ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Ophthalmology studies focus on glaucoma medication adherence
• New algorithm shakes up cryptography
• New data show how U.S. states are doing in science
• Going beyond the surface: New tech could take light-based cancer treatment deep inside the body
• Silly Putty material inspires better batteries: Silicon dioxide used to make lithium-ion batteries that last three times longer
• Definitive evidence of how zeolites grow: Tracking crystal growth in real time
• Quantum simulator gives clues about magnetism
• Giant telescope tackles orbit and size of exoplanet
• Dramatic Improvements in nanogenerator power efficiency for wearable, implantable electronics
• The brain: Key to a better computer
• Algorithm developed for anti-aging remedy search
• New imaging technology: Phase contrast x-ray
• Jupiter's Great Red Spot is smaller than ever seen before
• Drought monitoring using space-based rainfall observations
• Computer specialists draw the map of the talk in social networks
• Invisible wireless networks brought to life as stunning 'spectres'
• Stability lost as supernovae explode
• High-speed solar winds increase lightning strikes on Earth
• Control methane now, greenhouse gas expert warns
• Virtual pet leads to increase physical activity for kids, research says
• Technology may help with imaging brain tumors, research shows

Ophthalmology studies focus on glaucoma medication adherence Posted: 15 May 2014 01:38 PM PDT Electronic monitoring to measure medication adherence by patients with glaucoma documented that a sizable number of patients did not regularly use the eye drops prescribed to them. This was the conclusion of a new study. A second study determined that intervention of text or voice messages appeared to help patients with glaucoma adhere to their eye drop medication.

New algorithm shakes up cryptography Posted: 15 May 2014 01:37 PM PDT Researchers have solved one aspect of the discrete logarithm problem. This is considered to be one of the 'holy grails' of algorithmic number theory, on which the security of many cryptographic systems used today is based. They have devised a new algorithm that calls into question the security of one variant of this problem, which has been closely studied since 1976.

New data show how U.S. states are doing in science Posted: 15 May 2014 12:41 PM PDT The newly updated, online, interactive state data tool allows policymakers, educators and other users to discern trends in education, science and research in each of the 50 states. The tool features 59 state indicators of state performance in education, the scientific workforce, research and development (R&D) investments and activities, and high-tech business. It offers tables, charts and graphs, and permits users to view and customize data in multiple ways, such as making comparisons with other states, looking at 20 year trends, and translating financial information from current into constant dollars.

Going beyond the surface: New tech could take light-based cancer treatment deep inside the body Posted: 15 May 2014 11:28 AM PDT Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective treatment for easily accessible tumors such as oral and skin cancer. But the procedure, which uses lasers to activate special drugs called photosensitizing agents, isn't adept at fighting cancer deep inside the body. Thankfully, that's changing due to new technology that could bring PDT into areas of the body which were previously inaccessible. The new tech involves using near-infrared beams of light that, upon penetrating deep into the body, are converted into visible light that activates the drug and destroys the tumor.

Silly Putty material inspires better batteries: Silicon dioxide used to make lithium-ion batteries that last three times longer Posted: 15 May 2014 11:28 AM PDT Using a material found in Silly Putty and surgical tubing, a group of researchers have developed a new way to make lithium-ion batteries that will last three times longer between charges compared to the current industry standard.

Definitive evidence of how zeolites grow: Tracking crystal growth in real time Posted: 15 May 2014 11:28 AM PDT Researchers have found the first definitive evidence of how silicalite-1 zeolites grow, showing that growth is a concerted process involving both the attachment of nanoparticles and the addition of molecules. Both processes appear to happen simultaneously, said the lead author.

Quantum simulator gives clues about magnetism Posted: 15 May 2014 11:28 AM PDT Researchers optically trapped a cloud of gas a billion times colder than air in a very low-pressure vacuum, and found a lower speed limit to diffusion. Assembling the puzzles of quantum materials is, in some ways, like dipping a wire hanger into a vat of soapy water, says one of the researchers. Long before mathematical equations could explain the shapes and angles in the soap foams, mathematicians conjectured that soap films naturally found the geometry that minimized surface area, thus solving the problem of minimal surfaces. They could be created simply by blowing soap bubbles.

Giant telescope tackles orbit and size of exoplanet Posted: 15 May 2014 10:22 AM PDT Using one of the world's largest telescopes, astronomers have tracked the orbit of a planet at least four times the size of Jupiter. The scientists were able to identify the orbit of the exoplanet, Beta Pictoris b, which sits 63 light years from our solar system, by using the Gemini Planet Imager's (GPI) next-generation, high-contrast adaptive optics (AO) system. This approach is sometimes referred to as extreme AO.

Dramatic Improvements in nanogenerator power efficiency for wearable, implantable electronics Posted: 15 May 2014 09:33 AM PDT The energy efficiency of a new piezoelectric nanogenerator has increased by almost 40 times, one step closer toward the commercialization of flexible energy harvesters that can supply power infinitely to wearable, implantable electronic devices. Nanogenerators are innovative self-powered energy harvesters that convert kinetic energy created from vibrational and mechanical sources into electrical power, removing the need of external circuits or batteries for electronic devices. This innovation is vital in realizing sustainable energy generation in isolated, inaccessible, or indoor environments and even in the human body.

