ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Buckyballs enhance carbon capture
• Ever tried a 'laser delicious' apple? Laser biospeckle method to harvest fruits at precise peak in ripeness
• Laser sniffs out toxic gases from afar: System can ID chemicals in atmosphere from a kilometer away
• Check less to reduce email stress
• World’s fastest 2-D camera, 100 billion frames per second, may enable new scientific discoveries
• Low-grade waste heat regenerates ammonia battery
• Geckos are sticky without effort: Death has no impact on strength geckos use to adhere to surfaces
• Clothes that can monitor, transmit biomedical info developed
• Extraordinary throughput at supercomputing conference
• 'Mirage Earth' exoplanets may have burned away chances for life
• Fractal geometry: Finding the simple patterns in a complex world
• Toward a low-cost 'artificial leaf' that produces clean hydrogen fuel
• Space travel is a bit safer than expected
• More Hispanics earning bachelor’s degrees in physical sciences and engineering
• Taming neural excitations: Pulses might one day lead to controlling harmful signals such as those in strokes
• Ultrasound cuts costs in producing aluminium alloys
• Green meets Nano: Scientists create multifunctional nanotubes using nontoxic materials
• Bioplastic: Greener than ever
• Computer model enables design of complex DNA shapes
• Increased production not the way to grow the economy
• Colorful nano-guides to the liver
• Astronomers detect atomic hydrogen emission in galaxies at record breaking distances
• Smart anti-icing system for rotor blades
• Demolition planning as part of construction: Reuse and recycling of parts improves the eco-efficiency of buildings
• Powerful new technique simultaneously determines nanomaterials' chemical makeup, topography
• Computational Tools Will Help Identify Microbes in Complex Environmental Samples
• Researchers Explore Three-Dimensional Microsurgical Anatomy of Brainstem

Buckyballs enhance carbon capture Posted: 03 Dec 2014 02:18 PM PST Amines bound by buckyballs can absorb carbon dioxide from emissions at industrial plants and at natural gas wells, according to new research. Tests from one to 50 atmospheric pressures showed the newly developed compound captured a fifth of its weight in carbon dioxide but no measurable amount of methane.

Ever tried a 'laser delicious' apple? Laser biospeckle method to harvest fruits at precise peak in ripeness Posted: 03 Dec 2014 02:18 PM PST The ability to detect when to harvest "climacteric" fruits -- such as apples, bananas, pears and tomatoes -- at the precise moment to ensure "peak edibleness" in terms of both taste and texture may soon be within reach for farmers, thanks to new work.

Laser sniffs out toxic gases from afar: System can ID chemicals in atmosphere from a kilometer away Posted: 03 Dec 2014 01:11 PM PST Scientists have developed a way to sniff out tiny amounts of toxic gases -- a whiff of nerve gas, for example, or a hint of a chemical spill -- from up to one kilometer away. The new remote sensing technology can discriminate one type of gas from another with greater specificity than most -- even in complex mixtures of similar chemicals -- and under normal atmospheric pressure, something that wasn't thought possible before.

Check less to reduce email stress Posted: 03 Dec 2014 11:26 AM PST Is your inbox burning you out? Then take heart -- research suggests that easing up on email checking can help reduce psychological stress. Some of the study's 124 adults -- including students, financial analysts medical professionals and others -- were instructed to limit checking email to three times daily for a week. Others were told to check email as often as they could (which turned out to be about the same number of times that they normally checked their email prior to the study).

World’s fastest 2-D camera, 100 billion frames per second, may enable new scientific discoveries Posted: 03 Dec 2014 11:24 AM PST A team of biomedical engineers has developed the world's fastest receive-only 2-D camera, a device that can capture events up to 100 billion frames per second.

Low-grade waste heat regenerates ammonia battery Posted: 03 Dec 2014 09:53 AM PST An efficient method to harvest low-grade waste heat as electricity may be possible using reversible ammonia batteries, according to engineers. Low-grade waste heat is an artifact of many energy-generating methods. In automobiles, waste heat generated in winter is diverted to run the vehicle heating system, but in the summer, that same waste heat must be dissipated to the environment.

Geckos are sticky without effort: Death has no impact on strength geckos use to adhere to surfaces Posted: 03 Dec 2014 09:53 AM PST Scientists have studied a variety of features in geckos such as the adhesive toe pads on the underside of the feet with which geckos attach to surfaces with remarkable strength. Biologists have now conducted experiments in the lab on live and dead geckos that show, for the first time, that dead geckos can adhere to surfaces with the same strength as living geckos. The research could have applications in the field of robotics.

Clothes that can monitor, transmit biomedical info developed Posted: 03 Dec 2014 09:51 AM PST Smart textiles are able to monitor and transmit wearers' biomedical information via wireless or cellular networks, developers report. This technological breakthrough clears a path for a host of new developments for people suffering from chronic diseases, elderly people living alone, and even firemen and police officers.

Extraordinary throughput at supercomputing conference Posted: 03 Dec 2014 09:48 AM PST Computer scientists moved 65 terabytes of data in under just 100 minutes at a recent supercomputing conference.

'Mirage Earth' exoplanets may have burned away chances for life Posted: 03 Dec 2014 09:48 AM PST Planets orbiting close to low-mass stars — easily the most common stars in the universe — are prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life. But new research led by an astronomy graduate student indicates some such planets may have long since lost their chance at hosting life because of intense heat during their formative years.

Fractal geometry: Finding the simple patterns in a complex world Posted: 03 Dec 2014 08:12 AM PST A mathematician has developed a new way to uncover simple patterns that might underlie apparently complex systems, such as clouds, cracks in materials or the movement of the stockmarket. The method, named fractal Fourier analysis, is based on new branch of mathematics called fractal geometry. The method could help scientists better understand the complicated signals that the body gives out, such as nerve impulses or brain waves.

