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• 'Skin-like' device monitors cardiovascular and skin health
• Brain scans reveal 'gray matter' differences in media multitaskers
• Most metal-poor star hints at universe's first supernovae
• Clear skies on exo-Neptune: Smallest exoplanet ever found to have water vapor
• Drivers, don't trade in your smartphone for Google Glass yet
• Natural gas usage will have little effect on carbon dioxide emissions, researchers find
• Novel method to synthesize nanoparticles
• Nanotechnology leads to better, cheaper LEDs for phones and lighting
• 2-D materials' crystalline defects key to new properties
• 'Fracking' wastewater that is treated for drinking downstream produces potentially harmful compounds
• 'Greener,' low-cost transistor heralds advance in flexible electronics
• Final proof for optimal encoding strategies in optical communication
• Wavefront optics emerging as new tool for measuring and correcting vision
• New mobile solar unit is designed to save lives when the power goes out
• Are weak values quantum? Don't bet on it: Key technique used to probe quantum systems may not be so quantum after all
• Most stars are born in clusters, some leave 'home'
• India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft successfully inserted into orbit around Red Planet
• Taking advantage of graphene defects: Security screening
• Choreography of water movements: 'Funnel' attracts bonding partners to biomolecule
• New EEG electrode set for fast, easy measurement of brain function abnormalities
• Avoiding falls: Math model helps researchers aid diagnosis, treatment of stability problems
• 'Univofutah': Asteroid named for University of Utah
• 'Tissue chip' to screen neurological toxins, researchers report

'Skin-like' device monitors cardiovascular and skin health Posted: 24 Sep 2014 12:39 PM PDT A new wearable medical device can quickly alert a person if they are having cardiovascular trouble or if it's simply time to put on some skin moisturizer, researchers report. The small device, approximately five centimeters square, can be placed directly on the skin and worn 24/7 for around-the-clock health monitoring. The wireless technology uses thousands of tiny liquid crystals on a flexible substrate to sense heat. When the device turns color, the wearer knows something is awry.

Brain scans reveal 'gray matter' differences in media multitaskers Posted: 24 Sep 2014 11:49 AM PDT Simultaneously using mobile phones, laptops and other media devices could be changing the structure of our brains, according to new research. People who frequently use several media devices at the same time have lower grey-matter density in one particular region of the brain compared to those who use just one device occasionally.

Most metal-poor star hints at universe's first supernovae Posted: 24 Sep 2014 10:50 AM PDT In a new study, researchers point out that the elemental abundance of the most iron-poor star can be explained by elements ejected from supernova explosions of the universe's first stars. This reveals that massive stars, which are several tens of times more immense than the Sun, were present among the first stars.

Clear skies on exo-Neptune: Smallest exoplanet ever found to have water vapor Posted: 24 Sep 2014 10:50 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered clear skies and steamy water vapor on a planet outside our Solar System. The planet, known as HAT-P-11b, is about the size of Neptune, making it the smallest exoplanet ever on which water vapor has been detected.

Drivers, don't trade in your smartphone for Google Glass yet Posted: 24 Sep 2014 10:49 AM PDT Texting while driving with Google Glass is clearly a distraction, a new study has concluded -- but there is a twist. In the study, texting Glass users outperformed smartphone users when regaining control of their vehicles after a traffic incident.

Natural gas usage will have little effect on carbon dioxide emissions, researchers find Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:36 AM PDT Abundant supplies of natural gas will do little to reduce harmful U.S. emissions causing climate change, according to researchers. They found that inexpensive gas boosts electricity consumption and hinders expansion of cleaner energy sources, such as wind and solar.

Novel method to synthesize nanoparticles Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:36 AM PDT Oxide nanoparticles have been shown to be crucial components in numerous applications to include electronic and magnetic devices, energy storage and generation, and as magnetic nanoparticles for use in magnetic resonance imaging. An important advantage of this novel method is the capability of creating bulk quantities of materials in a single step.

Nanotechnology leads to better, cheaper LEDs for phones and lighting Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:35 AM PDT Using a new nanoscale structure, electrical engineers have increased the brightness and efficiency of LEDs made of organic materials -- flexible carbon-based sheets -- by 57 percent. The researchers also report their method should yield similar improvements in LEDs made in inorganic, silicon-based materials used most commonly today.

2-D materials' crystalline defects key to new properties Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:35 AM PDT Understanding how atoms 'glide' and 'climb' on the surface of 2-D crystals like tungsten disulphide may pave the way for researchers to develop materials with unusual or unique characteristics, according to an international team of researchers.

'Fracking' wastewater that is treated for drinking downstream produces potentially harmful compounds Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:35 AM PDT Concerns that fluids from hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking,' are contaminating drinking water abound. Now, scientists are bringing to light another angle that adds to the controversy. A new study has found that discharge of fracking wastewaters to rivers, even after passage through wastewater treatment plants, could be putting the drinking water supplies of downstream cities at risk.

