EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science

Not just blowing in the wind: Compressing air for renewable energy storage

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) A comprehensive study into the potential for compressed air energy storage in the Pacific Northwest has identified two locations in Washington state that could store enough wind energy to power about 85,000 homes each month.

Oceanographer Sylvia Earle kicks off Northeastern's Sustaining Coastal Cities Conference

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Northeastern University College of Science) Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence will be speaking at Northeastern University on May 22, 2013. Earle, a world-renowned oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer, will deliver the opening address to the College of Science's Sustaining Coastal Cities Conference on the critical role and fragile state of marine ecosystems.

Penn research makes advance in nanotech gene sequencing technique

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Pennsylvania) The allure of personalized medicine has made new, more efficient ways of sequencing genes a top research priority. One promising technique involves reading DNA bases using changes in electrical current as they are threaded through a nanoscopic hole. Now, a team led by University of Pennsylvania physicists has used solid-state nanopores to differentiate single-stranded DNA molecules containing sequences of a single repeating base.

New study finds blind people have the potential to use their 'inner bat' to locate objects

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Southampton) New research from the University of Southampton has shown that blind and visually impaired people have the potential to use echolocation, similar to that used by bats and dolphins, to determine the location of an object.

International Communication Association to hold Annual Conference in London, UK

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(International Communication Association) The International Communication Association will hold its annual conference June 17-21 in London, United Kingdom. The theme of the 2013 conference is Challenging Communication Research, challenging the status quo of past research and urging the research community to look deeper into public discourse and challenge the economic, political and technological interests in society.

CosmosID unveils new tool for faster, specific and accurate testing of probiotics products

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Buckley & Kaldenbach, Inc.) The FDA and CosmosID have conducted a side-by-side analysis of commercially available probiotics to compare the identity of species and strains present in the products to what was stated on their respective labels.

Germ-fighting vaccine system makes great strides in delivery

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists) A novel vaccine study from South Dakota State University will headline the groundbreaking research that will be unveiled at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists' National Biotechnology Conference. The meeting takes place Monday, May 20 - Wednesday, May 22 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina.

NTU student-built innovations to help improve and save lives

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Nanyang Technological University) Nanyang Technological University students have developed new and practical life-saving innovations inspired from everyday problems, including improving the safety of cyclists on the roads and keeping the dengue menace in check.

Predicting infectious influenza

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Inderscience Publishers) A new computer model could help scientists predict when a particular strain of avian influenza might become infectious from bird to human, according to a report to be published in the International Journal Data Mining and Bioinformatics.

Robots learn to take a proper handoff by following digitized human examples

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Disney Research) A humanoid robot can receive an object handed to it by a person with something approaching natural, human-like motion thanks to a new method developed by scientists at Disney Research, Pittsburgh in a project partially funded by the International Center for Advanced Communication Technologies at Carnegie Mellon University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Disney researchers develop fast, economical method for high-definition video compositing

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Disney Research) Video compositing to create special effects, replace backgrounds or combine multiple takes of an actor's performance is an integral, but highly labor-intensive, part of modern film making. Researchers at Disney Research, Zürich, however, have found an innovative way to create these composite videos that is simple, fast, and easy to use.

Kinks and curves at the nanoscale

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Vermont) Since 2004, materials scientists and nanotechnology experts have been excited about a special of arrangement of atoms called a "coherent twin boundary" that can add enormous strength to metals like gold and copper. The CTBs are described as "perfect," appearing like a one-atom-thick plane in models and images. New research shows that these boundaries are not perfect. Even more surprising, the newly discovered kinks and defects appear to be the cause of the CTB's strength.

Computational tool translates complex data into simplified 2-dimensional images

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Columbia University Medical Center) Researchers at Columbia University and Stanford University have developed a computational method that enables scientists to visualize and interpret "high-dimensional" data produced by single-cell measurement technologies such as mass cytometry. The method, published today in the online edition of Nature Biotechnology, has particular relevance to cancer research and therapeutics.

