ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• NASA builds sophisticated Earth-observing microwave radiometer
• Black holes abundant among the earliest stars
• 'Temporal cloaking' could bring more secure optical communications
• Firefighting robot paints 3-D thermal imaging picture for rescuers
• Resistivity switch is window to role of magnetism in iron-based superconductors
• Life on Earth shockingly comes from out of this world
• New microfluidic method expands toolbox for nanoparticle manipulation
• NASA's Spitzer sees Milky Way's blooming countryside
• Increased NMR/MRI sensitivity through hyperpolarization of nuclei in diamond
• First observation of spin Hall effect in a quantum gas is step toward 'atomtronics'
• Cat's Paw Nebula 'littered' with baby stars
• Young star suggests our sun was a feisty toddler
• Teacher collaboration, professional communities improve many elementary school students' math scores
• Tiny bubbles in your metallic glass may not be a cause for celebration
• Metal-free catalyst outperforms platinum in fuel cell
• To catch a cyber-thief
• Helicopter takes to the skies with the power of human thought
• Giant planets offer help in faster research on material surfaces

NASA builds sophisticated Earth-observing microwave radiometer Posted: 05 Jun 2013 04:07 PM PDT A NASA team delivered in May a sophisticated microwave radiometer specifically designed to overcome the pitfalls that have plagued similar Earth-observing instruments in the past.

Black holes abundant among the earliest stars Posted: 05 Jun 2013 04:07 PM PDT By comparing infrared and X-ray background signals across the same stretch of sky, astronomers have discovered evidence of a significant number of black holes that accompanied the first stars in the universe.

'Temporal cloaking' could bring more secure optical communications Posted: 05 Jun 2013 04:05 PM PDT Researchers have demonstrated a method for "temporal cloaking" of optical communications, representing a potential tool to thwart would-be eavesdroppers and improve security for telecommunications.

Firefighting robot paints 3-D thermal imaging picture for rescuers Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:44 AM PDT Engineers have developed new image processing techniques for rapid exploration and characterization of structural fires by small Segway-like robotic vehicles. A sophisticated on-board software system takes the thermal data recorded by the robot's small infrared camera and maps it onto a 3-D scene constructed from the images taken by a pair of stereo RGB cameras.

Resistivity switch is window to role of magnetism in iron-based superconductors Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:44 AM PDT Physicists have discovered surprising changes in electrical resistivity in iron-based superconductors. The findings offer further evidence that magnetism and superconductivity are closely related in this class of novel superconductors.

Life on Earth shockingly comes from out of this world Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:43 AM PDT Early Earth was not very hospitable when it came to jump starting life. In fact, new research shows that life on Earth may have come from out of this world. Researchers have found that icy comets that crashed into Earth millions of years ago could have produced life building organic compounds, including the building blocks of proteins and nucleobases pairs of DNA and RNA.

New microfluidic method expands toolbox for nanoparticle manipulation Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:43 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new flow-based method for manipulating and confining single particles in free solution, a process that will help address current challenges faced by nanoscientists and engineers. The "microfluidic trap" is capable of 2-D particle manipulation using the sole action of fluid flow.

NASA's Spitzer sees Milky Way's blooming countryside Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:00 AM PDT New views from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show blooming stars in our Milky Way galaxy's more barren territories, far from its crowded core.

Increased NMR/MRI sensitivity through hyperpolarization of nuclei in diamond Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:37 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated the first magnetically-controlled nearly complete hyperpolarization of the spins of carbon-13 nuclei located near synthetic defects in diamond crystals. This spin hyperpolarization, which can be carried out with refrigerator-style magnets at room temperature, enhances NMR/MRI sensitivity by many orders of magnitude.

First observation of spin Hall effect in a quantum gas is step toward 'atomtronics' Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:36 AM PDT Researchers have reported the first observation of the spin Hall effect in a Bose-Einstein condensate.

Cat's Paw Nebula 'littered' with baby stars Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:36 AM PDT Most skygazers recognize the Orion Nebula, one of the closest stellar nurseries to Earth. Although it makes for great views in backyard telescopes, the Orion Nebula is far from the most prolific star-forming region in our galaxy. That distinction may go to one of the more dramatic stellar nurseries like the Cat's Paw Nebula, otherwise known as NGC 6334, which is experiencing a "baby boom."

Young star suggests our sun was a feisty toddler Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:36 AM PDT If you had a time machine that could take you anywhere in the past, what time would you choose? Most people would probably pick the era of the dinosaurs in hopes of spotting a T. rex. But many astronomers would choose the period, four and a half billion years ago, that our solar system formed. New work suggests that our sun was both active and "feisty" in its infancy, growing in fits and starts while burping out bursts of X-rays.

Teacher collaboration, professional communities improve many elementary school students' math scores Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:02 AM PDT Many elementary students' math performance improves when their teachers collaborate, work in professional learning communities or do both, yet most students don't spend all of their elementary school years in these settings, a new study shows.

Tiny bubbles in your metallic glass may not be a cause for celebration Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:00 AM PDT Bubbles in a champagne glass may add a festive fizz, but microscopic bubbles that form in metallic glass can signal serious trouble. That's why researchers used computer simulations to study how these bubbles form and expand.

Metal-free catalyst outperforms platinum in fuel cell Posted: 05 Jun 2013 08:15 AM PDT Researchers have discovered an inexpensive and easily produced catalyst that performs better than platinum in oxygen-reduction reactions -- a step toward eliminating what industry regards as the largest obstacle to large-scale commercialization of fuel cell technology.

To catch a cyber-thief Posted: 05 Jun 2013 08:15 AM PDT Cyber crime investigation is about to change thanks to a new technique that slashes data-crunching time. What once took months now takes minutes.

Helicopter takes to the skies with the power of human thought Posted: 05 Jun 2013 06:02 AM PDT A remote controlled helicopter has been flown through a series of hoops around a college gymnasium in Minnesota. It sounds like your everyday student project; however, there is one caveat -- the helicopter was controlled using just the power of thought.

Giant planets offer help in faster research on material surfaces Posted: 05 Jun 2013 06:02 AM PDT New, fast and accurate algorithm, based on the mathematical formalism used to model processes accompanying interaction of light with gas planet atmospheres, is a major step towards better understanding of physical and chemical properties of materials' surfaces studied under laboratory conditions.

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