ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Revolutionary microshutter technology hurdles significant challenges
• NASA-funded X-ray instrument settles interstellar debate
• Weighing the Milky Way: Researchers devise precise method for calculating the mass of galaxies
• World's smallest propeller could be used for microscopic medicine
• Vision-correcting display makes reading glasses so yesterday
• Mysterious molecules in space: Silicon-capped hydrocarbons may be source of 'diffuse interstellar bands'
• A new way to make microstructured surfaces: Method can produce strong, lightweight materials with specific surface properties
• Tough foam from tiny sheets: Lab uses atom-thick materials to make ultralight foam
• The Quantum Cheshire Cat: Can neutrons be located at a different place than their own spin?
• Optimum inertial self-propulsion design for snowman-like nanorobot
• Beyond invisibility cloaks? Flexible metamaterial absorbers developed
• Kill switch in cell phones could save consumers more than $3.4 billion annually
• From finding Nemo to minerals: What riches lie in the deep sea?
• Worldwide water shortage by 2040
• Using TV, videos or a computer game as a stress reducer after a tough day at work can lead to feelings of guilt and failure
• NASA long-lived Mars Opportunity rover passes 25 miles of driving
• Printing the metals of the future
• Cassini spacecraft reveals 101 geysers and more on icy Saturn moon
• Mineral magic? Common mineral capable of making and breaking bonds
• Electronic screening tool to triage teenagers and risk of substance misuse
• Physicists unlock nature of high-temperature superconductivity
• Researchers produce record-length mirror-image protein
• Cool-burning flames in space, could lead to better engines on Earth
• Booming mobile health app market needs more FDA oversight for consumer safety, confidence
• Models for polymer macromolecules using magnets and DNA 'springs'
• Next-generation thirty meter telescope begins construction in Hawaii
• Google searches may hold key to future market crashes, researchers find
• Measuring the smallest magnets: Physicists measure magnetic interactions between single electrons
• A transistor-like amplifier for single photons
• Superconductivity could form at high temperatures in layered 2-D crystals
• Simulating the invisible: How palladium nanoparticles interact
• New way to determine cancer risk of chemicals found

Revolutionary microshutter technology hurdles significant challenges Posted: 29 Jul 2014 07:56 PM PDT NASA technologists have hurdled a number of significant technological challenges in their quest to improve an already revolutionary observing technology originally created for the James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA-funded X-ray instrument settles interstellar debate Posted: 29 Jul 2014 07:56 PM PDT New findings from a NASA-funded instrument have resolved a decades-old puzzle about a fog of low-energy X-rays observed over the entire sky. Thanks to refurbished detectors first flown on a NASA sounding rocket in the 1970s, astronomers have now confirmed the long-held suspicion that much of this glow stems from a region of million-degree interstellar plasma known as the local hot bubble, or LHB.

Weighing the Milky Way: Researchers devise precise method for calculating the mass of galaxies Posted: 29 Jul 2014 07:49 PM PDT Does the Milky Way look fat in this picture? Has Andromeda been taking skinny selfies? Using a new, more accurate method for measuring the mass of galaxies, and international group of researchers has shown that the Milky Way has half the Mass of the Andromeda Galaxy.

World's smallest propeller could be used for microscopic medicine Posted: 29 Jul 2014 01:47 PM PDT Scientists have created robots that are only nanometers in length, small enough to maneuver inside the human body and possibly inside human cells.

Vision-correcting display makes reading glasses so yesterday Posted: 29 Jul 2014 12:29 PM PDT Researchers are developing vision-correcting displays that can compensate for a viewer's visual impairments to create sharp images without the need for glasses or contact lenses. The technology could potentially help those who currently need corrective lenses to use their smartphones, tablets and computers, and could one day aid people with more complex visual problems.

Mysterious molecules in space: Silicon-capped hydrocarbons may be source of 'diffuse interstellar bands' Posted: 29 Jul 2014 12:27 PM PDT New research has offered a tantalizing new possibility in the realm of interstellar molecules and diffuse interstellar bands: these mysterious molecules may be silicon-capped hydrocarbons like SiC3H, SiC4H and SiC5H.

A new way to make microstructured surfaces: Method can produce strong, lightweight materials with specific surface properties Posted: 29 Jul 2014 09:38 AM PDT A team of researchers has created a new way of manufacturing microstructured surfaces that have novel three-dimensional textures. These surfaces, made by self-assembly of carbon nanotubes, could exhibit a variety of useful properties -- including controllable mechanical stiffness and strength, or the ability to repel water in a certain direction.

