A discovery by an international team of researchers from Princeton University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Humboldt University in Berlin points the way to more widespread use of an advanced technology generally known as organic electronics. (more…)
Fuel-cell technology provides new approach to energy-efficient heating and refrigeration
Fuel cell technology has attracted a lot of attention recently for its potential to revolutionize the transportation sector by decreasing our use of fossil fuels and reducing emissions that contribute to climate change. (more…)
Last month, Microsoft released “Future Visions,” an anthology of short stories written by some of today’s top science fiction writers based in part on the writers’ access to Microsoft researchers and their labs. The eBook is available for free from Amazon and other sites. (more…)
Scientists are digging deep into the Earth’s surface collecting census data on the microbial denizens of the hardened rocks. What they’re finding is that, even miles deep and halfway across the globe, many of these communities are somehow quite similar.
The results, which were presented at the American Geophysical Union conference Dec. 8, suggest that these communities may be connected, said Matthew Schrenk, Michigan State University geomicrobiologist. (more…)
Patented cryptography invention enables unlimited analysis of encrypted data
ARMONK, N.Y. – 23 Dec 2013: IBM inventors have received a patent for a breakthrough data encryption technique that is expected to further data privacy and strengthen cloud computing security.
The patented breakthrough, called “fully homomorphic encryption,” could enable deep and unrestricted analysis of encrypted information —intentionally scrambled data — without surrendering confidentiality. IBM’s solution has the potential to advance cloud computing privacy and security by enabling vendors to perform computations on client data, such as analyzing sales patterns, without exposing or revealing the original data. (more…)
UD-led breakthrough may advance development of mid-infrared light sources, lasers
A research group at the University of Delaware has achieved a breakthrough in the emerging field of “Group IV Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices.”
The UD research team, led by James Kolodzey, demonstrated that it is possible to use a combination of germanium and tin (GeSn) to create a light emitting diode (LED) that operates in the infrared spectrum, wavelengths invisible to the naked eye. (more…)
By creating a small electrical field that removes salts from seawater, chemists at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Marburg in Germany have introduced a new method for the desalination of seawater that consumes less energy and is dramatically simpler than conventional techniques. The new method requires so little energy that it can run on a store-bought battery.
The process evades the problems confronting current desalination methods by eliminating the need for a membrane and by separating salt from water at a microscale. (more…)
Using a state-of-the-art DNA sequencing technique, UA researchers have discovered genetic mutations underlying seizure disorders in previously undiagnosed children.
Researchers at the University of Arizona have successfully determined the genetic mutations causing severe epilepsies in seven out of 10 children for whom the cause of the disorder could not be determined clinically or by conventional genetic testing.
Instead of sequencing each gene one at a time, the team used a technique called whole-exome sequencing: Rather than combing through all of the roughly 3 billion base pairs of an individual’s entire genome, whole-exome-sequencing deciphers only actual genes, and nearly all of them simultaneously. (more…)
