Tech

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Electrical engineers at Oregon State University have developed new technology to monitor medical vital signs, with sophisticated sensors so small and cheap they could fit onto a bandage, be manufactured in high volumes and cost less than a quarter.

A patent is being processed for the monitoring system and it's now ready for clinical trials, researchers say. When commercialized, it could be used as a disposable electronic sensor, with many potential applications due to its powerful performance, small size, and low cost.

Some arid lands in the American West degraded by military exercises that date back to General George Patton's Word War II maneuvers in the Mojave Desert should get a boost from an innovative research project led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — They're soft, biocompatible, about 7 millimeters long – and, incredibly, able to walk by themselves. Miniature "bio-bots" developed at the University of Illinois are making tracks in synthetic biology.

Designing non-electronic biological machines has been a riddle that scientists at the interface of biology and engineering have struggled to solve. The walking bio-bots demonstrate the Illinois team's ability to forward-engineer functional machines using only hydrogel, heart cells and a 3-D printer.

Researchers from Jena and Greifswald used GPS satellites for a long-term behavioral monitoring of land crab migration on Christmas Island. In cooperation with colleagues from the Zoological Institute at the University of Greifswald, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, used a GPS-based telemetric system to analyze movements of freely roaming robber crabs, which is the first large-scale study of any arthropod using GPS technology to monitor behavior.

WASHINGTON, Nov.

The computer activates an alarm: the machine's motor is threatening to overheat. The thermosensor attached directly to the motor housing reports the threat. The information is transmitted to the maintenance service which ensures that the cause is identified. Sensors can be used in factories, car manufacturers and other areas in everyday life. They measure temperature, humidity and wear and tear. Data is transmitted to the computer via wireless communication and read out.

VTT is developing future energy solutions in cooperation with residents of the new research hotel in Otaniemi. The hotel offers rented furnished accommodation to visiting foreign research scientists, who will move in to the new building in November. The four-storey research hotel is located at Otaranta 4 and overlooks the sea. The hotel has 52 rooms ranging from 30 to 80 square metres, with common areas and facilities on each floor.

Residents' energy behaviour matters – up to a fourfold difference in consumption

Berkeley — Prenatal and childhood exposure to flame retardant compounds are linked to poorer attention, fine motor coordination and IQ in school-aged children, a finding by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, that adds to growing health concerns over a chemical prevalent in U.S. households.

• Aims of this study were to assess 1) whether the rates of abuse of extended-release (ER) oxycodone (OxyContin®) decline following introduction of reformulated ER oxycodone (ORF), and 2) whether ORF is less likely to be abused through non-oral routes of administration that require tampering
• Researchers obtained data from 140,496 individuals assessed for substance abuse treatment at 357 treatment centers

The heart of the computer industry is known as "Silicon Valley" for a reason. Integrated circuit computer chips have been made from silicon since computing's infancy in the 1960s. Now, thanks to a team of USC researchers, carbon nanotubes may emerge as a contender to silicon's throne.

One of the most promising innovations of nanotechnology has been the ability to perform rapid nanofabrication using nanometer-scale tips. The fabrication speed can be dramatically increased by using heat. High speed and high temperature have been known to degrade the tip… until now.

Triclosan - an antibacterial chemical found in toothpaste and other products - can contribute to an increased risk of allergy development in children. This comes from the Norwegian Environment and Childhood Asthma Study, in which the Norwegian Institute of Public Health is involved. Similar results are reported in the USA.

From identifying common patterns in data to speeding up computers, researchers from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will share their computational expertise at this year's Supercomputing conference.

Also referred to as SC 12, the annual gathering is the international conference for high-performance computing, networking, storage and analysis. It runs Nov. 10-16 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. Two noteworthy talks featuring PNNL research are described below.

New algorithm pin-points similar data in seconds

The year ahead will feature new and increasingly sophisticated means to capture and exploit user data, escalating battles over the control of online information and continuous threats to the U.S. supply chain from global sources. Those were the findings made by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC) and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in today's release of the Georgia Tech Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2013.

Relatives of young people who have died suddenly from a heart-related problem are at greatly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease according to a study published online today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal [1].