Penn engineers’ nanoantennas improve infrared sensing
May 21, 2013 11:10 am | by The University of Pennsylvania | CommentsA team of University of Pennsylvania engineers has used a pattern of nanoantennas to develop a new way of turning infrared light into mechanical action, opening the door to more sensitive infrared cameras and more compact chemical-analysis techniques.
Researchers perform fastest measurements ever made of ion channel proteins
May 21, 2013 11:00 am | by Columbia University | CommentsThe miniaturization of electronics continues to create unprecedented capabilities in computer and communications applications, enabling handheld wireless devices with tremendous computing performance operating on battery power. This same miniaturization of electronic systems is also creating new opportunities in biotechnology and biophysics.
Opening doors to foldable electronics with inkjet-printed graphene
May 21, 2013 10:45 am | by Northwestern University | CommentsNorthwestern University researchers have recently developed a graphene-based ink that is highly conductive and tolerant to bending, and they have used it to inkjet-print graphene patterns that could be used for extremely detailed, conductive electrodes.
Iron-platinum alloys could be new-generation hard drives
May 21, 2013 10:26 am | by EurekAlert! | CommentsMeeting the demand for more data storage in smaller volumes means using materials made up of ever-smaller magnets, or nanomagnets. One promising material for a potential new generation of recording media is an alloy of iron and platinum with an ordered crystal structure.
NASA builds unusual testbed for analyzing X-ray navigation technologies
May 21, 2013 10:20 am | by NASA | CommentsPulsars have a number of unusual qualities. Like zombies, they shine even though they’re technically dead, and they rotate rapidly, emitting powerful and regular beams of radiation that are seen as flashes of light, blinking on and off at intervals from seconds to milliseconds.
Softbank to revise or cancel Hokkaido megasolar power plant
May 21, 2013 10:04 am | by The Associated Press | CommentsSoftbank Corp. may revise or cancel its plan to build three megasolar power plants in Hokkaido as Hokkaido Electric Power Co. has rejected its electricity sales application, industry sources said Tuesday. The local utility in April vowed to limit its electricity purchases from solar power plants to 400,000 kilowatts...
Bacteria use hydrogen, carbon dioxide to produce electricity
May 20, 2013 11:56 am | by EurekAlert! | CommentsResearchers have engineered a strain of electricity-producing bacteria that can grow using hydrogen gas as its sole electron donor and carbon dioxide as its sole source of carbon. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst report their findings at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
Computational tool translates complex data into simplified 2-dimensional images
May 20, 2013 11:52 am | by EurekAlert! | CommentsResearchers at Columbia University and Stanford University have developed a computational method that enables scientists to visualize and interpret "high-dimensional" data produced by single-cell measurement technologies such as mass cytometry.
Kinks and curves at the nanoscale
May 20, 2013 11:46 am | by EurekAlert! | CommentsEliminating the defects at the interface separating two crystals, or grains, has been shown by nanotechnology experts to be a powerful strategy for making materials stronger, more easily molded, and less electrically resistant—or a host of other qualities sought by designers and manufacturers.
Disney researchers develop fast, economical method for high-definition video compositing
May 20, 2013 11:35 am | by EurekAlert! | CommentsVideo compositing to create special effects, replace backgrounds or combine multiple takes of an actor's performance is an integral, but highly labor-intensive, part of modern film making. Researchers at Disney Research, Zürich, however, have found an innovative way to create these composite videos that is simple, fast, and easy to use.
Yahoo takes big leap with $1.1B deal for Tumblr
May 20, 2013 11:33 am | by MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer | CommentsYahoo is buying online blogging forum Tumblr for $1.1 billion as CEO Marissa Mayer tries to rejuvenate an Internet icon that had fallen behind the times. The deal announced Monday represents Mayer's boldest move yet since she left Google 10 months ago to lead Yahoo's latest comeback attempt.
Robots learn to take a proper handoff by following digitized human examples
May 20, 2013 11:32 am | by EurekAlert! | CommentsRecognizing that a person is handing something and predicting where the human plans to make the handoff is difficult for a robot, but the researchers from Disney and KIT solved the problem by using motion capture data with two people to create a database of human motion.
Review: Toshiba brings high-res screen to Windows
May 20, 2013 11:04 am | by PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer | CommentsLast year, Apple added a visually stunning option to its MacBooks: screens with ultra-high resolution. These "Retina" displays reveal four times as much detail as any Windows laptop screen ... until now. Toshiba just released a new laptop line with a Retina-level display.
Congress gets mixed advice on regulating drones
May 20, 2013 10:58 am | by HENRY C. JACKSON, Associated Press | CommentsThe growing use of unmanned surveillance "eyes in the sky" aircraft raises a thicket of privacy concerns, but the U.S. Congress is getting mixed advice on what, if anything, to do about it. A future with domestic drones may be inevitable. While civilian drone use is currently limited to government agencies and some public universities...
SKorea analyzing NKorea's 4 projectile launches
May 20, 2013 10:48 am | by HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press | CommentsSouth Korea is analyzing whether projectiles North Korea fired into its eastern waters over the weekend are short-range missiles or a new type of artillery the country may be developing, officials said Monday. North Korea fired what Seoul officials called a short-range projectile Sunday, a day after conducting three similar launches.