Technologies & Strategies That Enable R&D
Effective, inexpensive concrete made with ash from olive residue
May 2, 2013 2:10 pm | News | CommentsResearchers in Spain report they have produced self-compacting concrete with ash from the boiler combustion of olive pruning residue pellets. The plasticity and cohesion of this type of concrete, they say, means no compaction is needed when used in construction, which helps reduce cost. It also has slightly higher compression strength than conventional concrete.
Oil drilling technology leaps, clean energy lags
May 2, 2013 1:52 pm | by JONATHAN FAHEY - AP Energy Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsTechnology created an energy revolution over the past decade—just not the one we expected. By now, cars were supposed to be running on fuel made from plant waste or algae—or powered by hydrogen or cheap batteries that burned nothing at all. Electricity would be generated with solar panels and wind turbines. When the sun didn't shine or the wind didn't blow, power would flow out of batteries the size of tractor-trailers.
Studying meteorites may reveal Mars' secrets of life
May 2, 2013 1:01 pm | News | CommentsIn an effort to determine if conditions were ever right on Mars to sustain life, a team of scientists has examined a meteorite that formed on the red planet more than a billion years ago. And although this team’s work is not specifically solving the mystery, it is laying the groundwork for future researchers to answer this age-old question.
On-site asbestos detector IDs fibers in real-time
May 2, 2013 12:46 pm | News | CommentsAsbestos was banned in the many industrialized countries in the 1980s, but the threat lingers on in the ceilings, walls and floors of old buildings and homes. Now a team of researchers in the U.K. has developed and tested the first portable, real-time airborne asbestos detector. The device uses a laser-based light scattering technique to identify harmful fibers.
Computer algorithms find genetic cancer networks
May 2, 2013 10:44 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Washington University in St. Louis, using powerful algorithms developed by computer scientists at Brown University, have assembled the most complete genetic profile yet of acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer.
New imaging technique to visualize biometals and molecules
May 2, 2013 10:29 am | News | CommentsMetal elements and molecules interact in the body but visualizing them together has always been a challenge. Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies have developed a new molecular imaging technology that enables them to visualize biometals and biomolecules simultaneously in a live mouse. This new technology will enable researchers to study the complex interactions between metal elements and molecules.
Molecular Beam Mass Spectrometer
May 2, 2013 9:26 am | Hiden Analytical Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsHiden Analytical’s Hiden HPR-60 mass spectrometer is a research tool for direct analysis of ions, radicals, and neutral species in reactive processes. The system operates in pressure regimes from 5 mbar to 5 bar, and mass spectrometer options provide for measurement of neutrals, positive ions, negative ions, and ion energies with choice of mass range up to 2,500 amu.
Spectroscopy and Imaging Software
May 2, 2013 9:22 am | Product Releases | CommentsCraic Technologies has released its Auriga microspectroscopy and imaging software package. Written specifically for Window 8, this software is designed to collect, analyze, and process both microspectra and images from CRAIC microspectrophotometers running Windows 8.
Scientists make world’s smallest stop-motion film
May 2, 2013 9:22 am | News | CommentsEven without certification by Guinness World Records, it would be easy to believe a short, 250-frame film recently created by an IBM Research team is the world’s smallest. Named “A Boy and His Atom,” the movie was created by precisely placing thousands of atoms using a scanning tunneling microscope. This type of atomic-level control is the result of years of efforts by IBM to determine the lower limits for storing data.
Meteorite study may reveal Mars’ secrets of life
May 2, 2013 8:57 am | News | CommentsIn an effort to determine if conditions were ever right on Mars to sustain life, a team of scientists has examined a meteorite that formed on the red planet more than a billion years ago. And although this team’s work is not specifically solving the mystery, it is laying the groundwork for future researchers to answer this age-old question.
Use of laser light yields versatile manipulation of a quantum bit
May 2, 2013 8:42 am | News | CommentsBy using light, researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara have manipulated the quantum state of a single atomic-sized defect in diamond—the nitrogen-vacancy center—in a method that not only allows for more unified control than conventional processes, but is more versatile, and opens up the possibility of exploring new solid-state quantum systems.
Transfer of ultraprecise time signals over a wireless optical channel
May 2, 2013 8:18 am | News | CommentsBy bouncing eye-safe laser pulses off a mirror on a hillside, researchers at NIST have transferred ultraprecise time signals through open air with unprecedented precision equivalent to the "ticking" of the world's best next-generation atomic clocks. The demonstration shows how next-generation atomic clocks at different locations could be linked wirelessly to improve distribution of time and frequency information.
A text message a day keeps the asthma attack away
May 2, 2013 8:01 am | News | CommentsSimply sending children with asthma a text message each day asking about their symptoms and providing knowledge about their condition can lead to improved health outcomes. In a study, pediatric patients who were asked questions about their symptoms and provided information about asthma via SMS text messages showed improved pulmonary function and a better understanding of their condition within four months.
Decoded: Molecular messages that tell cancer to spread
May 2, 2013 7:53 am | News | CommentsCancer cells are wily, well-traveled adversaries, constantly side-stepping treatments to stop their spread. But, for the first time, scientists at the University of Michigan have decoded the molecular chatter that ramps certain cancer cells into overdrive and can cause tumors to metastasize throughout the body.
Physical by smartphone becoming real possibility
May 2, 2013 3:35 am | by LAURAN NEERGAARD - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsIt's not a "Star Trek" tricorder, but by hooking a variety of gadgets onto a smartphone you could almost get a complete physical—without the paper gown or even a visit to the doctor's office. Blood pressure? Just plug the arm cuff into the phone for a quick reading. Heart okay? Put your fingers in the right spot, and the squiggly rhythm of an EKG appears on the phone's screen.
