ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

---

• Water filter from the sapwood in pine tree branches
• Still-fresh remnants of Exxon Valdez oil 25 years after oil spill, found protected by boulders
• NASA's Kepler mission announces a planet bonanza, 715 new worlds
• Hubble monitors supernova in nearby galaxy M82
• Finding a few foes among billions of cellular friends
• Nanoscale freezing leads to better imaging
• Predictive fitness model for influenza: Physics, computer science help find clues on flu evolution
• Pine forest particles appear seemingly out of thin air, influence climate
• Physicists discover 'quantum droplet' in semiconductor
• Photopharmacology: Optoswitches turn pain off and sight on
• Virtual computer-based world an effective learning environment for healthcare education, study shows
• Optical 'nanocavity' to boost light absorption in semiconductors; improve solar cells, cameras and more
• Replicating motions of the heart: Artificial muscles that do the twist set the stage for soft robotics
• Superabsorbing design may lower manufacturing cost of thin film solar cells
• Research and applications of iron oxide nanoparticles explored
• 3-D microgels 'on-demand' offer new potential for cell research, the future of personalized medicine
• Algae's viability as a biofuel advanced
• Scientists blend synthetic air to measure climate change
• Fear of death may curb youthful texting while driving, study shows
• Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, or Merkel, the soccer coach? Software maps ambiguous names in texts to the right person
• Offshore wind farms could tame hurricanes before they reach land
• How small cosmic seeds grow into big stars
• 'Super-Earths' may be dead worlds: Being in habitable zone is not enough
• Glimmer of light in the search for dark matter
• Creating complex nanoparticles in one easy step
• Horticulture: Sensor-based irrigation systems show potential to increase greenhouse profitability
• Two biodegradable mulches found to be suitable polyethylene alternatives
• Remote screening can help detect diabetic eye disease

Water filter from the sapwood in pine tree branches Posted: 26 Feb 2014 02:45 PM PST If you've run out of drinking water during a lakeside camping trip, there's a simple solution: Break off a branch from the nearest pine tree, peel away the bark, and slowly pour lake water through the stick. The improvised filter should trap any bacteria, producing fresh, uncontaminated water. In fact, scientists have discovered that this low-tech filtration system can produce up to four liters of drinking water a day -- enough to quench the thirst of a typical person. The researchers demonstrate that a small piece of sapwood can filter out more than 99 percent of the bacteria E. coli from water.

Still-fresh remnants of Exxon Valdez oil 25 years after oil spill, found protected by boulders Posted: 26 Feb 2014 12:56 PM PST Twenty-five years after the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, beaches on the Alaska Peninsula hundreds of kilometers from the incident still harbor small hidden pockets of surprisingly unchanged oil, according to new research.

NASA's Kepler mission announces a planet bonanza, 715 new worlds Posted: 26 Feb 2014 12:33 PM PST NASA's Kepler mission announced Wednesday the discovery of 715 new planets. These newly-verified worlds orbit 305 stars, revealing multiple-planet systems much like our own solar system. Nearly 95 percent of these planets are smaller than Neptune, which is almost four times the size of Earth. This discovery marks a significant increase in the number of known small-sized planets more akin to Earth than previously identified exoplanets, which are planets outside our solar system.

Hubble monitors supernova in nearby galaxy M82 Posted: 26 Feb 2014 11:45 AM PST Astronomers have taken a Hubble Space Telescope composite image of a supernova explosion designated SN 2014J in the galaxy M82. At a distance of approximately 11.5 million light-years from Earth it is the closest supernova of its type discovered in the past few decades. The explosion is categorized as a Type Ia supernova, which is theorized to be triggered in binary systems consisting of a white dwarf and another star -- which could be a second white dwarf, a star like our sun, or a giant star.

Finding a few foes among billions of cellular friends Posted: 26 Feb 2014 10:30 AM PST Beating cancer is all about early detection, and new research is another step forward in catching the disease early. A team of chemists is reporting a new way to detect just a handful of lurking tumor cells, which can be outnumbered a billion to one in the bloodstream by healthy cells. The researchers have constructed an ultrasensitive nanoprobe that can electrochemically sense as few as four circulating tumor cells, and it doesn't require any enzymes to produce a detectable signal.

Nanoscale freezing leads to better imaging Posted: 26 Feb 2014 10:30 AM PST It's an odd twist. For scientists to determine if a cell is functioning properly, they must destroy it. This is what happens in X-ray fluorescence microscopy when biological specimens are exposed to ionizing radiation, which provides images with a level of detail that conventional microscopes just can't match. This exposure can change what is being imaged in profound ways, possibly giving false accounts of how the cell actually works. To address this issue, researchers created a new probe that freezes cells to "see" at greater detail without damaging the sample.

