Tech | Page 1479 | Science Codex

Putting a new spin on computing

In a recent publication in Physical Review Letters, physicists at the University of Arizona propose a way to translate the elusive magnetic spin of electrons into easily measurable electric signals. The finding is a key step in the development of computing based on spintronics, which doesn't rely on electron charge to digitize information.

Unlike conventional computing devices, which require electric charges to flow along a circuit, spintronics harnesses the magnetic properties of electrons rather than their electric charge to process and store information.

Planning is key to a healthy and happy retirement, studies find

COLUMBIA, Mo. –Retirement is often viewed as a time to relax, travel, participate in leisurely activities and spend time with family. However, for many older adults, chronic health problems and poor planning often hinder the enjoyment of retirement. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found that planning for changes in lifestyle and health leads to better retirement for married couples.

Researchers create tool to anticipate solar power fluctuations

How does the power output from solar panels fluctuate when the clouds roll in? And can researchers predict these fluctuations? UC San Diego Professor Jan Kleissl and Matthew Lave, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Jacobs School, have found the answer to these questions. They also have developed a software program that allows power grid managers to easily predict fluctuations in the solar grid caused by changes in the cloud cover. The program uses a solar variability law Lave discovered.

Self-cleaning anodes could facilitate cost-effective coal-powered fuel cells

Using barium oxide nanoparticles, researchers have developed a self-cleaning technique that could allow solid oxide fuel cells to be powered directly by coal gas at operating temperatures as low as 750 degrees Celsius. The technique could provide a cleaner and more efficient alternative to conventional power plants for generating electricity from the nation's vast coal reserves.

New research on community gardening reveals the roots of emotional and physical health

AURORA, Colo (June 20, 2011) Did you ever make mud pies as a kid? Remember how good it felt to get your hands in the dirt, to run through the sprinkler, and get pollen from a sweet-smelling flower on your nose? Most kids who grow up in cities today never have this experience. But the latest research is about to change all that.

Improving LED lighting

CORAL GABLES, FL (June 20, 2011) — University of Miami professor at the College of Engineering, Jizhou Song, has helped design an light-emitting diode (LED) light that uses an array of LEDs 100 times smaller than conventional LEDs. The new device has flexibility, maintains lower temperature and has an increased life-span over existing LEDs. The findings are published online by the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

New compact microspectrometer design achieves high resolution and wide bandwidth

A new microspectrometer architecture that uses compact disc-shaped resonators could address the challenges of integrated lab-on-chip sensing systems that now require a large off-chip spectrometer to achieve high resolution.

Researchers find CDT biomarker ineffective for identifying unhealthy alcohol use

(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that among HIV-infected adults with alcohol problems, measuring their carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) biomarker was a poor and inaccurate method for detecting unhealthy drinking. These findings currently appear on-line in AIDS Care.

Iowa State hybrid lab combines technologies to make biorenewable fuels and products

AMES, Iowa – Laura Jarboe pointed to a collection of test tubes in her Iowa State University laboratory.

Some of the tubes looked like they were holding very weak coffee. That meant microorganisms – in this case, Shewanella bacteria – were growing and biochemically converting sugars into hydrocarbons, said Jarboe, an Iowa State assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering.

New insights on an old material will enable design of better polymer batteries, water purification

Designing new materials depends upon understanding the properties of today's materials. One such material, Nafion ©, is a polymer that efficiently conducts ions (a polymer electrolyte) and water through its nanostructure, making it important for many energy-related industrial applications, including in fuel cells, organic batteries, and reverse-osmosis water purification.

UCLA team reports scalable fabrication of self-aligned graphene transistors, circuits

Graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of graphitic carbon, has the potential to make consumer electronic devices faster and smaller. But its unique properties, and the shrinking scale of electronics, also make graphene difficult to fabricate and to produce on a large scale.

First X-ray lasing of SACLA

RIKEN and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) have successfully produced a first beam of X-ray laser light with a wavelength of 1.2 Angstroms. This light was created using SACLA, a cutting-edge X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) facility unveiled by RIKEN in February 2011 in Harima, Japan. SACLA (SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron LAser) opens a window into the structure of atoms and molecules at a level of detail never seen before.

Wireless 'breadcrumbs' that wont become toast when baked...or soggy when hosed

When Hansel and Gretel ventured into the forest, they left a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way home. In today's world, cellular phones, Global Positioning System (GPS), WiFi, and Bluetooth are the digital signals that connect us to friends, family, and colleagues while helping us find our location and map our routes.

Taking the 3-D measure of macromolecules:

The nanometer scale is where the biological and materials sciences converge. As human machines and devices shrink to the size of biomolecules, scientists need tools by which to precisely measure minute structural changes and distances. To this end, researchers have been developing linear rulers based on the electronic surface waves known as "plasmons," which are generated when light travels through the confined dimensions of noble metal nanoparticles or structures, such as gold or silver.

'Ultrawideband' could be future of medical monitoring

CORVALLIS, Ore. – New research by electrical engineers at Oregon State University has confirmed that an electronic technology called "ultrawideband" could hold part of the solution to an ambitious goal in the future of medicine – health monitoring with sophisticated "body-area networks."

Such networks would offer continuous, real-time health diagnosis, experts say, to reduce the onset of degenerative diseases, save lives and cut health care costs.

Some remote health monitoring is already available, but the perfection of such systems is still elusive.