Tech

VTT is developing future energy solutions in cooperation with residents of the new research hotel in Otaniemi. The hotel offers rented furnished accommodation to visiting foreign research scientists, who will move in to the new building in November. The four-storey research hotel is located at Otaranta 4 and overlooks the sea. The hotel has 52 rooms ranging from 30 to 80 square metres, with common areas and facilities on each floor.

Residents' energy behaviour matters – up to a fourfold difference in consumption

Berkeley — Prenatal and childhood exposure to flame retardant compounds are linked to poorer attention, fine motor coordination and IQ in school-aged children, a finding by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, that adds to growing health concerns over a chemical prevalent in U.S. households.

  • Aims of this study were to assess 1) whether the rates of abuse of extended-release (ER) oxycodone (OxyContin®) decline following introduction of reformulated ER oxycodone (ORF), and 2) whether ORF is less likely to be abused through non-oral routes of administration that require tampering
  • Researchers obtained data from 140,496 individuals assessed for substance abuse treatment at 357 treatment centers

The heart of the computer industry is known as "Silicon Valley" for a reason. Integrated circuit computer chips have been made from silicon since computing's infancy in the 1960s. Now, thanks to a team of USC researchers, carbon nanotubes may emerge as a contender to silicon's throne.

One of the most promising innovations of nanotechnology has been the ability to perform rapid nanofabrication using nanometer-scale tips. The fabrication speed can be dramatically increased by using heat. High speed and high temperature have been known to degrade the tip… until now.

Triclosan - an antibacterial chemical found in toothpaste and other products - can contribute to an increased risk of allergy development in children. This comes from the Norwegian Environment and Childhood Asthma Study, in which the Norwegian Institute of Public Health is involved. Similar results are reported in the USA.

From identifying common patterns in data to speeding up computers, researchers from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will share their computational expertise at this year's Supercomputing conference.

Also referred to as SC 12, the annual gathering is the international conference for high-performance computing, networking, storage and analysis. It runs Nov. 10-16 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. Two noteworthy talks featuring PNNL research are described below.

New algorithm pin-points similar data in seconds

The year ahead will feature new and increasingly sophisticated means to capture and exploit user data, escalating battles over the control of online information and continuous threats to the U.S. supply chain from global sources. Those were the findings made by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC) and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in today's release of the Georgia Tech Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2013.

Relatives of young people who have died suddenly from a heart-related problem are at greatly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease according to a study published online today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal [1].

Implantable defibrillators currently on the market apply between 600 and 900 volts to the heart, almost 10 times the voltage from an electric outlet, says Ajit H. Janardhan, MD, PhD, a cardiac electrophysiology fellow at the Washington University's School of Medicine.

After being shocked, he says, some patients get post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients may even go so far as to ask their physicians to remove the defibrillator, even though they understand that the device has saved their lives.

Researchers at Aalto University, Finland have developed a method for producing lithium batteries that is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than previously used methods. This new process has succeeded in replacing the harmful methylpyrrolidone (NMP) solvent, which is traditionally used in the manufacturing of electrodes, with water. Removing this harmful solvent from the production process makes the production of batteries simpler and safer for employees. Production costs of batteries can be decreased by as much as 5 percent.

It's a simple, transparent acrylic plate – nothing embedded within it and nothing printed on its surface. Place it at a certain angle between a white wall and a light source, and a clear, coherent image appears of the face of Alan Turing, the famous British mathematician and father of modern computer science.

Researchers in Turkey describe a method for treating ingrown toenails that prevents recurrences.

Reviewing outcomes from a series of 348 proximolateral partial matricetomies and phenol ablations in 225 patients with stage 2 or 3 ingrown toenail, they found only one recurrence during the 24-month follow-up period, no severe complications and excellent cosmetic results.

The authors assert the surgical technique, which is more invasive than simple partial nail avulsion and easier to perform than wide wedge excision, is the most important determinant of the success rate.