ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Geologic mapping of asteroid Vesta reveals history of large impacts
• Computer model provides a new portrait of carbon dioxide
• Credit score can also describe health status
• Graphene/nanotube hybrid benefits flexible solar cells
• Engineers efficiently 'mix' light at the nanoscale
• Hiding in plain sight: Elusive dark matter may be detected with GPS satellites
• The 'dirty' side of soap: Triclosan, a common antimicrobial in personal hygiene products, causes liver fibrosis and cancer in mice
• Advances in electron microscopy reveal secrets of HIV and other viruses
• Scientists X-ray tiny cell organelles responsible for carbon fixation
• Revolutionary solar-friendly form of silicon shines
• Warmth, flowing water on early Mars were episodic
• New technique to help produce next generation photonic chips
• Researchers create and control spin waves, lifting prospects for enhanced information processing
• Rosetta's OSIRIS camera spots Philae lander drifting across the comet
• Spiral laser beam creates quantum whirlpool
• Researchers discern the shapes of high-order Brownian motions
• Turbulence in molten core helps amplify Earth's magnetic field
• Engineers develop innovative process to print flexible electronic circuits
• Magic tricks created using artificial intelligence for the first time
• Poor-quality weight loss advice often appears first in an online search
• Model for evaluating product-recommendation algorithms suggests that trial and error get it right
• Trends in plant biodiversity data online
• Three-dimensional microtechnology with Origami folding art
• New form of crystalline order holds promise for thermoelectric applications
• Developing self-healing concrete to improve the durability of structures
• TV sound system for the hard of hearing

Geologic mapping of asteroid Vesta reveals history of large impacts Posted: 17 Nov 2014 02:45 PM PST A project to map the impact sequence on the asteroid Vesta is helping scientists compare its history to other solar system objects.

Computer model provides a new portrait of carbon dioxide Posted: 17 Nov 2014 02:45 PM PST An ultra-high-resolution computer model has given scientists a stunning new look at how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere travels around the globe. Plumes of carbon dioxide in the simulation swirl and shift as winds disperse the greenhouse gas away from its sources. The simulation also illustrates differences in carbon dioxide levels in the northern and southern hemispheres and distinct swings in global carbon dioxide concentrations as the growth cycle of plants and trees changes with the seasons.

Credit score can also describe health status Posted: 17 Nov 2014 01:41 PM PST A credit score also says something about a person's health status, according to a new analysis from a long-term study of the physical and mental health of more than 1,000 New Zealanders. An international team of researchers has found a strong relationship between low credit scores and poor cardiovascular health. They conclude that personal attributes leading to poor credit scores can also contribute to poor health.

Graphene/nanotube hybrid benefits flexible solar cells Posted: 17 Nov 2014 12:47 PM PST Scientists have created a graphene/nanotube cathode that may make cheap, flexible dye-sensitized solar cells more practical.

Engineers efficiently 'mix' light at the nanoscale Posted: 17 Nov 2014 12:47 PM PST Researchers have engineered a nanowire system that could pave the way for photonic computing, combining two light waves to produce a third with a different frequency and using an optical cavity to amplify the intensity of the output to a usable level.

Hiding in plain sight: Elusive dark matter may be detected with GPS satellites Posted: 17 Nov 2014 12:47 PM PST The everyday use of a GPS device might be to find your way around town or even navigate a hiking trail, but for two physicists, the Global Positioning System might be a tool in directly detecting and measuring dark matter, so far an elusive but ubiquitous form of matter responsible for the formation of galaxies.

The 'dirty' side of soap: Triclosan, a common antimicrobial in personal hygiene products, causes liver fibrosis and cancer in mice Posted: 17 Nov 2014 12:46 PM PST Triclosan is an antimicrobial commonly found in soaps, shampoos, toothpastes and many other household items. Despite its widespread use, researchers report potentially serious consequences of long-term exposure to the chemical.

Advances in electron microscopy reveal secrets of HIV and other viruses Posted: 17 Nov 2014 10:24 AM PST Researchers are getting a new look at the workings of HIV and other viruses thanks to new techniques in electron microscopy. Making a vaccine against HIV has always been difficult, at least partly because the proteins on the surface of the virus change so rapidly. Better understanding the structure of the gp120/Env trimer could help in finding less-variable areas of these proteins, not usually exposed to the immune system, which might be targets for a vaccine.

Scientists X-ray tiny cell organelles responsible for carbon fixation Posted: 17 Nov 2014 10:07 AM PST Scientists have developed a high-throughput method of imaging biological particles using an X-ray laser. The images show projections of the carboxysome particle, a delicate and tiny cell compartment in photosynthetic bacteria.

Revolutionary solar-friendly form of silicon shines Posted: 17 Nov 2014 10:06 AM PST Silicon is the second most-abundant element in the earth's crust. When purified, it takes on a diamond structure, which is essential to modern electronic devices -- carbon is to biology as silicon is to technology. Scientists have synthesized an entirely new form of silicon, one that promises even greater future applications.

Warmth, flowing water on early Mars were episodic Posted: 17 Nov 2014 10:06 AM PST There is ample evidence that water once flowed on the surface of ancient Mars. But that evidence is difficult to reconcile with the latest generation of climate models that suggest Mars should have been eternally icy. A new study suggest that warming and water flow on Mars were probably episodic and related to ancient volcanic eruptions.

