ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• NASA's Curiosity rover drills sandstone slab on Mars
• Graphene for real-world devices: New research in phonon scattering sheds more light on graphene as a replacement for silicon
• Staying on task is difficult in the automated cockpit
• Neutron star magnetic fields: Not so turbulent, after all?
• Two-lock box delivers cancer therapy: Nano-delivery system targets cancer cells
• Can you tell a person's gender by their video game avatar?
• Tool for uncovering bot-controlled Twitter accounts: Research designed to counter misinformation campaigns
• Magnetic fingerprint of our galaxy revealed
• Mobile health apps lack behavior-change techniques
• Predator-prey made simple: Simplifying studies of predator-prey interactions and other 'bistable' systems
• Working to cure 'dry eye' disease
• Keeping abreast of Car2X technology developments
• Are we ready for contact with extraterrestrial intelligence?
• A bird's eye view of fish farms: Drones making major advance into aquaculture industry
• Nanocellulose sponges to combat oil spills
• Galaxy's biggest telescope harnesses most precise measurement of spinning star
• Intelligent vehicle can detect pedestrians at nighttime

NASA's Curiosity rover drills sandstone slab on Mars Posted: 06 May 2014 04:11 PM PDT Portions of rock powder collected by the hammering drill on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from a slab of Martian sandstone will be delivered to the rover's internal instruments.

Graphene for real-world devices: New research in phonon scattering sheds more light on graphene as a replacement for silicon Posted: 06 May 2014 11:22 AM PDT Graphene is an excellent conductor of electricity and heat, but a number of practical challenges must be overcome before it can emerge as a replacement for silicon. Scientists are exploring novel ways of supporting and connecting graphene using experimental and computational methods.

Staying on task is difficult in the automated cockpit Posted: 06 May 2014 11:21 AM PDT A new study indicates that pilots may have a hard time concentrating on the automated systems that now carry out many of the tasks once completed by humans. Pilots reported an increase in big-picture flight-related thoughts when using higher levels of automation, but when the flight was progressing according to plan and pilots were not interacting with the automation, their thoughts were more likely to wander.

Neutron star magnetic fields: Not so turbulent, after all? Posted: 06 May 2014 10:55 AM PDT Neutron stars, the extraordinarily dense stellar bodies created when massive stars collapse, are known to host the strongest magnetic fields in the universe -- as much as a billion times more powerful than any human-made electromagnet. But some neutron stars are much more strongly magnetized than others, and this disparity has long puzzled astrophysicists. Physicists have shed new light on the expected geometry of the magnetic field in neutron stars.

Two-lock box delivers cancer therapy: Nano-delivery system targets cancer cells Posted: 06 May 2014 10:04 AM PDT A tunable virus that works like a safe deposit box has been developed by scientists. It takes two keys to open it and release its therapy for cancer and other diseases. The adeno-associated virus (AAV) developed by bioengineers unlocks only in the presence of two selected proteases, enzymes that cut up other proteins for disposal. Because certain proteases are elevated at tumor sites, the viruses can be designed to target and destroy the cancer cells.

Can you tell a person's gender by their video game avatar? Posted: 06 May 2014 10:04 AM PDT According to a new study a male gamer who chooses to play as a female character will still display signs of his true gender. A sexy wood elf with pointy ears. A hulking ogre with blue skin. An intimidating heroine with a buxom breastplate. When it comes to computer games, players can choose to be anyone or anything. But gamers don't always mask their true identities with online avatars.

Tool for uncovering bot-controlled Twitter accounts: Research designed to counter misinformation campaigns Posted: 06 May 2014 10:02 AM PDT Complex networks researchers have developed a tool that helps anyone determine whether a Twitter account is operated by a human or an automated software application known as a social bot.

Magnetic fingerprint of our galaxy revealed Posted: 06 May 2014 09:02 AM PDT Astrophysicists have released an unprecedented map of the entire sky that charts the magnetic field shaping our Milky Way Galaxy. The map reveals magnetic field lines running parallel to the plane of the Galaxy, as well as great loops and whorls associated with nearby clouds of gas and dust.

Mobile health apps lack behavior-change techniques Posted: 06 May 2014 09:02 AM PDT Behavior-change techniques are not well represented in the marketing materials for top-rated physical-activity apps, according to a team of researchers. They also found that two types of physical-activity apps are available on the market -- those that focus on educating users on how to perform different exercises and those that focus on supporting users' motivation for physical activity.

Predator-prey made simple: Simplifying studies of predator-prey interactions and other 'bistable' systems Posted: 06 May 2014 08:56 AM PDT Scientists have developed a way to dramatically reduce the complexity of modeling "bistable" systems which involve the interaction of two evolving species where one changes faster than the other ("slow-fast systems"). The work paves the way for easier computational simulations and predictions involving such systems, which are found in fields as diverse as chemistry, biology and ecology.

Working to cure 'dry eye' disease Posted: 06 May 2014 08:56 AM PDT The eye is an exquisitely sensitive system with many aspects that remain somewhat of a mystery -- both in the laboratory and in the clinic. Mathematicians and optometrists are working to change this by gaining a better understanding of the inner workings of tear film distribution over the eye's surface. This, in turn, may lead to better treatments or a cure for the tear film disease known as "dry eye."

Keeping abreast of Car2X technology developments Posted: 06 May 2014 06:47 AM PDT Car2X technologies make vehicles "intelligent" and allow them to communicate with the objects around them. Encouraged by the numerous opportunities for developing new technologies and patents this brings with it, large and small technology companies alike are rushing to capture their share of this future market. A new patent index systematically shows companies where to find patent gaps and opportunities in the Car2X technology field.

Are we ready for contact with extraterrestrial intelligence? Posted: 06 May 2014 04:46 AM PDT The SETI project scientists are known for tracking possible extraterrestrial signals, but now they are also considering sending messages from Earth telling of our position. A researcher questions this idea in view of the results from a survey taken by students, revealing the general level of ignorance about the cosmos and the influence of religion when tackling these matters.

A bird's eye view of fish farms: Drones making major advance into aquaculture industry Posted: 06 May 2014 04:46 AM PDT Is a facility adequately anchored? Are the wet-well vessels in the right place at the right time? Do the net pens have weaknesses which can result in escapes? It's now possible, with the help of a couple of key strokes and techno assistance from above, literally to obtain an overview of all these issues.

Nanocellulose sponges to combat oil spills Posted: 06 May 2014 04:45 AM PDT A new, absorbent material could be of assistance in future oil spill accidents: a chemically modified nanocellulose sponge. The light material absorbs the oil spill, remains floating on the surface and can then be recovered. The absorbent can be produced in an environmentally-friendly manner from recycled paper, wood or agricultural by-products.

Galaxy's biggest telescope harnesses most precise measurement of spinning star Posted: 06 May 2014 04:44 AM PDT An international team of astronomers has made a measurement of a distant neutron star that is one million times more precise than the previous world's best. The researchers were able to use the interstellar medium, the 'empty' space between stars and galaxies that is made up of sparsely spread charged particles, as a giant lens to magnify and look closely at the radio wave emission from a small rotating neutron star.

Intelligent vehicle can detect pedestrians at nighttime Posted: 05 May 2014 10:04 AM PDT Researchers have designed a new pedestrian detection system for cars which works in low visibility conditions; the system is made up of infrared cameras which capture body heat.

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