ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Minimally invasive heart stents prove safer
• Protecting privacy online: New system would give individuals more control over shared digital data
• Making quantum connections: The speed of information in a spin network
• New technology illuminates colder objects in deep space: New material offers more stable infrared detection
• Postcards from the photosynthetic edge: Femtosecond snapshots of photosynthetic water oxidation
• Ranavirus predicted to be potential new culprit in amphibian extinctions
• First snapshots of water splitting in photosynthesis
• 'Nano-pixels' promise thin, flexible, high resolution displays
• Cosmic grains of dust formed in supernova explosion
• New paths into the world of quasiparticles
• MyChart use skyrocketing among cancer patients
• New approach to remove blood clots
• Projecting a three-dimensional future based on nanoantennas
• NameExoWorlds: A contest to name exoplanets and their host stars
• Chemists develop novel catalyst with two functions
• Night-time brilliance lights up political patronage
• Fast building inspection from the air: Quiet flying robots do the work
• Telemedicine for patients with chronic liver diseases
• More efficient fuel cells under developement by engineers
• Nearly 50 percent of grade 12 students in Ontario report texting while driving
• Ancient arachnid brought 'back to life': Video recreates 410-million-year-old animal walking
• Highway for ultracold atoms in light crystals
• Even geckos can lose their grip

Minimally invasive heart stents prove safer Posted: 09 Jul 2014 01:20 PM PDT The safety benefits of aortic stent grafts inserted during minimally invasive surgery to repair abdominal aortic aneurysms – weaknesses in the body's largest artery that can rupture, causing potentially lethal internal bleeding -- have been studied by researchers. The study shows that patients who received the minimally invasive aortic repair procedure had a 42 percent reduction in preventable post-operative complications and a 72 percent reduction in mortality, compared with those who had undergone open repair surgery.

Protecting privacy online: New system would give individuals more control over shared digital data Posted: 09 Jul 2014 12:16 PM PDT Cellphone metadata has been in the news quite a bit lately, but the National Security Agency isn't the only organization that collects information about people's online behavior. Newly downloaded cellphone apps routinely ask to access your location information, your address book, or other apps, and of course, websites like Amazon or Netflix track your browsing history in the interest of making personalized recommendations. At the same time, a host of recent studies have demonstrated that it's shockingly easy to identify unnamed individuals in supposedly "anonymized" data sets, even ones containing millions of records. A new system would allow individuals to pick and choose what data to share with websites and mobile apps.

Making quantum connections: The speed of information in a spin network Posted: 09 Jul 2014 12:15 PM PDT Physicists are pretty adept at controlling quantum systems and even making certain entangled states. Researchers are putting these skills to work to explore the dynamics of correlated quantum systems. Recent results investigated how information flows through a quantum many-body system.

New technology illuminates colder objects in deep space: New material offers more stable infrared detection Posted: 09 Jul 2014 11:02 AM PDT Too cool and faint, many objects in the universe are impossible to detect with visible light. Now scientists have refined a new technology that could make these colder objects more visible, paving the way for enhanced exploration of deep space. Scientists have engineered a new technology that can detect very long wavelength infrared light.

Postcards from the photosynthetic edge: Femtosecond snapshots of photosynthetic water oxidation Posted: 09 Jul 2014 11:02 AM PDT Using the world's most powerful x-ray laser, an international collaboration took femtosecond 'snapshots' of water oxidation in photosystem II, the only known biological system able to harness sunlight for splitting the water molecule. The results should help advance the development of artificial photosynthesis for clean, green and renewable energy.

Ranavirus predicted to be potential new culprit in amphibian extinctions Posted: 09 Jul 2014 11:02 AM PDT Amphibian declines and extinctions around the world have been linked to an emerging fungal disease called chytridiomycosis, but new research from shows that another pathogen, ranavirus, may also contribute. In a series of mathematical models, researchers showed that ranavirus, which causes severe hemorrhage of internal organs in frogs, could cause extinction of isolated populations of wood frogs if they are exposed to the virus every few years, a scenario that has been documented in wild populations.

First snapshots of water splitting in photosynthesis Posted: 09 Jul 2014 11:01 AM PDT Scientists have taken the first snapshots of photosynthesis in action as it splits water into protons, electrons and oxygen, the process that maintains Earth's oxygen atmosphere. The revealing of the mechanism of this water splitting process is essential for the development of artificial systems that mimic and surpass the efficiency of natural systems.

'Nano-pixels' promise thin, flexible, high resolution displays Posted: 09 Jul 2014 11:01 AM PDT A new discovery will make it possible to create pixels just a few hundred nanometers across that could pave the way for extremely high-resolution and low-energy thin, flexible displays for applications such as 'smart' glasses, synthetic retinas, and foldable screens.

Cosmic grains of dust formed in supernova explosion Posted: 09 Jul 2014 11:01 AM PDT There are billions of stars and planets in the universe. The planets are formed in dust clouds that swirled around a newly formed star. But where does the cosmic dust come from? New research shows that not only can grains of dust form in gigantic supernova explosions, they can also survive the subsequent shockwaves they are exposed to.

New paths into the world of quasiparticles Posted: 09 Jul 2014 10:59 AM PDT Quasiparticles can be used to explain physical phenomena in solid bodies even though they are not actual physical particles. Physicists have now realized quasiparticles in a quantum system and observed quantum mechanical entanglement propagation in a many-body system.