Toward a low-cost 'artificial leaf' that produces clean hydrogen fuel Posted: 03 Dec 2014 08:11 AM PST For years, scientists have been pursuing 'artificial leaf' technology, a green approach to making hydrogen fuel that copies plants' ability to convert sunlight into a form of energy they can use. Now, one team reports progress toward a stand-alone system that lends itself to large-scale, low-cost production. They created a nanowire mesh design.

Space travel is a bit safer than expected Posted: 03 Dec 2014 08:11 AM PST Analysis of data from the MATROSHKA experiment, the first comprehensive measurements of long-term exposure of astronauts to cosmic radiation, has now been completed. This experiment, carried out on board and outside of the International Space Station, showed that the cosmos may be less hostile to space travelers than expected.

More Hispanics earning bachelor’s degrees in physical sciences and engineering Posted: 03 Dec 2014 08:07 AM PST The number of Hispanic students receiving bachelor's degrees in the physical sciences and engineering has increased over the last decade or so, passing 10,000 degrees per year for the first time in 2012. The overall number of U.S. students receiving degrees in those fields also increased over the same time, but it increased faster among Hispanics.

Taming neural excitations: Pulses might one day lead to controlling harmful signals such as those in strokes Posted: 03 Dec 2014 07:01 AM PST What do lasers, neural networks, and spreading epidemics have in common? They share a most basic feature whereby an initial pulse can propagate through a medium - be it physical, biological or socio-economic, respectively. The challenge is to gain a better understanding - and eventually control - of such systems, allowing them to be applied, for instance to real neural systems. This is the objective of a new theoretical study.

Ultrasound cuts costs in producing aluminium alloys Posted: 03 Dec 2014 07:01 AM PST Scientists have confirmed that treating molten metal with ultrasound is a cleaner, greener and more efficient route to produce high quality castings.

Green meets Nano: Scientists create multifunctional nanotubes using nontoxic materials Posted: 03 Dec 2014 07:01 AM PST A doctoral student in materials science is making multifunctional nanotubes of gold – with the help of vitamin C and other harmless substances.

Bioplastic: Greener than ever Posted: 03 Dec 2014 07:01 AM PST Polylactic acid is a degradable plastic used mostly for packaging. To meet the rising demand, researchers have developed an eco-friendly process to make large amounts of lactic acid from glycerol, a waste by-product in the production of biodiesel.

Computer model enables design of complex DNA shapes Posted: 03 Dec 2014 05:40 AM PST Biological engineers have created a new computer model that allows them to design the most complex three-dimensional DNA shapes ever produced, including rings, bowls, and geometric structures such as icosahedrons that resemble viral particles.

Increased production not the way to grow the economy Posted: 03 Dec 2014 05:39 AM PST Continued economic growth requires an alarming – and arguably unsustainable – amount of raw material and energy. But what if there was a way to rein in production, without slowing down the economy?

Colorful nano-guides to the liver Posted: 03 Dec 2014 05:39 AM PST Highly specific nanoparticles have been produced by scientists. Depending on the bound dye the particles are guided to the liver or to the kidney and deliver their payload of active ingredients directly to the targeted tissue. Moreover, the dyes enable the tracking of the transport processes by intravital microscopy or, in a non-invasive way, by multi spectral optoacoustic tomography. The reduction of cholesterol production induced by siRNA served as the proof-of-principle for the developed method.

Astronomers detect atomic hydrogen emission in galaxies at record breaking distances Posted: 03 Dec 2014 05:38 AM PST Using the world's largest radio telescope, astronomers have detected the faint signal emitted by atomic hydrogen gas in galaxies three billion light years from Earth, breaking the previous record distance by 500 million light years.

Smart anti-icing system for rotor blades Posted: 03 Dec 2014 05:38 AM PST In very cold climate zones, the wind can blow with tremendous force. But wind turbines have rarely been built in these regions up to now. The risk of ice formation on the rotor blades is just too high. But now, an energy-efficient heating system frees these turbines from the ice in a matter of seconds. It is only switched on when water freezes.

Demolition planning as part of construction: Reuse and recycling of parts improves the eco-efficiency of buildings Posted: 03 Dec 2014 05:37 AM PST With good planning, it is possible to promote the reuse of construction and demolition waste and thereby both conserve the environment and save on material costs. In the future, it will be even more important to assess how buildings can reasonably be repaired or demolished into parts, together with how the remaining service life of the parts can be utilized in new applications. The best method is to implement demolition planning already as a component of construction design.

Powerful new technique simultaneously determines nanomaterials' chemical makeup, topography Posted: 02 Dec 2014 03:32 PM PST Researchers have devised a powerful technique that simultaneously resolves the chemical characterization and topography of nanoscale materials down to the height of a single atom.

Computational Tools Will Help Identify Microbes in Complex Environmental Samples Posted: 01 Dec 2014 01:11 PM PST Microbes of interest to clinicians and environmental scientists rarely exist in isolation. Organisms essential to breaking down pollutants or causing illness live in complex communities, and separating one microbe from hundreds of companion species can be challenging for researchers seeking to understand environmental issues or disease processes. A new project will provide computational tools designed to help identify and characterize the gene diversity of the residents of microbial communities.

Researchers Explore Three-Dimensional Microsurgical Anatomy of Brainstem Posted: 01 Dec 2014 08:29 AM PST A study using intricate fiber dissection techniques provides new insights into the deep anatomy of the human brainstem—and helps to define "safe entry zones" for neurosurgeons performing brainstem surgery, according to a new article.

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