ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Toward 'vanishing' electronics and unlocking nanomaterials' power potential
• New airborne GPS technology for weather conditions takes flight
• Knowing whether food has spoiled without even opening the container
• Flexible electronics: Flexible carbon nanotube circuits more reliable and power efficient
• Tremors of the Big Bang: First direct evidence of cosmic inflation
• Back to life after 1,500 years: Moss brought back to life after 1,500 years frozen in ice
• Baby's life saved after 3-D printed devices were implanted restore his breathing
• Shale could be long-term home for problematic nuclear waste
• Fast-moving cells in human immune system walk in stepwise manner
• Simpler gas distribution using buoyant transfer system
• Who’s afraid of math? Study finds some genetic factors
• Improved mass spectrometric method for proteomic analyses presented by Immunologists
• Better-tasting reduced-fat desserts, dressings, sauces: Coming soon?

Toward 'vanishing' electronics and unlocking nanomaterials' power potential Posted: 17 Mar 2014 02:43 PM PDT Brain sensors and electronic tags that dissolve. Boosting the potential of renewable energy sources. These are examples of the latest research from two pioneering scientists. Tackling health and sustainability issues simultaneously, scientists are developing a vast toolbox of materials -- from magnesium and silicon to silk and even rice paper -- to make biodegradable electronics that can potentially be used in a range of applications.

New airborne GPS technology for weather conditions takes flight Posted: 17 Mar 2014 02:06 PM PDT GPS technology has broadly advanced science and society's ability to pinpoint precise information, from driving directions to tracking ground motions during earthquakes. A new technique stands to improve weather models and hurricane forecasting by detecting precise conditions in the atmosphere through a new GPS system aboard airplanes.

Knowing whether food has spoiled without even opening the container Posted: 17 Mar 2014 02:06 PM PDT A color-coded smart tag could tell consumers whether milk has turned sour or green beans have spoiled without opening the containers, say researchers. The tag, appearing on the packaging, also could be used to determine if medications and other perishable products were still active or fresh.

Flexible electronics: Flexible carbon nanotube circuits more reliable and power efficient Posted: 17 Mar 2014 12:56 PM PDT Engineers want to create flexible electronic devices, like e-readers that could fold into a pocket. One approach involves designing circuits based on carbon nanotubes instead of rigid silicon chips. But silicon chips are designed to function flawlessly despite power fluctuations. This is more challenging to do with CNT circuits. Scientists have now developed a process to create flexible CNT chips that can tolerate power fluctuation, bringing high-performance flexible electronics closer to reality.

Tremors of the Big Bang: First direct evidence of cosmic inflation Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:58 AM PDT Almost 14 billion years ago, the universe we inhabit burst into existence in an extraordinary event that initiated the Big Bang. In the first fleeting fraction of a second, the universe expanded exponentially, stretching far beyond the view of our best telescopes. All this, of course, was just theory. Researchers now announce the first direct evidence for this cosmic inflation. Their data also represent the first images of gravitational waves, or ripples in space-time. These waves have been described as the "first tremors of the Big Bang." Finally, the data confirm a deep connection between quantum mechanics and general relativity.

Back to life after 1,500 years: Moss brought back to life after 1,500 years frozen in ice Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:50 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated that, after over 1,500 years frozen in Antarctic ice, moss can come back to life and continue to grow. For the first time, this vital part of the ecosystem in both polar regions has been shown to have the ability to survive century to millennial scale ice ages. This provides exciting new insight into the survival of life on Earth.

Baby's life saved after 3-D printed devices were implanted restore his breathing Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:49 AM PDT Garrett is just the second person whose life was saved with a new, bioresorbable device. He needed to be on a ventilator at pressure levels that had reached the maximum, and he was not improving. Often on strong medication, and even at times in a medically-induced coma because he would work against the ventilator if he was awake, Garrett's family learned about a procedure that might just change his life.

Shale could be long-term home for problematic nuclear waste Posted: 17 Mar 2014 07:35 AM PDT Shale, the source of the United States' current natural gas boom, could help solve another energy problem: what to do with radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. The unique properties of the sedimentary rock and related clay-rich rocks make it ideal for storing the potentially dangerous spent fuel for millennia, according to geologists studying possible storage sites.

Fast-moving cells in human immune system walk in stepwise manner Posted: 17 Mar 2014 06:59 AM PDT Advanced mathematical tools were applied to answer a basic question in cell biology about how cells move and discovered that the mechanism looks very similar to walking, a team of biologists and engineers reports. Their discovery is an important advance toward developing new pharmacological strategies to treat chronic inflammatory diseases.

Simpler gas distribution using buoyant transfer system Posted: 17 Mar 2014 06:59 AM PDT A new, fully mobile solution for offloading natural gas from ships to land may lead to increased distribution to new markets around the world. International demand for natural gas is high, and there are plentiful deposits to be found in many places. Gas is also more environment-friendly than other fossil fuels. The challenge lies in making it less difficult to transport to consumers -- and researchers are looking to do just that.

Who’s afraid of math? Study finds some genetic factors Posted: 17 Mar 2014 06:58 AM PDT A new study of math anxiety shows how some people may be at greater risk to fear math not only because of negative experiences, but also because of genetic risks related to both general anxiety and math skills. The results don't mean that math anxiety can be blamed solely or even mostly on genetic factors, the researchers emphasized. In this study, genetic factors explained about 40 percent of the individual differences in math anxiety.

Improved mass spectrometric method for proteomic analyses presented by Immunologists Posted: 17 Mar 2014 05:47 AM PDT When it comes to analyzing cell components or body fluids or developing new medications, there is no way around mass spectrometry. Mass spectrometry is a highly sensitive method of measurement that has been used for many years for the analysis of chemical and biological materials. A new breakthrough discovery offers new perspectives for research on the immune and nervous system.

Better-tasting reduced-fat desserts, dressings, sauces: Coming soon? Posted: 16 Mar 2014 12:29 PM PDT Adjusting the calcium level and acidity could be the key to developing new better tasting, more eye-appealing and creamier reduced-fat sauces, desserts and salad dressings, researchers report.

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