MyChart use skyrocketing among cancer patients Posted: 09 Jul 2014 10:58 AM PDT There has been a sharp increase in the number of cancer patients at one hospital using MyChart, the online, interactive service that allows patients to view laboratory and radiology results, communicate with their healthcare providers, and more. MyChart is an online, interactive service that allows patients to view laboratory and radiology results, communicate with their healthcare providers, schedule appointments, and renew prescriptions.

New approach to remove blood clots Posted: 09 Jul 2014 10:55 AM PDT Experts are now able to save patients from potentially fatal outcomes from blood clots, infected masses or foreign bodies from major cardiac blood vessels without performing open-heart surgery. The AngioVac is a catheter-based device in which thin tubes are inserted into two major veins in the body through the neck or groin area. Under X-ray guidance, the flexible tubes are advanced to the proximal veins, right-sided heart chambers and/or lung arteries. Each is equipped with an expandable, balloon-shaped funnel tip that, when attached to a bypass circuit, vacuums the targeted material, such as a blood, clot out of the body.

Projecting a three-dimensional future based on nanoantennas Posted: 09 Jul 2014 08:54 AM PDT Highly efficient holography has been developed based on nanoantennas, using the parameters of light itself to create dynamic and complex holographic images. This research could be used for security as well as medical and recreational purposes, improving laser-based radars and advancing anti-counterfeiting techniques to safeguard against theft.

NameExoWorlds: A contest to name exoplanets and their host stars Posted: 09 Jul 2014 08:54 AM PDT For the first time, in response to the public's increased interest in being part of discoveries in astronomy, the International Astronomical Union is organizing a worldwide contest to give popular names to selected exoplanets along with their host stars. The proposed names will be submitted by astronomy clubs and non-profit organzsations interested in astronomy, and votes will be cast by the public from across the world through the web platform NameExoWorlds.

Chemists develop novel catalyst with two functions Posted: 09 Jul 2014 07:50 AM PDT Chemists have made a decisive step towards more cost-efficient regenerative fuel cells and rechargeable metal-air batteries. They developed a new type of catalyst on the basis of carbon, which can facilitate two opposite reactions: electrolysis of water and combustion of hydrogen with oxygen. A catalyst of this kind might make the storage of wind and solar energy and the manufacture of cost-efficient batteries, for example for electric cars, possible.

Night-time brilliance lights up political patronage Posted: 09 Jul 2014 07:50 AM PDT In some countries, a region that can lay claim to being the birthplace of a country's political leader is likely to get preferential treatment -- bias that shines out when the intensity of night lights is compared with that in other regions. Using information on the birthplaces of political leaders in 126 countries, and satellite data on night-time light intensity from 38,427 subnational regions from 1992-2009, researchers established a strong relationship between light intensity and regional GDP.

Fast building inspection from the air: Quiet flying robots do the work Posted: 09 Jul 2014 07:48 AM PDT Many buildings in Germany are in need of renovation. The reasons for this are often aging building structures and environmental influences. In the future, flying inspection robots will be able to accelerate and simplify inspections, thus reducing the safety risk. Compared to many conventional methods, the inspection is more convenient, thanks to the assistance of an aerial robot, and can occur at shorter intervals. In addition, inspection time can be significantly shortened, usually without impeding use of the buildings.

Telemedicine for patients with chronic liver diseases Posted: 09 Jul 2014 07:48 AM PDT Although telemedicine could improve the quality of life of patients with chronic liver diseases, viable home care systems are still lacking. Scientists working on the EU-project "d-LIVER" mean to remedy this situation.

More efficient fuel cells under developement by engineers Posted: 09 Jul 2014 06:59 AM PDT Solar panels need sun. Wind turbines need wind. Society needs ways to store and dispense alternative energy. Fuel cells could do this. But their chemical reactions are not fully understood. Researchers have studied a high-efficiency solid-oxide fuel cell. They took atomic-scale 'snapshots' of the conversion process using a synchrotron. Learning why the cell worked well (its atomic defects explain its electrical efficiency) will lead to even better fuel cells -- and make alternative energy systems more practical.

Nearly 50 percent of grade 12 students in Ontario report texting while driving Posted: 09 Jul 2014 06:59 AM PDT An ongoing survey of Ontario students in grades seven to 12 reveals a number of significant behavioral trends, including an alarming number of young people who are texting while driving. More than 80 per cent of students visit social media sites daily, with about one in ten spending five hours or more on these sites daily. One in five students play video games daily or almost daily with males being almost four times as likely as females to do so.

Ancient arachnid brought 'back to life': Video recreates 410-million-year-old animal walking Posted: 09 Jul 2014 06:56 AM PDT Scientists have recreated the walking gait of a 410-million-year-old arachnid, one of the first predators on land, based on fossil evidence. The scientists used the fossils -- thin slices of rock showing the animal's cross-section -- to work out the range of motion in the limbs of this ancient, extinct early relative of the spiders.

Highway for ultracold atoms in light crystals Posted: 09 Jul 2014 06:56 AM PDT When a superconductor is exposed to a magnetic field, a current on its surface appears which creates a counter field that cancels the magnetic field inside the superconductor. This phenomenon, known as "Meissner-Ochsenfeld effect" after its discoverers, was first observed in 1933. Physicists have now succeeded in realizing an analogue of the Meissner effect by measuring edge currents in a ladder-like crystal of light.

Even geckos can lose their grip Posted: 09 Jul 2014 06:55 AM PDT Not even geckos and spiders can sit upside down forever. Nanophysics makes sure of that. Mechanics researchers have demonstrated this in an article that can be of great industrial benefit.

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