ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

---

• 55-year old dark side of the moon mystery solved
• Online marketing schemes can still lure in customers
• New class of nanoparticle brings cheaper, lighter solar cells outdoors
• Echoes of ancient Earth identified by scientists?
• Video game technology aids horse rider assessment
• Accuracy of fitness bands tested; reserachers find way to correct self-report errors
• Retweet this: Not much new in social media discourse
• Milky Way may bear 100 million life-giving planets
• No limits to human effects on clouds
• Turing Test success marks milestone in computing history
• A new methodology developed to monitor traffic flow
• Targeting tumors using silver nanoparticles
• Details of calcium 'safety-valve' in cells explained
• Tougher penalties credited for fewer casualties among young male drivers
• Endoscope with oxygen sensor detects pancreatic cancer
• Text messaging program helps smokers fight the urge to light up
• Veterinary researchers find paperless classrooms, use of tablet computers benefit students, faculty
• Of dinosaurs and mathematics: Classification of a dinosaur bone found in Australia reexamined

55-year old dark side of the moon mystery solved Posted: 09 Jun 2014 09:20 AM PDT The Man in the Moon appeared when meteoroids struck the Earth-facing side of the moon creating large flat seas of basalt that we see as dark areas called maria. But no "face" exists on farside of the moon and now, astrophysicists think they know why. This mystery is called the Lunar Farside Highlands Problem and dates back to 1959, when the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 transmitted the first images of the "dark" side of the moon back to Earth.

Online marketing schemes can still lure in customers Posted: 09 Jun 2014 08:33 AM PDT Despite warnings and legislation, online consumers may still be susceptible to post-transaction marketing schemes, according to researchers. At least 40 percent of consumers who made an online purchase in a study bought an additional product, even though it offered no extra value, said an investigator.

New class of nanoparticle brings cheaper, lighter solar cells outdoors Posted: 09 Jun 2014 08:33 AM PDT A new class of solar-sensitive nanoparticle that outshines the current state of the art has been developed and tested by researchers. This new form of solid, stable light-sensitive nanoparticles, called colloidal quantum dots, could lead to cheaper and more flexible solar cells, as well as better gas sensors, infrared lasers, infrared light emitting diodes and more.

Echoes of ancient Earth identified by scientists? Posted: 09 Jun 2014 08:33 AM PDT A previously unexplained isotopic ratio may represent the echoes of the ancient Earth, which existed prior to the proposed Theia collision 4.5 billion years ago. A research team has analyzed the ratios of noble gas isotopes from deep within Earth's mantle, and has compared these results to isotope ratios closer to the surface. The found that 3He to 22Ne ratio from the shallow mantle is significantly higher than the equivalent ratio in the deep mantle.

Video game technology aids horse rider assessment Posted: 09 Jun 2014 07:28 AM PDT Horse riders' balance, symmetry and poor posture could be improved thanks to an innovative body suit that works with motion sensors, commonly used by movie makers and the video games industry. New research uses inertial motion sensors worn in the XsensTM MVN body suit, and is now showing promising results as a method of assessing rider asymmetry and lower back pain and injury risk.

Accuracy of fitness bands tested; reserachers find way to correct self-report errors Posted: 09 Jun 2014 07:26 AM PDT Researchers tested eight different fitness bands to determine the accuracy of each model. The activity monitors make it easy for anyone to track their physical activity and calories burned, but researchers found not all devices are created equal. "People buy these activity monitors assuming they work, but some of them are not that accurate or have never been tested before. These companies just produce a nice-looking device with a fancy display and people buy it," said a researcher.

Retweet this: Not much new in social media discourse Posted: 09 Jun 2014 07:14 AM PDT If nationally televised candidate debates are supposed to stimulate critical thinking and individual expression among the social media set -- "Find those responsible for Benghazi, Obama!" or "4 Pinocchios, Mitt!" or at least "Softball question, Madame Moderator!" -- it's so not happening.

