The number of online educational offerings has exploded in recent years, but their rapid rise has spawned a critical question: Can such “virtual” classes cut through the maze of distractions — such as email, the [...]
Tag Archives | technology
High-tech camera takes precise 3D images from a distance
A standard camera takes flat, 2-D pictures. To get 3-D information, such as the distance to a far-away object, scientists can bounce a laser beam off the object and measure how long it takes the [...]
Researchers develop paint-on solar cells
Imagine if the next coat of paint you put on the outside of your home generates electricity from light—electricity that can be used to power the appliances and equipment on the inside. A team of [...]
The Mars Science Lab
Before we begin, I am sorry for my extended absence, but here we are and we must continue. I don’t have work on the wind tunnel to report just yet, but I do have some [...]
Engineering cartilage replacements
A lab discovery is a step toward implantable replacement cartilage, holding promise for knees, shoulders, ears and noses damaged by osteoarthritis, sports injuries and accidents.
Self-assembling sheets of mesenchymal stem cells permeated with tiny be…
Fake leaf could usher era of ‘fast-food energy’
Technology for making an “artificial leaf” holds the potential for opening an era of “fast-food energy,” in which people generate their own electricity at home with low-cost equipment perfect for the 3 billion people living [...]
Biomass could provide a fifth of global energy without damaging food production
Energy generated from plant biomass could deliver up to one fifth of global demand without causing a decline in food production, although there are challenges involved, according to a new report launched this week by [...]
Tried and true recipes
Nuclear reactor technology research dwindled away when nuclear power fell out of favor several decades ago. Renewed interest in fission-based energy means knowledge gained in past research is relevant again. Researchers at DOE’s Oak Ridge National…
Researchers use human cues to improve computer user-friendliness
BINGHAMTON, NY — Lijun Yin wants computers to understand inputs from humans that go beyond the traditional keyboard and mouse.
“Our research in computer graphics and computer vision tries to make using computers easier,” says the Binghamton Un…
Virtual reality can improve design skills in younger generation
COLUMBIA, Mo. ¬ — Rapidly improving technology is changing everyday life for all generations. This constantly changing environment can be a difficult adjustment for older generations. However, for the current generation known as “Generation Y”, t…
New Camera Makes Seeing the ‘Invisible’ Possible
The science similar to the type used in airport body scanners could soon be used to detect everything from defects in aerospace vehicles or concrete bridges to skin cancer, thanks to researchers at Missouri University [...]
Bedside ultrasound becomes a reality
Clinicians have often referred to ultrasound technology as the “stethoscope of the future,” predicting that as the equipment shrinks in size, it will one day be as common at the bedside as that trusty tool around every physician’s neck. According to…
Making solar panels with cleaner, greener technology
Mention solar energy, and most people think “squeaky clean, pollution-free.” The reality of making solar panels with existing technology, however, is much different, involving use of potentially toxic substances and lots of energy. That could change…
New vaccine technology protects mice from hepatitis C virus
Immunology: Three percent of the world’s population is currently infected by hepatitis C. The virus hides in the liver and can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer, and it’s the most frequent cause of liver transplants in Denmark. Since the virus mutate…
The world’s first surfboard with integrated technology
Pukas Surf (the leading manufacturer and distributor of high-performance surfboards in Europe) and Tecnalia Research & Innovation have presented their research work into the mechanical behaviour of surfboards.
Surfing is still a sport governed by …
A new high-resolution method for imaging below the skin using a liquid lens
University of Rochester optics professor Jannick Rolland has developed an optical technology that provides unprecedented images under the skin’s surface. The aim of the technology is to detect and examine skin lesions to determine whether they a…
Stanford researchers develop new wireless technology for faster, more efficient networks
“Wireless communication is a one-way street. Over.”
Radio traffic can flow in only one direction at a time on a specific frequency, hence the frequent use of “over” by pilots and air traffic controllers, walkie-talkie users and emergency perso…
Preliminary new blood test to detect Alzheimer’s disease uncovered
DALLAS — Feb. 14, 2011 — UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have helped develop a novel technology to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease from blood samples long before symptoms appear.
This preliminary technology, which uses synthetic molecu…
3-D digital dinosaur track download: A roadmap for saving at-risk natural history resources
Portable laser scanning technology allows researchers to tote their latest fossil discovery from the field to the lab in the form of lightweight digital data stored on a laptop. But sharing that data as a 3D model with others requires standard f…
Measuring science investments
Measuring the results of scientific research has seen little federal focus until now.
A 2010 administrative memorandum calls on U.S. federal agencies and executive departments to develop tools to “better assess the impact of [...] science and …
New techniques for stapling peptides could spur development of drugs for cancer
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Researchers at the University at Buffalo have devised two new ways of “stapling” peptide helices to prevent these medically important molecules from losing their shape and degrading in the presence of enzymes.
The discovery could h…
Normal air could halve fuel consumption
Air hybrids, or pneumatic hybrids as they are also known, are not yet in production. Nonetheless, electric cars and electric hybrid cars already make use of the brake energy, to power a generator that charges the batteries. However, according to Per…
Touchscreens made of carbon
Just touching it slightly with the tips of your fingers is enough. You can effortlessly write, navigate, open menu windows or rotate images on touchscreens. Within fractions of a second your touch is translated into control commands that a computer …
Getting more anti-cancer medicine into the blood
Scientists are reporting successful application of the technology used in home devices to clean jewelry, dentures, and other items to make anticancer drugs like tamoxifen and paclitaxel dissolve more easily in body fluids, so they can better fight t…
3-D MRI helps kids with ACL tears — surgery without harming the growth plate
Surgery has not been an option in the past for children with ACL tears because of the possible damage to the growth plate that can cause serious problems later in life.
With this new technology, surgeons can actually see from one point to the oth…
RAND study: No direct military benefit from use of alternative fuels by armed forces
If the U.S. military increases its use of alternative fuels, there will be no direct benefit to the nation’s armed forces, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Any benefits from investment in alternative fuels by the U.S. Department of Def…
State of the Union 2011: Will President Obama commit to R&D, for jobs and economic growth?
Research!America’s chair, former Congressman John E. Porter (R-IL), and Research!America’s CEO, Mary Woolley, issued the following statement in anticipation of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.
Porter said, “I think the preside…
US Office of Naval Research achieves milestone
ARLINGTON, Va.-Scientists at Los Alamos National Lab, N.M., have achieved a remarkable breakthrough with the Office of Naval Research’s Free Electron Laser (FEL) program, demonstrating an injector capable of producing the electrons needed to ge…