Tech | Page 1047 | Science Codex

Coding and computers help spot methane, explosives

DURHAM, N.C. - A modern twist on an old technology could soon help detect rogue methane leaks, hidden explosives and much more. A Duke University team is using software to dramatically improve the performance of chemical-sniffing mass spectrometers.

Conventional mass spectrometers separate compounds by giving them an electric charge and passing them through electric and/or magnetic fields. The lighter the compound, the more it bends in the field. By determining what compounds make up a given sample, these instruments can identify almost any substance.

A simple and efficient 3-D fabrication technique for bio-inspired hierarchical structures

WASHINGTON -- Nature is no doubt the world's best biological engineer, whose simple, exquisite but powerful designs have inspired scientists and engineers to tackle the challenges of technologies for centuries. Scientists recently mimicked the surface structure of a moth's eye, a unique structure with an antireflective property, to develop a highly light-absorbent graphene material. This is breakthrough in solar cell technology.

Nanotubes assemble! Rice introduces 'Teslaphoresis'

Scientists at Rice University have discovered that the strong force field emitted by a Tesla coil causes carbon nanotubes to self-assemble into long wires, a phenomenon they call "Teslaphoresis."

The team led by Rice chemist Paul Cherukuri reported its results this week in ACS Nano.

Cherukuri sees this research as setting a clear path toward scalable assembly of nanotubes from the bottom up.

Tuberculosis elimination at stake

New data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and WHO/Europe ahead of World TB Day show that an estimated 340 000 Europeans developed tuberculosis (TB) in 2014, corresponding to a rate of 37 cases per 100 000 population.

Using methane rather than flaring it

Methane is an abundant and inexpensive gas. Although it would be a suitable energy source and base material for the chemical industry, huge quantities of it are simply burnt off around the world - above all at oil fields and refineries. "On satellite images of Earth at night, the Middle East is brightly illuminated.

Scientists grow a material based on hafnium oxide for a new type of non-volatile memory

Scientists from MIPT have succeeded in growing ultra-thin (2.5-nanometre) ferroelectric films based on hafnium oxide that could potentially be used to develop non-volatile memory elements called ferroelectric tunnel junctions. The results of the study have been published in the journal ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces.

Physicists gain new view of superconductor

BINGHAMTON, NY - An international team of physicists has directly observed some unique characteristics of a superconductor for the first time, according to a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Michael Lawler, a theoretical physicist at Binghamton University, contributed to the research, which he considers a great achievement for the experimentalists on the team.

Are humans the new supercomputer?

The saying of philosopher René Descartes of what makes humans unique is beginning to sound hollow. 'I think -- therefore soon I am obsolete' seems more appropriate. When a computer routinely beats us at chess and we can barely navigate without the help of a GPS, have we outlived our place in the world? Not quite. Welcome to the front line of research in cognitive skills, quantum computers and gaming.

Downwind safety on the farm

Consumers don't buy leafy greens and other healthy supermarket produce anticipating the food might make their families sick. Or at least, they didn't used to.

But high profile recalls of fruits and veggies seem to be a new normal in the American food landscape. The recalls follow outbreaks of foodborne illnesses caused by microbes like E. coli. These outbreaks can send unsuspecting veggiephiles rushing to the nearest toilet or, worse yet, the hospital. Some outbreaks can even result in deaths.

Location data on two apps enough to identify someone, says study

Stripping a big data set of names and personal details is no guarantee of privacy. Previous research has shown that individual shoppers, Netflix subscribers and even taxicab riders are identifiable in heaps of supposedly anonymous data.

Now, a team of computer science researchers at Columbia University and Google has identified new privacy concerns by demonstrating that geotagged posts on just two social media apps are enough to link accounts held by the same person. The team will present its results at the World Wide Web conference in Montreal on April 14.

Computers in your clothes? A milestone for wearable electronics

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Researchers who are working to develop wearable electronics have reached a milestone: They are able to embroider circuits into fabric with 0.1 mm precision -- the perfect size to integrate electronic components such as sensors and computer memory devices into clothing.

Riddle of missing efficiency in zinc oxide-based dye-sensitised solar cells solved

This explains why zinc-oxide (ZnO) dye-sensitised solar cells have not yet met expectations. The results evolved from collaboration between Monash University (Australia) and Joint Lab partners Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin). They have now been published online by Nature in the open access magazine Scientific Reports.

Simulating CO2 saturation in rocks gives potential breakthrough in carbon capture, storage

Fukuoka, Japan - Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a relatively new method for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power stations and industrial processes and pushing the greenhouse gas underground to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. Suitable locations for CCS include depleted oil and gas fields or deep aquifers. A detailed understanding of the passage of fluid within the rocks of these target locations is imperative for ensuring that CO2 is stored effectively and leakage risk is minimized.

New method to preserve microfluidic devices for HIV monitoring in developing countries

Providing vital health care services to people in developing countries without reliable electricity, refrigeration and state-of-the-art medical equipment poses a number of challenges. Inspired by pregnancy tests, researchers from Florida Atlantic University, Stanford University, and Baskent University in Turkey, have developed a novel method to store microfluidic devices for CD4 T cell testing in extreme weather conditions for up to six months without refrigeration.

Fast food may expose consumers to harmful chemicals called phthalates

WASHINGTON, DC (April 13, 2016) -- People who reported consuming more fast food in a national survey were exposed to higher levels of potentially harmful chemicals known as phthalates, according to a study published today by researchers at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University. The study, one of the first to look at fast-food consumption and exposure to these chemicals, appears in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.