light.

Radiation damage at the root of Chernobyl's ecosystems Posted: 19 Mar 2014 09:48 AM PDT Radiological damage to microbes near the site of the Chernobyl disaster has slowed the decomposition of fallen leaves and other plant matter in the area, according to a new study. The resulting buildup of dry, loose detritus is a wildfire hazard that poses the threat of spreading radioactivity from the Chernobyl area.

Forest corridors help plants disperse their seeds, study shows Posted: 19 Mar 2014 09:48 AM PDT A forest, a supercomputer and some glow-in-the-dark yarn have helped a team of field ecologists conclude that woodland corridors connecting patches of endangered plants not only increase seed dispersal from one patch to another, but also create wind conditions that can spread the seeds for much longer distances. An environmental engineer leveraged Ohio Supercomputer Center systems to simulate a forest and the winds that flow through it.

Catching the early spread of breast cancer Posted: 19 Mar 2014 09:45 AM PDT When cancer spreads, it becomes even more deadly. It moves with stealth and can go undetected for months or years. But a new technology that uses "nano-flares" has the potential to catch these tumor cells early. Scientist present the latest advances in nano-flare technology as it applies to the detection of metastatic breast cancer cells.

Best value for top quark's mass: Tevatron and LHC scientists announces first joint result Posted: 19 Mar 2014 08:53 AM PDT Scientists working on the world's leading particle collider experiments have joined forces, combined their data and produced the first joint result from Fermilab's Tevatron and CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), past and current holders of the record for most powerful particle collider on Earth. Scientists from the four experiments involved -- ATLAS, CDF, CMS and DZero -- announced their joint findings on the mass of the top quark today at the Rencontres de Moriond international physics conference in Italy.

New technique makes LEDs brighter, more resilient Posted: 19 Mar 2014 08:48 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new processing technique that makes light emitting diodes brighter and more resilient by coating the semiconductor material gallium nitride with a layer of phosphorus-derived acid.

Magnetic behavior discovery could advance nuclear fusion Posted: 19 Mar 2014 08:46 AM PDT Inspired by the space physics behind solar flares and the aurora, a team of researchers has uncovered a new kind of magnetic behavior that could help make nuclear fusion reactions easier to start.

Pocket diagnosis: App turns any smartphone into a portable medical diagnostic device Posted: 19 Mar 2014 07:36 AM PDT A new app that turns any smartphone into a portable medical diagnostic device could help in the fight against diseases including HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in the developing world. "This app can substitute for laboratory equipment, saving money to clinics and research institutions," said the developer of the app.

Global attack needed to catch credit thieves Posted: 19 Mar 2014 07:36 AM PDT Stopping massive data breaches like the one that hit Target will require a more sophisticated, collaborative approach by law enforcement agencies around the world, a security expert argues.

Thermal conductance can be controlled like waves using nanostructures Posted: 19 Mar 2014 07:34 AM PDT Thermal conduction is a familiar everyday phenomenon. In a hot sauna, for instance, you can sit comfortably on a wooden bench that has a temperature of 100C (212F), but if you touch a metallic nail with the same temperature, you will hurt yourself. The difference of these two experiences is due to the fact that some materials, such as metals, conduct heat well, whereas some other materials, such as wood, do not. It is therefore commonly thought that thermal conductance is simply a materials parameter. Now, researchers have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to change the thermal conductance of a material by tuning the wave-like properties of heat flow, by orders of magnitude, using nanostructuring.

Vaccination: No-refrigeration, spray vaccine could curb diseases in remote areas Posted: 19 Mar 2014 07:33 AM PDT A new kind of single-dose vaccine that comes in a nasal spray and doesn't require refrigeration could dramatically alter the public health landscape -- get more people vaccinated around the world and address the looming threats of emerging and re-emerging diseases.

GPS also helps analyze global water resources Posted: 19 Mar 2014 06:44 AM PDT WaterGAP is a hydrological model used to model water shortage, groundwater depletion, and floods and droughts over the land area of the globe. The Frankfurt hydrologist Professor Petra Döll has examined how good a fit this model provides, using GPS observations and data from the GRACE satellite, which measures the gravitational field of the Earth. The study indicates that WaterGAP needs to be modified.

Rewrite the textbooks on water's surface tension: Air-water interface is negatively charged by the adsorption of hydroxide ions Posted: 19 Mar 2014 06:42 AM PDT Researchers in Australia are confident their new research results will make significant differences to the calculations of surface tension of water used by the next generation of atmospheric scientists, biophysicists and engineers of technology like inkjet printers. These latest investigations have clinched a long-standing controversy amongst the physical Chemistry community; the air-water interface is negatively charged by the adsorption of hydroxide ions.