Predictive fitness model for influenza: Physics, computer science help find clues on flu evolution Posted: 26 Feb 2014 10:29 AM PST A new model to successfully predict the evolution of the influenza virus from one year to the next has been created by researchers. This advance in our understanding of influenza suggests a new, systematic way to select influenza vaccine strains. The flu is one of the major infectious diseases in humans. Seasonal strains of the influenza A virus account for about half a million deaths per year. Because influenza is a fast-evolving pathogen, the selection of optimal vaccines is a challenging global health issue. The scientists used ideas from physics and computer science in their approach to finding clues about the predictable versus random part of the flu evolution.

Pine forest particles appear seemingly out of thin air, influence climate Posted: 26 Feb 2014 10:29 AM PST Pine forests are especially magical places for atmospheric chemists. Coniferous trees give off pine-scented vapors that form particles, very quickly and seemingly out of nowhere. New research elucidates the process by which gas wafting from coniferous trees creates particles that can reflect sunlight or promote formation of clouds.

Physicists discover 'quantum droplet' in semiconductor Posted: 26 Feb 2014 10:29 AM PST Physicists have used an ultra-fast laser to discover a new semiconductor quasiparticle -- a handful of smaller particles that briefly condense into a liquid-like droplet. The discovery improves understanding of how electrons interact in various situations, including in optoelectronic devices.

Photopharmacology: Optoswitches turn pain off and sight on Posted: 26 Feb 2014 10:28 AM PST Photoreactive compounds developed by scientists directly modulate nerve-cell function, and open new routes to the treatment of neurological diseases, including chronic pain and certain types of visual impairment. All modes of sensory perception are based on communication between nerve cells. Both the response to the primary stimulus and the transmission of the resulting signal depend on the function of specialized receptor proteins that are associated with the surface membranes of neurons. Many sensory neurons respond only to a single sensory modality, such as mechanical stimulation or temperature. However, researchers have developed a method which, in principle, enables all types of neuroreceptors to be controlled by light.

Virtual computer-based world an effective learning environment for healthcare education, study shows Posted: 26 Feb 2014 09:53 AM PST Researchers have demonstrated the potential of using a virtual computer environment for distance healthcare education for an international audience that often has limited access to conventional teaching and training.

Optical 'nanocavity' to boost light absorption in semiconductors; improve solar cells, cameras and more Posted: 26 Feb 2014 08:09 AM PST Scientists are developing an optical 'nanocavity' that boosts the amount of light that ultrathin semiconductors absorb. The advancement could lead to: more powerful photovoltaic cells; faster video cameras; and it could be useful for splitting water using energy from light, which could aid in the development of hydrogen fuel.

Replicating motions of the heart: Artificial muscles that do the twist set the stage for soft robotics Posted: 26 Feb 2014 08:08 AM PST Researchers have developed a low-cost, programmable soft actuated material that they used to replicate the complex motion of the heart, along with a matching 3-D computer model. The advance sets the stage for new possibilities in the emerging field of soft robotics.

Superabsorbing design may lower manufacturing cost of thin film solar cells Posted: 26 Feb 2014 08:08 AM PST Researchers have developed a 'superabsorbing' design that may significantly improve the light absorption efficiency of thin film solar cells and drive down manufacturing costs.

Research and applications of iron oxide nanoparticles explored Posted: 26 Feb 2014 08:07 AM PST A scientist spent thirty years investigating how craftsman were able to render the beautiful red colors in Bizen and Arita pottery. This research revealed the important role of iron oxide particles for producing the colors. Now he is working on innovative applications of nanometer scale iron oxide materials produced by 'iron-oxidizing bacteria', having made the transition from fine ceramics and Bizen stoneware to fuel cells and biotechnology.

3-D microgels 'on-demand' offer new potential for cell research, the future of personalized medicine Posted: 26 Feb 2014 08:06 AM PST Stars, diamonds, circles. Rather than your average bowl of Lucky Charms, these are three-dimensional cell cultures generated by an exciting new digital microfluidics platform.

Algae's viability as a biofuel advanced Posted: 26 Feb 2014 07:18 AM PST Lab success doesn't always translate to real-world success. Scientists have now, however, invented a new technology that increases the odds of helping algae-based biofuels cross that gap and come closer to reality.