Tough foam from tiny sheets: Lab uses atom-thick materials to make ultralight foam Posted: 29 Jul 2014 09:38 AM PDT Tough, ultralight foam of atom-thick sheets can be made to any size and shape through a new chemical process. In microscopic images, the foam dubbed "GO-0.5BN" looks like a nanoscale building, with floors and walls that reinforce each other. The structure consists of a pair of two-dimensional materials: floors and walls of graphene oxide that self-assemble with the assistance of hexagonal boron nitride platelets.

The Quantum Cheshire Cat: Can neutrons be located at a different place than their own spin? Posted: 29 Jul 2014 09:38 AM PDT Can neutrons be located at a different place than their own spin? A quantum experiment demonstrates a new kind of quantum paradox. The Cheshire Cat featured in Lewis Caroll's novel "Alice in Wonderland" is a remarkable creature: it disappears, leaving its grin behind. Can an object be separated from its properties? It is possible in the quantum world. In an experiment, neutrons travel along a different path than one of their properties -- their magnetic moment. This "Quantum Cheshire Cat" could be used to make high precision measurements less sensitive to external perturbations.

Optimum inertial self-propulsion design for snowman-like nanorobot Posted: 29 Jul 2014 08:53 AM PDT A new study investigates the effects of small but finite inertia on the propulsion of micro and nano-scale swimming machines. Scale plays a major role in locomotion. Swimming microorganisms, such as bacteria and spermatozoa, are subjected to relatively small inertial forces compared to the viscous forces exerted by the surrounding fluid. Such low-level inertia makes self-propulsion a major challenge. Now, scientists have found that the direction of propulsion made possible by such inertia is opposite to that induced by a viscoelastic fluid.

Beyond invisibility cloaks? Flexible metamaterial absorbers developed Posted: 29 Jul 2014 08:53 AM PDT Scientists have created flexible metamaterial absorbers designed to suppress electromagnetic radiation from mobile electronics. Electromagnetic metamaterials boast special properties not found in nature and are rapidly emerging as a hot research topic for reasons extending far beyond "invisibility cloaks."

Kill switch in cell phones could save consumers more than $3.4 billion annually Posted: 29 Jul 2014 08:51 AM PDT A new study shows consumer savings from the Kill Switch legislation exceed initial projections and now points to well over $3 billion. This savings to consumers comes at the expense of insurance and wireless industry profits.

From finding Nemo to minerals: What riches lie in the deep sea? Posted: 29 Jul 2014 07:11 AM PDT As fishing and the harvesting of metals, gas and oil have expanded deeper and deeper into the ocean, scientists are drawing attention to the services provided by the deep sea, the world's largest environment.

Worldwide water shortage by 2040 Posted: 29 Jul 2014 06:31 AM PDT Water is used around the world for the production of electricity, but new research results show that there will not be enough water in the world to meet demand by 2040 if the energy and power situation does not improve before then.

Using TV, videos or a computer game as a stress reducer after a tough day at work can lead to feelings of guilt and failure Posted: 29 Jul 2014 04:36 AM PDT It seems common practice: After a long day at work, most people sometimes just want to turn on the TV or play a video or computer game to calm down and relax. However, in a new study researchers found that people who were highly stressed after work did not feel relaxed or recovered when they watched TV or played computer or video games. Instead, they tended to show increased levels of guilt and feelings of failure.

NASA long-lived Mars Opportunity rover passes 25 miles of driving Posted: 28 Jul 2014 04:22 PM PDT NASA's Opportunity Mars rover, which landed on the Red Planet in 2004, now holds the off-Earth roving distance record after accruing 25 miles (40 kilometers) of driving. The previous record was held by the Soviet Union's Lunokhod 2 rover.

Printing the metals of the future Posted: 28 Jul 2014 04:20 PM PDT 3-D printers can create all kinds of things, from eyeglasses to implantable medical devices, straight from a computer model and without the need for molds. But for making spacecraft, engineers sometimes need custom parts that traditional manufacturing techniques and standard 3-D printers can't create, because they need to have the properties of multiple metals. Now, researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are implementing a printing process that transitions from one metal or alloy to another in a single object.

Cassini spacecraft reveals 101 geysers and more on icy Saturn moon Posted: 28 Jul 2014 04:15 PM PDT Scientists using mission data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have identified 101 distinct geysers erupting on Saturn's icy moon Enceladus. Their analysis suggests it is possible for liquid water to reach from the moon's underground sea all the way to its surface.

Mineral magic? Common mineral capable of making and breaking bonds Posted: 28 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT Researchers have demonstrated how a common mineral acts as a catalysts for specific hydrothermal organic reactions -- negating the need for toxic solvents or expensive reagents.

