ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• More effective kidney stone treatment, from macroscopic to nanoscale
• New technique detects microscopic diabetes-related eye damage
• Key milestone for brown fat research with ground-breaking MRI scan
• Likely author of original Bitcoin paper? Researchers uncover linguistic evidence
• Simplicity is key to co-operative robots
• Chess robots to cause Judgment Day?
• World's first successful visualization of key coenzyme
• Beating the clock for ischemic stroke sufferers
• Red moon at night: Stargazer's delight
• Information storage for the next generation of plastic computers: Efficient conversion from magnetic storage to light is key
• Mars: Meteorites yield clues to Red Planet's early atmosphere
• Theoretical biophysics: Adventurous bacteria decide how to preserve species?
• Quantum computing? Progress in the fight against quantum dissipation
• Scientists capture ultrafast snapshots of light-driven superconductivity
• Floating nuclear plants could ride out tsunamis: New design for enhanced safety, easier siting and centralized construction
• First mobile charging system for electric vehicles created
• Net neutrality balancing act
• At the origin of cell division: The features of living matter emerge from inanimate matter in simulation
• Environmentally compatible organic solar cells in the future
• Computerized counseling reduces HIV-1 viral load, sexual transmission risk

More effective kidney stone treatment, from macroscopic to nanoscale Posted: 17 Apr 2014 07:11 AM PDT Researchers have hit on a novel method to help kidney stone sufferers ensure they receive the correct and most effective treatment possible. Kidney stones represent a major medical problem in the western and developing world. If left untreated, apart from being particularly painful, they can lead to renal failure and other complications. In many patients treated successfully, stone recurrence is also a major problem. Clearly a more effective pathological approach to diagnosis and treatment needs to be identified to ensure successful eradication of stones.

New technique detects microscopic diabetes-related eye damage Posted: 17 Apr 2014 06:08 AM PDT New early-warning signs of the potential loss of sight associated with diabetes have been detected by researchers. This discovery could have far-reaching implications for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetic retinopathy, potentially impacting the care of over 25 million Americans. These important early-warning signs were invisible to existing diagnostic techniques, requiring new technology based on adaptive optics.

Key milestone for brown fat research with ground-breaking MRI scan Posted: 17 Apr 2014 06:08 AM PDT The first MRI scan to show 'brown fat' in a living adult could prove to be an essential step towards a new wave of therapies to aid the fight against diabetes and obesity. Brown fat has become a hot topic for scientists due its ability to use energy and burn calories, helping to keep weight in check. Understanding the brown fat tissue and how it can be used to such ends is of growing interest in the search to help people suffering from obesity or at a high risk of developing diabetes.

Likely author of original Bitcoin paper? Researchers uncover linguistic evidence Posted: 17 Apr 2014 06:05 AM PDT The primary author of the celebrated Bitcoin paper is most likely Nick Szabo, a blogger and former George Washington University law professor, according to students and researchers at Aston University's Centre for Forensic Linguistics (UK). Their research also challenges the claim that Dorian S. Nakamoto is the main author of the paper, an assertion made in Newsweek last month that has been strongly denied by Mr Nakamoto.

Simplicity is key to co-operative robots Posted: 16 Apr 2014 07:53 PM PDT A way of making hundreds -- or even thousands -- of tiny robots cluster to carry out tasks without using any memory or processing power has been developed. Engineers have programmed extremely simple robots that are able to form a dense cluster without the need for complex computation, in a similar way to how a swarm of bees or a flock of birds is able to carry out tasks collectively.

Chess robots to cause Judgment Day? Posted: 16 Apr 2014 07:53 PM PDT Next time you play a computer at chess, think about the implications if you beat it. It could be a very sore loser! A new study reflects upon the growing need for autonomous technology, and suggests that humans should be very careful to prevent future systems from developing anti-social and potentially harmful behavior.

World's first successful visualization of key coenzyme Posted: 16 Apr 2014 02:20 PM PDT Japanese researchers have successfully developed the world's first imaging method for visualizing the behavior of nicotine-adenine dinucleotide derivative (NAD(P)H), a key coenzyme, inside cells. This feat could ultimately facilitate the diagnosis of cancer and liver dysfunction and help to elucidate the mechanisms of neurological disorders.

Beating the clock for ischemic stroke sufferers Posted: 16 Apr 2014 02:20 PM PDT Researchers have developed a new computer tool to ensure faster care and treatment for stroke patients. The CAD stroke technology is capable of detecting signs of stroke from computed tomography (CT) scans. A CT scan uses X-rays to take pictures of the brain in slices. When blood flow to the brain is blocked, an area of the brain turns softer or decreases in density due to insufficient blood flow, pointing to an ischemic stroke.