Scientists blend synthetic air to measure climate change Posted: 26 Feb 2014 06:52 AM PST Scientists have produced a synthetic air reference standard which can be used to accurately measure levels of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. This will greatly help scientists contribute to our understanding of climate change.

Fear of death may curb youthful texting while driving, study shows Posted: 26 Feb 2014 06:52 AM PST While drivers tend to believe it is dangerous to text and drive, many say they can still do it safely. Now researchers say drivers can be discouraged from the practice with public service announcements that evoke their fear of death in graphic terms. The study comes as distracted driving is implicated in thousands of fatalities and hundreds of thousands of injuries each year. The researchers cite a National Safety Council estimate that distracted cell phone use accounts for more than one-fourth of all traffic accidents, with as many as 200,000 stemming specifically from texting while driving.

Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, or Merkel, the soccer coach? Software maps ambiguous names in texts to the right person Posted: 26 Feb 2014 06:52 AM PST Computer scientists have developed software that resolves the ambiguity of names within texts automatically. This mapping between mentions and actual entities like persons not only improves search engines, but also makes it possible to analyze huge amounts of text efficiently.

Offshore wind farms could tame hurricanes before they reach land Posted: 26 Feb 2014 04:50 AM PST Computer simulations have shown that offshore wind farms with thousands of wind turbines could have sapped the power of three real-life hurricanes, significantly decreasing their winds and accompanying storm surge, and possibly preventing billions of dollars in damages. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, the computer model revealed that an array of 78,000 wind turbines off the coast of New Orleans would have significantly weakened the hurricane well before it made landfall.

How small cosmic seeds grow into big stars Posted: 26 Feb 2014 04:49 AM PST New images provide the most detailed view yet of stellar nurseries within the Snake nebula. These images offer new insights into how cosmic seeds can grow into massive stars. Stretching across almost 100 light-years of space, the Snake nebula is located about 11,700 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus.

'Super-Earths' may be dead worlds: Being in habitable zone is not enough Posted: 26 Feb 2014 04:49 AM PST In the last 20 years the search for Earth-like planets around other stars has accelerated, with the launch of missions like the Kepler space telescope. Using these and observatories on the ground, astronomers have found numerous worlds that at first sight have similarities with the Earth. A few of these are even in the 'habitable zone' where the temperature is just right for water to be in liquid form and so are prime targets in the search for life elsewhere in the universe. New results suggest that for some of the recently discovered super-Earths, such as Kepler-62e and -62f, being in the habitable zone is not enough to make them habitats.

Glimmer of light in the search for dark matter Posted: 26 Feb 2014 04:48 AM PST Astrophysicists may have identified a trace of dark matter that could signify a new particle: the sterile neutrino. Another research group reported a very similar signal just a few days before.

Creating complex nanoparticles in one easy step Posted: 26 Feb 2014 04:48 AM PST Nanoparticle research is huge.  That is, the study of nanoparticles, very miniscule objects that act as a unit with specific properties, is a very popular area of study.  With implications in many avenues of science, from biomedicine to laser research, the study of how to create nanoparticles with desirable properties is becoming increasingly important.  Scientists have now made a breakthrough in synthesizing biomedically relevant nanoparticles.

Horticulture: Sensor-based irrigation systems show potential to increase greenhouse profitability Posted: 25 Feb 2014 09:24 AM PST Using data from experiments on gardenia production, researchers determined and applied benefits/costs formulas for assessing profitability of sensor-based irrigation systems. Results showed that sensor-controlled irrigation cut production time and crop losses by more than half. The researchers concluded that controlling irrigation using wireless sensor systems is likely to substantially increase profitability in greenhouse and nursery growing operations.

Two biodegradable mulches found to be suitable polyethylene alternatives Posted: 25 Feb 2014 08:29 AM PST Three potentially biodegradable plastic mulch products were evaluated by scientists over two growing seasons of broccoli to determine deterioration before and after soil incorporation. Pretillage mulch deterioration was evaluated in both growing seasons by rating the percent of visual deterioration. Post-incorporation mulch deterioration was measured for 13 months at the end of the first growing season. Results showed that two of the mulches could be suitable alternatives to polyethylene mulch for broccoli production in the Pacific Northwest.

Remote screening can help detect diabetic eye disease Posted: 25 Feb 2014 08:18 AM PST An Internet-based screening approach performs well in identifying patients with treatable diabetic eye disease, according to a study. using digital photographs of the eye taken at the doctor's office or clinic, eye specialists can reliably detect "hard exudates" -- a key early sign of diabetes-related macular edema, reports the new research. This macular edema is one of the most serious vision-threatening changes in the eyes of people with diabetes.

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Technology News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610