ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

---

• Is your data safe? Why you should care more about spam
• Eco-pottery product from water treatment sludge
• Spinach could lead to alternative energy more powerful than Popeye
• The birth of topological spintronics: New material combo could lead to more efficient computers
• 15-year analysis of blue whale range off California finds conflict with shipping lanes
• The physics of lead guitar playing
• Voyager spacecraft might not have reached interstellar space
• New approach in search for extraterrestrial intelligence: Target alien polluters
• A crystal wedding in the nanocosmos may lead to fast multi-functional processing units on single chip
• Scientists find way to maintain quantum entanglement in amplified signals
• Atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon
• Astronomers pioneer a 'Google street view' of galaxies
• Lives and deaths of sibling stars
• Can machines think? Misidentification of humans as machines in Turing tests
• Satellite galaxies put astronomers in a spin
• Virtual humans as models: Say goodbye to Naomi, Kate and Claudia ... Enter 'Ava'
• Linking television and the Internet
• Could tailored golf balls improve golfing performance?
• The electric slide dance of DNA knots
• Electronic nose could aid in rescue missions
• Dopamine transporter: Stampede supercomputer used to study common link between addiction, neurological disease

Is your data safe? Why you should care more about spam Posted: 23 Jul 2014 03:07 PM PDT Researchers are working to protect consumer data by using companies spam volume to evaluate its security vulnerability through the SpamRankings.net project.

Eco-pottery product from water treatment sludge Posted: 23 Jul 2014 03:07 PM PDT Sludge obtained from water treatment plants were studied as suitable materials to be used in the pottery industry to make suitable pottery products.

Spinach could lead to alternative energy more powerful than Popeye Posted: 23 Jul 2014 12:20 PM PDT Spinach gave Popeye super strength, but it also holds the promise of a different power for a group of scientists: the ability to convert sunlight into a clean, efficient alternative fuel. Physicists are using spinach to study the proteins involved in photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert the sun's energy into carbohydrates used to power cellular processes. Artificial photosynthesis could allow for the conversion of solar energy into renewable, environmentally friendly hydrogen-based fuels.

The birth of topological spintronics: New material combo could lead to more efficient computers Posted: 23 Jul 2014 11:17 AM PDT The discovery of a new material combination that could lead to a more efficient approach to computer memory and logic is the first promising indication that it may be possible to build a practical technology with a novel material known as a 'topological insulator.' The research team's results show that such a scheme can be 10 times more efficient for controlling magnetic memory or logic than any other combination of materials measured to date.

15-year analysis of blue whale range off California finds conflict with shipping lanes Posted: 23 Jul 2014 11:17 AM PDT A comprehensive analysis of the movements of blue whales off the West Coast found that their favored feeding areas are bisected by heavily used shipping lanes, increasing the threat of injury and mortality. But moving the shipping lanes off Los Angeles and San Francisco to slightly different areas -- at least, during summer and fall when blue whales are most abundant -- could significantly decrease the probability of ships striking the whales.

The physics of lead guitar playing Posted: 23 Jul 2014 11:17 AM PDT String bends, tapping, vibrato and whammy bars are all techniques that add to the distinctiveness of a lead guitarist's sound, whether it's Clapton, Hendrix, or BB King. Now a guitarist and physicist has described the physics underlying these techniques.

Voyager spacecraft might not have reached interstellar space Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:41 AM PDT In 2012, the Voyager mission team announced that the Voyager 1 spacecraft had passed into interstellar space, traveling further from Earth than any other humanmade object. But, in the nearly two years since that historic announcement, and despite subsequent observations backing it up, uncertainty about whether Voyager 1 really crossed the threshold continues.