Red moon at night: Stargazer's delight Posted: 16 Apr 2014 01:26 PM PDT Monday night's lunar eclipse proved just as delightful as expected to those able to view it. On the East Coast, cloudy skies may have gotten in the way, but at the National Science Foundation's National Optical Astronomy Observatory near Tucson, Ariz., the skies offered impressive viewing.

Information storage for the next generation of plastic computers: Efficient conversion from magnetic storage to light is key Posted: 16 Apr 2014 01:24 PM PDT Inexpensive computers, cell phones and other systems that substitute flexible plastic for silicon chips may be one step closer to reality, thanks to new research. Scientists have made a new proposal for overcoming a major obstacle to the development of such plastic devices -- the large amount of energy required to read stored information.

Mars: Meteorites yield clues to Red Planet's early atmosphere Posted: 16 Apr 2014 11:33 AM PDT Geologists analyzed 40 meteorites that fell to Earth from Mars to understand the history of the Martian atmosphere. Their new article shows the atmospheres of Mars and Earth diverged in important ways early in the solar system's 4.6 billion year evolution.

Theoretical biophysics: Adventurous bacteria decide how to preserve species? Posted: 16 Apr 2014 11:33 AM PDT To reproduce or to conquer the world? Surprisingly, bacteria also face this problem. Theoretical biophysicists have now shown how these organisms should decide how best to preserve their species.

Quantum computing? Progress in the fight against quantum dissipation Posted: 16 Apr 2014 10:34 AM PDT Scientists have confirmed a 50-year-old, previously untested theoretical prediction in physics and improved the energy storage time of a quantum switch by several orders of magnitude. High-quality quantum switches are essential for the development of quantum computers and the quantum internet -- innovations that would offer vastly greater information processing power and speed than classical (digital) computers, as well as more secure information transmission.

Scientists capture ultrafast snapshots of light-driven superconductivity Posted: 16 Apr 2014 10:32 AM PDT A new study pins down a major factor behind the appearance of superconductivity -- the ability to conduct electricity with 100 percent efficiency -- in a promising copper-oxide material. Scientists used carefully timed pairs of laser pulses to trigger superconductivity in the material and immediately take x-ray snapshots of its atomic and electronic structure as superconductivity emerged.

Floating nuclear plants could ride out tsunamis: New design for enhanced safety, easier siting and centralized construction Posted: 16 Apr 2014 08:29 AM PDT When an earthquake and tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant complex in 2011, neither the quake nor the inundation caused the ensuing contamination. Rather, it was the aftereffects -- specifically, the lack of cooling for the reactor cores, due to a shutdown of all power at the station -- that caused most of the harm. A new design for nuclear plants built on floating platforms, modeled after those used for offshore oil drilling, could help avoid such consequences in the future.

First mobile charging system for electric vehicles created Posted: 16 Apr 2014 07:14 AM PDT Scientists have developed the first mobile charging system for electric vehicles. This system allows users to charge their vehicle from any plug -not just from a specifically designed one- as long as it has been previously authorized by an electric power company.

Net neutrality balancing act Posted: 16 Apr 2014 06:05 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated that net neutrality benefits content creator and consumers without compromising provider innovation nor profits. There is a war raging online between those who wish to modulate, control and throttle the flow of information, usually the internet service providers and content creators and consumers who seek neutrality. Net neutrality is the principle on which open democracy and social benefits of the communication age can best be played out, the latter two parties argue. Governments and regulatory authorities must guarantee net neutrality in other words.

At the origin of cell division: The features of living matter emerge from inanimate matter in simulation Posted: 16 Apr 2014 06:04 AM PDT Droplets of filamentous material enclosed in a lipid membrane: these are the models of a "simplified" cell used by physicists who simulated the spontaneous emergence of cell motility and division - that is, features of living material - in inanimate "objects".

Environmentally compatible organic solar cells in the future Posted: 16 Apr 2014 06:04 AM PDT Environmentally compatible production methods for organic solar cells from novel materials are in the focus of "MatHero". The new project aims at making organic photovoltaics competitive to their inorganic counterparts by enhancing the efficiency of organic solar cells, reducing their production costs and increasing their life-time.

Computerized counseling reduces HIV-1 viral load, sexual transmission risk Posted: 15 Apr 2014 09:55 AM PDT Computerized counseling is a promising intervention for increased ART adherence and safer sex, especially for individuals with problems in these areas. This is the first intervention to report improved ART adherence, viral suppression, and reduced secondary sexual transmission risk behavior.

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