ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Signs of Europa plumes remain elusive in search of Cassini data
• NASA's Kepler reborn, makes first exoplanet find of new mission
• Improving rechargeable batteries by focusing on graphene oxide paper
• Glimpsing pathway of sunlight to electricity
• Physicists characterize electronic, magnetic structure in transition metal oxides
• Instant-start computers possible with new breakthrough
• Dust devil and the details: Spinning up a storm on Mars
• Computational clues into the structure of a promising energy conversion catalyst
• In one aspect of vision, computers catch up to primate brain
• Origin of long-standing space mystery revealed: Origin of the 'theta aurora'
• Revealing the quantum geometry of the graphene lattice
• Study fuels hope for natural gas cars: Metal organic framework candidates for methane storage identified
• Kepler proves it can still find planets
• New technique provides novel approach to diagnosing ciliopathies
• Crown ethers flatten in graphene for strong, specific binding
• Choreography of an electron pair
• Getting bot responders into shape
• Electron spin could be the key to high-temperature superconductivity
• Pilot plant for removal of extreme gas charges from deep waters installed
• New class of synthetic molecules mimics antibodies

Signs of Europa plumes remain elusive in search of Cassini data Posted: 18 Dec 2014 04:47 PM PST A fresh look at data collected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its 2001 flyby of Jupiter shows that Europa's tenuous atmosphere is even thinner than previously thought and also suggests that the thin, hot gas around the moon does not show evidence of plume activity occurring at the time of the flyby. The new research provides a snapshot of Europa's state of activity at that time, and suggests that if there is plume activity, it is likely intermittent.

NASA's Kepler reborn, makes first exoplanet find of new mission Posted: 18 Dec 2014 04:44 PM PST NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft makes a comeback with the discovery of the first exoplanet found using its new mission -- K2. The discovery was made when astronomers and engineers devised an ingenious way to repurpose Kepler for the K2 mission and continue its search of the cosmos for other worlds.

Improving rechargeable batteries by focusing on graphene oxide paper Posted: 18 Dec 2014 12:45 PM PST An engineering team has discovered some of graphene oxide's important properties that can improve sodium- and lithium-ion flexible batteries.

Glimpsing pathway of sunlight to electricity Posted: 18 Dec 2014 12:45 PM PST Four pulses of laser light on nanoparticle photocells in a spectroscopy experiment has opened a window on how captured sunlight can be converted into electricity. The work, which potentially could inspire devices with improved efficiency in solar energy conversion, was performed on photocells that used lead-sulfide quantum dots as photoactive semiconductor material.

Physicists characterize electronic, magnetic structure in transition metal oxides Posted: 18 Dec 2014 12:45 PM PST Scientists have characterized the electronic and magnetic structure in artificially synthesized materials called transition metal oxides.

Instant-start computers possible with new breakthrough Posted: 18 Dec 2014 12:45 PM PST If data could be encoded without current, it would require much less energy and make things like low-power, instant-on computing a ubiquitous reality. Scientists have made a breakthrough in that direction with a room-temperature magnetoelectric memory device. Equivalent to one computer bit, it exhibits the holy grail of next-generation nonvolatile memory: magnetic switchability, in two steps, with nothing but an electric field.

Dust devil and the details: Spinning up a storm on Mars Posted: 18 Dec 2014 12:44 PM PST Spinning up a dust devil in the thin air of Mars requires a stronger updraft than is needed to create a similar vortex on Earth, researchers show. "To start a dust devil on Mars you need convection, a strong updraft," said Bryce Williams, an atmospheric science graduate student at UAH. "We looked at the ratio between convection and surface turbulence to find the sweet spot where there is enough updraft to overcome the low level wind and turbulence. And on Mars, where we think the process that creates a vortex is more easily disrupted by frictional dissipation – turbulence and wind at the surface – you need twice as much convective updraft as you do on Earth." Williams and UAH's Dr. Udaysankar Nair looked for the dust devil sweet spot by combining dat

Computational clues into the structure of a promising energy conversion catalyst Posted: 18 Dec 2014 11:11 AM PST Researchers at Princeton University have reported new insights into the structure of an active component of the nickel oxide catalyst, a promising catalyst for water splitting to produce hydrogen fuel.

In one aspect of vision, computers catch up to primate brain Posted: 18 Dec 2014 11:10 AM PST For decades, neuroscientists have been trying to design computer networks that can mimic visual skills such as recognizing objects, which the human brain does very accurately and quickly. Until now, no computer model has been able to match the primate brain at visual object recognition during a brief glance. Now neuroscientists have found that one of the latest generation of 'deep neural networks' matches the primate brain.

