ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Water vapor on Rosetta's target comet significantly different from that found on Earth
• New way to plug 'leaky' light cavities demonstrated
• New 'high-entropy' alloy is as light as aluminum, as strong as titanium alloys
• Organic electronics could lead to cheap, wearable medical sensors
• Physicists explain puzzling particle collisions
• New form of ice could help explore exciting avenues for energy production and storage
• Theory details how 'hot' monomers affect thin-film formation
• New study measures methane emissions from natural gas production and offers insights into two large sources
• 'Smart windows' have potential to keep heat out and save energy
• New 'electronic skin' for prosthetics, robotics detects pressure from different directions
• Smoothing the path to an independent life: Virtual reality based training systems boost cognitive functions
• Internet searches can predict volume of ER visits
• Pros and cons of using big data to monitor drug safety
• Where are the helium atoms in the molecule? As in a cloud
• Limiting internet congestion a key factor in net neutrality debate
• Defects are perfect in laser-induced graphene
• Scientists resolve spin puzzle
• New model to predict the thermal performance of vegetal façades
• Shifting boundaries and changing surfaces: Energies at work in closed flexible loop spanned by soap film
• Long-term aging of electronics in nuclear weapons
• Early results indicate potential for focused ultrasound to treat OCD
• Immunizing schoolkids fights flu in others, too
• Robotic surgery technique to treat previously inoperable head and neck cancer tumors
• Long-term results confirm success of laser treatment for vocal-cord cancer
• Is natural gas a 'bridge' to a hotter future?
• Solid-state proteins maximize intensity of fluorescent-protein-based lasers
• Retina changes its 'language' with changing brightness

Water vapor on Rosetta's target comet significantly different from that found on Earth Posted: 10 Dec 2014 05:47 PM PST ESA's Rosetta spacecraft has found the water vapor from its target comet to be significantly different to that found on Earth. The discovery fuels the debate on the origin of our planet's oceans. One of the leading hypotheses on Earth's formation is that it was so hot when it formed 4.6 billion years ago that any original water content should have boiled off. But, today, two thirds of the surface is covered in water, so where did it come from? In this scenario, it should have been delivered after our planet had cooled down, most likely from collisions with comets and asteroids.

New way to plug 'leaky' light cavities demonstrated Posted: 10 Dec 2014 11:08 AM PST Engineers have demonstrated a new and more efficient way to trap light, using a phenomenon called bound states in the continuum that was first proposed in the early days of quantum wave mechanics.

New 'high-entropy' alloy is as light as aluminum, as strong as titanium alloys Posted: 10 Dec 2014 11:08 AM PST Researchers have developed a new 'high-entropy' metal alloy that has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than any other existing metal material.

Organic electronics could lead to cheap, wearable medical sensors Posted: 10 Dec 2014 10:13 AM PST A pulse oximeter, commonly used to measure heart rate and blood oxygen levels, has been created using all organic materials instead of silicon. The advance could lead to cheap, flexible sensors that could be used like a Band-Aid.

Physicists explain puzzling particle collisions Posted: 10 Dec 2014 10:13 AM PST An anomaly spotted at the Large Hadron Collider has prompted scientists to reconsider a mathematical description of the underlying physics. By considering two forces that are distinct in everyday life but unified under extreme conditions, they have simplified one description of the interactions of elementary particles. Their new version makes specific predictions about events that future experiments should observe and could help to reveal 'new physics,' particles or processes that have yet to be discovered.

New form of ice could help explore exciting avenues for energy production and storage Posted: 10 Dec 2014 10:13 AM PST The discovery of a new form of ice could lead to an improved understanding of our planet's geology, potentially helping to unlock new solutions in the production, transportation and storage of energy. Ice XVI, the least dense of all known forms of ice, has a highly symmetric cage-like structure that can trap gaseous molecules to form compounds known as clathrates or gas hydrates.

Theory details how 'hot' monomers affect thin-film formation Posted: 10 Dec 2014 09:14 AM PST Researchers have devised a mathematical model to predict how 'hot' monomers on cold substrates affect the growth of thin films being developed for next-generation electronics.

New study measures methane emissions from natural gas production and offers insights into two large sources Posted: 10 Dec 2014 09:14 AM PST A small subset of natural gas wells are responsible for the majority of methane emissions from two major sources -- liquid unloadings and pneumatic controller equipment -- at natural gas production sites. With natural gas production in the United States expected to continue to increase during the next few decades, there is a need for a better understanding of methane emissions during natural gas production.

'Smart windows' have potential to keep heat out and save energy Posted: 10 Dec 2014 09:14 AM PST Windows allow brilliant natural light to stream into homes and buildings. Along with light comes heat that, in warm weather, we often counter with energy-consuming air conditioning. Now scientists are developing a new kind of 'smart window' that can block out heat when the outside temperatures rise. The advance could one day help consumers better conserve energy on hot days and reduce electric bills.

New 'electronic skin' for prosthetics, robotics detects pressure from different directions Posted: 10 Dec 2014 09:14 AM PST Touch can be a subtle sense, but it communicates quickly whether something in our hands is slipping, for example, so we can tighten our grip. For the first time, scientists report the development of a stretchable 'electronic skin' closely modeled after our own that can detect not just pressure, but also what direction it's coming from. The study on the advance could have applications for prosthetics and robotics.

Smoothing the path to an independent life: Virtual reality based training systems boost cognitive functions Posted: 10 Dec 2014 09:13 AM PST Virtual reality is a powerful tool to simulate real-life environments and situations. Scientists are exploring the medium as a way to help people with cognitive limitations overcome difficulties in life. Among the many kinds of disabilities, cognitive deficits may bring more hindrance to a person's life than others. For examples, dementia affects a patient's ability to do basic tasks such as grocery shopping or traveling to a specific place.