The brain: Key to a better computer Posted: 15 May 2014 09:32 AM PDT Your brain is incredibly well-suited to handling whatever comes along, plus it's tough and operates on little energy. Those attributes -- dealing with real-world situations, resiliency and energy efficiency -- are precisely what might be possible with neuro-inspired computing. Neuro-inspired computing seeks to develop algorithms that would run on computers that function more like a brain than a conventional computer.

Algorithm developed for anti-aging remedy search Posted: 15 May 2014 08:33 AM PDT An algorithm that can help in the search for aging-suppressing drugs has been developed by researchers whose work compares gene expression in young and elderly patients' cells. The scientists have based the new research on their previously-developed methods in the study of cancer cells. Each cell uses particular schemes of molecular interaction, which physiologists call intercellular signaling pathways.

New imaging technology: Phase contrast x-ray Posted: 15 May 2014 07:38 AM PDT Phase contrast X-ray imaging has enabled researchers to perform mammographic imaging that allows greater precision in the assessment of breast cancer and its precursors. The technique could improve biopsy diagnostics and follow-up. One of the advantages of the phase contrast technique is its ability to provide images of high contrast. In the future, this technique can aid physicians to determine in a non-invasive way where premalignant and malignant breast lesions are most likely located.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is smaller than ever seen before Posted: 15 May 2014 07:36 AM PDT Recent Hubble observations confirm that Jupiter's Great Red Spot, a swirling storm feature larger than Earth, has shrunken to the smallest size astronomers have ever measured. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a churning anticyclonic storm.

Drought monitoring using space-based rainfall observations Posted: 15 May 2014 06:56 AM PDT Using modern weather satellites to monitor rainfall has become a robust, widely practiced technique. However, establishing a reliable context for relating space-based rainfall observations to current and historical ground-based rainfall data has been difficult. Now researchers are using space-based rainfall observations and comparing them to current and historical ground-based rainfall data to observe early warning of drought and famine to monitor rainfall in near real-time, at a high resolution, over most of the globe.

Computer specialists draw the map of the talk in social networks Posted: 15 May 2014 06:55 AM PDT Computer scientists have developed a web service that is able to search and retrieve data from social networks and position them on a map for further study and use. The geolocated analysis of social networks performed by this "Web 2.0 Broker Service" enables to visualize where people are talking about something, thus allowing, for example, that advertising agencies can track, measure and analyze the impact of advertising campaigns, or that agencies such as the European Forest Center detect in real time where and when people are talking about a forest fire.

Invisible wireless networks brought to life as stunning 'spectres' Posted: 15 May 2014 06:09 AM PDT Invisible wireless networks are transformed into beautiful beams of color in a series of photographs. The images show the 'spectres' of wireless networks sweeping, swirling and swooping around a ghostly figure. They were produced as part of a project which aims to bring the invisible world around us to life.

Stability lost as supernovae explode Posted: 15 May 2014 06:08 AM PDT Exploding supernovae are a phenomenon that is still not fully understood. The trouble is that the state of nuclear matter in stars cannot be reproduced on Earth. Scientists have now developed a new model of supernovae represented as dynamical systems subject to a loss of stability, just before they explode. Because similar stability losses also occur in dynamical systems in nature, this model could be used to predict natural catastrophes before they happen.

High-speed solar winds increase lightning strikes on Earth Posted: 14 May 2014 05:57 PM PDT Scientists have discovered new evidence to suggest that lightning on Earth is triggered not only by cosmic rays from space, but also by energetic particles from the sun. Researchers found a link between increased thunderstorm activity on Earth and streams of high-energy particles accelerated by the solar wind, offering compelling evidence that particles from space help trigger lightning bolts.

Control methane now, greenhouse gas expert warns Posted: 14 May 2014 01:52 PM PDT As the shale gas boom continues, the atmosphere receives more methane, adding to Earth's greenhouse gas problem. A greenhouse gas expert and ecology and environmental biology professor fears that we may not be many years away from an environmental tipping point – and disaster. "Society needs to wean itself from the addiction to fossil fuels as quickly as possible," he said. "But to replace some fossil fuels – coal, oil – with another, like natural gas, will not suffice as an approach to take on global warming. Rather, we should embrace the technologies of the 21st century and convert our energy systems to ones that rely on wind, solar and water power."

Virtual pet leads to increase physical activity for kids, research says Posted: 14 May 2014 12:33 PM PDT Placing children into a mixed reality -- part virtual environment and part real world -- has great potential for increasing their physical activity and decreasing their risk of obesity, according to researchers. Children were split into two groups but only one group was allowed to train, exercise and play with an obese, virtual dog. Researchers found the group of children allowed to interact with the virtual pet averaged 1.09 hours of additional physical activity per day when compared to the group without the pet.

Technology may help with imaging brain tumors, research shows Posted: 14 May 2014 12:32 PM PDT Possible new ways to image glioblastoma multiforme tumors -- a form of brain tumor -- using the SapC-DOPS technology have been revealed by researchers. Brain tumors are an extremely serious example of this and are not only difficult to treat -- both adult and pediatric patients have a five-year survival rate of only 30 percent -- but also have even been difficult to image, which could provide important information for deciding next steps in the treatment process.

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