ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• New process improves catalytic rate of enzymes by 3,000 percent
• Nanocrystal-coated fibers might reduce wasted energy
• Nanotube electrodes improve solar cells
• Some stars capture rogue planets
• Cognitive biometrics: A very personal login
• Panoramic view of a turbulent star-making region
• Asteroid craters on Earth give clues in search for life on Mars
• Hot new manufacturing tool: A temperature-controlled microbe
• Magnetic fields can send particles to infinity
• 70-year-old chemical mystery solved: How tropolone are synthesized in fungi
• Economic damage to US economy from offshoring jobs may be exaggerated

New process improves catalytic rate of enzymes by 3,000 percent Posted: 17 Apr 2012 12:27 PM PDT Light of specific wavelengths can be used to boost an enzyme's function by as much as 30 fold, potentially establishing a path to less expensive biofuels, detergents and a host of other products.

Nanocrystal-coated fibers might reduce wasted energy Posted: 17 Apr 2012 11:38 AM PDT Researchers are developing a technique that uses nanotechnology to harvest energy from hot pipes or engine components to potentially recover energy wasted in factories, power plants and cars.

Nanotube electrodes improve solar cells Posted: 17 Apr 2012 09:56 AM PDT Forests of carbon nanotubes are an efficient alternative for platinum electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells, according to new research.

Some stars capture rogue planets Posted: 17 Apr 2012 08:36 AM PDT New research suggests that billions of stars in our galaxy have captured rogue planets that once roamed interstellar space. The nomad worlds, which were kicked out of the star systems in which they formed, occasionally find a new home with a different sun. This finding could explain the existence of some planets that orbit surprisingly far from their stars, and even the existence of a double-planet system.

Cognitive biometrics: A very personal login Posted: 17 Apr 2012 08:35 AM PDT Retina and iris scans, fingerprint and palm logins rely on possession of unique anatomical characteristics that you cannot forget as you might a password. A new review examines alternative approaches to user authentication.

Panoramic view of a turbulent star-making region Posted: 17 Apr 2012 07:20 AM PDT Several million stars are vying for attention in a new image of a raucous stellar breeding ground in 30 Doradus, located in the heart of the Tarantula nebula.

Asteroid craters on Earth give clues in search for life on Mars Posted: 17 Apr 2012 05:05 AM PDT Craters made by asteroid impacts may be the best place to look for signs of life on other planets, a study suggests.

Hot new manufacturing tool: A temperature-controlled microbe Posted: 17 Apr 2012 05:05 AM PDT Scientists have found a way to control a heat-loving microbe with a temperature switch: it makes a product at low temperatures but not at high temperatures. The innovation could make it easier to use microorganisms as miniature factories for the production of needed materials like biofuels.

Magnetic fields can send particles to infinity Posted: 17 Apr 2012 05:03 AM PDT Researchers have mathematically shown that particles charged in a magnetic field can escape into infinity without ever stopping. One of the conditions is that the field is generated by current loops situated on the same plane. At the moment this is a theoretical mathematical study, but researchers have recently demonstrated that, in certain conditions, magnetic fields can send particles to infinity.

70-year-old chemical mystery solved: How tropolone are synthesized in fungi Posted: 16 Apr 2012 12:44 PM PDT Chemists and biologists have finally cracked one of the longest standing chemical mysteries. They have demonstrated exactly how an unusual class of compounds known as tropolones are synthesized in fungi.

Economic damage to US economy from offshoring jobs may be exaggerated Posted: 16 Apr 2012 12:01 PM PDT Sending jobs overseas may not be as damaging to the U.S. economy as commonly believed, according to a new study.

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