ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Taking the grunt work out of web development
• That smartphone is giving your thumbs superpowers
• Dirty pool: Soil's large carbon stores could be freed by increased CO2, plant growth
• Mechanics of cells' long-range communication modeled by researchers
• How electrons split: New evidence of exotic behaviors
• Nano Filter cleans dirty industry
• System captures mercury from air in gold shops
• Hunt for Big Bang particles offering clues to the origin of the universe
• Breakthrough in predictions of pressure-dependent combustion chemical reactions
• Facebook popularity hampers fundraising efforts, study finds
• Using targeted brain stimulation to change attention patterns for anxious individuals
• Using laparoscopy for ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement
• Graphene 'cut and paste' with microwaves
• Ultrasounds dance the 'moonwalk' in new metamaterial
• Major websites could be doing more to promote improved password security, experts say
• Throwing money at data breach may make it worse
• More safety on thermal drying plants of sewage sludge
• Ecosystems need math not random nature to survive
• Intelligent façades generating electricity, heat and algae biomass

Taking the grunt work out of web development Posted: 23 Dec 2014 11:16 AM PST A new programming language automatically coordinates interactions between Web page components. The language is called Ur/Web, and it lets developers write Web applications as self-contained programs. The language's compiler -- the program that turns high-level instructions into machine-executable code -- then automatically generates the corresponding XML code and style-sheet specifications and embeds the JavaScript and database code in the right places.

That smartphone is giving your thumbs superpowers Posted: 23 Dec 2014 09:22 AM PST When people spend time interacting with their smartphones via touchscreen, it actually changes the way their thumbs and brains work together, according to a new report. More touchscreen use in the recent past translates directly into greater brain activity when the thumbs and other fingertips are touched, the study shows.

Dirty pool: Soil's large carbon stores could be freed by increased CO2, plant growth Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:42 AM PST An increase in human-made carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could initiate a chain reaction between plants and microorganisms that would unsettle one of the largest carbon reservoirs on the planet -- soil. Researchers developed the first computer model to show at a global scale the complex interaction between carbon, plants and soil.

Mechanics of cells' long-range communication modeled by researchers Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:42 AM PST Interdisciplinary research is showing how cells interact over long distances within fibrous tissue, like that associated with many diseases of the liver, lungs and other organs. By developing mathematical models of how the collagen matrix that connects cells in tissue stiffens, the researchers are providing insights into the pathology of fibrosis, cirrhosis of the liver and certain cancers.

How electrons split: New evidence of exotic behaviors Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:42 AM PST Electrons split into electrical charge and magnetic moment in a two-dimensional model, a study has shown for the first time. The discovery marks a new understanding in the discovery of exotic materials such as high-temperature superconductors.

Nano Filter cleans dirty industry Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:38 AM PST Prototypes of nano-cellulose based filters with high purification capacity towards environmentally hazardous contaminants from industrial effluents have been developed by researchers. The research has reached a breakthrough with the prototypes and will now be tested on a few industries in Europe.

System captures mercury from air in gold shops Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:38 AM PST Nearly 20 percent of the world's gold supply is produced by workers in artisanal and small-scale gold mining shops that purify gold by burning off mercury. Researchers have teamed up to stop this mercury where it starts.

Hunt for Big Bang particles offering clues to the origin of the universe Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:38 AM PST Billions upon billions of neutrinos speed harmlessly through everyone's body every moment of the day, according to cosmologists. The bulk of these subatomic particles are believed to come straight from the Big Bang, rather than from the sun or other sources. Experimental confirmation of this belief could yield seminal insights into the early universe and the physics of neutrinos. But how do you interrogate something so elusive that it could zip through a barrier of iron a light-year thick as if it were empty space?

Breakthrough in predictions of pressure-dependent combustion chemical reactions Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:28 AM PST A method to successfully predict pressure-dependent chemical reaction rates has been demonstrated by scientists for the first time. It's an important breakthrough in combustion and atmospheric chemistry that is expected to benefit auto and engine manufacturers, oil and gas utilities and other industries that employ combustion models.

Facebook popularity hampers fundraising efforts, study finds Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:41 AM PST People with fewer friends on Facebook raise more money for charity than those with lots of connections, research by an economist has found. "Giving behavior is largely affected by existing personal relationships, whether its friends, family or work colleagues -- these factors are extremely important according to the responses we had from donors," says the author.

Using targeted brain stimulation to change attention patterns for anxious individuals Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:41 AM PST Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a painless treatment strategy that uses weak electrical currents to deliver targeted stimulation to the brain via electrodes placed on the scalp. tDCS has shown promise in treating mood, anxiety, cognition, and some symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Using laparoscopy for ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:39 AM PST Researchers conducted a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial to compare a laparoscopic procedure with a mini-laparotomy for insertion of a peritoneal catheter during ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery. The deciding factor was the rate of shunt malfunction. Although overall shunt failure rates did not differ substantially between patients in the two surgery groups, the authors identified a significant reduction in the rate of distal shunt failure in patients in whom laparoscopy was used.

Graphene 'cut and paste' with microwaves Posted: 22 Dec 2014 02:04 PM PST Researchers have demonstrated a variety of transformations taking place on carbon surface under the influence of metal nanoparticles and microwaves.

Ultrasounds dance the 'moonwalk' in new metamaterial Posted: 22 Dec 2014 08:17 AM PST Metamaterials have extraordinary properties when it comes to diverting and controlling waves, especially sound and light: for instance, they can make an object invisible, or increase the resolving power of a lens. Now, researchers have developed the first three-dimensional metamaterials by combining physico-chemical formulation and microfluidics technology. This is a new generation of soft metamaterials that are easier to shape.

Major websites could be doing more to promote improved password security, experts say Posted: 22 Dec 2014 08:16 AM PST Online giants including Amazon and LinkedIn could be doing far more to raise awareness of the need for better password practices among their users, a study has found. The research revealed that very few of them give detailed guidance about the importance of providing secure passwords, either when users were creating or updating accounts.

Throwing money at data breach may make it worse Posted: 22 Dec 2014 05:45 AM PST Information systems researchers studied the effect of two compensation strategies used by Target after a large-scale data breach and found that customers reacted favorably to a 10-percent discount on purchases.

More safety on thermal drying plants of sewage sludge Posted: 22 Dec 2014 05:43 AM PST A series of trials have been carried out to study the explosiveness of sludge on thermal drying plants of sewage sludge. The obtained result will allow scientists to set protection and prevention measures on site in order to reduce or even eliminate explosion risks associated to handling, transport and storage of these materials.

Ecosystems need math not random nature to survive Posted: 22 Dec 2014 05:43 AM PST A previously unknown mathematical property has been found to be behind one of nature's greatest mysteries – how ecosystems survive.

Intelligent façades generating electricity, heat and algae biomass Posted: 22 Dec 2014 05:43 AM PST Windows that change their light permeability at the touch of a button, façades whose color can be changed according to the sunlight, façades and window parts in which transparent photovoltaic modules are integrated or in which microalgae are being bred to provide the house with its own biofuel: This is what the buildings of the future could feature, or at least something similar, experts say.

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