ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Could a computer on the police beat prevent violence?
• Water on the moon: It's been there all along
• Hunt for distant planets intensifies
• International space station plays host to innovative infectious disease research
• Blood is thicker than water – and blood plasma is, too
• Dopants dramatically alter electronic structure of superconductor
• Forging a new periodic table using nanostructures: Artificial atoms and bonds provide a new set of building blocks for future materials
• Organic electronics: How to make contact between carbon compounds and metal
• Chemists develop single molecule sieves to separate complex molecular mixtures
• Scientists explore new technologies that remove atmospheric carbon dioxide
• Playing quantum tricks with measurements
• Microbial biorefinery provides new insight into how bacteria regulate genes
• Quantum cryptography put to work for electric grid security
• X-ray laser sees photosynthesis in action
• 'Acoustic-assisted' magnetic information storage invented
• Math helps detect gang-related crime and better allocate police resources
• New method to measure the redundancy of information

Could a computer on the police beat prevent violence? Posted: 18 Feb 2013 01:41 PM PST As cities work to reduce violence in tight budget times, new research shows how they might be able to target their efforts and police attention on areas prone to violence – with the help of high-powered computers and loads of data on crime, alcohol availability and drug markets.

Water on the moon: It's been there all along Posted: 18 Feb 2013 10:23 AM PST Traces of water have been detected within the crystalline structure of mineral samples from the lunar highland upper crust obtained during the Apollo missions, according to scientists.

Hunt for distant planets intensifies Posted: 18 Feb 2013 10:23 AM PST Armed with new tools, astronomers search for worlds like Earth.

International space station plays host to innovative infectious disease research Posted: 18 Feb 2013 07:30 AM PST A microbiologist is using the ISS platform to pursue new research into the effects of microgravity on disease-causing organisms.

Blood is thicker than water – and blood plasma is, too Posted: 18 Feb 2013 06:25 AM PST Blood flows differently than water. Anyone who has ever cut themselves knows that blood flows viscously and rather erratically. The similarity between blood and ketchup is something not only filmmakers are aware of. Experts refer to these materials as "non-Newtonian fluids," of which ketchup and blood are prime examples. These fluids have flow properties that change depending on conditions, with some becoming more viscous, while others become less viscous.

Dopants dramatically alter electronic structure of superconductor Posted: 17 Feb 2013 10:42 AM PST Doping dramatically alters the atomic-scale electronic structure of the parent of a high-temperature superconductor, with important consequences for the behavior of the current-carrying electrons, according to new research. The findings could potentially point to new ways to design superconductors with improved properties.

Forging a new periodic table using nanostructures: Artificial atoms and bonds provide a new set of building blocks for future materials Posted: 17 Feb 2013 10:42 AM PST Scientists have developed a new set of building blocks based on nanoparticles and DNA. Using these tools, scientists will be able to build -- from the bottom up, just as nature does -- new and useful structures. The research team has already built more than 200 different crystal structures with 17 different particle arrangements. Some of the lattice types can be found in nature, but many are new structures that have no naturally occurring mineral counterpart.

Organic electronics: How to make contact between carbon compounds and metal Posted: 17 Feb 2013 10:42 AM PST Organic electronics has already hit the market in smart-phone displays and holds great promise for future applications like flexible electroluminescent foils (a potential replacement for conventional light bulbs) or solar cells that convert sunlight to electricity. A reoccurring problem in this technology is to establish good electrical contact between the active organic layer and metal electrodes. Organic molecules are frequently used also for this purpose.

Chemists develop single molecule sieves to separate complex molecular mixtures Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:49 AM PST Chemists have created a new technique that could be used in industry to separate complex organic chemical mixtures.

Scientists explore new technologies that remove atmospheric carbon dioxide Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:42 AM PST Reducing carbon dioxide emissions may not be enough to curb global warming, say scientists. The solution could require carbon-negative technologies that actually remove large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Playing quantum tricks with measurements Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:36 AM PST Physicists have performed an experiment that seems to contradict the foundations of quantum theory – at first glance. The team reversed a quantum measurement in a prototype quantum information processor. The experiment is enabled by a technique that has been developed for quantum error correction in a future quantum computer.

Microbial biorefinery provides new insight into how bacteria regulate genes Posted: 14 Feb 2013 04:41 PM PST New research reveals the genetic and chemical mechanisms through which some bacteria consume lignin, a highly stable polymer that accounts for up to a third of plant biomass. Microorganisms that can break down plant biomass into the precursors of biodiesel or other commodity chemicals might one day be used to produce alternatives to petroleum.

Quantum cryptography put to work for electric grid security Posted: 14 Feb 2013 04:41 PM PST Quantum cryptography researchers completed the first-ever demonstration of securing control data for electric grids using quantum cryptography.

X-ray laser sees photosynthesis in action Posted: 14 Feb 2013 04:41 PM PST Opening a new window on the way plants generate the oxygen we breathe, researchers used the LCLS X-ray free-electron laser to simultaneously look at the structure and chemical behavior of a natural catalyst involved in photosynthesis for the first time.

'Acoustic-assisted' magnetic information storage invented Posted: 14 Feb 2013 11:18 AM PST Electrical engineers have discovered a way to use high-frequency sound waves to enhance the magnetic storage of data, offering a new approach to improve the data storage capabilities of a multitude of electronic devices around the world.

Math helps detect gang-related crime and better allocate police resources Posted: 14 Feb 2013 10:40 AM PST Social groups in a population can lend important cues to law enforcement officials, consumer-based services and risk assessors. Social and geographical patterns that provide information about such communities or gangs have been a popular subject for mathematical modeling. Scientists used police department records about individuals' social and geographical information to determine gang memberships.

New method to measure the redundancy of information Posted: 14 Feb 2013 10:28 AM PST Understanding information as well as its redundancy, or duplication, has been crucial in the development of many of our everyday items such mobile phones, the internet, the compact disc as well as ensuring the success of many space missions. Using information geometry tools, researchers have developed a new mathematically precise method of measuring information redundancy.

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