ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

---

• Why some liquids are 'fragile' and others are 'strong'
• Nanodiamonds are forever: Did comet collision leave layer of nanodiamonds across Earth?
• Novel 'butterfly' molecule could build new sensors, photoenergy conversion devices
• First study of brain activation in MS using fNIRS
• Rubber meets the road with new carbon, battery technologies
• More accurate Twitter analysis tools developed
• Breaking benzene selectively, at relatively mild temperatures
• Detecting neutrinos, physicists look into the heart of the sun
• Red Planet's Climate History uncovered in Unique Meteorite
• Early growth of giant galaxy, just 3 billion years after the Big Bang, revealed
• Educated consumers more likely to use potentially unreliable online healthcare information
• New smartphone app can detect newborn jaundice in minutes
• Materials Other Than Silicon for Next Generation Electronic Devices
• Shy people use Facebook longer but disclose less, research reveals
• Statistical Approach for Calculating Environmental Influences in Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) Results
• Orion rocks! Pebble-size particles may jump-start planet formation
• Study identifies upside to financial innovations
• Measurement at Big Bang conditions confirms lithium problem
• Leading scientists call for a stop to non-essential use of fluorochemicals
• What lit up the universe?
• Thunder God Vine, with assists by nanotechnology, could shake up future cancer treatment
• Atomically seamless, thinnest-possible semiconductor junctions crafted by scientists
• New technology may identify tiny strains in body tissues before injuries occur

Why some liquids are 'fragile' and others are 'strong' Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT Only recently has it become possible to accurately 'see' the structure of a liquid. Using X-rays and a high-tech apparatus that holds liquids without a container, a physicist has compared the behavior of glass-forming liquids as they approach the glass transition. The results are the strongest demonstration yet that bulk properties like viscosity are linked to microscopic ones like structure.

Nanodiamonds are forever: Did comet collision leave layer of nanodiamonds across Earth? Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT A comet collision with Earth caused abrupt environmental stress and degradation that contributed to the extinction of most large animal species then inhabiting the Americas, a group of scientists suggests. The catastrophic impact and the subsequent climate change also led to the disappearance of the prehistoric Clovis culture, and to human population decline. Now focus has turned to the character and distribution of nanodiamonds, one type of material produced during such an extraterrestrial collision. The researchers found an abundance of these tiny diamonds distributed over 50 million square kilometers across the Northern Hemisphere.

Novel 'butterfly' molecule could build new sensors, photoenergy conversion devices Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:33 PM PDT Exciting new work has led to a novel molecular system that can take your temperature, emit white light, and convert photon energy directly to mechanical motions. And, the molecule looks like a butterfly.

First study of brain activation in MS using fNIRS Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:17 PM PDT Using functional near infrared spectroscopy, researchers showed differential brain activation patterns between people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls. This is first MS study to examine brain activation using fNIRS during a cognitive task.

Rubber meets the road with new carbon, battery technologies Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:16 PM PDT Recycled tires could see new life in lithium-ion batteries that provide power to plug-in electric vehicles and store energy produced by wind and solar, say researchers. By modifying the microstructural characteristics of carbon black, a substance recovered from discarded tires, a team is developing a better anode for lithium-ion batteries.

More accurate Twitter analysis tools developed Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:17 AM PDT 'Trending' topics on Twitter show the quantity of tweets associated with a specific event but trends only show the highest volume keywords and hashtags, and may not give information about the tweets themselves. Now, using data associated with the Super Bowl and World Series, researchers have developed and validated a software program that analyzes event-based tweets and measures the context of tweets rather than just the quantity.

Breaking benzene selectively, at relatively mild temperatures Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:17 AM PDT Scientists have demonstrated a way to use a metallic complex, trinuclear titanium hydride, to accomplish the task of activating benzene by breaking the aromatic carbon-carbon bonds at relatively mild temperatures and in a highly selective way.

Detecting neutrinos, physicists look into the heart of the sun Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:16 AM PDT Using one of the most sensitive neutrino detectors on the planet, physicists have directly detected neutrinos created by the 'keystone' proton-proton fusion process going on at the sun's core for the first time.

Red Planet's Climate History uncovered in Unique Meteorite Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:15 AM PDT Was Mars — now a cold, dry place — once a warm, wet planet that sustained life? Research underway may one day answer those questions — and perhaps even help pave the way for future colonization of the Red Planet. By analyzing the chemical clues locked inside an ancient Martian meteorite known as Black Beauty, scientists are revealing the story of Mars' ancient, and sometimes startling, climate history.

