ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Unprecedented 3-D view of important brain receptor
• 'Compressive sensing' provides new approach to measuring a quantum system
• Diamond plates create nanostructures through pressure, not chemistry
• Astronomers closer to proving gravitational waves with precise measurements of rapidly rotating neutron star
• 'Big data' technique improves monitoring of kidney transplant patients
• New use for touchless technology in the operating theatre
• New superconductor world record set
• The science of walking on walls and ceilings
• Trained evaluators can screen for premie eye disease from miles away
• Win-win-win solution for biofuel, climate, and biodiversity

Unprecedented 3-D view of important brain receptor Posted: 27 Jun 2014 12:00 PM PDT Researchers have given science a new and unprecedented 3-D view of one of the most important receptors in the brain -- a receptor that allows us to learn and remember, and whose dysfunction is involved in a wide range of neurological diseases and conditions, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, schizophrenia and depression.

'Compressive sensing' provides new approach to measuring a quantum system Posted: 27 Jun 2014 10:49 AM PDT In quantum physics, momentum and position are an example of conjugate variables. This means they are connected by Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, which says that both quantities cannot be simultaneously measured precisely. Recently, researchers have been developing novel techniques, such as 'weak measurement,' to measure both at the same time. Now physicists have shown that a technique called compressive sensing offers a way to measure both variables at the same time, without violating the Uncertainty Principle.

Diamond plates create nanostructures through pressure, not chemistry Posted: 27 Jun 2014 10:31 AM PDT Mechanical force -- about the same that raises the numerals on credit cards -- proves to be a much more varied and ecological creator of nanostructures than the current method of choice, chemistry, with its unvarying results and harmful chemical processes.

Astronomers closer to proving gravitational waves with precise measurements of rapidly rotating neutron star Posted: 27 Jun 2014 08:27 AM PDT When Albert Einstein proposed the existence of gravitational waves as part of his theory of relativity, he set in train a pursuit for knowledge that continues nearly a century later. These ripples in the space-time continuum exert a powerful appeal because it is believed they carry information that will allow us to look back into the very beginnings of the universe. But although the weight of evidence continues to build, undisputed confirmation of their existence still eludes scientists. Researchers have now provided another piece of the puzzle with their precise measurements of a rapidly rotating neutron star: one of the smallest, densest stars in the universe.

'Big data' technique improves monitoring of kidney transplant patients Posted: 27 Jun 2014 06:49 AM PDT A new data analysis technique radically improves monitoring of kidney patients, according to a new study and could lead to profound changes in the way we understand our health.

New use for touchless technology in the operating theatre Posted: 27 Jun 2014 06:47 AM PDT Pioneering work using touchless technology for vascular surgery is now being extended to neurosurgery. Following the successful pilot of the technology in vascular surgery procedures, a research team has applied the technology to the manipulation of 3D volumetric models of the brain for neurosurgery. The new system is currently being piloted in the operating theatres.

New superconductor world record set Posted: 26 Jun 2014 06:33 PM PDT A new record for a trapped field in a superconductor, beating a record that has stood for more than a decade, could herald the arrival of materials in a broad range of fields. Researchers managed to 'trap' a magnetic field with a strength of 17.6 Tesla -- roughly 100 times stronger than the field generated by a typical fridge magnet -- in a high temperature gadolinium barium copper oxide (GdBaCuO) superconductor, beating the previous record by 0.4 Tesla.

The science of walking on walls and ceilings Posted: 26 Jun 2014 06:33 PM PDT Students show Wallace & Gromit 'Wrong Trousers' are scientifically possible for a short period of time. In the classic 1993 Wallace & Gromit film The Wrong Trousers Gromit receives a pair of ex-NASA robotic Techno Trousers from Wallace for his birthday which allows for its wearer to walk on walls -- and physics students have found that scaling walls and ceilings using the technology would indeed be scientifically possible, albeit for a short period of time.

Trained evaluators can screen for premie eye disease from miles away Posted: 26 Jun 2014 02:27 PM PDT Trained non-physician evaluators who studied retinal images transmitted to a remote central reading center successfully identified newborn babies likely to require a specialized medical evaluation for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). "This study provides validation for a telemedicine approach to ROP screening and could help prevent thousands of kids from going blind," said the lead investigator.

Win-win-win solution for biofuel, climate, and biodiversity Posted: 25 Jun 2014 03:49 PM PDT In Brazil, the demand for alternative energy sources has led to an increase in biofuel crops. A new paper reviews new research conducted by Brazilian colleagues demonstrating the high carbon gains of converting underutilized pastureland for biofuel crops. With over 2.5 million square kilometers of existing cleared lands in Brazil, much of which is degraded pasture lands, there is already a large potential area for biofuel crop expansion.

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