ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Researchers discover boron 'buckyball'
• Deep within spinach leaves, vibrations enhance efficiency of photosynthesis
• Study of noninvasive retinal imaging device presented at Alzheimer's conference
• When good gut bacteria get sick
• Getting a charge out of water droplets: Water jumping from a superhydrophobic surface can be harnessed to produce electricity
• Feedback control could be key to robust conservation management
• New technology reveals insights into mechanisms underlying amyloid diseases

Researchers discover boron 'buckyball' Posted: 13 Jul 2014 12:55 PM PDT The discovery of buckyballs -- soccer-ball-shaped molecules of carbon -- helped usher in the nanotechnology era. Now, researchers have shown that boron, carbon's neighbor on the periodic table, can form a cage-like molecule similar to the buckyball. Until now, such a boron structure had only been a theoretical speculation. The researchers dubbed their new-found nanostructure 'borospherene.'

Deep within spinach leaves, vibrations enhance efficiency of photosynthesis Posted: 13 Jul 2014 12:55 PM PDT Biophysics researchers have used short pulses of light to peer into the mechanics of photosynthesis and illuminate the role that molecule vibrations play in the energy conversion process that powers life on our planet.

Study of noninvasive retinal imaging device presented at Alzheimer's conference Posted: 13 Jul 2014 12:55 PM PDT A noninvasive optical imaging device can provide early detection of changes that later occur in the brain and are a classic sign of Alzheimer's disease, according to preliminary results from investigators.

When good gut bacteria get sick Posted: 11 Jul 2014 12:33 PM PDT Unique computational models have been used by researchers to show how infection can affect bacteria that naturally live in our intestines. The findings may ultimately help clinicians to better treat and prevent gastrointestinal infection and inflammation through a better understanding of the major alterations that occur when foreign bacteria disrupt the gut microbiota.

Getting a charge out of water droplets: Water jumping from a superhydrophobic surface can be harnessed to produce electricity Posted: 11 Jul 2014 10:28 AM PDT Last year, researchers discovered that when water droplets spontaneously jump away from superhydrophobic surfaces during condensation, they can gain electric charge in the process. Now, the same team has demonstrated that this process can generate small amounts of electricity that might be used to power electronic devices.

Feedback control could be key to robust conservation management Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:10 AM PDT Mathematical algorithms used to control everyday household items such as washing machines could hold the key to winning the fight for conservation, a new study has claimed. A team of scientists and mathematicians has shown how techniques commonly used in control engineering, could be replicated in the natural world to help restock declining populations.

New technology reveals insights into mechanisms underlying amyloid diseases Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:06 AM PDT Amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, cataracts, and the spongiform encephalopathies, all share the common trait that proteins aggregate into long fibers which then form plaques. Yet in vitro studies have found that neither the amylin monomer precursors nor the plaques themselves are very toxic. New evidence using two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy has revealed an intermediate structure during the amylin aggregation pathway that may explain toxicity, opening a window for possible interventions, according to a report.

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