New biotechnology product to make waterproof paper using natural enzymes Posted: 19 Mar 2014 06:39 AM PDT A new aqueous compound to functionalize or modify the properties of paper and any other cellulosic material has been patented. The compound uses natural enzymes instead of the traditional chemical reagents, is biodegradable, and involves no environmental impact. Most important, it is easily applicable in the production process and requires no additional investment.

Fast synthesis could boost drug development Posted: 19 Mar 2014 05:55 AM PDT Small protein fragments, also called peptides, are promising as drugs because they can be designed for very specific functions inside living cells. Insulin and the HIV drug Fuzeon are some of the earliest successful examples, and peptide drugs are expected to become a $25 billion market by 2018. However, a major bottleneck has prevented peptide drugs from reaching their full potential: Manufacturing the peptides takes several weeks, making it difficult to obtain large quantities, and to rapidly test their effectiveness. Chemists have now devised a new way to manufacture peptide drugs, which hold promise for treating many diseases.

Football displays fractal dynamics: Real-time dynamics in a football game subject to self-similarity characteristics Posted: 19 Mar 2014 05:54 AM PDT Football fascinates millions of fans, almost all of them unaware that the game is subject to the laws of physics. Despite their seemingly arbitrary decisions, players obey certain rules, as they constantly adjust their positions in relation to their teammates, opponents, the ball and the goal.

A majority prefers letting computers decide Posted: 19 Mar 2014 05:54 AM PDT When individuals engage in risky business transactions with each other, they may end up being disappointed. This is why they'd rather leave the decision on how to divvy up jointly-owned monies to a computer than to their business partner. This subconscious strategy seems to help them avoid the negative emotions associated with any breaches of trust, according to a new study.

Cryogenic treatment improves the characteristics of materials and cuts their costs Posted: 19 Mar 2014 05:54 AM PDT Cryogenic treatment is a thermal process in which the material is subjected to cryogenic temperatures below -153 degrees C. A new line of research is endeavoring to produce more efficient steels by applying the right thermal treatment routes in order to maximize their performance.

Business: Why innovation takes a nosedive Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:25 AM PDT Leaders tend to pursue innovations, even as complex as airplanes, based on early adoption by competitors not close scrutiny of the technical merits, new research shows.

Information systems professors determine successful software programming aids Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:08 AM PDT The success of having software programmers work in pairs greatly depends on the ability level of those individual programmers, two professors have written in a recent article.

Deepwater Horizon oil spill modeled Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:05 AM PDT An oceanographer has shown that combined COAMPS and BioCast data predicted where oil would go after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. The method also applies to predicting ocean optical properties for mine detection and other US Navy missions.

Making diagnostic imaging possible for patients with cardiac implants Posted: 18 Mar 2014 09:44 AM PDT Demand for MRI is growing to help diagnose certain diseases and conditions, but due to the strong magnetic forces they usually aren't recommended for patients with implanted cardiac devices. Researchers are now investigating ways to make diagnostic imaging possible for heart patients.

Innovative quantum computer under scrutiny Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:38 AM PDT A new and innovative computing machine is currently attracting a great deal of attention in specialist circles. A research team has now confirmed that the machine uses quantum effects. However, it is not any faster than a traditional computer.

When the flu bug bit the Big Apple, Twitter posts told the tale Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:36 AM PDT Sifting flu-related tweets can help track the illness at the local level, not just on a national scale, researchers have found. The finding is important because key decisions on how to prepare for and treat a flurry of flu patients are made mostly in the cities and towns where the disease is spreading. An early alert can lead local health officials to boost efforts to vaccinate healthy residents to help contain the virus.

A new algorithm improves the efficiency of small wind turbines Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:34 AM PDT In recent years, mini wind energy has been developing in a spectacular way. However, level of efficiency of small wind turbines is low. To address this problem, scientists have developed an adaptative algorithm. The improvements that are applied to the control of these turbines will in fact contribute towards making them more efficient.

Nanotube composites greatly increase efficiency of next generation of solar cells Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:33 AM PDT Carbon nanotubes are becoming increasingly attractive for photovoltaic solar cells as a replacement to silicon. Researchers have discovered that controlled placement of the carbon nanotubes into nano-structures produces a huge boost in electronic performance.

High-strength materials from the pressure cooker: New materials made quickly and in eco-friendly manner Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:32 AM PDT Materials for lightweight construction, protective clothing or sports equipment can be produced at high temperatures and high pressures. This process is faster, better and more eco-friendly than other techniques, according to new research.

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