ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Researchers develop fire-retardant coating featuring renewable materials

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 04:08 PM PST

Researchers are developing a new kind of flame-retardant coating using renewable, nontoxic materials readily found in nature, which could provide even more effective fire protection for several widely used materials.

Large study fails to link phthalates and increased breast cancer risk

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 01:00 PM PST

In the largest study to date on phthalates and postmenopausal breast cancer, a cancer epidemiology researcher found no association between breast cancer risk and exposure to the plasticizing and solvent chemicals used in such common products as shampoo, makeup, vinyl flooring, toys, medical devices and car interiors.

Laser-induced graphene gets tough, with help

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 01:00 PM PST

Laser-induced graphene combines with many materials to make tough, conductive composites for wearable electronics, anti-icing, antimicrobial applications, sensors and water treatment.

Insulating crust kept cryomagma liquid for millions of years on nearby dwarf planet

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 11:41 AM PST

A recent NASA mission to the dwarf planet Ceres found brilliant, white spots of salts on its surface. New research delved into the factors that influenced the volcanic activity that formed the distinctive spots and that could play a key role in mixing the ingredients for life on other worlds.

Teaching self-driving cars to predict pedestrian movement

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 10:47 AM PST

By zeroing in on humans' gait, body symmetry and foot placement, researchers are teaching self-driving cars to recognize and predict pedestrian movements with greater precision than current technologies.

Possibility of recent underground volcanism on Mars

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 10:47 AM PST

New research suggests liquid water is present beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars. Now, a new study argues there needs to be an underground source of heat for liquid water to exist underneath the polar ice cap.

Streetcars don't guarantee heightened development activity

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 09:01 AM PST

Development outcomes along streetcar corridors can't be entirely attributed to the presence of the streetcar, researchers found. Streetcar investment is commonly accompanied with a healthy incentive package, for example.

Laser physics: Transformation through light

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 09:01 AM PST

Laser physicists have taken snapshots of how C60 carbon molecules react to extremely short pulses of intense infrared light.

Nano drops a million times smaller than a teardrop explodes 19th century theory

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 09:00 AM PST

Droplets emanating from a molecular 'nano-tap' would behave very differently from those from a household tap 1 million times larger -- researchers have found. This is potentially crucial step for a number of emerging nano technologies, e.g., manufacture of nano-sized drug particles, lab-on-chip devices for in situ diagnostics, and 3D printers capable of nanoscale resolution.

New AI toolkit is the 'scientist that never sleeps'

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 07:47 AM PST

Researchers have developed a new AI-driven platform that can analyze how pathogens infect our cells with the precision of a trained biologist.

Walking simulation games signal a new literary genre

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 07:47 AM PST

Walking simulation games signal a new literary genre Research has revealed that walking simulations are blurring the boundaries of different art forms to create a new literary genre. Walking simulations -- video games where there are no winners and no one is shot at or killed -- have become increasingly popular in the last few years.

Improving geothermal HVAC systems with mathematics

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 07:47 AM PST

Sustainable heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, such as those that harness low-enthalpy geothermal energy, are needed to reduce collective energy use and mitigate the continued effects of a warming climate. Researchers use asymptotic expansion techniques to study the harmonic thermal response of vertical geothermal boreholes in such systems to sub-annual harmonic excitations.

Why bribery works and what changes its effectiveness

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 07:47 AM PST

A new study suggests that greed, and not the willingness to return the favor, is the main reason people give in to bribery. But the research also finds there are times when the almighty buck can be ignored and effects of a bribe can be lessened.

Phase transition dynamics in two-dimensional materials

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 06:48 AM PST

Scientists have discovered the mechanism involved when transition metal dichalcogenides on metallic substrates transform from the semiconducting 1H-phase to the quasi-metallic 1T'-phase.

Questions in quantum computing: How to move electrons with light

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 06:48 AM PST

To design future quantum technologies, scientists pinpoint how microwaves interact with matter.

Selfies to self-diagnosis: Algorithm 'amps up' smartphones to diagnose disease

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 06:26 AM PST

Smartphones aren't just for selfies anymore. A novel cell phone imaging algorithm can now analyze assays typically evaluated via spectroscopy, a powerful device used in scientific research. Researchers analyzed more than 10,000 images and found that their method consistently outperformed existing algorithms under a wide range of operating field conditions. This technique reduces the need for bulky equipment and increases the precision of quantitative results.

Simple and low-cost crack-healing of ceramic-based composites

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 06:26 AM PST

A team of researchers has demonstrated that cracks induced in composites consisting of alumina ceramics and titanium could be healed at room temperature, a world-first. This ceramic healing method permits crack-healing even in a state in which a device is mounted on a ceramic package at a low cost and without using complicated heat treatment processes that require significant amounts of energy.

Earth's magnetic shield booms like a drum when hit by impulses

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 05:15 AM PST

The Earth's magnetic shield booms like a drum when it is hit by strong impulses, according to new research.

The physical forces of cells in action

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 05:15 AM PST

The detection of physical forces is one of the most complex challenges facing science. Considered to play a decisive role in many biological processes, the chemical tools to visualize the physical forces in action do not exist. But today, researchers have developed probes inspired by lobster cooking, they enable to enter into cells. For the first time, physical forces can be imaged live inside the cells.

Research will help urban planners prioritize bike lanes

Posted: 12 Feb 2019 05:15 AM PST

A new virtual tool could help planners choose the best places to install bikes lanes in cities. The data-based tool builds on previous research that validated the safety benefits of bike lanes for cyclists and motorists.

Engineered miniature kidneys come of age

Posted: 11 Feb 2019 03:28 PM PST

A research team has now removed a major barrier for the use of kidney organoids as a tool to model kidney diseases, test drug toxicities and eventually for the creation of organ replacements, the lack of a pervasive blood vessel system (vasculature). The team solved this problem with a powerful new approach that exposes stem cell-derived kidney organoids to fluidic shear stress and thus enables them to vascularize and mature further than they could before.

Connection between home energy efficiency and respiratory health in low-income homes

Posted: 11 Feb 2019 10:14 AM PST

A new study finds people living in drafty homes in low-income, urban communities are at a higher risk of respiratory health issues.