Origin of long-standing space mystery revealed: Origin of the 'theta aurora' Posted: 18 Dec 2014 11:09 AM PST Scientists have solved a long-standing space mystery - the origin of the 'theta aurora'. Auroras are the most visible manifestation of the Sun's effect on Earth. They are seen as colorful displays in the night sky, known as the Northern or Southern Lights. They are caused by the solar wind, a stream of plasma - electrically charged atomic particles - carrying its own magnetic field, interacting with the earth's magnetic field. Normally, the main region for this impressive display is the 'auroral oval', which lies at around 65-70 degrees north or south of the equator, encircling the polar caps. However, auroras can occur at even higher latitudes. One type is known as a 'theta aurora' because seen from above it looks like the Greek letter theta - an oval with a line crossing through the center.

Revealing the quantum geometry of the graphene lattice Posted: 18 Dec 2014 11:09 AM PST Among the most revolutionary concepts of modern physics is that the laws of nature are inherently non-local. One striking manifestation of this non-locality was famously predicted by Aharonov and Bohm: a magnetic field confined to the interior of a solenoid can alter the behavior of electrons outside it, shifting the phase of their wave-like interference although they never directly encounter the magnetic field. Originally regarded as a mere curiosity, such "geometric phase shifts" are now known to have dramatic consequences for electron transport in solid-state materials, e.g., allowing unimpeded current flow along the edges of a material that is insulating in the bulk.

Study fuels hope for natural gas cars: Metal organic framework candidates for methane storage identified Posted: 18 Dec 2014 10:19 AM PST Cars that run on natural gas are touted as efficient and environmentally friendly, but getting enough gas onboard to make them practical is a hurdle. A new study promises to help. Researchers have calculated the best candidates among possible metal organic frameworks to store natural gas for cars.

Kepler proves it can still find planets Posted: 18 Dec 2014 09:08 AM PST To paraphrase Mark Twain, the report of the Kepler spacecraft's death was greatly exaggerated. Despite a malfunction that ended its primary mission in May 2013, Kepler is still alive and working. The evidence comes from the discovery of a new super-Earth using data collected during Kepler's 'second life.'

New technique provides novel approach to diagnosing ciliopathies Posted: 18 Dec 2014 09:08 AM PST It is difficult to diagnose, study and treat cioliopathies, because it is difficult to examine cilia in molecular detail. Now researchers report that they have captured the highest-resolution images of human cilia ever, using a new approach.

Crown ethers flatten in graphene for strong, specific binding Posted: 18 Dec 2014 09:05 AM PST Scientists have discovered a way to dramatically increase the selectivity and binding strength of crown ethers by incorporating them within a rigid framework of graphene. Strong, specific electrostatic binding of crown ethers may advance sensors, chemical separations, nuclear-waste cleanup, extraction of metals from ores, purification and recycling of rare-earth elements, water purification, biotechnology, energy production in durable lithium-ion batteries, catalysis, medicine and data storage.

Choreography of an electron pair Posted: 18 Dec 2014 07:32 AM PST The motion of the two electrons in the helium atom can be imaged and controlled with attosecond-timed laser flashes.

Getting bot responders into shape Posted: 18 Dec 2014 06:09 AM PST Scientists are tackling one of the biggest barriers to the use of robots in emergency response: energy efficiency. They are developing technology that will dramatically improve the endurance of legged robots, helping them operate for long periods while performing the types of locomotion most relevant to disaster response scenarios.

Electron spin could be the key to high-temperature superconductivity Posted: 18 Dec 2014 05:14 AM PST Scientists have taken a significant step in our understanding of superconductivity by studying the strange quantum events in a unique superconducting material.

Pilot plant for removal of extreme gas charges from deep waters installed Posted: 18 Dec 2014 05:10 AM PST Being part of the mining area Herrerias in Andalusia, deep waters of Pit Lake Guadiana show extremely high concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide. In the case of a spontaneous ebullition, human beings close-by would be jeopardized. To demonstrate the danger and the possible solution, scientists have constructed a pilot plant for degassing. A fountain pulls deep water through a pipe to the surface, where the gas can escape from the water. The buoyancy produced by the bubbles provides the energy required for driving the flow.

New class of synthetic molecules mimics antibodies Posted: 17 Dec 2014 08:36 AM PST The first synthetic molecules that have both the targeting and response functions of antibodies have been crafted by scientists. The new molecules -- synthetic antibody mimics -- attach themselves simultaneously to disease cells and disease-fighting cells. The result is a highly targeted immune response, similar to the action of natural human antibodies.

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