ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

---

• Orbiter images NASA's latest additions to Martian landscape
• Chemists advance clear conductive thin films
• Nanoparticle discovery opens door for pharmaceuticals
• California's hydropower stations to generate less electricity in summer as climate warms
• Composite nanofibers open next chapter in orthopaedic biomaterials
• Searching for tumors or handguns can be like looking for food
• A simple way to help cities monitor traffic more accurately
• What makes Paris look like Paris? Software finds stylistic core
• Advance in X-ray imaging shines light on nanomaterials
• Higgs transition of north and south poles of electrons in a magnet
• Bruce Willis couldn’t save us from asteroid doom
• Astronomers crack mystery of the 'monster' stars
• New metamaterials device focuses sound waves like a camera lens
• New Mars rover beams back images showing its descent
• Broadening researcher access to protein simulation
• Preparation of anti-tumor nanoparticles using tiger milk mushroom
• Understanding the biological and ecological implications of safe nanotechnology
• High performance flexible solid state battery developed
• New model for animated faces and bodies
• Leaky water pipes problem solved

Orbiter images NASA's latest additions to Martian landscape Posted: 07 Aug 2012 03:30 PM PDT Late Monday night, an image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the Curiosity rover and the components that helped it survive its seven-minute ordeal from space to its present location in Mars' Gale Crater.

Chemists advance clear conductive thin films Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:23 AM PDT Thin, conductive films are useful in displays and solar cells. A new solution-based chemistry for making indium tin oxide films could allow engineers to employ a much simpler and cheaper manufacturing process.

Nanoparticle discovery opens door for pharmaceuticals Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:23 AM PDT What a student thought was a failed experiment has led to a serendipitous discovery hailed by some scientists as a potential game changer for the mass production of nanoparticles.

California's hydropower stations to generate less electricity in summer as climate warms Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:23 AM PDT California's hydropower is vulnerable to climate change, a scientist has advised policymakers. According to the scientist, if California loses snowpack under climate warming, high-elevation hydropower-plant reservoirs may not be able to store enough water for hydropower generation in summer months when the demand is much higher and hydropower is priced higher.

Composite nanofibers open next chapter in orthopaedic biomaterials Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:23 AM PDT Scientists have developed and validated a new technology in which composite nanofibrous scaffolds provide a loose enough structure for cells to colonize without impediment, but still can instruct cells how to lay down new tissue.

Searching for tumors or handguns can be like looking for food Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:22 AM PDT If past experience makes you think there's going to be one more cashew at the bottom of the bowl, you're likely to search through those mixed nuts a little longer. But what keeps the attention of a radiologist or baggage screener who can go hours without finding anything? The answer may be to make those professional searchers believe there are more targets to be found.

A simple way to help cities monitor traffic more accurately Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:20 AM PDT New software helps in-road traffic detectors count cars more accurately -- and save city planners money.

What makes Paris look like Paris? Software finds stylistic core Posted: 07 Aug 2012 08:33 AM PDT Paris is one of those cities that has a look all its own, something that goes beyond landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame. Researchers have developed visual data mining software that can automatically detect these sometimes subtle features, such as street signs, streetlamps and balcony railings, that give Paris and other cities a distinctive look.

Advance in X-ray imaging shines light on nanomaterials Posted: 07 Aug 2012 08:33 AM PDT A new advance in X-ray imaging has revealed the dramatic three-dimensional shape of gold nanocrystals, and is likely to shine a light on the structure of other nano-scale materials.

Higgs transition of north and south poles of electrons in a magnet Posted: 07 Aug 2012 08:32 AM PDT Minimal evidence of a Higgs transition;1 of north and south poles of electron spins was observed in a magnet Yb2Ti2O7 at the absolute temperature;2 0.21 K. A fractionalization of these monopoles from electron spins was observed on cooling to 0.3 K. On further cooling below 0.21 K, the material showed the ferromagnetism to be understood as a superconductivity of monopoles. The work is reported in an online science journal "Nature Communications" in UK on August 7, by an international collaboration team of Dr. Shigeki Onoda (Condensed Matter Theory Lab., RIKEN Advanced Science Institute), Dr. Lieh-Jeng Chang (Quantum Beam Science Dictorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency and Dept. of Physics, National Cheng Kung Univ.), and Dr. Yixi Su (Jülich Center for Neutron Science JCNS-FRM II, Forschungszentrum Jülich), and coworkers.

Bruce Willis couldn’t save us from asteroid doom Posted: 07 Aug 2012 07:12 AM PDT According to the internet hysteria surrounding the ancient Mayan calendar, an asteroid could be on its way to wipe out the world on December 21, 2012. Obviously this is pretty unlikely -- but if an asteroid really is on its way, could we take a cue from the disaster movie Armageddon in order to save the planet? According to new research the answer is definitely "no."

Astronomers crack mystery of the 'monster' stars Posted: 07 Aug 2012 07:12 AM PDT In 2010 scientists discovered four 'monster' sized stars, with the heaviest more than 300 times as massive as our Sun. Despite their incredible luminosity, these exotic objects, located in the giant star cluster R136 in the nearby galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud; have oddly so far been found nowhere else. Now a group of astronomers have a new explanation: the ultramassive stars were created from the merger of lighter stars in tight binary systems.

New metamaterials device focuses sound waves like a camera lens Posted: 07 Aug 2012 06:57 AM PDT Researchers have designed and computationally tested a type of humanmade metamaterial capable for the first time of manipulating a variety of acoustic waves with one simple device.

New Mars rover beams back images showing its descent Posted: 07 Aug 2012 04:24 AM PDT Just hours after NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars, a select group of images taken by the onboard Mars Descent Imager, or MARDI, were beamed back to Earth. The 297 color, low-resolution images, provide a glimpse of the rover's descent into Gale Crater. They are a preview of the approximately 1,504 images of descent currently held in the rover's onboard memory. When put together in highest resolution, the resulting video is expected to depict the rover's descent from the moment the entry system's heat shield is released through touchdown.

Broadening researcher access to protein simulation Posted: 06 Aug 2012 10:51 AM PDT Using just an upgraded desktop computer equipped with a relatively inexpensive graphics processing card, a team of computer scientists and biochemists has developed advanced GPU accelerated software and demonstrated for the first time that this approach can sample biological events that occur on the millisecond timescale.

Preparation of anti-tumor nanoparticles using tiger milk mushroom Posted: 06 Aug 2012 09:56 AM PDT Tapping into the power of natural ingredients for safer treatment is the next frontier in the battle against cancer. A recent breakthrough uses tiger milk mushroom to prepare anti-tumor nanoparticles is bringing us one step closer.

Understanding the biological and ecological implications of safe nanotechnology Posted: 06 Aug 2012 07:22 AM PDT New research shows how the soft nanomaterial dendrimer can be used to remediate the environment from potentially toxic nanomaterials.

High performance flexible solid state battery developed Posted: 06 Aug 2012 07:22 AM PDT Scientists have developed a high performance flexible all-solid-state battery, an essential energy source for flexible displays.

New model for animated faces and bodies Posted: 06 Aug 2012 06:40 AM PDT Computer graphic artists who produce computer-animated movies and games spend much time creating subtle movements such as expressions on faces, gesticulations on bodies and the draping of clothes. A new way of modeling these dynamic objects could greatly simplify this editing process.

Leaky water pipes problem solved Posted: 06 Aug 2012 05:52 AM PDT A new leak detection system can identify damaged water pipes swiftly and accurately.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Technology News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610