ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Optimizing optimization algorithms: Getting best results when approximating solutions to complex engineering problems
• Graphene brings quantum effects to electronic circuits
• Death of a dynamo: A hard drive from space
• Humorous complaining: Funny online reviews get lots of attention but do they get results?
• Transparent artificial nacre: A brick wall at the nanoscale
• Individual protons and neutrons in atomic nuclei do not behave according to predictions
• Twitter can predict rates of coronary heart disease, according to research
• Teen girls report less sexual victimization after virtual reality assertiveness training
• Astronomers to map the universe with largest radio telescope ever built
• New method to generate arbitrary optical pulses
• Sequestration on shaky ground: Natural impediment to long-term sequestration of carbon dioxide
• Smart keyboard cleans and powers itself, and can tell who you are
• Path to artificial photosynthesis? Manganese catalyst's electronic states characterized
• Electroluminescent light sheets: Printable luminous particles enable cost-effective, large and curved luminous surfaces
• Decorative and flexible solar panels become part of interior design and the appearance of objects
• A spoonful of sugar in silver nanoparticles to regulate their toxicity
• Watching protein crystal nucleation in real time
• New conductive coatings for flexible touchscreens
• In theory, the Milky Way could be a 'galactic transport system'
• Nano-beaker offers insight into the condensation of atoms
• Self-assembled nanotextures create antireflective surface on silicon solar cells

Optimizing optimization algorithms: Getting best results when approximating solutions to complex engineering problems Posted: 21 Jan 2015 12:55 PM PST Optimization algorithms, which try to find the minimum values of mathematical functions, are everywhere in engineering. Among other things, they're used to evaluate design tradeoffs, to assess control systems, and to find patterns in data. Scientists have come up with a way to generate a sequence of simplified functions that guarantees the best approximation that the method can offer.

Graphene brings quantum effects to electronic circuits Posted: 21 Jan 2015 10:07 AM PST Scientists have revealed a superfluid phase in ultra-low temperature 2D materials, creating the potential for electronic devices which dissipate very little energy.

Death of a dynamo: A hard drive from space Posted: 21 Jan 2015 10:07 AM PST Hidden magnetic messages contained within ancient meteorites are providing a unique window into the processes that shaped our solar system, and may give a sneak preview of the fate of the Earth's core as it continues to freeze.

Humorous complaining: Funny online reviews get lots of attention but do they get results? Posted: 21 Jan 2015 09:14 AM PST Unless you're just looking to entertain your fellow online shoppers, you may want to think twice about writing that funny Amazon or Yelp review. According to a new study, humorous complaints get a lot more attention from other consumers but may not be taken seriously by businesses.

Transparent artificial nacre: A brick wall at the nanoscale Posted: 21 Jan 2015 09:13 AM PST Natural materials have extraordinary mechanical properties, which are based on sophisticated arrangements and combinations of multiple building blocks. One key aspect of today's materials research therefore is to develop bio-inspired materials reaching to the properties of natural materials – or even exceeding those in certain functionalities. Scientists have now developed a nacre-inspired nanocomposite that combines exceptional mechanical properties with glass-like transparency and a high gas- and fire-barrier.

Individual protons and neutrons in atomic nuclei do not behave according to predictions Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:50 AM PST Individual protons and neutrons in atomic nuclei turn out not to behave according to the predictions made by existing theoretical models. This surprising conclusion, reached by an international team of physicists, forces us to reconsider how we have been describing large atomic nuclei for the past several decades.

Twitter can predict rates of coronary heart disease, according to research Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:49 AM PST Twitter has broken news stories, launched and ended careers, started social movements and toppled governments, all by being an easy, direct and immediate way for people to share what's on their minds. Researchers have now shown that the social media platform has another use: Twitter can serve as a dashboard indicator of a community's psychological well being and can predict rates of heart disease.

Teen girls report less sexual victimization after virtual reality assertiveness training Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:49 AM PST Teen girls were less likely to report being sexually victimized after learning to assertively resist unwanted sexual overtures and practicing resistance in a realistic virtual environment, a new study finds. 'My Voice, My Choice' teaches girls to stand up for themselves, and that coercive behavior is never okay. The findings suggest that learning resistance skills with virtual simulations can reduce risk of sexual victimization, said the lead researcher.

Astronomers to map the universe with largest radio telescope ever built Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:47 AM PST An international team of scientists have joined forces to lay the foundations for an experiment of truly astronomical proportions: putting together the biggest map of the Universe ever made. The experiment will combine signals from hundreds of radio dishes to make cosmic atlas. The international team of researchers has now set out their plans for the mammoth survey.

New method to generate arbitrary optical pulses Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:47 AM PST Scientists have developed a new technique to generate more powerful, more energy efficient and low-cost pulsed lasers. The technique has potential applications in a number of fields that use pulsed lasers including telecommunications, metrology, sensing and material processing. Any application that requires optical pulses typically needs waveforms of a specific repetition rate, pulse duration, and pulse shape. It is often challenging to design and manufacture a laser with these parameters exactly as required. Even when a suitable solution exists, the size, the complexity and ease of operation of the laser are further critical considerations. he new method works on a fundamentally different principle to existing pulsed lasers.

