ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Webb telescope microshutters journey into NASA clean room
• Cancer chain in cell membrane seen with supercomputers
• Earth-size 'diamond' in space: Remarkable white dwarf star possibly coldest, dimmest ever detected
• Wearable computing gloves can teach Braille, even if you're not paying attention
• Airbags for ships save lives, environment and cargo
• Making Google Glass safer for drivers
• New data bolsters Higgs boson discovery
• Experimental 36-core chip unveiled
• New research proves gender bias extraordinarily prevalent in science, technology, engineering and math fields
• Great walls could eliminate major tornado threat in Tornado Alley, expert says
• First demonstration of a self-powered cardiac pacemaker
• New type of dust discovered in Martian atmosphere
• Hormone-disrupting activity of fracking chemicals worse than initially found
• Common BPA substitute, BPS, disrupts heart rhythms in females
• BPA Substitute as bad as BPA? Exposure to BPA substitute causes hyperactivity and brain changes in fish
• Organic conundrum in Large Magellanic Cloud
• 3-D map shows dusty structure of the Milky Way
• Puffing sun gives birth to reluctant eruption
• Archaeo-astronomy steps out from shadows of the past
• All the sky, all the time: UK astronomers debate involvement in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
• 'Solar moss' shakes at 16,000 kilometers an hour
• Big solar blowouts hold clue to space weather
• Organ network in transparent chip for detailed study of how cancer cells spread
• Video games, social networks, chat rooms, may help prevent HIV
• Concentrating solar power: Study shows greater potential
• Evidence found for the Higgs boson direct decay into fermions
• Mysterious 'magic island' appears on Saturn's moon Titan
• Heart physicians devise new hybrid robotic and stenting procedure
• Sharing health records electronically can improve patient care
• Who's your daddy? Team programs computer to find out
• Criminal profiling technique targets killer diseases

Webb telescope microshutters journey into NASA clean room Posted: 23 Jun 2014 10:17 AM PDT NASA's James Webb Space Telescope microshutters have taken a short jaunt in preparation of its million mile journey in four years. The microshutters were moved into a NASA Goddard cleanroom for testing to verify they work correctly before being installed in the Webb's Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instrument.

Cancer chain in cell membrane seen with supercomputers Posted: 23 Jun 2014 10:14 AM PDT Supercomputer simulations reveal clusters of a protein linked to cancer warp cell membranes -- findings could help design new anticancer drugs. Researchers used XSEDE/TACC supercomputers Lonestar and Stampede to simulate molecular dynamics of Ras protein clusters at the cell membrane. Simulations give greater understanding of Ras protein role in cancer and provide models for further experimental tests.

Earth-size 'diamond' in space: Remarkable white dwarf star possibly coldest, dimmest ever detected Posted: 23 Jun 2014 10:13 AM PDT Astronomers have identified possibly the coldest, faintest white dwarf star ever detected. This ancient stellar remnant is so cool that its carbon has crystallized, forming -- in effect -- an Earth-size diamond in space. The object in this new study is likely the same age as the Milky Way, approximately 11 billion years old.

Wearable computing gloves can teach Braille, even if you're not paying attention Posted: 23 Jun 2014 10:13 AM PDT Researchers are using a wearable computing technology to help people learn how to read and write Braille. Those learning the skills are able to do so while concentrating on something else.

Airbags for ships save lives, environment and cargo Posted: 23 Jun 2014 10:11 AM PDT Innovative rapidly inflating balloon technology could keep damaged ships afloat. But more fine-tuning needs to be done and there are some concerns about reliability.

Making Google Glass safer for drivers Posted: 23 Jun 2014 10:08 AM PDT With his Google Glass in place over his right eye, a professor weaves in and out of traffic. He sneaks a peek at the Glass screen before slamming full-speed into the back of a truck. Thankfully, He is only using a driving simulator and is able to laugh off his mistake. However, he hopes he can keep it from happening to people in real life.

New data bolsters Higgs boson discovery Posted: 23 Jun 2014 09:10 AM PDT Evidence gleaned from the Large Hadron Collider is further proof of the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, according to a new article.

Experimental 36-core chip unveiled Posted: 23 Jun 2014 09:10 AM PDT The more cores -- or processing units -- a computer chip has, the bigger the problem of communication between cores becomes. Some have argued that the massively multicore chips of the future will need to resemble little Internets, where each core has an associated router, and data travels between cores in packets of fixed size.

