ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Research improves temperature modeling across mountainous landscapes
• New tool makes online personal data more transparent
• Recycling old car batteries into solar cells: Environmental twofer could recycle lead batteries to make solar cells
• Ocean warming could drive heavy rain bands toward poles
• Stronger drunk driving laws lead to safer roads: Study
• Sun's activity influences natural climate change
• Artificial cells act like the real thing
• Surprising number of older adults weathered the 'great recession' without financial strain
• How children's brains memorize math facts
• Fascinating rhythm: Light pulses illuminate a rare black hole
• 'Cavity protection effect' helps to conserve quantum information
• Microchip reveals how tumor cells transition to invasion
• New X-ray imaging developed by scientists
• #FeelingSick: Can Twitter help better identify foodborne illness cases?
• How nanoscale lubricating systems can ease friction between surfaces
• Transparent polymeric films with near-uniform, continuous nanoprotrusions show high water pinning abilities

Research improves temperature modeling across mountainous landscapes Posted: 18 Aug 2014 01:14 PM PDT New research provides improved computer models for estimating temperature across mountainous landscapes. Accurate, spatially based estimates of historical air temperature within mountainous areas are critical as scientists and land managers look at temperature-driven changes to vegetation, wildlife habitat, wildfire and snowpack.

New tool makes online personal data more transparent Posted: 18 Aug 2014 10:51 AM PDT XRay is a new tool that reveals which data in a web account, such as emails, searches, or viewed products, are being used to target which outputs, such as ads, recommended products, or prices. Determined to provide checks and balances on data abuse, XRay is designed to be the first fine-grained, scalable personal data tracking system for the web.

Recycling old car batteries into solar cells: Environmental twofer could recycle lead batteries to make solar cells Posted: 18 Aug 2014 08:34 AM PDT This could be a classic win-win solution: A system proposed by researchers recycles materials from discarded car batteries -- a potential source of lead pollution -- into new, long-lasting solar panels that provide emissions-free power.

Ocean warming could drive heavy rain bands toward poles Posted: 18 Aug 2014 08:32 AM PDT In a world warmed by rising atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, precipitation patterns are going to change because of two factors: one, warmer air can hold more water; and two, changing atmospheric circulation patterns will shift where rain falls. According to previous model research, mid- to high-latitude precipitation is expected to increase by as much as 50 percent. Yet the reasons why models predict this are hard to tease out.

Stronger drunk driving laws lead to safer roads: Study Posted: 18 Aug 2014 06:52 AM PDT Changes to British Columbia's laws against driving while impaired have reduced fatal crashes as well as ambulance calls and hospital admissions resulting from motor vehicle crashes, a new study finds.

Sun's activity influences natural climate change Posted: 18 Aug 2014 06:52 AM PDT A new study has, for the first time, reconstructed solar activity during the last ice age. The study shows that the regional climate is influenced by the sun and offers opportunities to better predict future climate conditions in certain regions.

Artificial cells act like the real thing Posted: 18 Aug 2014 06:50 AM PDT Scientists have created an artificial, network-like cell system that is capable of reproducing the dynamic behavior of protein synthesis. This achievement is not only likely to help gain a deeper understanding of basic biological processes, but it may, in the future, pave the way toward controlling the synthesis of both naturally-occurring and synthetic proteins for a host of uses.

Surprising number of older adults weathered the 'great recession' without financial strain Posted: 17 Aug 2014 10:22 PM PDT The "Great Recession" may have put a dent in many older adults' pocketbooks, but a new study finds that more than 40 percent reported a decrease in "financial strain" between 2006 and 2010.

How children's brains memorize math facts Posted: 17 Aug 2014 07:01 PM PDT As children learn basic arithmetic, they gradually switch from solving problems by counting on their fingers to pulling facts from memory. The shift comes more easily for some kids than for others, but no one knows why. Now, new brain-imaging research gives the first evidence drawn from a longitudinal study to explain how the brain reorganizes itself as children learn math facts.

Fascinating rhythm: Light pulses illuminate a rare black hole Posted: 17 Aug 2014 07:00 PM PDT Astronomers have accurately measured -- and thus confirmed the existence of -- a rare intermediate-mass black hole about 400 times the mass of our sun in a galaxy 12 million light years from the Milky Way. The finding uses a technique never applied in this way before, and opens the door to new studies of these mysterious objects.

'Cavity protection effect' helps to conserve quantum information Posted: 17 Aug 2014 07:00 PM PDT Two different quantum systems are being coupled by researchers to create a powerful hybrid quantum system. Using a strong coupling effect, the coherence time could now be considerably prolonged.

Microchip reveals how tumor cells transition to invasion Posted: 17 Aug 2014 07:00 PM PDT A microscopic obstacle course of carefully spaced pillars enables researchers to observe cancer cells directly as they break away from a tumor mass and move more rapidly across the microchip. The device could be useful for testing cancer drugs and further research on the mechanics of metastasis.

New X-ray imaging developed by scientists Posted: 15 Aug 2014 04:25 PM PDT Scientists have developed an X-ray imaging system that enables researchers to see 'live' how effective treatments are for cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis affects many of the body's systems, but most severely the lungs, and currently it can take several months to measure how effective treatment is for the early-fatal lung disease.

#FeelingSick: Can Twitter help better identify foodborne illness cases? Posted: 15 Aug 2014 04:22 PM PDT An estimated 55 million to 105 million people in the United States suffer from foodborne illnesses each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), resulting in costs of $2-$4 billion annually. What if Twitter could be used to track those cases and more quickly identify the source of the problem? A new analysis shows that new technology might better allow health departments to engage with the public to improve foodborne illness surveillance.

How nanoscale lubricating systems can ease friction between surfaces Posted: 13 Aug 2014 09:37 PM PDT Diamond-like-carbon (DLC) coatings are an innovative technology, exhibiting the twin properties of mechanical toughness and ultralow friction. These features, which are desirable in abrasive environments, have led to the widespread adoption of DLC films in microelectromechanical systems, such as hard disk drives. But because these coatings contain amorphous carbon atoms that produce rough, nanoscale textures, it is difficult to optimize their friction properties using classical theories designed for macroscopic objects.

Transparent polymeric films with near-uniform, continuous nanoprotrusions show high water pinning abilities Posted: 13 Aug 2014 09:37 PM PDT Researchers have used nanoimprinting methods to make patterned polymeric films with surface topography inspired by that of a rose petal, producing a range of transparent films with high water pinning forces.

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