Tech | Page 1057 | Science Codex

Video: Morphing metal shapes future of soft robotics

ITHACA, N.Y. - Imagine an aircraft that could alter its wing shape in midflight and, like a pelican, dive into the water before morphing into a submarine. Cornell University engineering professor Rob Shepherd and his group might help make that futuristic-sounding vehicle a reality.

The key is a hybrid material featuring stiff metal and soft, porous rubber foam that combines the best properties of both - stiffness when it's called for, and elasticity when a change of shape is required. The material also has the ability to self-heal following damage.

Google glass meets organs-on-chips

Investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have developed hardware and software to remotely monitor and control devices that mimic the human physiological system. Devices known as organs-on-chips allow researchers to test drug compounds and predict physiological responses with high accuracy in a laboratory setting. But monitoring the results of such experiments from a conventional desktop computer has several limitations, especially when results must be monitored over the course of hours, days or even weeks.

Why marketing and HR executives need to coordinate their activities

HOUSTON - (March 18, 2016) - Chief marketing officers and chief human resource officers need to better coordinate their activities to maximize company value, according to a new paper by strategic management and marketing experts at Rice University and Kent State University.

Cryptographic system lets users control access to their data

Most people with smartphones use a range of applications that collect personal information and store it on Internet-connected servers -- and from their desktop or laptop computers, they connect to Web services that do the same. Some use still other Internet-connected devices, such as thermostats or fitness monitors, that also store personal data online.

Maths could help search and rescue ships sail more safely in heavy seas

A unique new computer model built on highly complex mathematics could make it possible to design safer versions of the 'fast ships' widely used in search & rescue, anti-drugs, anti-piracy and many other vital offshore operations.

Travelling at up to 23-30 knots, fast ships are especially vulnerable to waves that amplify suddenly due to local weather and sea conditions - extreme funnelling effects, for example, may turn waves a few metres high into dangerous waves tens of metres tall that can destabilise ships, resulting in damage, causing injuries and threatening lives.

Advances in big data: Implications for dental research

Los Angeles, Calif., USA - A symposium titled "Advances in Big Data: Implications for Dental Research" will take place today at the 45th Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the American Association for Dental Research. The AADR Annual Meeting is being held in conjunction with the 40th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research.

Biodiesel from sugarcane more economical than soybean

URBANA, Ill. - America's oil consumption far exceeds that of every other country in the world. What's more, it's unsustainable. Therefore, in 2007, Congress mandated a move away from petroleum-based oils toward more renewable sources. Soybeans, an important dietary protein and the current primary source of plant-based oils used for biodiesel production, only yield about one barrel per acre. At this rate, the soybean crop could never quench the nation's thirst for oil.

Novel method for storing and transporting cerebrospinal fluid samples for diagnosis of JEV

In resource poor areas patient samples often have to travel long distances for suitable diagnosis. Filter paper is currently used for the storage and transport of dried blood samples, however there is very little research on similarly simple and inexpensive methods for the transport of other diagnostic fluids. This prompted researchers from the Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit (LOMWRU) to explore an appropriate storage system of cerebrospinal fluid.

Could bread mold build a better rechargeable battery?

You probably don't think much of fungi, and especially those that turn bread moldy, but researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on March 17, 2016 have evidence that might just change your mind. Their findings suggest that a red bread mold could be the key to producing more sustainable electrochemical materials for use in rechargeable batteries.

The researchers show for the first time that the fungus Neurospora crassa can transform manganese into a mineral composite with favorable electrochemical properties.

Keep an eye on children's calories, researchers say

Most children overeat significantly when served large portions of calorie-dense popular foods, according to a Penn State study. The results suggest that manipulating calorie content and portion size can substantially reduce children's overall caloric consumption.

Researchers in the Department of Nutritional Sciences found that caregivers can lower the calorie density (CD) of children's meals by choosing palatable lower-CD, commercially available products, such as un-breaded, grilled chicken pieces and reduced-sugar applesauce.

Drones revolutionize ecological monitoring

New Monash University research has paved the way for drones to revolutionise ecological monitoring.

Paying attention to words not just images leads to better image captions

A team of University and Adobe researchers is outperforming other approaches to creating computer-generated image captions in an international competition. The key to their winning approach? Thinking about words - what they mean and how they fit in a sentence structure - just as much as thinking about the image itself.

Homosexuality as common in Uganda as in other countries

The results are based on a survey with nearly 3,000 participating students in south-western Uganda. The students responded to a number of questions, including aspects concerning sexuality, physical and mental health, sexual risk behaviour, and experiences with drugs. The questions about homosexuality pertained to the students' emotions as well as their actions. The results showed that one in three had been in love with a person of the same sex; almost one in five had been sexually attracted to a person of the same sex; and one in ten had been sexually active with someone of the same sex.

Varnish affects the sound of a violin

Leonardo da Vinci's oil painting "Mona Lisa" looks rather gloomy with its dark green and brown colours. It is a little-known fact that the maestro painted the picture in bright colours - so the subject appears bathed in the light of a sunny day. What caused this difference in colour? Da Vinci covered his oil painting with varnish to protect it. The varnish acts like a filter, causing the picture to become darker than the artist originally painted it.

Replacement for silicon devices looms big with ORNL discovery

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., March 17, 2016 -Two-dimensional electronic devices could inch closer to their ultimate promise of low power, high efficiency and mechanical flexibility with a processing technique developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.