ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft eyes comet ISON
• WISE space telescope feels the heat from Orion's sword
• Does probability come from quantum physics?
• New modeling approach transforms imaging technologies
• Light-emitting nano triangles may have applications in optical technology
• Hubble catches the moment the lights went out
• A spiral galaxy with a secret
• Using single quantum dots to probe nanowires
• Popular drug-carrying nanoparticles get trapped in bloodstream
• Next-gen e-readers: Improved 'peacock' technology could lock in color for high-res displays
• New 'retention model' explains enigmatic ribbon at edge of solar system
• Cargo container research to improve buildings' ability to withstand tsunamis
• Control a virtual spacecraft by thought alone
• 3-D printing breakthrough with human embryonic stem cells

NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft eyes comet ISON Posted: 05 Feb 2013 01:04 PM PST NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft has acquired its first images of comet C/2012 S1 (ISON). The images were taken by the spacecraft's Medium-Resolution Imager over a 36-hour period on Jan. 17 and 18, 2013, from a distance of 493 million miles (793 million kilometers). Many scientists anticipate a bright future for comet ISON; the spaceborne conglomeration of dust and ice may put on quite a show as it passes through the inner solar system this fall.

WISE space telescope feels the heat from Orion's sword Posted: 05 Feb 2013 12:22 PM PST The tangle of clouds and stars that lie in Orion's sword is showcased in a new, expansive view from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.

Does probability come from quantum physics? Posted: 05 Feb 2013 12:14 PM PST Ever since Erwin Schrodinger put his unfortunate cat in a box, his fellow physicists have been using quantum theory to explain and understand the nature of waves and particles. But a new article makes the case that these quantum fluctuations actually are responsible for the probability of all actions, with far-reaching implications for theories of the universe.

New modeling approach transforms imaging technologies Posted: 05 Feb 2013 11:34 AM PST Researchers are improving the performance of technologies ranging from medical CT scanners to digital cameras using a system of models to extract specific information from huge collections of data and then reconstructing images like a jigsaw puzzle. The new approach is called model-based iterative reconstruction, or MBIR.

Light-emitting nano triangles may have applications in optical technology Posted: 05 Feb 2013 09:37 AM PST For the first time, scientists have created single layers of a naturally occurring rare mineral called tungstenite, which they have used to produce a sheet of stacked sulfur and tungsten atoms with unusual photoluminescent properties and with potential for use in optical technologies such as light detectors and lasers.

Hubble catches the moment the lights went out Posted: 05 Feb 2013 09:37 AM PST The further away you look, the further back in time you see. Astronomers use this fact to study the evolution of the Universe by looking at nearby and more distant galaxies and comparing their features. Hubble is particularly well suited for this type of work because of its extremely high resolution and its position above the blurring effects of Earth's atmosphere. This has allowed it to detect many of the most distant galaxies known, as well as making detailed images of faraway objects.

A spiral galaxy with a secret Posted: 05 Feb 2013 09:37 AM PST The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope -- with a little help from an amateur astronomer -- has produced one of the best views yet of nearby spiral galaxy Messier 106. Located a little over 20 million light-years away, practically a neighbor by cosmic standards, Messier 106 is one of the brightest and nearest spiral galaxies to our own.

Using single quantum dots to probe nanowires Posted: 05 Feb 2013 09:36 AM PST Plasmonic antennas will help image and detect bio-particles. This new research helps establish this approach.

Popular drug-carrying nanoparticles get trapped in bloodstream Posted: 05 Feb 2013 09:30 AM PST Many medically minded researchers are in hot pursuit of designs that will allow drug-carrying nanoparticles to navigate tissues and the interiors of cells, but engineers have discovered that these particles have another hurdle to overcome: escaping the bloodstream.

Next-gen e-readers: Improved 'peacock' technology could lock in color for high-res displays Posted: 05 Feb 2013 09:30 AM PST Iridescence, or sheen that shifts color depending on your viewing angle, is pretty in peacock feathers. But it's been a nuisance for engineers trying to mimic the birds' unique color mechanism to make high-resolution, reflective, color display screens. Now, researchers have found a way to lock in so-called structural color, which is made with texture rather than chemicals.

New 'retention model' explains enigmatic ribbon at edge of solar system Posted: 05 Feb 2013 07:21 AM PST Since its Oct. 2008 launch, NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer has provided images of the invisible interactions between our home in the galaxy and interstellar space. Particles emanating from this boundary produce a striking, narrow ribbon, which had yet to be explained despite more than a dozen possible theories. In a new "retention model," researchers suggest that charged particles trapped in this region create the ribbon as they escape as neutral atoms.

Cargo container research to improve buildings' ability to withstand tsunamis Posted: 05 Feb 2013 07:21 AM PST A research team has determined just what the impact of cargo containers could be and will present findings at an international conference in June. The goal is to supply structural engineers with information to design buildings in areas vulnerable to tsunamis.

Control a virtual spacecraft by thought alone Posted: 05 Feb 2013 07:17 AM PST Scientists have been working with NASA on a project where they controlled a virtual spacecraft by thought alone. Using BCI (brain-computer interface) technology, they found that combining the brain power of two people could be more accurate in steering a spacecraft than one person. BCIs convert signals generated from the brain into control commands for various applications, including virtual reality and hands-free control.

3-D printing breakthrough with human embryonic stem cells Posted: 04 Feb 2013 07:08 PM PST A team of researchers from Scotland has used a novel 3-D printing technique to arrange human embryonic stem cells for the very first time. Scientists hope that this breakthrough will allow three-dimensional tissues and structures to be created using hESCs, which could, amongst other things, speed up and improve the process of drug testing.

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