ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• First transiting planets in a star cluster discovered
• Solar power heads in a new direction: Thinner
• Ingested nanoparticle toxicity
• New dispatch system could save money for trucking industry, make life easier for drivers
• Getting the carbon out of emissions
• Survivor of stellar collision is new type of pulsating star
• Astronomers spy on galaxies in the raw
• Quantum engines must break down
• Realistic robot carp created: First robot fish with autonomous 3-D movement in Asia

First transiting planets in a star cluster discovered Posted: 26 Jun 2013 01:28 PM PDT All stars begin their lives in groups. Most stars are born in small groups that quickly fall apart. Others form in huge, dense swarms, where stars jostle with thousands of neighbors while strong radiation and harsh stellar winds scour interstellar space, stripping planet-forming materials from nearby stars. It would thus seem an unlikely place to find alien worlds. Yet 3,000 light-years from Earth, in the star cluster NGC 6811, astronomers have found two planets smaller than Neptune orbiting sun-like stars.

Solar power heads in a new direction: Thinner Posted: 26 Jun 2013 12:39 PM PDT Atom-thick photovoltaic sheets could pack hundreds of times more power per weight than conventional solar cells.

Ingested nanoparticle toxicity Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:31 AM PDT Ingestion of commonly encountered nanoparticles at typical environmental levels is unlikely to cause overt toxicity, according to US researchers. Nevertheless there is insufficient evidence to determine whether chronic exposures could lead to subtle alterations in intestinal immune function, protein profiles, or microbial balance.

New dispatch system could save money for trucking industry, make life easier for drivers Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:31 AM PDT Engineers are studying a new approach to organize and route truck transportation that could save millions of dollars, improve the quality of life for thousands of truck drivers and make freight transportation far more efficient. There's a potential to revolutionize the way that truck transportation is handled in the United States and around the world.

Getting the carbon out of emissions Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:31 AM PDT Researchers propose a new method to remove carbon from emissions that could be more efficient than previous systems and easier to retrofit in existing power plants.

Survivor of stellar collision is new type of pulsating star Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:28 AM PDT Astronomers have observed the remnant of a stellar collision and discovered that its brightness varies in a way not seen before on this rare type of star. By analyzing the patterns in these brightness variations, astronomers will learn what really happens when stars collide.

Astronomers spy on galaxies in the raw Posted: 26 Jun 2013 08:36 AM PDT A radio telescope has detected the raw material for making the first stars in galaxies that formed when the Universe was just three billion years old -- less than a quarter of its current age.

Quantum engines must break down Posted: 26 Jun 2013 08:35 AM PDT Our present understanding of thermodynamics is fundamentally incorrect if applied to small systems and need to be modified, according to new research. The work establishes new laws in the rapidly emerging field of quantum thermodynamics. The findings have wide applications in small systems, from nanoscale engines and quantum technologies, to biological motors and systems found in the body.

Realistic robot carp created: First robot fish with autonomous 3-D movement in Asia Posted: 26 Jun 2013 08:30 AM PDT Scientists have developed a robot fish that mimics the movements of a carp. This robot which is essentially an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is ready for applications, as it can be programmed to perform specific functions, for example, for underwater archaeology such as exploring nooks and corners of wreckage -- or sunken city which are difficult for divers or traditional AUVs to access. Other applications include military activities, pipeline leakage detection, and the laying of communication cable.

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