ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• 'Spooky action' builds a wormhole between 'entangled' quantum particles
• Tongue-drive wheelchair works better than sip-and-puff system
• Ocean currents shape Jupiter-moon Europa's icy shell in ways critical for potential habitats
• Hubble traces subtle signals of water on hazy worlds
• Nanoscale shape-memory oxide discovered: Opens door to applications in medicine, energy and electronics
• Technology could lead to more reliable renewable energy systems
• Biotemplated design of piezoelectric energy harvesting device developed
• New thermoelectronic generator: Heat energy efficiently converted to electricity
• Art could help create a better 'STEM' student
• London 2012 Velodrome: The role of simulation in the design process
• Face to face with Sweden's social robot
• Citrus fruit inspires a new energy-absorbing metal structure
• The secret beauty of the World Wide Web
• Optimizing carbon nanotube arrays for use in hot spots

'Spooky action' builds a wormhole between 'entangled' quantum particles Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:15 PM PST New research indicates a phenomenon known as "quantum entanglement" might be intrinsically linked with wormholes, hypothetical features of space-time that could link one part of the universe with another.

Tongue-drive wheelchair works better than sip-and-puff system Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:18 AM PST After a diving accident left Jason DiSanto paralyzed from the neck down in 2009, he had to learn how to navigate life from a powered wheelchair, which he controls with a sip-and-puff system. Users sip or puff air into a straw mounted on their wheelchair to execute four basic commands that drive the chair. But results from a new clinical study offer hope that sip-and-puff users like DiSanto could gain a higher level of independence than offered by this common assistive technology. Researchers found that people with tetraplegia can maneuver a wheelchair better with the Tongue Drive System than with the sip-and-puff system.

Ocean currents shape Jupiter-moon Europa's icy shell in ways critical for potential habitats Posted: 03 Dec 2013 10:38 AM PST In a finding of relevance to the search for life in our solar system, researchers have shown the subsurface ocean on Jupiter's moon Europa may have deep currents and circulation patterns with heat and energy transfers capable of sustaining biological life. The findings are based on numerical models accounting for the formation of the chaos terrains, one of Europa's most prominent surface features.

Hubble traces subtle signals of water on hazy worlds Posted: 03 Dec 2013 10:38 AM PST Using the powerful eye of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have found faint signatures of water in the atmospheres of five distant planets. The presence of atmospheric water was reported previously on a few exoplanets orbiting stars beyond our solar system, but this is the first study to conclusively measure and compare the profiles and intensities of these signatures on multiple worlds.

Nanoscale shape-memory oxide discovered: Opens door to applications in medicine, energy and electronics Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:49 AM PST Researchers have discovered a way to introduce a shape memory effect in bismuth ferrite that is larger than any observed in a metal. This discovery opens the door to applications in a wide range of fields, including medical, energy and electronics.

Technology could lead to more reliable renewable energy systems Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:45 AM PST Renewable energy sources such as wind-powered generators can be more reliable and efficient by better controlling the process of getting electricity onto the power grid, according to new research.

Biotemplated design of piezoelectric energy harvesting device developed Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:03 AM PST Scientists have developed a biotemplated design for a flexible piezoelectric energy harvesting device, called a "nanogenerator."

New thermoelectronic generator: Heat energy efficiently converted to electricity Posted: 03 Dec 2013 07:59 AM PST Through a process known as thermionic conversion, heat energy can be converted into electricity with very high efficiency. Because of its promise, researchers have been trying for more than half a century to develop a practical thermionic generator, with little luck. That luck may soon change, thanks to a new design -- dubbed a thermoelectronic generator.

Art could help create a better 'STEM' student Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:16 AM PST Scientists have focused on how to incorporate creativity into STEM education with the implication that doing so will increase the quality of STEM graduates. STEM studies are about problem solving, and creative endeavors are exercises in problem solving, experts say.

London 2012 Velodrome: The role of simulation in the design process Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:15 AM PST Whilst stadia preparations for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar come under intense scrutiny, we look back at how the 2012 Summer Olympics in London got it right – by incorporating simulation into the design process of the highly acclaimed velodrome.

Face to face with Sweden's social robot Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:15 AM PST Human interaction with robots is about to get a little more personal. Meet "Furhat," the face of tomorrow's interactive technology.

Citrus fruit inspires a new energy-absorbing metal structure Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST It has been said that nature provides us with everything that we need. A new study may lend credence to that claim. Researchers have developed an aluminum hybrid that could be used to optimize technical components and safety materials. And the inspiration came from an unexpected source - the peel of the pomelo fruit (Citrus maxima). Pomelo fruits have a mass of one to two kilograms, but are able to withstand impact forces resulting from falls of over 10 meters. The fruit's impact resistance is mainly due to the hierarchical structuring of the peel, which is made up of a graded, fiber-reinforced foam. The new aluminum hybrid is the product of a bio-inspired approach, combining metals with different mechanical properties that reflect these naturally occurring structures and mimic the strength of the pomelo peel.

The secret beauty of the World Wide Web Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:07 AM PST From a distance, these newly created visualizations look likes stars exploding, fireworks or simply striking patterns -- but what you're actually looking at are the hidden dimensions of the World Wide Web.

Optimizing carbon nanotube arrays for use in hot spots Posted: 02 Dec 2013 01:21 PM PST Experimental evidence and computer simulations suggest how to grow structures with the best trade offs between three desired characteristics: strength, flexibility and the ability to dissipate heat.

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