Tech | Page 1207 | Science Codex

Flexible battery, no lithium required

HOUSTON – (April 28, 2014) – A Rice University laboratory has flexible, portable and wearable electronics in its sights with the creation of a thin film for energy storage.

Rice chemist James Tour and his colleagues have developed a flexible material with nanoporous nickel-fluoride electrodes layered around a solid electrolyte to deliver battery-like supercapacitor performance that combines the best qualities of a high-energy battery and a high-powered supercapacitor without the lithium found in commercial batteries today.

Optimizing sweetpotato production

PONTOTOC, MS – As the popularity and convenience of sweetpotato products increases, sweetpotato growers and processors are interested in identifying ways to meet processor's demands and to make the crop more widely available. A new study reveals that cultural practices such as early planting and delaying harvest hold promise for increasing yield and economic benefits for sweetpotato producers.

Irrigation, soil management strategies investigated for cold climate sweet cherry

SUMMERLAND, BC – Previous research efforts have identified several management strategies to improve establishment of new plantings of sweet cherry trees. These strategies include pulse fertigation, surface mulching, and polypropylene groundcover, which have been shown to improve nutrient and water acquisition. The authors of a new study say that, until now, little research has been conducted on water requirements for sweet cherry. Their study reveals important information about irrigation strategies for growers and includes recommendations that can inform management practices.

Computer program could help solve arson cases

Sifting through the chemical clues left behind by arson is delicate, time-consuming work, but University of Alberta researchers teaming with RCMP scientists in Canada, have found a way to speed the process.

A computer program developed by University of Alberta chemistry professor James Harynuk, his team of graduate and undergraduate researchers and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police National Forensic Laboratory Services, can cut the need for extra levels of human analysis, reducing the waiting time to find out the cause of a deliberately set fire.

'Double-duty' electrolyte enables new chemistry for longer-lived batteries

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., April 24, 2014 — Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new and unconventional battery chemistry aimed at producing batteries that last longer than previously thought possible.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, ORNL researchers challenged a long-held assumption that a battery's three main components -- the positive cathode, negative anode and ion-conducting electrolyte -- can play only one role in the device.

Droplet lens

"So then I decided to try to find the optimum shape, to see how far I could go. When I saw the first images of yeast cells I was like, 'Wow!'"

Dr Lee and his team worked with Dr Phan to design a lightweight 3D-printable frame to hold the lens, along with a couple of miniature LED lights for illumination, and a coin battery.

The technology taps into the current citizen science revolution, which is rapidly transforming owners of smart phones into potential scientists. There are also exciting possibilities for remote medical diagnosis.

HHS leaders call for expanded use of medications to combat opioid overdose epidemic

A national response to the epidemic of prescription opioid overdose deaths was outlined yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine by leaders of agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The commentary calls upon health care providers to expand their use of medications to treat opioid addiction and reduce overdose deaths, and describes a number of misperceptions that have limited access to these potentially life-saving medications.

Motor skill deficiencies linked to autism severity in new research

CORVALLIS, Ore. – An Oregon State University researcher has found a relationship between motor skill deficiencies and the severity of the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder in very young children.

The findings, believed to the be the first to show a direct relationship between motor skills and autism severity, indicate that development of fine and gross motor skills should be included in treatment plans for young children with autism, said Megan MacDonald, an assistant professor in OSU's College of Public Health and Human Sciences.

Your T-shirt's ringing: Telecommunications in the spaser age

A new version of "spaser" technology being investigated could mean that mobile phones become so small, efficient, and flexible they could be printed on clothing.

A team of researchers from Monash University's Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering (ECSE) has modelled the world's first spaser (surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) to be made completely of carbon.

Pregnancy complications may be more common in immigrants from certain regions

TORONTO, April 24, 2014 – Pregnant immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Caribbean islands may require increased monitoring during pregnancy, according to new research from St. Michael's Hospital.

It's a bubble, but not as we know it

Multi-sensory technology that creates soap bubbles, which can have images projected onto them or when the bubbles are burst release a scent, will be unveiled at an international conference later this month.

The research paper, to be presented at one of the world's most important conferences on human-computer interfaces - ACM CHI 2014 [26 April-1 May], could be used in areas such as gaming or education and encourage a new way of thinking about multi-sensory technologies.

Atomic switcheroo explains origins of thin-film solar cell mystery

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., April 23, 2014 — Treating cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar cell materials with cadmium-chloride improves their efficiency, but researchers have not fully understood why. Now, an atomic-scale examination of the thin-film solar cells led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has answered this decades-long debate about the materials' photovoltaic efficiency increase after treatment.

Increased infrastructure required for effective oil spill response in US Arctic

WASHINGTON – A changing climate is increasing the accessibility of U.S. Arctic waters to commercial activities such as shipping, oil and gas development, and tourism, raising concern about the risk of oil spills. A new report from the National Research Council says that a full suite of proven oil response tools is needed to address potential oil spills in U.S. Arctic waters, but not all of them are readily available.

Change 'authoritarian' football culture to produce future stars, says research

Premier League soccer stars are subjecting their club's junior players to regular insults and practical jokes in a humiliating rite of passage, the British Sociological Association's annual conference in Leeds heard today. [Wednesday 23 April 2014]

This was part of an "authoritarian" treatment of youth team players which undermined attempts to change the culture of clubs and produce better footballers, Dr Chris Platts, of Sheffield Hallam University's Academy of Sport and Physical Activity, said.

Steering chemical reactions with laser pulses

Usually, chemical reactions just take their course, much like a ball rolling downhill. However, it is also possible to deliberately control chemical reactions: at the Vienna University of Technology, molecules are hit with femtosecond laser pulses, changing the distribution of electrons in the molecule. This interaction is so short that at first it does not have any discernable influence on the atomic nuclei, which have much more mass than the electrons.