Tech

"One of the things we'll be doing as we move forward with this work is seek ways to limit that mechanical work change," Huang says.

"Any system that involves a human interface will have occasional errors," Huang notes. "But we think we can find ways to make those errors effectively insignificant."

The higher your level of education, the greater your earnings and your sense of "personal mastery" or being in control of your fate, University of Toronto researchers say. But wait: there's a downside.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) scientists, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Manchester, U.K.; Imperial College, London; University of California San Diego; and the National Institute of Material Science (NIMS), Japan, have demonstrated that confined surface phonon polaritons within hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) exhibit unique metamaterial properties that enable novel nanoscale optical devices for use in optical communications, super-resolution imaging and improved infrared cameras and detectors.

Modern hand dryers are much worse than paper towels when it comes to spreading germs, according to new University of Leeds research.

Scientists from the University of Leeds have found that high-powered 'jet-air' and warm air hand dryers can spread bacteria in public toilets. Airborne germ counts were 27 times higher around jet air dryers in comparison with the air around paper towel dispensers.

The study shows that both jet and warm air hand dryers spread bacteria into the air and onto users and those nearby.

Oats contain more fat than other cereals, and oat oil has a unique composition. A new study from Lund University, Härröd Research and Swedish Oat Fiber AB, shows a special oat oil preparation can produce greater satiety.

Shedding pounds is all the rage these days and the global trend toward weight reduction has even spread to the automobile industry. Cars are to get even lighter - using new materials such as ultra-high-strength steels or carbon, and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP). But no matter which diet regime and which lightweight components manufacturers choose, they all want the same thing: the best and longest-lasting joining method for vehicle components. Since Duroplast, which often serves as the matrix component for CFRPs, can't be welded, another joining technique is called for.

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 20, 2014 - University of Utah engineers have developed a polarizing filter that allows in more light, leading the way for mobile device displays that last much longer on a single battery charge and cameras that can shoot in dim light.

Polarizers are indispensable in digital photography and LCD displays, but they block enormous amounts of light, wasting energy and making it more difficult to photograph in low light.

Bremerhaven/Germany, 20 November 2014. Scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) have identified a possible source of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases that were abruptly released to the atmosphere in large quantities around 14,600 years ago. According to this new interpretation, the CO2 - released during the onset of the Bølling/Allerød warm period - presumably had their origin in thawing Arctic permafrost soil and amplified the initial warming through positive feedback.

A laser used to remove unwanted tattoos appears to improve facial acne scarring, according to a study published online by JAMA Dermatology.

Acne and subsequent scarring can have psychological effects. Lasers are used in the treatment of acne scarring. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of a 755-nm picosecond alexandrite laser, , a technology that delivers lower doses of energy theoretically leading to fewer adverse events, for the treatment of unwanted tattoos.

A social sensing game created at Illinois allows researchers to study natural interactions between children, collect large amounts of data about those interactions and test theories about youth aggression and victimization.

The game's behavior analyses effectively identify classroom bullies, even revealing peer aggression that goes undetected by traditional research methods, the researchers say.

The game's developers say it is an improvement over traditional research methods, such as questionnaires, which do not assess interactions between youth in real time.

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Engineers have created a new way to use lidar technology to identify and classify landslides on a landscape scale, which may revolutionize the understanding of landslides in the U.S. and reveal them to be far more common and hazardous than often understood.

Now that car makers have demonstrated through hybrid vehicle success that consumers want less-polluting tailpipes, they are shifting even greener. In 2015, Toyota will roll out the first hydrogen fuel-cell car for personal use that emits only water. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, explains how hydrogen could supplant hybrid and electric car technology -- and someday, even spur the demise of the gasoline engine.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne found unlike other laser treatments, this new faster laser did not result in damage to the retina, the sensitive light detecting tissue at the back of the eye.

Associate Professor Erica Fletcher from the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience said this was the first report detailing how this new laser treatment may improve eye health in those with AMD. In the early stages, the disease is characterised by the presence of small fatty deposits called drusen and thickening in a membrane at the back of the eye.

People taking part in this year's Flusurvey, the UK's biggest crowd-sourced study of influenza will for the first time be offered a swab to confirm if their symptoms are caused by a flu virus or not as part of a new collaboration with i-sense. Data from social media and internet searches will also be combined with Flusurvey, allowing flu trends to be monitored across the UK more accurately and earlier than ever before.

David King, clinical lecturer in paediatrics at the University of Sheffield, says medical professionals and consumers need to be aware that such devices "have no proved use in safeguarding infants or detecting health problems, and they certainly have no role in preventing [sudden infant death syndrome] SIDS."

Wearable devices for infants are a growing industry worldwide. Devices that attach to a newborn baby to monitor its vital signs are marketed by several US companies at a cost of around $200 to $300 to give parents "peace of mind" about their baby's health.