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Friday, February 28, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


Big step for next-generation fuel cells and electrolyzers

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 01:45 PM PST

Researchers have discovered a highly promising new class of nanocatalysts for fuel cells and water-alkali electrolyzers that are an order of magnitude higher in activity than the target set by the US Department Of Energy for 2017.

Fat or flat: Getting galaxies into shape

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 01:43 PM PST

Astronomers have discovered what makes some spiral galaxies fat and bulging while others are flat discs — and it's all about how fast they spin. The researchers found that fast-rotating spiral galaxies are flat and thin while equally sized galaxies that rotate slowly are fatter. One of the researchers said the way galaxies are formed looks a bit similar to a carousel made of an elastic disc.

Math anxiety factors into understanding genetically modified food messages

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 09:55 AM PST

People who feel intimidated by math may be less able to understand messages about genetically modified foods and other health-related information, according to researchers.

Battery-free technology brings gesture recognition to all devices

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 09:52 AM PST

Computer scientists have built a low-cost gesture recognition system that runs without batteries and lets users control their electronic devices hidden from sight with simple hand movements. The prototype, called "AllSee," uses existing TV signals as both a power source and the means for detecting a user's gesture command.

Cancer targeted treatments from space station discoveries

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 09:14 AM PST

Invasive and systemic cancer treatment is a necessary evil for many people with the devastating diagnosis. These patients endure therapies with ravaging side effects, including nausea, immune suppression, hair loss and even organ failure, in hopes of eradicating cancerous tissues in the body. If treatments targeted a patient's cancerous tissues, it could provide clinicians with an alternative to lessen the delivery of toxic levels of chemotherapy or radiation. Imagine the quality of life from such therapies for patients. Remarkably, research that began in space may soon result in such options here on Earth.

NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover views striated ground

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 09:10 AM PST

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has reached an area where orbital images had piqued researchers' interest in patches of ground with striations all oriented in a similar direction.

Radar images of near-Earth Asteroid 2006 DP14

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 09:08 AM PST

A collage of radar images of near-Earth asteroid 2006 DP14 was generated by NASA scientists using the 230-foot (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif., on the night of Feb. 11, 2014.

Researchers X-ray living cancer cells

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 08:55 AM PST

Scientists have carried out the first studies of living biological cells using high-energy X-rays. "The new method for the first time enables us to investigate the internal structures of living cells in their natural environment using hard X-rays,' emphasizes the leader of the working group. "Thanks to the ever-greater resolution of the various investigative techniques, it is increasingly important to know whether the internal structure of the sample changes during sample preparation." In future, the new technique will make it possible to study unchanged living cells at high resolution.

Computer game characters become more human-like by gossiping and lying

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 08:52 AM PST

Imagine socially intelligent computer game characters with a natural dialogue, human-like in their ways of relating to others, who gossip, manipulate and have their own agendas. New research can make all of this possible.

New search engine delivers content matched to student ability

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 08:52 AM PST

An Internet search engine developed specifically for schools is being tested as a way to increase reading abilities in challenged students and help motivate intellectual development in gifted students, while saving schools money on textbooks. Complexity Engine uses a sophisticated algorithm to search websites for content and delivers free, customized and age-appropriate reading materials to a user's computer. It promises to give teachers, parents and students an efficient, affordable way to promote reading. Teachers and administrators can set parameters for the search results, and the reading experience can be either student self-directed or guided by the teacher.

Closest, brightest supernova in decades is also a little weird

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 06:24 AM PST

The closest and brightest supernova in decades, SN 2014J, brightens faster than expected for Type Ia supernovae, the exploding stars used to measure cosmic distances, according to astronomers. Another recent supernova also brightened faster than expected, suggesting that there is unsuspected new physics going on inside these exploding stars. The finding may also help physicists improve their use of these supernovae to measure cosmic distance.

Probing the edge of chaos: How do variable physical characteristics behave at the point preceding onset of chaos?

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 06:20 AM PST

The edge of chaos -- right before chaos sets in -- is a unique place. It is found in many dynamical systems that cross the boundary between a well-behaved dynamics and a chaotic one. Now, physicists have shown that the distribution -- or frequency of occurrence -- of the variables constituting the physical characteristics of such systems at the edge of chaos has a very different shape than previously reported distributions. This could help us better understand natural phenomena with a chaotic nature.

Digital ears in the rainforest: Estimating dynamics of animal populations by using sound recordings and computing

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 06:14 AM PST

A Finnish-Brazilian project is constructing a system that could estimate the dynamics of animal populations by using sound recordings, statistics and scientific computing. The canopy in a Brazilian rainforest is bustling with life, but nothing is visible from the ground level. The digital recorders attached to the trees, however, are picking up the noises of birds.

Does your iPod make you socially isolated? Study suggests it might

Posted: 26 Feb 2014 04:48 AM PST

The effects that iPod use has on society and social interaction are the topic of a new study. Results showed that iPod users may or may not listen to their devices in public situations with the intention to prevent social engagement, but because others perceive it as a sign that the user does not want to interact, it has become a social barrier. The study raises questions about what impact this behavior, and the perception of it, may have on society. iPods, smart phones, tablets and other personal entertainment devices continue to grow in number; by plugging ourselves in to these modes of technology every day, are we intentionally closing ourselves off to social interaction?

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