ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Atomically thin, flexible, semi-transparent solar cells created
• New bioinformatics tool to visualize transcriptomes
• Four new human-made ozone depleting gases found in the atmosphere
• Can the blind 'hear; colors, shapes? Yes, show researchers
• Computer science students help singers learn their vowels
• New innovation could mean eye injections are a thing of the past

Atomically thin, flexible, semi-transparent solar cells created Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:05 PM PDT A lot of research has been done on graphene recently -- carbon flakes, consisting of only one layer of atoms. As it turns out, there are other materials too which exhibit remarkable properties if they are arranged in a single layer. One of them is tungsten diselenide, which could be used for photovoltaics. Ultrathin layers made of Tungsten and Selenium have now been created; experiments show that they may be used as flexible, semi-transparent solar cells.

New bioinformatics tool to visualize transcriptomes Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:05 PM PDT ZENBU, a new, freely available bioinformatics tool enables researchers to quickly and easily integrate, visualize and compare large amounts of genomic information resulting from large-scale, next-generation sequencing experiments. Next-generation sequencing has revolutionized functional genomics.

Four new human-made ozone depleting gases found in the atmosphere Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:05 PM PDT New research reveals that four new human-made gases have been discovered in the atmosphere. 74,000 tons of these new CFCs and HCFCs are all contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer. Emission increases of this scale have not been seen for any other CFCs since controls were introduced during the 1990s.

Can the blind 'hear; colors, shapes? Yes, show researchers Posted: 09 Mar 2014 12:04 PM PDT What if you could "hear" colors? Or shapes? These features are normally perceived visually, but using sensory substitution devices (SSDs) they can now be conveyed to the brain noninvasively through other senses. SSDs are non-invasive sensory aids that provide visual information to the blind via their existing senses. For example, using a visual-to-auditory SSD in a clinical or everyday setting, users wear a miniature camera connected to a small computer (or smart phone) and stereo headphones. The images are converted into "soundscapes," using a predictable algorithm, allowing the user to listen to and then interpret the visual information coming from the camera.

Computer science students help singers learn their vowels Posted: 06 Mar 2014 01:32 PM PST Voice students who want to perfect how they sing their vowels could get help from a new simple, free application developed by a group of students who developed it as part of their Human-Computer Interaction computer science class.

New innovation could mean eye injections are a thing of the past Posted: 06 Mar 2014 06:38 AM PST Drugs used to treat blindness-causing disorders could be successfully administered by eye drops rather than unpleasant and expensive eye injections, according to new research that could be a breakthrough for the millions worldwide suffering from age-related macular degeneration and other eye disorders.

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