ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Astronomers have discovered bloated Jupiter-sized worlds that are so precariously close to their parent star they are being roasted at seething temperatures above 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That's hot enough to vaporize most metals, including titanium. They have the hottest planetary atmospheres ever seen. Hubble astronomers are reporting on bizarre weather conditions on these sizzling worlds. It's raining vaporized rock on one planet, and another one has its upper atmosphere getting hotter rather than cooler because it is being 'sunburned' by intense ultraviolet (UV) radiation from its star.

Researchers have developed an e-nose that can distinguish different types of whisky.

When dieting and exercise aren't enough, weight-loss surgery can be an effective obesity treatment. But people who don't want surgery have other options, including insertion of an appetite-suppressing balloon or other implant in the stomach. Now, researchers report that they have augmented that procedure in laboratory animals by coating an implant with a laser-activated dye that kills cells producing ghrelin, the 'hunger hormone.'

Researchers have used virtual reality and 3D eye-tracking technology to examine what drew the attention of the visitors when entering the stunning environment of an ancient Roman house. The team recreated the House of Greek Epigrams in 3D and tracked the gaze of study participants as they viewed the home.

Knowledge creation -- the generation of new ideas and patents -- is an important driver of economic growth. Understanding how knowledge moves across industry sectors and regions can inform research and development (R&D) efforts, promote university-industry partnerships for innovation, and impact private businesses' location decisions. A new study provides a thorough look at the flow of knowledge in five industrial sectors across the United States.

Math is the language of the physical world, and some see mathematical patterns everywhere: in weather, in the way soundwaves move, and even in the spots or stripes zebra fish develop in embryos.

Rice University chemists treat waste plastic to absorb carbon dioxide from flue gas streams more efficiently than current processes.

Scientists have developed a treatment for pulmonary fibrosis by using nanoparticles coated in mannose -- a type of sugar -- to stop a population of lung cells called macrophages that contribute to lung tissue scarring. The cell-targeting method holds promise for preventing this severe lung scarring disease, which can result in life-threatening complications like shortness of breath.

Scientists have built instruments to give humans eyes and a nose on Mars -- and now they are helping add ears as well.

Researchers have discovered that common herbicides and some of their derivatives can kill the parasite Toxoplasma gondii when it infects human cells in a petri dish, without harming the cells themselves.

In order to achieve fusion power generation, it is necessary to confine and maintain high-temperature plasma in a magnetic field. To achieve this, the turbulence that causes the plasma temperature to drop and a large heat load on the inner walls of the device must be controlled. A research group has discovered that, in the Large Helical Device (LHD), when fluctuations are generated in the magnetic field confining the plasma, turbulence in the plasma propagates and the heat load on the inner walls of the device is significantly reduced. This has demonstrated new possibilities for controlling turbulence and heat load.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of modern technology. Making AI 'emotionally intelligent' could open doors to more natural human-machine interactions. To do this, it needs to pick up on the user's sentiment during a dialog. Physiological signals could provide a direct route to such sentiments. Now, researchers from Japan take things to the next level with an AI with sentiment-sensing capabilities comparable to that of humans.