Tech

Turtle power: How hatching together avoids capture

New research has found that green turtles hatching en masse from their nests 'swamp' predators, allowing more individuals to reach the safety of the sea.

The study, by the Universidade Federal de Alagoas in Brazil and the University of Bristol in the UK, was carried out on a pristine and remote island near Brazil where there are 3,600 green turtle nests (Chelonia mydas) per year and very little human disturbance.

A fluorescent protein from Japanese eel muscles used to detect bilirubin in newborns

A research group led by Project Professor Morioka Ichiro (Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics) and Assistant Professor Iwatani Sota (Kobe University Hospital, Center for Perinatal Care) in collaboration with Doctor Miyawaki Atsushi (team leader at the Brain Science Institute, RIKEN) have clinically proven that a fluorescent protein sourced from Japanese eel muscles can be used to accurately detect unconjugated bilirubin in newborns.

Integrated trio of 2-D nanomaterials unlocks graphene electronics applications

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (http://www.ucr.edu) -- Graphene has emerged as one of the most promising two-dimensional crystals, but the future of electronics may include two other nanomaterials, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Riverside and the University of Georgia.

Researchers determine fundamental limits of invisibility cloaks

Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have been able to quantify fundamental physical limitations on the performance of cloaking devices, a technology that allows objects to become invisible or undetectable to electromagnetic waves including radio waves, microwaves, infrared and visible light.

Discovery could dramatically boost efficiency of perovskite solar cells

Scientists from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a possible secret to dramatically boosting the efficiency of perovskite solar cells hidden in the nanoscale peaks and valleys of the crystalline material.

The switch that could double USB memory

Scientists at Hokkaido University have developed a device that employs both magnetic and electronic signals, which could provide twice the storage capacity of conventional memory devices, such as USB flash drives.

Conventional USB flash drives are electronic data storage devices. They store information by using millions of small gates that process information into "words" consisting of various combinations of the numbers 0 and 1.

3-D paper-based microbial fuel cell operating under continuous flow condition

A team of researchers from the Iowa State University in Ames, IA has demonstrated a proof-of-concept three-dimensional paper-based microbial fuel cell (MFC) that could take advantage of capillary action to guide the liquids through the MFC system and to eliminate the need for external power. Their report appears in the forthcoming issue of the journal TECHNOLOGY.

Scientist's math formula offers improved yield for flour milling

RESEARCH by a University of Huddersfield scientist could aid the development of new strains of wheat that yield higher quantities of extra-nutritious flour.

Professor Grant Campbell is a leading expert in cereal process engineering and is based in the University's School of Applied Sciences. The milling of wheat and the complexities of its kernel are central to his work. Now his latest co-authored article analyses the different breakage characteristics of hard and soft wheats.

New farming strategies can help prevent soil runoff while maintaining high crop yields

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Soil and nutrient loss and runoff from agricultural fields are major problems environmentally and economically in the U.S. and globally. After heavy spring rains, soil and water runoff containing fertilizer and pesticides is washed downstream, carrying the sediment and chemicals to the Gulf of Mexico. This process creates a large oxygen-starved area which is toxic to aquatic organisms and damages the commercial fishing and tourism industries. Tree-based buffers are an effective method for preventing runoff, however they can negatively affect crop yields.

The irony of awkward

It's difficult to convince yourself to go out to that party when you won't know anybody there and your couch is so comfortable and your Xbox is sitting right there, begging to be played.

And while it's easy to justify taking the easy way out of an uncomfortable social situation and spending a night in playing *insert violent video game here*, a new study suggests that avoiding one party to play violent video games will make it even less likely that you'll go to the next.

What does the sperm whale say?

When a team of researchers began listening in on seven sperm whales in the waters off the Azores, they discovered that the whales' characteristic tapping sounds serve as a form of individual communication. But what are they actually saying?

"They clearly have something on their minds - but to be perfectly honest, we haven't the faintest idea what that might be."

Quantum technologies to revolutionize 21st century

Is quantum technology the future of the 21st century? On the occasion of the 66th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, this is the key question to be explored today in a panel discussion with the Nobel Laureates Serge Haroche, Gerardus 't Hooft, William Phillips and David Wineland. In the following interview, Professor Rainer Blatt, internationally renowned quantum physicist, recipient of numerous honours, Council Member and Scientific Co-Chairman of the 66th Lindau Meeting, talks about what we can expect from the "second quantum revolution".

Synthesized microporous 3-D graphene-like carbons

Graphene, an allotrope of carbon, discovered more than a decade ago has led to myriad research that seeks to unlock its vast potential. Zeolites, commonly used microporous solid catalysts in the petrochemical industry, have recently attracted attention in the field of material science as a template for carbon synthesis. Each individual crystal is distinguished by its unique 1 nanometer (nm) sized pore structure, this structure facilitates the accommodation of carbon nanotubes inside the zeolite.

A drop of water as a model for the interplay of adhesion and stiction

How can a gecko move across a ceiling upside down? Two mechanisms are responsible: Adhesion via billions of extremely fine hairs on its feet, which enable it to stick to ceilings and walls. And as soon as the gecko moves, it relies on stiction. However, any change of adhesion and stiction at macroscopic level is expressed on the nanometer scale through the change in the forces exerted between atoms and molecules.

How a drop of water touches a honeycomb structure

Skype data of 500 million people reveals the real patterns of social adoption

Global patterns of adoption spreading are induced by local adoption cascades initiated by multiple spontaneous adopters arriving at a constant rate, amplified by a large number of adoptions induced by social influence, and controlled by individuals who are immune to the actual adoption.