Sequestration on shaky ground: Natural impediment to long-term sequestration of carbon dioxide Posted: 21 Jan 2015 07:32 AM PST Carbon sequestration promises to address greenhouse-gas emissions by capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and injecting it deep below the Earth's surface, where it would permanently solidify into rock. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that current carbon-sequestration technologies may eliminate up to 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. While such technologies may successfully remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, researchers have now found that once injected into the ground, less carbon dioxide is converted to rock than previously imagined.

Smart keyboard cleans and powers itself, and can tell who you are Posted: 21 Jan 2015 07:32 AM PST In a novel twist in cybersecurity, scientists have developed a self-cleaning, self-powered smart keyboard that can identify computer users by the way they type. The device could help prevent unauthorized users from gaining direct access to computers.

Path to artificial photosynthesis? Manganese catalyst's electronic states characterized Posted: 21 Jan 2015 06:35 AM PST Scientists have precisely characterized a manganese catalyst's electronic states. The catalyst is capable of converting light to chemical energy. If sunlight could effortlessly be converted to chemical energy, our energy troubles would be a thing of the past.

Electroluminescent light sheets: Printable luminous particles enable cost-effective, large and curved luminous surfaces Posted: 21 Jan 2015 05:45 AM PST Researchers have now developed a new method that enables electroluminescence on large, curved surfaces in a cost-effective way: in this case, the light-emitting layer and all other components are produced by means of wet-chemical, printable methods.

Decorative and flexible solar panels become part of interior design and the appearance of objects Posted: 21 Jan 2015 05:45 AM PST Scientists have developed and utilized a mass production method based on printing technologies allowing the manufacturing of decorative, organic solar panels. Design freedom improves the range of applications of the panels on the surfaces of interior and exterior building spaces. Researchers are also studying the feasibility of printing technology in the mass production of solar panels made from inorganic perovskite materials. The new mass production method enables to create interior design elements from organic solar panels (OPV, organic photovoltaics) harvesting energy from interior lighting or sunlight for various small devices and sensors that gather information from the environment. The panels can, for example, be placed on windows and walls and on machines, devices and advertisement billboards.

A spoonful of sugar in silver nanoparticles to regulate their toxicity Posted: 21 Jan 2015 05:45 AM PST The use of colloidal silver to treat illnesses has become more popular in recent years, but its ingestion, prohibited in countries like the US, can be harmful to health. Scientists have now confirmed that silver nanoparticles are significantly toxic when they penetrate cells, although the number of toxic radicals they generate can vary by coating them with carbohydrates. Silver salts have been used externally for centuries for their antiseptic properties in the treatment of pains and as a surface disinfectant for materials. There are currently people who use silver nanoparticles to make homemade potions to combat infections and illnesses such as cancer and AIDS, although in some cases the only thing they achieve is argyria or blue-tinged skin.

Watching protein crystal nucleation in real time Posted: 21 Jan 2015 05:45 AM PST A major hurdle in structural biology and pharmacology is growing crystals to determine the structure of the biomolecules and pharmaceuticals under study. Researchers have now observed a key step in the nucleation and growth of some protein crystals. For this, they exploited the power of in-situ real-time X-ray scattering techniques. Their study could help to gain a deeper understanding of protein crystallization and its kinetics on nanometer length scales. The researchers observed a multi-step crystallization mechanism.

New conductive coatings for flexible touchscreens Posted: 21 Jan 2015 05:36 AM PST Mobile phones and smart phones still haven't been adapted to the carrying habits of their users. That much is clear to anyone who has tried sitting down with a mobile phone in their back pocket: the displays of the innumerable phones and pods are rigid and do not yield to the anatomical forms adopted by the people carrying them. By now it is no longer any secret that the big players in the industry are working on flexible displays.

In theory, the Milky Way could be a 'galactic transport system' Posted: 21 Jan 2015 05:36 AM PST Based on the latest evidence and theories our galaxy could be a huge wormhole and, if that were true, it could be "stable and navigable." Astrophysicists combined the equations of general relativity with an extremely detailed map of the distribution of dark matter in the Milky Way when proposing this possibility.

Nano-beaker offers insight into the condensation of atoms Posted: 21 Jan 2015 05:36 AM PST Physicists have succeeded in mapping the condensation of individual atoms, or rather their transition from a gaseous state to another state, using a new method.The team was able to monitor for the first time how xenon atoms condensate in microscopic measuring beakers, or quantum wells, thereby enabling key conclusions to be drawn as to the nature of atomic bonding.

Self-assembled nanotextures create antireflective surface on silicon solar cells Posted: 21 Jan 2015 05:35 AM PST Scientists have shown that etching a nanoscale texture onto silicon creates an antireflective surface that works as well as state-of-the-art thin-film multilayer antireflective coatings for solar cells.

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