ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Photonics: First all-optical nanowire switch
• New roof and attic design proves efficient in summer and winter
• Starlight and 'air glow' give scientists a new way to observe nighttime weather from space
• Prototype represents a step toward enhanced soft-tissue tomography
• Predicting wave power could double marine-based energy
• Martian clays were not all formed by the action of liquid water
• U.S. Homeland Security's 'narco sub' PLUTO mimics the real thing
• Perfecting email security
• Computer, read my lips: Emotion detector developed using a genetic algorithm
• New kind of anti-theft system: Smart fabric sets off the alarm
• Built-in germanium lasers could make computer chips faster
• Semiconductors grown on graphene could fundamentally change semiconductor industry
• Landmark papers on the Higgs boson published

Photonics: First all-optical nanowire switch Posted: 10 Sep 2012 03:58 PM PDT Computers may be getting faster every year, but those advances in computer speed could be dwarfed if their 1s and 0s were represented by light, instead of electricity. Researchers have made an important advance in this frontier of photonics, fashioning the first all-optical photonic switch out of cadmium sulfide nanowires. Moreover, they combined these photonic switches into a logic gate, a fundamental component of computer chips that process information.

New roof and attic design proves efficient in summer and winter Posted: 10 Sep 2012 02:34 PM PDT A new kind of roof-and-attic system keeps homes cool in summer and prevents heat loss in winter, a multi-seasonal efficiency uncommon in roof and attic design.

Starlight and 'air glow' give scientists a new way to observe nighttime weather from space Posted: 10 Sep 2012 12:56 PM PDT Researchers discovered that a combination of starlight and the upper atmosphere's own subtle glow can help satellites see Earth's clouds on moonless nights.

Prototype represents a step toward enhanced soft-tissue tomography Posted: 10 Sep 2012 12:20 PM PDT A promising approach for producing medical images with enhanced soft tissue visibility -- grating-based x-ray phase contrast -- has now advanced from bench-top studies to implementation in an in vivo preclinical computed tomography scanner. This work could mark a critical step in moving beyond proof-of-concept experiments to applications -- including in vivo preclinical imaging with small-animal models in the mid-term future and, in the long term, medical CT scanning.

Predicting wave power could double marine-based energy Posted: 10 Sep 2012 11:34 AM PDT A scientist says that his new computer algorithm improves the functioning of Wave Energy Converters used in producing electrical energy from ocean waves. And, with improvements in the converters themselves, it could make marine-based energy more commercially viable.

Martian clays were not all formed by the action of liquid water Posted: 10 Sep 2012 11:27 AM PDT Discovered in 2005, the clays of the southern hemisphere of Mars are often considered to be evidence for the existence of liquid water on the planet at a period in the very distant past between 4.5 and 4 billion years ago. However, work carried out by a French-US team calls this interpretation into question.

U.S. Homeland Security's 'narco sub' PLUTO mimics the real thing Posted: 10 Sep 2012 08:25 AM PDT With low profiles and low radar reflectivity, stealthy, drug-running semi-submersibles, "narco subs," built in southern jungles cut through the ocean at wave height and are nearly impossible to detect. DHS' semi-submersible mimics them so that a variety of sensors can be tested in the battle against illegal drug-running.

Perfecting email security Posted: 10 Sep 2012 08:25 AM PDT On the whole, security is not a primary concern for most day-to-day emails, but some emails do contain person, proprietary and sensitive information, documents, media, photos, videos and sound files and need protection.

Computer, read my lips: Emotion detector developed using a genetic algorithm Posted: 10 Sep 2012 08:19 AM PDT A computer is being taught to interpret human emotions based on lip pattern, according to new research. The system could improve the way we interact with computers and perhaps allow disabled people to use computer-based communications devices, such as voice synthesizers, more effectively and more efficiently.

New kind of anti-theft system: Smart fabric sets off the alarm Posted: 10 Sep 2012 08:17 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new kind of anti-theft system, based on a woven fabric that triggers an alarm when penetrated by intruders. The smart fabric enables the exact location of the break-in to be identified, and is significantly cheaper than other burglary detection systems. It is also suitable as an invisible means of protecting entire buildings.

Built-in germanium lasers could make computer chips faster Posted: 10 Sep 2012 05:24 AM PDT Researchers have investigated how they could make the semiconductor germanium emit laser light. As a laser material, germanium together with silicon could form the basis for innovative computer chips in which information would be transferred partially in the form of light. This technology would revolutionize data streaming within chips and give a boost to the performance of electronics.

Semiconductors grown on graphene could fundamentally change semiconductor industry Posted: 10 Sep 2012 05:23 AM PDT Researchers have patented and are commercializing GaAs nanowires grown on graphene, a hybrid material with competitive properties. Semiconductors grown on graphene are expected to become the basis for new types of device systems, and could fundamentally change the semiconductor industry.

Landmark papers on the Higgs boson published Posted: 10 Sep 2012 05:22 AM PDT Physics Letters B, Elsevier's flagship journal in high energy physics, announced today that the observations of the long-sought Higgs particle, hailed as one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time, have been published.

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