ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Blame it on the rain (from Saturn's rings): More charged water particles fall than thought
• Discovery of a blue supergiant star born in the wild
• Lights, chemistry, action: New method for mapping brain activity
• Ancient Roman man hidden beneath famous painting at the Louvre
• Safety reflector technology from footwear getting new life in detecting bioterror threats
• Scientists develop first photonic topological insulators to provide protection for transport of light
• Faster than silicon: Redesigned material could lead to lighter, faster electronics
• X-rays reveal coexisting structures in glass
• Liquid on liquid goes solid
• Plasmonics: A flexible bridge between two worlds
• Nanotechnology: Color printing reaches new highs
• Data storage: Shingled tracks stack up
• GUMBOS technology promises new drugs, electronic devices
• Understanding the life of lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles
• Overcoming a major barrier to medical and other uses of 'microrockets' and 'micromotors'
• Ghostly green bubble: Detailed image of planetary nebula

Blame it on the rain (from Saturn's rings): More charged water particles fall than thought Posted: 10 Apr 2013 05:23 PM PDT A new study tracks the "rain" of charged water particles into the atmosphere of Saturn and finds there is more of it and it falls across larger areas of the planet than previously thought. The study, whose observations were funded by NASA and whose analysis was led by the University of Leicester, England, reveals that the rain influences the composition and temperature structure of parts of Saturn's upper atmosphere.

Discovery of a blue supergiant star born in the wild Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:42 PM PDT Astronomers have discovered a blue supergiant star located far beyond our Milky Way Galaxy in the constellation Virgo. Over 55 million years ago, the star emerged in an extremely wild environment, surrounded by intensely hot plasma (a million degrees centigrade) and amidst raging cyclone winds blowing at four million kilometers per hour. Research using the Subaru Telescope, the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope (CFHT) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) revealed unprecedented views of the star formation process in this intergalactic context and showed the promise of future investigations of a possibly new mode of star formation, unlike that within our Milky Way.

Lights, chemistry, action: New method for mapping brain activity Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:16 PM PDT Building on their history of innovative brain-imaging techniques, scientists have developed a new way to use light and chemistry to map brain activity in fully-awake, moving animals, opening a new window to the study of brain diseases.

Ancient Roman man hidden beneath famous painting at the Louvre Posted: 10 Apr 2013 12:46 PM PDT In the latest achievement in efforts to see what may lie underneath the surface of great works of art, scientists today described the first use of an imaging technology like that used in airport whole-body security scanners to detect the face of an ancient Roman man hidden below the surface of a wall painting in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Safety reflector technology from footwear getting new life in detecting bioterror threats Posted: 10 Apr 2013 12:46 PM PDT Tiny versions of the reflectors on sneakers and bicycle fenders that help ensure the safety of runners and bikers at night are moving toward another role in detecting bioterrorism threats and diagnosing everyday infectious diseases, scientists have said.

Scientists develop first photonic topological insulators to provide protection for transport of light Posted: 10 Apr 2013 11:13 AM PDT Researchers have developed and successfully demonstrated a photonic Floquet topological insulator, a new device used to protect the transport of light through a unique, lattice of 'waveguides.' This could play a key role in the photonics industry.

Faster than silicon: Redesigned material could lead to lighter, faster electronics Posted: 10 Apr 2013 10:15 AM PDT The same material that formed the first primitive transistors more than 60 years ago can be modified in a new way to advance future electronics, according to a new study. Chemists have developed the technology for making a one-atom-thick sheet of germanium, and found that it conducts electrons more than ten times faster than silicon and five times faster than conventional germanium.

X-rays reveal coexisting structures in glass Posted: 10 Apr 2013 10:12 AM PDT Despite the long and rich history and widespread use of glass, surprisingly little is known about the interplay between the mechanical properties of glasses and their inner structures. For the first time, researchers have monitored subtle structural changes in a glass made from microscopic silica spheres, which they exposed to shear stress.

Liquid on liquid goes solid Posted: 10 Apr 2013 10:11 AM PDT Not all liquids are mixable. Researchers have investigated chemical processes with atomic resolution at the interface between two such liquids and have made an exciting discovery. They observed the formation of an ordered crystal of exactly five atomic layers between the two liquids, which acts as a foundation for growing even bigger crystals.

Plasmonics: A flexible bridge between two worlds Posted: 10 Apr 2013 08:41 AM PDT A novel material shows its credentials to facilitate the integration of photonic and electronic components in practical devices.

Nanotechnology: Color printing reaches new highs Posted: 10 Apr 2013 08:41 AM PDT Color printing at the highest resolution possible is enabled by the use of arrays of metal-coated nanostructures.

Data storage: Shingled tracks stack up Posted: 10 Apr 2013 08:41 AM PDT Simply changing the pattern by which data is recorded may lead to increased hard drive capacities.

GUMBOS technology promises new drugs, electronic devices Posted: 10 Apr 2013 08:21 AM PDT Mention a breakthrough involving "gumbo" technology in New Orleans, and people think of a new twist on The Local Dish, the stew that's the quintessence of southern Louisiana cooking. But a recent scientific presentation focuses on what may be an advance in developing GUMBOS-based materials with far-reaching medical, electronic and other uses.

Understanding the life of lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles Posted: 10 Apr 2013 07:39 AM PDT Scientists have now answered a question that worries millions of owners and potential owners of electric and hybrid vehicles using lithium-ion batteries: How long before the battery pack dies, leaving a sticker-shock bill for a fresh pack or a car ready for the junk heap? Their answer may surprise skeptics.

Overcoming a major barrier to medical and other uses of 'microrockets' and 'micromotors' Posted: 10 Apr 2013 07:39 AM PDT An advance in micromotor technology akin to the invention of cars that fuel themselves from the pavement or air is opening the door to new medical and industrial uses for these tiny devices, scientists say. Their update on development of the motors -- so small that thousands would fit inside this "o" -- was part of a recent conference presentation.

Ghostly green bubble: Detailed image of planetary nebula Posted: 10 Apr 2013 05:27 AM PDT An intriguing new picture shows the glowing green planetary nebula IC 1295 surrounding a dim and dying star located about 3300 light-years away in the constellation of Scutum (The Shield). This is the most detailed picture of this object ever taken.

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