New technique to help produce next generation photonic chips Posted: 17 Nov 2014 09:58 AM PST Researchers have developed a new technique to help produce more reliable and robust next generation photonic chips. Photonic chips made from silicon will play a major role in future optical networks for worldwide data traffic. The high refractive index of silicon makes optical structures the size of a fraction of the diameter of a human hair possible. Squeezing more and more optical structures for light distribution, modulation, detection and routing into smaller chip areas allows for higher data rates at lower fabrication costs.

Researchers create and control spin waves, lifting prospects for enhanced information processing Posted: 17 Nov 2014 08:06 AM PST Physicists have developed a method to control the movements occurring within magnetic materials, which are used to store and carry information. The breakthrough could simultaneously bolster information processing while reducing the energy necessary to do so.

Rosetta's OSIRIS camera spots Philae lander drifting across the comet Posted: 17 Nov 2014 07:12 AM PST Incredible new images show the breathtaking journey of Rosetta's Philae lander as it approached and then rebounded from its first touchdown on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 November 2014.

Spiral laser beam creates quantum whirlpool Posted: 17 Nov 2014 06:33 AM PST Physicists have engineered a spiral laser beam and used it to create a whirlpool of hybrid light-matter particles called polaritons, hybrid particles that have properties of both matter and light and could link electronics with photonics.

Researchers discern the shapes of high-order Brownian motions Posted: 17 Nov 2014 05:47 AM PST For the first time, scientists have vividly mapped the shapes and textures of high-order modes of Brownian motions -- in this case, the collective macroscopic movement of molecules in microdisk resonators.Engineers used a record-setting scanning optical interferometry technique.

Turbulence in molten core helps amplify Earth's magnetic field Posted: 17 Nov 2014 05:46 AM PST Researchers have shown that turbulence, random motion that takes place in the molten metal in the Earth's core, makes a contribution to our planet's magnetic field. To obtain this result, they modeled the Earth's outer core using liquid sodium enclosed between two rotating concentric metal spheres. Like many planets and most stars, the Earth produces its own magnetic field by dynamo action, i.e. because of the motion of an electrically conducting fluid-in this case, a mixture of molten iron and nickel.

Engineers develop innovative process to print flexible electronic circuits Posted: 17 Nov 2014 05:46 AM PST Engineers have successfully printed complex electronic circuits using a common t-shirt printer. The electronic circuits are printed using unique materials in layers on top of everyday flexible materials such as plastic, aluminum foil and even paper. Resistors, transistors and capacitors, the key components of a complex electronic circuit, are printed using non-toxic organic materials like silver nanoparticles, carbon and plastics.

Magic tricks created using artificial intelligence for the first time Posted: 16 Nov 2014 06:10 PM PST Researchers working on artificial intelligence have taught a computer to create magic tricks. The researchers gave a computer program the outline of how a magic jigsaw puzzle and a mind reading card trick work, as well the results of experiments into how humans understand magic tricks, and the system created completely new variants on those tricks which can be delivered by a magician.

Poor-quality weight loss advice often appears first in an online search Posted: 14 Nov 2014 11:09 AM PST More than 40 percent of U.S. Internet users use online search engines to seek guidance on weight loss and physical activity. A new study finds that high-quality weight loss information often appears after the first page of search engine results.

Model for evaluating product-recommendation algorithms suggests that trial and error get it right Posted: 14 Nov 2014 10:11 AM PST A model for evaluating product-recommendation algorithms suggests that trial and error get it right. Researchers will present a paper that applies their model to the recommendation engines that are familiar from websites like Amazon and Netflix -- with surprising results.

Trends in plant biodiversity data online Posted: 14 Nov 2014 09:49 AM PST Today's herbaria, as well as all other collections-based environments, are now transitioning their collections data onto the web to remain viable in the smartphone-in-my-pocket age. A team of researchers has examined the importance of these online plant-based resources through the use of Google Analytics.

Three-dimensional microtechnology with Origami folding art Posted: 14 Nov 2014 05:58 AM PST Microtechnology has radically changed our lives, both in electronics and mechanics. Everyone encounters this every day and uses successful examples, such as the accelerometer in smartphones or the sensor in car airbags. However, enormous strides can still be made in microtechnology. The current applications are two-dimensional. Everything is placed on a thin layer of glass or silicon, which is used in pure form for the production of semiconductor chips, for example, in smartphones.

New form of crystalline order holds promise for thermoelectric applications Posted: 14 Nov 2014 05:53 AM PST Scientists have discovered an entirely new form of crystalline order that simultaneously exhibits both crystal and polycrystalline properties and holds promise for improving the efficiency of thermoelectric devices.

Developing self-healing concrete to improve the durability of structures Posted: 13 Nov 2014 08:00 AM PST Manual repairs to structures lead to endless traffic jams everywhere, but imagine that all this misery on the road could be eliminated by means of concrete that repairs itself. That is exactly what a new project aims to achieve, the development of self-healing concrete to improve the durability of structures.

TV sound system for the hard of hearing Posted: 13 Nov 2014 05:51 AM PST Families often watch TV together, but what happens when one member has hearing difficulties? Usually the result is a compromise on listening volume that doesn't really satisfy anyone. To solve this problem, a University of Southampton researcher has developed a loudspeaker system to help people with hearing problems listen to television without affecting the sound for other viewers.

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