New research proves gender bias extraordinarily prevalent in science, technology, engineering and math fields Posted: 23 Jun 2014 09:10 AM PDT With everyone from the federal government to corporate America working to encourage more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math fields, you would think the doors would be wide open to women of all backgrounds. A new study shows that this could not be further from the truth and that gender bias among hiring managers in STEM fields is extraordinarily prevalent.

Great walls could eliminate major tornado threat in Tornado Alley, expert says Posted: 23 Jun 2014 09:03 AM PDT Can we eliminate major tornadoes in Tornado Alley? Devastating tornadoes over there start from violent clashes between northbound warm wind and southbound cold wind. If engineers built three east-west great walls, 300 meters high and 50 meters wide, one in North Dakota, one passing Oklahoma and one in Texas, such barriers would weaken such air mass clashes and diminish major tornado threat, according to one expert.

First demonstration of a self-powered cardiac pacemaker Posted: 23 Jun 2014 09:03 AM PDT A self-powered artificial cardiac pacemaker that is operated semi-permanently by a flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator has been developed by researchers. The team's newly designed flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator directly stimulated a living rat's heart using electrical energy converted from the small body movements of the rat. This technology could facilitate the use of self-powered flexible energy harvesters, not only prolonging the lifetime of cardiac pacemakers but also realizing real-time heart monitoring.

New type of dust discovered in Martian atmosphere Posted: 23 Jun 2014 07:42 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a new peculiarity of the Martian atmosphere. The scientists had analyzed satellite-acquired data and concluded that the dust particles in the planet's atmosphere can be of two types.

Hormone-disrupting activity of fracking chemicals worse than initially found Posted: 23 Jun 2014 07:39 AM PDT Many chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, can disrupt not only the human body's reproductive hormones but also the glucocorticoid and thyroid hormone receptors, which are necessary to maintain good health, a new study finds.

Common BPA substitute, BPS, disrupts heart rhythms in females Posted: 23 Jun 2014 07:39 AM PDT Bisphenol S (BPS), a common substitute for bisphenol A (BPA) in consumer products, may have similar toxic effects on the heart as previously reported for BPA, a new study finds.

BPA Substitute as bad as BPA? Exposure to BPA substitute causes hyperactivity and brain changes in fish Posted: 23 Jun 2014 07:39 AM PDT A chemical found in many "BPA free" consumer products, known as bisphenol S (BPS), is just as potent as bisphenol A (BPA) in altering brain development and causing hyperactive behavior, an animal study finds.

Organic conundrum in Large Magellanic Cloud Posted: 23 Jun 2014 06:23 AM PDT A group of organic chemicals that are considered carcinogens and pollutants today on Earth, but are also thought to be the building blocks for the origins of life, may hold clues to how carbon-rich chemicals created in stars are processed and recycled in space.

3-D map shows dusty structure of the Milky Way Posted: 23 Jun 2014 06:23 AM PDT Astronomers have created a detailed three-dimensional map of the dusty structure of the Milky Way – the star-studded bright disc of our own galaxy – as seen from Earth's northern hemisphere.

Puffing sun gives birth to reluctant eruption Posted: 23 Jun 2014 06:23 AM PDT A suite of Sun-gazing spacecraft, SOHO, STEREO and Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), have spotted an unusual series of eruptions in which a series of fast 'puffs' force the slow ejection of a massive burst of plasma from the Sun's corona.  The eruptions took place over a period of three days, starting on 17 January 2013.

Archaeo-astronomy steps out from shadows of the past Posted: 23 Jun 2014 06:23 AM PDT From the 'Crystal Pathway' that links stone circles on Cornwall's Bodmin Moor to star-aligned megaliths in central Portugal, archaeo-astronomers are finding evidence that Neolithic and Bronze Age people were acute observers of the Sun, as well as the Moon and stars, and that they embedded astronomical references within their local landscapes.

All the sky, all the time: UK astronomers debate involvement in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Posted: 23 Jun 2014 06:23 AM PDT The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope will be sited at Cerro Pachón in the Chilean Andes and will have a primary mirror 8.4 metres in diameter, making it one of the largest single telescopes in the world, as well as the world's largest digital camera, comprising 3.2 billion pixels. It will achieve first light in 2020 and its main sky survey will begin in 2022.