Early growth of giant galaxy, just 3 billion years after the Big Bang, revealed Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:15 AM PDT The birth of massive galaxies, according to galaxy formation theories, begins with the buildup of a dense, compact core that is ablaze with the glow of millions of newly formed stars. Evidence of this early construction phase, however, has eluded astronomers — until now. Astronomers identified a dense galactic core, dubbed "Sparky," using a combination of data from several space telescopes. Hubble photographed the emerging galaxy as it looked 11 billion years ago, just 3 billion years after the birth of our universe in the big bang.

Educated consumers more likely to use potentially unreliable online healthcare information Posted: 27 Aug 2014 09:26 AM PDT Consumers are increasingly turning to forums, video-sharing sites, and peer support groups to gather anecdotal health-care information and advice, which may distract them from more reliable and trustworthy sources. New research studies the characteristics of consumers who use the Internet to collect health-care information.

New smartphone app can detect newborn jaundice in minutes Posted: 27 Aug 2014 09:25 AM PDT Engineers and physicians have developed a smartphone application that checks for jaundice in newborns and can deliver results to parents and pediatricians within minutes. Skin that turns yellow can be a sure sign that a newborn is jaundiced and isn't adequately eliminating the chemical bilirubin. But that discoloration is sometimes hard to see, and severe jaundice left untreated can harm a baby.

Materials Other Than Silicon for Next Generation Electronic Devices Posted: 27 Aug 2014 09:25 AM PDT Silicon has been the most successful material of the 20th century, with major global industries and even a valley named after it. But silicon may be running out of steam for high performance/low power electronics. As silicon strains against the physical limits of performance, could a material like InGaAs provide enough of an improvement over silicon that it would be worth the expense in new equipment lines and training to make the switch worthwhile?

Shy people use Facebook longer but disclose less, research reveals Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:18 AM PDT It's not the person posting 10,000 pictures a week of their cat who's the big-time Facebook user. Instead, it's the quiet ones who are logging in longer, says research.

Statistical Approach for Calculating Environmental Influences in Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) Results Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:18 AM PDT A statistical model allows researchers to remove false positive findings that plague modern research when many dozens of factors and their interactions are suggested to play a role in causing complex diseases.

Orion rocks! Pebble-size particles may jump-start planet formation Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:18 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered that filaments of star-forming gas near the Orion Nebula may be brimming with pebble-size particles -- planetary building blocks 100 to 1,000 times larger than the dust grains typically found around protostars.

Study identifies upside to financial innovations Posted: 27 Aug 2014 07:14 AM PDT A new study of financial innovations before and during the last financial crisis indicates that financial innovations are not all bad. Many provide positive returns.

Measurement at Big Bang conditions confirms lithium problem Posted: 27 Aug 2014 07:02 AM PDT The field of astrophysics has a stubborn problem and it's called lithium. The quantities of lithium predicted to have resulted from the Big Bang are not actually present in stars. But the calculations are correct -- a fact which has now been confirmed for the first time.

Leading scientists call for a stop to non-essential use of fluorochemicals Posted: 27 Aug 2014 07:02 AM PDT A number of leading international researchers recommend that fluorochemicals are only used where they are absolutely essential, until better methods exist to measure the chemicals and more is known about their potentially harmful effects. Fluorochemicals are synthetically produced chemicals, which repel water and oil and are persistent towards aggressive physical and chemical conditions in industrial processing. These characteristics have made the fluorochemicals useful in numerous processes and products, such as coatings for food paper and board.

What lit up the universe? Posted: 27 Aug 2014 06:21 AM PDT New research shows we will soon uncover the origin of the ultraviolet light that bathes the cosmos, helping scientists understand how galaxies were built. The study by cosmologists shows how forthcoming astronomical surveys will reveal what lit up the cosmos.

Thunder God Vine, with assists by nanotechnology, could shake up future cancer treatment Posted: 27 Aug 2014 06:19 AM PDT Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second leading cause of cancer-associated death worldwide. These regrettably poor prognoses are due to the difficulty in treating this cancer using conventional chemo drugs, which are not able to reach in a sufficient concentration the liver tumor cells safely. Considering the large percentage of patients that are deemed ineligible to undergo conventional curative interventions, it is highly important to develop alternative drug treatment options that are able to target the tumor tissues, without inducing toxicity in other parts of the body.

Atomically seamless, thinnest-possible semiconductor junctions crafted by scientists Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:53 PM PDT Two single-layer semiconductor materials can be connected in an atomically seamless fashion known as a heterojunction, researchers say. This result could be the basis for next-generation flexible and transparent computing, better light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, and solar technologies.

New technology may identify tiny strains in body tissues before injuries occur Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:52 PM PDT Algorithms to identify weak spots in tendons, muscles and bones prone to tearing or breaking have been developed by researchers. The technology, which needs to be refined before it is used in patients, one day may help pinpoint minor strains and tiny injuries in the body's tissues long before bigger problems occur.

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Technology News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610