Internet searches can predict volume of ER visits Posted: 10 Dec 2014 08:43 AM PST The correlation between Internet searches on a regional medical website and next-day visits to regional emergency departments was 'significant,' authors of a recent study say, suggesting that Internet data may be used in the future to predict the level of demand at emergency departments. This is the first study to use Internet data to predict emergency department visits in either a region or a single hospital.

Pros and cons of using big data to monitor drug safety Posted: 10 Dec 2014 08:41 AM PST Although healthcare databases have allowed for greater access to real world medical data, using databases to evaluate the safety of medical products is complex and requires careful research consideration, a new report warns.

Where are the helium atoms in the molecule? As in a cloud Posted: 10 Dec 2014 06:59 AM PST Physicists have now resolved a disputed matter of theoretical physics. Science has long since known that, contrary to the old school of thought, helium forms molecules of two, three or even more atoms. Exactly what helium consisting of three atoms looks like, however, has been disputed by theoretical physicists for about 20 years. Besides the intuitive assumption that the three identical components form an equilateral triangle, there was also the hypothesis that the three atoms are arranged linearly, in other words in a row. Scientists, using the COLTRIMS reaction microscope, were able to demonstrate that the truth lies somewhere in between.

Limiting internet congestion a key factor in net neutrality debate Posted: 10 Dec 2014 06:58 AM PST If Internet Service Providers known as ISPs initiate price discrimination in their pricing, a "recongestion effect" will occur. In other words, online delivery channels that are less congested at the onset of new pricing tiers will eventually become recongested when consumer behavior adjusts, according to new research.

Defects are perfect in laser-induced graphene Posted: 10 Dec 2014 05:07 AM PST Researchers use lasers to create graphene foam from inexpensive polymers in ambient conditions. The laser-induced graphene may be suitable for electronics and energy storage.

Scientists resolve spin puzzle Posted: 10 Dec 2014 05:06 AM PST Scientists have helped to uncover the properties of defects in the atomic structure of magnetite, potentially opening the way for its use in producing more powerful electronic devices.

New model to predict the thermal performance of vegetal façades Posted: 10 Dec 2014 05:05 AM PST After years of monitoring different experimental buildings, a group of researchers from the School of Architecture of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid has developed a model that can estimate the thermal performance of vegetal façades regarding the traditional ones by previously studying the main characteristics of its climatology. Therefore, this model is a great tool to assess energy saving associated to vegetal façades installations in addition to having thermal benefits for the users of these buildings.

Shifting boundaries and changing surfaces: Energies at work in closed flexible loop spanned by soap film Posted: 10 Dec 2014 05:04 AM PST New research examines the energies at work in a closed flexible loop spanned by a soap film. While the underlying experiments are simple enough to be replicated in a kitchen sink, the research generates potentially important questions and changes how we think about different disciplines from material science to vertebrate morphogenesis.

Long-term aging of electronics in nuclear weapons Posted: 10 Dec 2014 04:50 AM PST Researchers have studied radiation effects since the early days of nuclear weapons. But a 30-year program began in 2006 will provide real-time data for the first time on how electronics age within the weapon.

Early results indicate potential for focused ultrasound to treat OCD Posted: 10 Dec 2014 04:50 AM PST The potential of focused ultrasound to treat certain patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been supported by new research. "There is a need for non-invasive treatment options for patients with OCD that cannot be managed through medication," says the lead investigator. "Using focused ultrasound, we were able to reduce the symptoms for these patients and help them get some of their life back without the risks or complications of the more invasive surgical approaches that are currently available."

Immunizing schoolkids fights flu in others, too Posted: 10 Dec 2014 04:41 AM PST Mathematical models predicted it, and now a study confirms it: Immunizing school-aged children from flu can protect other segments of the population, as well, researchers report.

Robotic surgery technique to treat previously inoperable head and neck cancer tumors Posted: 10 Dec 2014 04:38 AM PST In a groundbreaking new study, researchers have for the first time advanced a surgical technique performed with the help of a robot to successfully access a previously-unreachable area of the head and neck.

Long-term results confirm success of laser treatment for vocal-cord cancer Posted: 09 Dec 2014 10:36 AM PST The first long-term study of a pioneering endoscopic laser treatment for early vocal-cord cancer, previously shown to provide optimal voice outcomes, finds that it is as successful as traditional approaches in curing patients' tumors while avoiding the damage to vocal quality caused by radiotherapy or by conventional laser or cold-instrument surgery.

Is natural gas a 'bridge' to a hotter future? Posted: 08 Dec 2014 11:57 AM PST Natural gas power plants produce substantial amounts of gases that lead to global warming. Replacing old coal-fired power plants with new natural gas plants could cause climate damage to increase over the next decades, unless their methane leakage rates are very low and the new power plants are very efficient.

Solid-state proteins maximize intensity of fluorescent-protein-based lasers Posted: 08 Dec 2014 11:57 AM PST The same research team that developed the first laser based on a living cell has shown that use of fluorescent proteins in a solid form rather than in solution greatly increases the intensity of light produced, an accomplishment that takes advantage of natural protein structures surrounding the light-emitting portions of the protein molecules.

Retina changes its 'language' with changing brightness Posted: 08 Dec 2014 11:51 AM PST The intricate nature of visual responses has become more clear, thanks to new research. The findings may help to improve digital cameras as well as visual prosthetics.

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