Shifts in global water systems -- markers of a new geological epoch: The Anthropocene

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Global Water System Project) A suite of disquieting global phenomena have given rise to the "Anthropocene," a term coined for a new geologic epoch characterized by humanity's growing dominance of the Earth's environment and a planetary transformation as profound as the last epoch-defining event -- the retreat of the glaciers 11,500 years ago.In Germany May 21-24, experts will focus on how to mitigate key factors contributing to extreme damage to the global water system being caused while adapting to the new reality.

New smartphone application improves colonoscopy preparation

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Digestive Disease Week) The use of a smartphone application significantly improves patients' preparation for a colonoscopy, according to new research presented today at Digestive Disease Week®. The study, which was conducted by the gastroenterologists of Arizona Digestive Health in Phoenix, featured the first doctor-designed app of its kind.

NASA's STEREO detects a CME from the sun

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) On 5:24 a.m. EDT on May 17, 2013, the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of solar particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later and affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground.

New formula invented for microscope viewing, substitutes for federally controlled drug

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(American Journal of Botany) In the May issue of Applications in Plant Sciences, researchers introduce Visikol, a proprietary new formulation that effectively clears organisms for viewing under microscopes. Visikol can replace chloral hydrate, which was previously one of the few high-quality clearing solutions but which is regulated by the DEA due to its use as a narcotic. The study tests Visikol's utility compared to chloral hydrate and demonstrates it as an effective replacement with a higher refractive index.

Satellite sees Tropical Storm Alvin's life end quickly

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The first tropical storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season was short-lived. Satellite imagery revealed that Tropical Storm Alvin became a remnant low pressure area 36 hours after it was named.

NASA sees Cyclone Mahasen hit Bangladesh

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite known as TRMM measured Cyclone Mahasen's rainfall rates from space as it made landfall on May 16. Mahasen has since dissipated over eastern India.

First Atlanta Science Festival set for 2014

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Georgia Institute of Technology) Atlanta residents of all ages will celebrate the science and technology of the region and its impact on our daily lives during the inaugural Atlanta Science Festival, March 22-29, 2014. With scientists, engineers and educators from local museums, corporations, K-12 schools and universities, the festival will host more than 40 different events for children and adults at venues across the city.

UCSB assistant professor Michelle O'Malley receives 2013 DOE Early Career Award

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of California - Santa Barbara) Michelle O'Malley, an assistant professor in UC Santa Barbara's Department of Chemical Engineering, has received a 2013 Early Career Award by the US Department of Energy's Office of Science. O'Malley is among 61 recipients of the annual research award, chosen from a pool of approximately 770 proposals.

New study recommends using active videogaming ('exergaming') to improve children's health

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Elsevier Health Sciences) Levels of physical inactivity and obesity are very high in children, with fewer than 50 percent of primary school-aged boys and fewer than 28 percent of girls meeting the minimum levels of physical activity required to maintain health. Exergaming, using active console video games that track player movement to control the game, has become popular, and may provide an alternative form of exercise to counteract sedentary behaviors. In a study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers studied the effects of exergaming on children.

Columbia licenses novel 3-D organ and tumor segmentation software to Varian Medical Systems

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Columbia University Medical Center) Columbia University has signed a licensing agreement with Varian Medical Systems for novel imaging software that facilitates 3-D segmentation, the process by which anatomical structures in medical images are distinguished from one another -- an important step in the precise planning of cancer surgery and radiation treatments.

NASA sees Eastern Pacific get first tropical storm: Alvin

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA's Aqua satellite and NOAA's GOES-15 satellite captured imagery of the Eastern Pacific Ocean's first named tropical storm, Alvin.

NASA sees heavy rainfall as Cyclone Mahasen made landfall

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA's TRMM satellite identified areas of heavy rainfall as Cyclone Mahasen made landfall today, May 16, in southern Bangladesh.