ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Swirling cloud at Titan's pole is cold and toxic
• New frontier in error-correcting codes
• Hide and seek: Sterile neutrinos remain elusive
• New absorber will lead to better biosensors
• Solving the mystery of the 'Man in the Moon': Volcanic plume, not an asteroid, likely created the moon's largest basin
• New drug-delivery capsule may replace injections
• Paint on 'smart' bandage emits phosphorescent glow for healing below
• Snapshots of chemical reactions: Characterizing an important reactive intermediate
• Robot researcher combines nature to nurture 'superhuman' navigation
• Platinum meets its match in quantum dots from coal: New catalyst for fuel cells outperforms platinum
• Astronomy: Wild ducks take flight in open cluster
• Novel approach to magnetic measurements atom-by-atom
• Students astonished by stuttering star
• Ethical filament: Can fair trade plastic save people and the planet?
• EEG's potential to reveal depolarizations following TBI
• 'Virtual breast' could improve cancer detection
• Shining cells responsible for developing tumors, experts discover
• Safer approach for diagnostic medical imaging

Swirling cloud at Titan's pole is cold and toxic Posted: 01 Oct 2014 11:00 AM PDT Scientists analyzing data from NASA's Cassini mission have discovered that a giant, toxic cloud is hovering over the south pole of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, after the atmosphere there cooled dramatically. The scientists found that this giant polar vortex contains frozen particles of the toxic compound hydrogen cyanide, or HCN.

New frontier in error-correcting codes Posted: 01 Oct 2014 10:32 AM PDT Error-correcting codes are one of the glories of the information age: They're what guarantee the flawless transmission of digital information over the airwaves or through copper wire, even in the presence of the corrupting influences that engineers call "noise."

Hide and seek: Sterile neutrinos remain elusive Posted: 01 Oct 2014 10:31 AM PDT Scientists studying the subtle transformations of subatomic particles called neutrinos, is publishing its first results on the search for a so-called sterile neutrino, a possible new type of neutrino beyond the three known neutrino 'flavors,' or types. The existence of this elusive particle, if proven, would have a profound impact on our understanding of the universe, and could impact the design of future neutrino experiments.

New absorber will lead to better biosensors Posted: 01 Oct 2014 10:31 AM PDT A new nanostructure absorbs ultranarrow bands of light spectrum and can be used in a number of applications, including the creation of more sensitive biosensors.

Solving the mystery of the 'Man in the Moon': Volcanic plume, not an asteroid, likely created the moon's largest basin Posted: 01 Oct 2014 10:30 AM PDT New data obtained by NASA's GRAIL mission reveals that the Procellarum region on the near side of the moon -- a giant basin often referred to as the "man in the moon" -- likely arose not from a massive asteroid strike, but from a large plume of magma deep within the moon's interior.

New drug-delivery capsule may replace injections Posted: 01 Oct 2014 07:27 AM PDT A pill coated with tiny needles can deliver drugs directly into the lining of the digestive tract, researchers have found, suggesting that the end of injections may be near.

Paint on 'smart' bandage emits phosphorescent glow for healing below Posted: 01 Oct 2014 07:26 AM PDT Inspired by a desire to help wounded soldiers, a team of researchers has created a paint-on, see-through, 'smart' bandage that glows to indicate a wound's tissue oxygenation concentration. Because oxygen plays a critical role in healing, mapping these levels in severe wounds and burns can help significantly improve the success of surgeries to restore limbs and physical functions.

Snapshots of chemical reactions: Characterizing an important reactive intermediate Posted: 01 Oct 2014 07:25 AM PDT An international group of researchers has been able to isolate and characterize an important chemical intermediate whose existence has, so far, only been inferred from indirect experimental evidence.

Robot researcher combines nature to nurture 'superhuman' navigation Posted: 01 Oct 2014 07:25 AM PDT Researchers are investigating realistic navigation for robots using computer modeling of the human eye and the brain of a rat.

Platinum meets its match in quantum dots from coal: New catalyst for fuel cells outperforms platinum Posted: 01 Oct 2014 06:03 AM PDT Scientists combined graphene quantum dots drawn from common coal with graphene oxide, nitrogen and boron into a catalyst for fuel cells that outperforms platinum. Graphene quantum dots grab onto graphene platelets like barnacles attach themselves to the hull of a boat. But these dots enhance the properties of the mothership, making them better than platinum catalysts for certain reactions within fuel cells.

Astronomy: Wild ducks take flight in open cluster Posted: 01 Oct 2014 06:02 AM PDT The Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile has taken this beautiful image, dappled with blue stars, of one of the most star-rich open clusters currently known -- Messier 11, also known as NGC 6705 or the Wild Duck Cluster.

Novel approach to magnetic measurements atom-by-atom Posted: 01 Oct 2014 06:01 AM PDT Having the possibility to measure magnetic properties of materials at atomic precision is one of the important goals of today's experimental physics. Such measurement technique would give engineers and physicists an ultimate handle over magnetic properties of nano-structures for future applications. Researchers now propose a new method, utilizing properties of the quantum world – the phase of the electron beam – to detect magnetism with atom-by-atom precision.

Students astonished by stuttering star Posted: 01 Oct 2014 06:00 AM PDT Secondary school students in Australia have helped reveal weird, jittery behavior in a pulsar called PSR J1717-4054. Pulsars are super-dense, highly magnetized balls of 'neutron matter' the size of a small city. They form when stars with more than 10 times the mass of our Sun explode as supernovae, leaving behind a compact remnant made of material far denser than ordinary matter. The name pulsar is given to these objects because they spin and emit pulses of radio waves.

Ethical filament: Can fair trade plastic save people and the planet? Posted: 01 Oct 2014 05:59 AM PDT It's old news that open-source 3-D printing is cheaper than conventional manufacturing, not to mention greener and incredibly useful for making everything from lab equipment to chess pieces. Now it's time add another star to the 3-D printing constellation. It may help lift some of the world's most destitute people from poverty while cleaning up a major blight on the earth and its oceans: plastic trash.

EEG's potential to reveal depolarizations following TBI Posted: 30 Sep 2014 02:15 PM PDT The potential for doctors to measure damaging 'brain tsunamis' in injured patients without opening the skull has moved a step closer to reality, thanks to new pioneering research. The discovery has the potential to revolutionize bedside neuro-monitoring by enabling doctors to measure spreading depolarizations, which lead to worse outcomes, in patients who do not require surgery.

'Virtual breast' could improve cancer detection Posted: 30 Sep 2014 01:07 PM PDT A 'virtual breast' has been developed to help train clinicians in the use of ultrasound elastography. The advanced imaging technique holds promise for improving cancer detection, but only if the results are interpreted properly.

Shining cells responsible for developing tumors, experts discover Posted: 29 Sep 2014 12:45 PM PDT Researchers have discovered and characterized a new specific marker for cancer stem cells: riboflavin, or vitamin B2, a pigment that emits green fluorescence as a result of its accumulation inside intracellular vesicles. This light emission property, acts to track, isolate, and later purify it, without the need for antibodies or other more costly and complex techniques.

Safer approach for diagnostic medical imaging Posted: 29 Sep 2014 12:45 PM PDT A novel approach that can considerably improve the capabilities of medical imaging with safer procedures for the patient has been developed by researchers.

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