ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• The molecule 'scanner': World's smallest terahertz detector invented
• New challenges for mercury cleanup
• Scientists add new bond to protein engineering toolbox
• Astronomers image lowest-mass exoplanet around a sun-like star
• New explanation for odd double-layer Martian craters
• 3-D IR images now in full color
• Making a mini Mona Lisa: Nanotechnique creates image on surface less than a third the hair's width
• Reliable communication, unreliable networks
• Understanding interface properties of graphene paves way for new applications
• Seeing depth through a single lens
• Interface superconductivity withstands variations in atomic configuration
• Heterogeneous nanoblocks give polymers an edge
• Materials break, then remake, bonds to build strength: Bending synthetic material makes it stronger, not weaker
• Disorder can improve the performance of plastic solar cells

The molecule 'scanner': World's smallest terahertz detector invented Posted: 05 Aug 2013 07:35 PM PDT Molecules could soon be "scanned" in a fashion similar to imaging screenings at airports, thanks to a new detector.

New challenges for mercury cleanup Posted: 05 Aug 2013 07:34 PM PDT More forms of mercury can be converted to deadly methylmercury than previously thought, according to a new study. The discovery provides scientists with another piece of the mercury puzzle, bringing them one step closer to understanding the challenges associated with mercury cleanup.

Scientists add new bond to protein engineering toolbox Posted: 05 Aug 2013 07:30 PM PDT Proteins are the workhorses of cells, adopting conformations that allow them to set off chemical reactions, send signals and transport materials. But when a scientist is designing a new drug, trying to visualize the processes inside cells, or probe how molecules interact with each other, they can't always find a protein that will do the job they want. Instead, they often engineer their own novel proteins to use in experiments, either from scratch or by altering existing molecules.

Astronomers image lowest-mass exoplanet around a sun-like star Posted: 05 Aug 2013 01:36 PM PDT Using infrared data from the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, an international team of astronomers has imaged a giant planet around the bright star GJ 504. Several times the mass of Jupiter and similar in size, the new world, dubbed GJ 504b, is the lowest-mass planet ever detected around a star like the sun using direct imaging techniques.

New explanation for odd double-layer Martian craters Posted: 05 Aug 2013 12:25 PM PDT The surface of Mars it pocked by more than 600 "double-layered ejecta" DLE craters, but how these odd craters formed has been a mystery. A new study makes the case that glacial ice, possibly tens of meters thick at the time of impacts millions of years ago, may be responsible for the unique features of DLEs.

3-D IR images now in full color Posted: 05 Aug 2013 10:37 AM PDT Researchers have created the first technique to offer full color IR tomography, a non-destructive 3D imaging process that provides molecular-level chemical information of unprecedented detail on biological and other specimens with no need to stain or alter the specimen.

Making a mini Mona Lisa: Nanotechnique creates image on surface less than a third the hair's width Posted: 05 Aug 2013 10:11 AM PDT Scientists have "painted" the Mona Lisa on a substrate surface approximately 30 microns in width -- or one-third the width of a human hair. The team's creation, the "Mini Lisa," demonstrates a technique that could potentially be used to achieve nanomanufacturing of devices because the team was able to vary the surface concentration of molecules on such short-length scales.

Reliable communication, unreliable networks Posted: 05 Aug 2013 10:11 AM PDT A new model of wireless networks that better represents the real world could lead to more robust communications protocols.

Understanding interface properties of graphene paves way for new applications Posted: 05 Aug 2013 08:34 AM PDT Researchers have revealed more about graphene's mechanical properties and demonstrated a technique to improve the stretchability of graphene -- developments that should help engineers and designers come up with new technologies that make use of the material.

Seeing depth through a single lens Posted: 05 Aug 2013 08:29 AM PDT Researchers have developed a way for photographers and microscopists to create a 3D image through a single lens, without moving the camera.

Interface superconductivity withstands variations in atomic configuration Posted: 05 Aug 2013 08:28 AM PDT Scientists discover that critical temperature remains constant across interface superconductors regardless of changes in electron doping levels, challenging leading theories.

Heterogeneous nanoblocks give polymers an edge Posted: 05 Aug 2013 06:23 AM PDT A new uncovers the effects of size variation in nanoscale blocks used in polymer mixes.

Materials break, then remake, bonds to build strength: Bending synthetic material makes it stronger, not weaker Posted: 04 Aug 2013 11:44 AM PDT Microscopic tears in a new kind of human-made material may actually help the substance bulk up like a bodybuilder at the gym.

Disorder can improve the performance of plastic solar cells Posted: 04 Aug 2013 11:44 AM PDT Instead of mimicking rigid solar cells made of silicon crystals, materials scientists should embrace the inherently disordered nature of plastic polymers, say scientists. Their findings could speed up the development of low-cost, commercially available plastic solar cells and other electronic devices.

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