Milky Way may bear 100 million life-giving planets Posted: 09 Jun 2014 07:07 AM PDT There are some 100 million other places in the Milky Way galaxy that could support complex life, according to new research by astronomers. They have developed a new computation method to examine data from planets orbiting other stars in the universe.

No limits to human effects on clouds Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:39 AM PDT Atmospheric particles affect cloud formation in real time, researchers suggest. Clouds need tiny particles called aerosols that rise in the atmosphere, in order to form. These aerosols -- natural ones like sea salt or dust, or such human-made ones as soot -- form nuclei around which the cloud droplets condense. In relatively clean environments, clouds can only grow as large as the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere allows: These will be the limiting factor in cloud formation.

Turing Test success marks milestone in computing history Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:38 AM PDT An historic milestone in artificial intelligence set by Alan Turing -- the father of modern computer science -- has been achieved. The 65 year-old iconic Turing Test was passed for the very first time by supercomputer Eugene Goostman during Turing Test 2014 held at the Royal Society in London on June 7, 2014. 'Eugene', a computer program that simulates a 13-year-old boy, managed to convince 33% of the human judges that it was human.

A new methodology developed to monitor traffic flow Posted: 09 Jun 2014 06:38 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new mathematical methodology to monitor traffic flow so that medium and long-term forecasts can be made. One of the key aspects of the methodology applied is its capacity to detect changes in traffic flow patterns.

Targeting tumors using silver nanoparticles Posted: 08 Jun 2014 12:27 PM PDT A nanoparticle that has a couple of unique -- and important -- properties has been designed by scientists. Spherical in shape and silver in composition, it is encased in a shell coated with a peptide that enables it to target tumor cells. What's more, the shell is etchable so those nanoparticles that don't hit their target can be broken down and eliminated.

Details of calcium 'safety-valve' in cells explained Posted: 06 Jun 2014 03:54 PM PDT The atomic level structure of a protein that regulates the level of calcium in cells has been detailed by scientists, providing clues about a key signaling agent that can trigger programmed cell death and potentially leading to new anticancer drug targets.

Tougher penalties credited for fewer casualties among young male drivers Posted: 06 Jun 2014 10:14 AM PDT A significant decline in speeding-related fatalities and injuries among young men has been found in Ontario since the province's tough extreme speeding and aggressive driving laws were introduced in 2007. A study found a sustained reduction of about 58 speeding-related injuries and fatalities a month among males aged 16-24. That means about 700 fewer young men have been injured or killed in speeding-related crashes yearly since the law was passed.

Endoscope with oxygen sensor detects pancreatic cancer Posted: 06 Jun 2014 07:21 AM PDT An optical blood oxygen sensor attached to an endoscope is able to identify pancreatic cancer in patients via a simple lendoscopic procedure, according to researchers. The study shows that the device, which acts like the well-known clothespin-type finger clip used to measure blood oxygen in patients, has a sensitivity of 92 percent and a specificity of 86 percent.

Text messaging program helps smokers fight the urge to light up Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:16 AM PDT More than 11 percent of smokers who used a text-messaging program to help them quit did so and remained smoke free at the end of a six-month study as compared to just 5 percent of controls, according to a new report. "Text messages seem to give smokers the constant reminders they need to stay focused on quitting," says the lead author.

Veterinary researchers find paperless classrooms, use of tablet computers benefit students, faculty Posted: 05 Jun 2014 11:00 AM PDT Veterinary professors looked at the impact of tablet computers in the classroom. The college studied has been using paperless classrooms since 2007. While the tablet PCs provide several benefits, there can be a downside to their usage. The study identified digital distraction as the major negative experience with tablet PCs during class time.

Of dinosaurs and mathematics: Classification of a dinosaur bone found in Australia reexamined Posted: 05 Jun 2014 05:29 AM PDT Dinosaurs and mathematics do not seem like an obvious pair, but for one professor they are a logical match.  Palaeontologists have now reexamined the classification of a dinosaur bone found in Australia through expertise in mathematics. Mathematicians were able to help the paleontologists reclassify a single arm bone as belonging to a dinosaur family previously believed not to have existed in the Southern Hemisphere.

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Technology News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610