'Greener,' low-cost transistor heralds advance in flexible electronics Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:35 AM PDT As tech company LG demonstrated this summer with the unveiling of its 18-inch flexible screen, the next generation of roll-up displays is tantalizingly close. Researchers are now reporting a new, inexpensive and simple way to make transparent, flexible transistors -- the building blocks of electronics -- that could help bring roll-up smartphones with see-through displays and other bendable gadgets to consumers in just a few years.

Final proof for optimal encoding strategies in optical communication Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:30 AM PDT Theorist have demonstrated that Gaussian encoding guarantees minimum output entropy and hence ultimate capacity of optical communication channels.

Wavefront optics emerging as new tool for measuring and correcting vision Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:29 AM PDT A technique developed by astronomers seeking a clear view of distant objects in space is being intensively studied as a new approach to measuring and correcting visual abnormalities.

New mobile solar unit is designed to save lives when the power goes out Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:29 AM PDT Brooke Ellison draws her own power from will, but the ventilator that keeps her alive requires uninterrupted electricity. Dr. Ellison is allowing scientists to field-test, at her home, the Nextek Power Systems STAR, a mobile solar generator.

Are weak values quantum? Don't bet on it: Key technique used to probe quantum systems may not be so quantum after all Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:28 AM PDT Over the past 20 years, a strange idea called a "weak value" has taken root in quantum information science. Many of the things you can do with quantum technologies entail being able to gain information from quantum systems. But there is a quantum conundrum: we can't say what a particle is doing when we're not looking at it, but when we do look at it, we change its behavior. But what if we could look "a little"?

Most stars are born in clusters, some leave 'home' Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:26 AM PDT New modeling studies demonstrate that most of the stars we see were formed when unstable clusters of newly formed protostars broke up. These protostars are born out of rotating clouds of dust and gas, which act as nurseries for star formation. Rare clusters of multiple protostars remain stable and mature into multi-star systems. The unstable ones will eject stars until they achieve stability and end up as single or binary stars.

India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft successfully inserted into orbit around Red Planet Posted: 24 Sep 2014 07:25 AM PDT India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft successfully entered into an orbit around the planet Mars this morning (Sept. 24, 2014) by firing its 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) along with eight smaller liquid engines. In the coming weeks, the spacecraft will be thoroughly tested in Mars orbit and the systematic observation of the planet using the spacecraft's five scientific instruments is expected to begin.

Taking advantage of graphene defects: Security screening Posted: 24 Sep 2014 05:51 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a potential application for graphene in security screening. A new theoretical model estimates electric current rectification in graphene. Electronic transport in graphene contributes to its characteristics. Now, a Russian scientist proposes a new theoretical approach to describe graphene with defects-in the form of artificial triangular holes-resulting in the rectification of the electric current within the material. Specifically, the study provides an analytical and numerical theory of the so-called ratchet effect.

Choreography of water movements: 'Funnel' attracts bonding partners to biomolecule Posted: 24 Sep 2014 05:51 AM PDT New experimental technologies, such as terahertz absorption spectroscopy, pave the way for studies of the dynamics of water molecules surrounding biomolecules. Using this method, the researchers proved some time ago that proteins influence water molecules in their surroundings: they determine the choreography of their movements. This effect occurs not only in the immediate vicinity of the protein, but can also be detected in the remote layers of the surrounding water molecules.

New EEG electrode set for fast, easy measurement of brain function abnormalities Posted: 24 Sep 2014 05:48 AM PDT A new, easy-to-use EEG electrode set for the measurement of the electrical activity of the brain has been developed, making it possible to attach the electrode set on the patient quickly, resulting in reliable results without any special treatment of the skin. As EEG measurements in emergency care are often performed in challenging conditions, the design of the electrode set pays particular attention to the reduction of electromagnetic interference from external sources.

Avoiding falls: Math model helps researchers aid diagnosis, treatment of stability problems Posted: 24 Sep 2014 05:46 AM PDT A mathematical model has been designed by researchers that lends new insight to how humans walk. Every step we take is a balancing act as the body falls forward and sideways, explains one investigator. "We were able to show that the next foot position can be predicted way in advance of when the foot is placed -- as early as the middle of the previous step -- based on how the body is falling," he said. "Nobody knew that such high predictability was possible with such a simple model and with only normal walking data."

'Univofutah': Asteroid named for University of Utah Posted: 23 Sep 2014 01:11 PM PDT What's rocky, about a mile wide, orbits between Mars and Jupiter and poses no threat to Earth? An asteroid named "Univofutah" after the University of Utah. Discovered on Sept. 8, 2008, by a longtime Utah astronomy educator, the asteroid also known as 391795 (2008 RV77) this month was renamed Univofutah by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

'Tissue chip' to screen neurological toxins, researchers report Posted: 23 Sep 2014 01:11 PM PDT A faster, more affordable way to screen for neural toxins is under development, helping flag chemicals that may harm human development. Researchers will collaborate to refine existing 3-D human tissue chips and combine them into an integrated system that can mimic the complex functions of the human body.

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