On the surface, ants and the Internet don't seem to have much in common. But two Stanford researchers have discovered that a species of harvester ants determine how many foragers to send out of the nest in much the same way that Internet protocols discover how much bandwidth is available for the transfer of data. The researchers are calling it the "anternet."
Tech
A new 'traffic light' test devised by Dr Nick Sheron and colleagues at University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital could be used in primary care to diagnose liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in high risk populations more easily than at present.
UPTON,NY -- The evolution of digital electronics is a story of miniaturization - each generation of circuitry requires less space and energy to perform the same tasks. But even as high-speed processors move into handheld smart phones, current data storage technology has a functional limit: magnetically stored digital information becomes unstable when too tightly packed. The answer to maintaining the breath-taking pace of our ongoing computer revolution may be the denser, faster, and smarter technology of spintronics.
In order to catch a thief, you have to think like one.
UT Dallas computer scientists are trying to stay one step ahead of cyber attackers by creating their own monster. Their monster can cloak itself as it steals and reconfigures information in a computer program.
In part because of the potentially destructive nature of their technology, creators have named this software system Frankenstein, after the monster-creating scientist in author Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus.
Munich, Germany – August 28 2012: Recommendations for the practical management of CRT patients have been set out for the first time in an international consensus statement on cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in heart failure.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Separated and divorced couples are increasingly using emails, texting and social media to communicate with their ex-partners about their children. However, when ex-spouses use that technology to withhold or manipulate information, the children are the ones who suffer most, according to a University of Missouri family studies expert. A new study suggests divorce counselors should teach separated parents effective ways to use communication technology in order to maintain healthy environments for their children.
Scientists at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation and Federal University of Minas Gerais, led by Dr. Andréa Teixeira-Carvalho and Dr. Mônica Cristina de Oliveira, have developed and characterized a circulating and pH-sensitive liposome containing cisplatin (SpHL-CDDP) aiming to promote the release of cisplatin near the tumor as well as decreasing toxicity. The development of analog drugs and new formulations are current strategies for increasing the effectiveness and safety of cisplatin as an anti-peritoneal carcinomatosis drug.
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- To control the three-dimensional shape of engineered tissue, researchers grow cells on tiny, sponge-like scaffolds. These devices can be implanted into patients or used in the lab to study tissue responses to potential drugs.
Aug. 27, 2012 – Professional athletic field managers maintain trimmed turfgrass with great precision, carefully painting crisp lines and colorful logos on their grass before each game. While these fields appear to be in perfect health, some field managers have noted deteriorating turfgrass beneath repeated paint applications.
New research now suggests why. In a study that appears in Crop Science, three North Carolina State University researchers found that grasses coated with latex paints show a notable reduction in photosynthesis.
The scientists start with a so-called hydrogel – a material made of macromolecules, arranged in a loose meshwork. Between those molecules, large pores remain, through which other molecules or even cells can migrate.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The same type of microwave oven technology that most people use to heat up leftover food has found an important application in the solar energy industry, providing a new way to make thin-film photovoltaic products with less energy, expense and environmental concerns.
Engineers at Oregon State University have for the first time developed a way to use microwave heating in the synthesis of copper zinc tin sulfide, a promising solar cell compound that is less costly and toxic than some solar energy alternatives.
Physicists from the University of Southampton were among the first researchers to use the new high magnetic-field beamline at Diamond Light Source, the UK's national synchrotron facility, to search for 'hidden magnetic states'.
If found, they will provide important confirmation of a theoretical model, which could have important applications in magnetic data storage.
Singapore, August 24, 2012 – Using a mixture of gold, copper and platinum nanoparticles, IBN researchers have developed a more powerful and longer lasting fuel cell material. This breakthrough was published recently in leading journal, Energy and Environmental Science.
When it comes to applications like standoff sensing — using lasers to detect gas, explosives, or other materials from a safe distance — the laser's strength is of the utmost importance. A stronger and purer beam means devices can sense danger more accurately from a greater distance, which translates into safer workers, soldiers, and police officers.
The worst drought to hit the United States in at least 50 years does have one benefit: it has created the smallest "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico in years, says a Texas A&M University researcher who has just returned from gulf waters.