ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

---

• Out of an hours-long explosion, a stand-in for the first stars
• Pressure cell for reproducing deep-Earth chemistry
• Text message medicine: Texts from the ER can reduce binge drinking
• Drone lighting: Autonomous vehicles could automatically assume the right positions for photographic lighting
• New simple setup for X-ray phase contrast
• 3-D technology used to help California condors, other endangered species
• Can England still bring home 'the World Cup' from Brazil? Robotics experts hope so
• Ultrasound tracks odor representation in brain
• Better use of electronic health records makes clinical trials less expensive
• Sophisticated radiation detector designed for broad public use
• How Twitter can be used to address specific health issues
• Injectable foam could prevent fatal blood loss in wounded soldiers

Out of an hours-long explosion, a stand-in for the first stars Posted: 11 Jul 2014 12:33 PM PDT Astronomers analyzing a long-lasting blast of high-energy light observed in 2013 report finding features strikingly similar to those expected from an explosion from the universe's earliest stars. If this interpretation is correct, the outburst validates ideas about a recently identified class of gamma-ray burst and serves as a stand-in for what future observatories may see as the last acts of the first stars.

Pressure cell for reproducing deep-Earth chemistry Posted: 11 Jul 2014 12:33 PM PDT A new pressure cell makes it possible to simulate chemical reactions deep in the Earth's crust. The device could allow insights into deep-Earth chemistry and carbon cycling, 'fracking' and nuclear waste disposal.

Text message medicine: Texts from the ER can reduce binge drinking Posted: 11 Jul 2014 10:28 AM PDT Young adults who screened positive for a history of hazardous or binge drinking reduced their binge drinking by more than 50 percent after receiving mobile phone text messages following a visit to the emergency department, according to a study. Hazardous drinking is defined as five or more drinks per day for men and four or more drinks per day for women. Excessive alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, is responsible for an estimated 10 percent of deaths among working-age adults in the United States.

Drone lighting: Autonomous vehicles could automatically assume the right positions for photographic lighting Posted: 11 Jul 2014 10:28 AM PDT Lighting is crucial to the art of photography. But lights are cumbersome and time-consuming to set up, and outside the studio, it can be prohibitively difficult to position them where, ideally, they ought to go.

New simple setup for X-ray phase contrast Posted: 11 Jul 2014 10:28 AM PDT X-ray phase-contrast imaging can provide high-quality images of objects with lower radiation dose. But until now these images have been hard to obtain and required special X-ray sources whose properties are only found at particle accelerator facilities. Using a laboratory source with unprecedented brightness, scientists have demonstrated a new approach to get reliable phase contrast with an extremely simple setup.

3-D technology used to help California condors, other endangered species Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:22 AM PDT A novel methodology that, for the first time, combines 3-D and advanced range estimator technologies to provide highly detailed data on the range and movements of terrestrial, aquatic, and avian wildlife species has been developed by researchers. One aspect of the study focused on learning more about the range and movements of the California condor using miniaturized GPS biotelemetry units attached to every condor released into the wild.

Can England still bring home 'the World Cup' from Brazil? Robotics experts hope so Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:19 AM PDT Football success in Brazil may not be over yet for England. Although England's national team failed to make the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup, the University of Hertfordshire's robot football team, the 'Bold Hearts', is set to fly out to Brazil next week to compete in the 2014 RoboCup robotics world championship – taking place in João Pessoa, Brazil, 19 – 24 July 2014.

Ultrasound tracks odor representation in brain Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:19 AM PDT A new ultrasound imaging technique has provided the first ever in vivo visualization of activity in the piriform cortex of rats during odor perception. This deep-seated brain structure plays an important role in olfaction, and was inaccessible to functional imaging until now. This work also sheds new light on the still poorly known functioning of the olfactory system, and notably how information is processed in the brain.

Better use of electronic health records makes clinical trials less expensive Posted: 11 Jul 2014 06:19 AM PDT Using electronic health records to understand the best available treatment for patients, from a range of possible options, is more efficient and less costly for taxpayers than the existing clinical trial process, a new study shows.

Sophisticated radiation detector designed for broad public use Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:19 PM PDT Nuclear engineers have developed a small, portable and inexpensive radiation detection device that should help people all over the world better understand the radiation around them, its type and intensity, and whether or not it poses a health risk. The system is a miniaturized gamma ray spectrometer, which means it can measure not only the intensity of radiation but also identify the type of radionuclide that is creating it. Such a system is far more sophisticated than old-fashioned "Geiger counters" that provide only minimal information about the presence and level of radioactivity.

How Twitter can be used to address specific health issues Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:17 PM PDT A new study examined the use of the hashtag #childhoodobesity in tweets to track Twitter conversations about the issue of overweight kids. The study noted that conversations involving childhood obesity on Twitter don't often include comments from representatives of government and public health organizations that likely have evidence relating to how best to approach this issue. The authors think maybe they should.

Injectable foam could prevent fatal blood loss in wounded soldiers Posted: 10 Jul 2014 08:15 AM PDT A student-invented battlefield medical device has potential to save soldiers with deep wounds, especially at the neck, shoulder or groin. Without prompt care, a badly wounded soldier can easily bleed to death while being transported to a distant medical station. Tourniquets and medicated gauze pads often cannot stop the blood loss from a deep wound at the neck, shoulder or groin. To give these soldiers a fighting chance at survival, an injectable foam system designed to stop profuse bleeding from a wound has been developed.

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