'Solar moss' shakes at 16,000 kilometers an hour Posted: 23 Jun 2014 06:23 AM PDT Using a state-of-the-art ultraviolet camera, astronomers have obtained exceptionally sharp images of 'Solar Moss', bright features on the Sun that may hold the key to a longstanding mystery.

Big solar blowouts hold clue to space weather Posted: 23 Jun 2014 06:23 AM PDT Solar jets are ejections from the surface of the Sun, where 1-10 tons of hot material are expelled at speeds of up to 1000 kilometers per second. Using space based observatories like Hinode and STEREO, solar physicists have recently discovered a new type of jet known as 'blowout' jets, which seem to be like the Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) that can disrupt the magnetic field of the Earth, but on a much smaller scale. Now a scientist has created a 3-D model of these events for the first time, with compelling computer-generated simulations that match the jets' appearance from space.

Organ network in transparent chip for detailed study of how cancer cells spread Posted: 23 Jun 2014 06:21 AM PDT The recent development of the concept of organs on a chip opens the possibility of realistically studying human organs without the use of patients or animal testing. One researcher goes one step further: he intends to make microsystems in which multiple 'organs' are connected through 'blood vessels.' That will, for example, allow precise investigation of how cancer spreads. This could eventually make the development of medical drug much cheaper and faster.

Video games, social networks, chat rooms, may help prevent HIV Posted: 23 Jun 2014 06:18 AM PDT While many HIV prevention interventions have traditionally been delivered face-to-face, a study suggests that digital outreach efforts delivered via text messages, interactive games, chat rooms, and social networks may be an effective way to reach at-risk younger men who have sex with men. "This is a population that is very used to technology, and there is built-in privacy and immediacy with digital communication that may be especially appealing," says the lead study author. "If we want to reduce HIV infection rates, particularly among younger men, we need to explore the use of technology to meet them where they live -- online and on their phones."

Concentrating solar power: Study shows greater potential Posted: 22 Jun 2014 11:22 AM PDT Concentrating solar power could supply a large fraction of the power supply in a decarbonized energy system, shows a new study of the technology and its potential practical application.

Evidence found for the Higgs boson direct decay into fermions Posted: 22 Jun 2014 11:21 AM PDT For the first time, scientists from the CMS experiment on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN have succeeded in finding evidence for the direct decay of the Higgs boson into fermions. Previously, the Higgs particle could only be detected through its decay into bosons. As a group of elementary particles, fermions form the matter while bosons act as force carriers between fermions.

Mysterious 'magic island' appears on Saturn's moon Titan Posted: 22 Jun 2014 11:21 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered a bright, mysterious geologic object – where one never existed – on Cassini mission radar images of Ligeia Mare, the second-largest sea on Saturn's moon Titan. Scientifically speaking, this spot is considered a "transient feature," but the astronomers have playfully dubbed it "Magic Island."

Heart physicians devise new hybrid robotic and stenting procedure Posted: 20 Jun 2014 01:32 PM PDT Recently, a patient presented to cardiologists with three blockages around the heart. The physicians devised a new hybrid procedure, which included minimally invasive robotic bypass surgery to one vessel, as well as stenting to two remaining vessels — all in the span of three days. The patient says the procedures were not difficult to recover from, and that he used very little pain medication afterward.

Sharing health records electronically can improve patient care Posted: 19 Jun 2014 11:46 AM PDT In an initiative that will improve patient care, one American hospital has become one of the first health systems in its state to share health information electronically with other providers. The information exchange enables clinicians to share a patient's electronic health information with outside providers such as hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies and other physicians.

Who's your daddy? Team programs computer to find out Posted: 19 Jun 2014 09:54 AM PDT A facial recognition tool has been programed by researchers that promises to be useful in rapidly matching pictures of children with their biological parents and in potentially identifying photos of missing children as they age. The researchers said: "We wanted to see whether a machine could answer questions, such as 'Do children resemble their parents?' 'Do children resemble one parent more than another?' and 'What parts of the face are more genetically inspired?'"

Criminal profiling technique targets killer diseases Posted: 19 Jun 2014 09:54 AM PDT A mathematical tool used by the Metropolitan Police and FBI has been adapted by researchers to help control outbreaks of malaria, and has the potential to target other infectious diseases. "The model has potential to identify the source of other infectious diseases as well, and we're now working with public health bodies to develop it further for use with TB, cholera and Legionnaires' disease," one researcher noted.

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