New approach in search for extraterrestrial intelligence: Target alien polluters Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:12 AM PDT Humanity is on the threshold of being able to detect signs of alien life on other worlds. By studying exoplanet atmospheres, we can look for gases like oxygen and methane that only coexist if replenished by life. But those gases come from simple life forms like microbes. What about advanced civilizations? Would they leave any detectable signs? They might, if they spew industrial pollution into the atmosphere.

A crystal wedding in the nanocosmos may lead to fast multi-functional processing units on single chip Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:10 AM PDT Researchers have succeeded in embedding nearly perfect semiconductor crystals into a silicon nanowire. With this new method of producing hybrid nanowires, very fast and multi-functional processing units can be accommodated on a single chip in the future.

Scientists find way to maintain quantum entanglement in amplified signals Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:10 AM PDT Physicists have found a way to preserve quantum entanglement of particles passing through an amplifier and, conversely, when transmitting a signal over long distances.

Atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:10 AM PDT An astronomer has published the results of the comparison of his model of Titan's atmosphere with the latest data.

Astronomers pioneer a 'Google street view' of galaxies Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:09 AM PDT A new instrument based on bundles of optical fibers is giving astronomers the first 'Google street view' of the cosmos -- incredibly detailed views of huge numbers of galaxies. The optical-fiber bundles can sample the light from up to 60 parts of a galaxy, for a dozen galaxies at a time.

Lives and deaths of sibling stars Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:09 AM PDT In a new image from ESO, young stars huddle together against clouds of glowing gas and lanes of dust. The star cluster, NGC 3293, would have been just a cloud of gas and dust itself about ten million years ago, but as stars began to form it became the bright group of stars we see here. Clusters like this are laboratories that allow astronomers to learn about how stars evolve.

Can machines think? Misidentification of humans as machines in Turing tests Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:08 AM PDT Pairs were set up and judges were tasked with identifying whether who they were talking to was human or a computer. Can machines be successful in 'being human' in real conversations?

Satellite galaxies put astronomers in a spin Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:08 AM PDT Astronomers have studied 380 galaxies and shown that their small satellite galaxies almost always move in rotating discs. However, such satellite galaxy discs are not predicted by current models of the formation of structures in the Universe. This discovery could cause modelers serious headaches in the years ahead.

Virtual humans as models: Say goodbye to Naomi, Kate and Claudia ... Enter 'Ava' Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:07 AM PDT Forget top models. With haute couture turning to virtual reality, holographic versions of the world's most in-demand models are now striding down the catwalks alongside their human counterparts. But does this mean temperamental models are on their way out?  New research has been revealed which shows it could be the end of the fashion world as we know it.

Linking television and the Internet Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:07 AM PDT In the "LinkedTV" project, researchers are seamlessly connecting TV offerings with the Internet. Audiences will benefit from an informative and personalized viewing experience.

Could tailored golf balls improve golfing performance? Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:07 AM PDT Elements such as trip wires, dimples and sand-grain roughness on the surface of a body have been shown to be effective in reducing drag on objects such as golf balls, which helps them fly farther.

The electric slide dance of DNA knots Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:04 AM PDT DNA has the nasty habit of getting tangled and forming knots. Scientists study these knots to understand their function and learn how to disentangle them (e.g. useful for gene sequencing techniques). Scientists have been carrying out research in which they simulate these knots and their dynamics. They have now devised and tested a method based on the application of electric fields and "optical tweezers".

Electronic nose could aid in rescue missions Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:04 AM PDT Researchers have developed a device that allows multiple robotic platforms to follow the path of certain odors. A technology which could aid the search and rescue of people in case of natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes or floods.

Dopamine transporter: Stampede supercomputer used to study common link between addiction, neurological disease Posted: 22 Jul 2014 01:43 PM PDT The XSEDE-allocated Stampede supercomputer has been used to study the dopamine transporter. Stampede is ranked seventh on the Top 500 list of supercomputers. Its research links altered dopamine signaling and dopamine transporter function to neurological and psychiatric diseases including early-onset Parkinsonism, ADHD, and cocaine addiction.

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