ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• New properties of carbon material graphene discovered
• Could sarcastic computers be in our future? New math model can help computers understand inference
• Nanodevice manufacturing strategy using DNA 'Building blocks'
• Stellar archeology traces Milky Way's history
• Why Earth is not an ice ball: Possible explanation for faint young sun paradox
• More atomic hydrogen gas lurks in universe: There's more star-stuff out there, but it's not dark matter
• Arctic bacteria help in the search to find life on Jupiter's moon Europa
• Pollution deadening contruction: Nanoparticle coating interacts with sunlight to eliminate contaminants
• Microreactors to produce explosive materials
• Cheaper catalysts with the finest gold dust in the world
• Cellular computers? Scientists train cells to perform boolean functions
• Short movies stored in an atomic vapor
• Mystifying materials: New materials contract when they should expand, expand when they should contract

New properties of carbon material graphene discovered Posted: 30 May 2012 02:24 PM PDT Scientists have shown that graphene has two properties that could have applications in high-speed telecommunications devices and laser technology -- population inversion of electrons and broadband optical gain.

Could sarcastic computers be in our future? New math model can help computers understand inference Posted: 30 May 2012 12:23 PM PDT Researchers have created a mathematical model that helps predict pragmatic reasoning and may eventually lead to the manufacture of machines that can better understand inference, context and social rules.

Nanodevice manufacturing strategy using DNA 'Building blocks' Posted: 30 May 2012 12:22 PM PDT Researchers have developed a method for building complex nanostructures out of interlocking DNA "building blocks" that can be programmed to assemble themselves into precisely designed shapes. With further development, the technology could one day enable the creation of new nanoscale devices that deliver drugs directly to disease sites.

Stellar archeology traces Milky Way's history Posted: 30 May 2012 12:20 PM PDT Unfortunately, stars don't have birth certificates. So, astronomers have a tough time figuring out their ages. Knowing a star's age is critical for understanding how our Milky Way galaxy built itself up over billions of years from smaller galaxies. But an astronomer has now found the next best thing to a star's birth certificate.

Why Earth is not an ice ball: Possible explanation for faint young sun paradox Posted: 30 May 2012 12:20 PM PDT More than 2 billion years ago, a much fainter sun should have left the Earth as an orbiting ice ball. Why we avoided the deep freeze is a question that has puzzled scientists, but one astronomer might have an answer.

More atomic hydrogen gas lurks in universe: There's more star-stuff out there, but it's not dark matter Posted: 30 May 2012 08:58 AM PDT More atomic hydrogen gas -- the ultimate fuel for stars -- is lurking in today's universe than we thought, astronomers have found. This is the first accurate measurement of this gas in galaxies close to our own.

Arctic bacteria help in the search to find life on Jupiter's moon Europa Posted: 30 May 2012 07:04 AM PDT In a fjord in Canada, scientists have found a landscape similar to one of Jupiter's icy moons: Europa. It consists of a frozen and sulfurous environment, where sulfur associated with Arctic bacteria offer clues for the upcoming missions in the search for traces of life on Europa.

Pollution deadening contruction: Nanoparticle coating interacts with sunlight to eliminate contaminants Posted: 30 May 2012 07:04 AM PDT Researchers have developed a type of coating for construction materials. It is based on nanoparticles that interact with sunlight and trigger a chemical reaction that eliminates certain air pollutants. It is reckoned that the reduction in atmospheric pollution could be 90% of nitrogen oxides, 80% of hydrocarbons, and 75% of carbon monoxides emitted.

Microreactors to produce explosive materials Posted: 30 May 2012 07:02 AM PDT The larger the reaction vessel, the quicker products can be made – or so you might think. Microreactors show just how wrong that assumption is: in fact, they can be used to produce explosive materials – nitroglycerine, for instance – around ten times faster than in conventional vessels, and much more safely as well.

Cheaper catalysts with the finest gold dust in the world Posted: 30 May 2012 07:02 AM PDT Scientists have found a method to locate single gold atoms on a surface. This should pave the way to better and cheaper catalysts.

Cellular computers? Scientists train cells to perform boolean functions Posted: 30 May 2012 07:00 AM PDT Scientists have engineered cells that behave like AND and OR Boolean logic gates, producing an output based on one or more unique inputs. This feat could eventually help researchers create computers that use cells as tiny circuits.

Short movies stored in an atomic vapor Posted: 29 May 2012 11:44 AM PDT A two-frame "movie" has been stored for the first time in a vapor of room-temperature rubidium atoms.

Mystifying materials: New materials contract when they should expand, expand when they should contract Posted: 24 May 2012 08:25 AM PDT It's not magic, but several new materials seem to exhibit magical properties. When tensioned, ordinary materials expand along the direction of the applied force. The new metamaterials do the opposite when tensioned -- they contract. Other of their materials expand when compressed. Materials are networks of connected constituents and can respond in surprising ways. The researchers applied network concepts to design the new materials, all of which exhibit negative compressibility transitions.

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