Electronic screening tool to triage teenagers and risk of substance misuse Posted: 28 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT An electronic screening tool that starts with a single question to assess the frequency of substance misuse appears to be an easy way to screen teenagers who visited a physician for routine medical care.

Physicists unlock nature of high-temperature superconductivity Posted: 28 Jul 2014 12:40 PM PDT Physicists have identified the 'quantum glue' that underlies a promising type of superconductivity -- a crucial step towards the creation of energy superhighways that conduct electricity without current loss.

Researchers produce record-length mirror-image protein Posted: 28 Jul 2014 12:36 PM PDT Biochemists have reported an advance in the production of functional mirror-image proteins. In a new study, they have chemically synthesized a record-length mirror-image protein and used this protein to demonstrate that a cellular chaperone, which helps "fold" large or complex proteins into their functional state, has a previously unappreciated talent -- the ability to fold mirror-image proteins. These findings will greatly facilitate mirror-image protein production for applications in drug discovery and synthetic biology.

Cool-burning flames in space, could lead to better engines on Earth Posted: 28 Jul 2014 11:16 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a new type of cool burning flames that could lead to cleaner, more efficient engines for cars. The discovery was made during a series of experiments on the International Space Station.

Booming mobile health app market needs more FDA oversight for consumer safety, confidence Posted: 28 Jul 2014 09:38 AM PDT While the mobile health apps market offers tremendous potential, several health law experts say that more oversight is needed by the US Food and Drug Administration to ensure consumer confidence and safety. Out of 100,000 mHealth apps on the market, only about 100 have been cleared by the FDA, which opponents see as a deterrent to innovation and profit. But it doesn't have to be.

Models for polymer macromolecules using magnets and DNA 'springs' Posted: 28 Jul 2014 08:33 AM PDT Scientists are making models for polymer macromolecules using magnets and DNA 'springs' that can be tuned for flexibility.

Next-generation thirty meter telescope begins construction in Hawaii Posted: 28 Jul 2014 08:31 AM PDT Following the approval of a sublease on July 25 by the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) announces the beginning of the construction phase on Hawaii Island and around the world throughout the TMT international partnership. Contingent on that decision, the TMT International Observatory (TIO) Board of Directors, the project's new governing body, recently approved the initial phase of construction, with activities near the summit of Mauna Kea scheduled to start later this year.

Google searches may hold key to future market crashes, researchers find Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:44 AM PDT A team of researchers has developed a method to automatically identify topics that people search for on Google before subsequent stock market falls.

Measuring the smallest magnets: Physicists measure magnetic interactions between single electrons Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:44 AM PDT Imagine trying to measure a tennis ball that bounces wildly, every time to a distance a million times its own size. The bouncing obviously creates enormous "background noise" that interferes with the measurement. But if you attach the ball directly to a measuring device, so they bounce together, you can eliminate the noise problem. Physicists have used a similar trick to measure the interaction between the smallest possible magnets -- two single electrons -- after neutralizing magnetic noise that was a million times stronger than the signal they needed to detect.

A transistor-like amplifier for single photons Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:43 AM PDT Scientists have achieved a twentyfold amplification of single-photon signals with the help of an ultracold quantum gas.

Superconductivity could form at high temperatures in layered 2-D crystals Posted: 28 Jul 2014 05:05 AM PDT An elusive state of matter called superconductivity could be realized in stacks of sheetlike crystals just a few atoms thick, new analysis determined. Electrons and 'holes' would accumulate in separate layers of a 2D semiconductor compound in response to an electrical field forming a superfluid gas of indirect excitons. Counterflow superconductivity would result.

Simulating the invisible: How palladium nanoparticles interact Posted: 28 Jul 2014 05:04 AM PDT Panagiotis Grammatikopoulos in the OIST Nanoparticles by Design Unit simulates the interactions of particles that are too small to see, and too complicated to visualize. In order to study the particles' behavior, he uses a technique called molecular dynamics. This means that every trillionth of a second, he calculates the location of each individual atom in the particle based on where it is and which forces apply. He uses a computer program to make the calculations, and then animates the motion of the atoms using visualization software. The resulting animation illuminates what happens, atom-by-atom, when two nanoparticles collide.

New way to determine cancer risk of chemicals found Posted: 24 Jul 2014 11:16 AM PDT It is possible to predict long-term cancer risk from a chemical exposure by measuring the short-term effects of that same exposure, new research has found. The findings will make it possible to develop simpler and cheaper tests to screen chemicals for their potential cancer causing risk.

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