Technology

Citizen Scientists Join Search for Earth-like Planets

Web users around the globe will be able to help professional astronomers in their search for Earth-like planets thanks to a new online citizen science project called Planet Hunters that launched Dec. 16. at www.planethunters.org. 

Planet Hunters, which is the latest in the Zooniverse citizen science project collection, will ask users to help analyze data taken by NASA’s Kepler mission. The space telescope has been searching for planets beyond our own solar system—called exoplanets—since its launch in March 2009.  (more…)

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Microsoft Vice President Margo Day Helps Build Girls’ School, Safe Haven in Kenya

An encounter with 35 young girls in Kenya prompted Margo Day to start a secondary school there. The school will also be a refuge for girls who fled their homes to avoid the traditional practice of female genital mutilation

REDMOND, Wash. — When Margo Day went on a safari last year in Africa, she more or less knew what to expect. She had traveled in Kenya and Tanzania 16 years earlier, where she had what she calls a life-changing experience watching lions, elephants and wildebeests roam the plains. She returned to Kenya last fall to share that experience with her 19-year-old niece, Gail.  (more…)

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Study Improves Understanding of Method for Creating Multi-Metal Nanoparticles

A new study from researchers at North Carolina State University sheds light on how a technique that is commonly used for making single-metal nanoparticles can be extended to create nanoparticles consisting of two metals – and that have tunable properties. The study also provides insight into the optical properties of some of these nanoparticles.

Tuning the optical properties of nanoparticles is of interest for applications such as security technology, and for use in making chemical reactions more efficient – which has multiple industrial and environmental applications. (more…)

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Phased-Array Radar: GTRI Supports Test and Evaluation of Next Generation Jammer

Researchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and Bennett Aerospace Inc., a North Carolina advanced-technology company, have won a contract to develop the capability for testing a new type of radar jammer for the U.S. Navy.  Called the Next Generation Jammer, this novel device will utilize phased-array radar technology in ways that could provide U.S. military aircraft greater protection from ground-to-air missiles. (more…)

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Newspapers and Magazines Coming to Amazon’s Buy Once, Read Everywhere Kindle Apps – Starting with Kindle for Android

*All of the features customers love about Kindle newspapers and magazines coming to Kindle for Android, including convenience of automatic overnight delivery of subscriptions, buy once and read across multiple devices and platforms, full text search and instant Wikipedia and dictionary lookup*

SEATTLE, Dec 17, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon today announced that Kindle for Android is the first Kindle app to receive an update that enables users to buy, read, and sync over 100 Kindle newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Newsweek, The Atlantic, and many more. Kindle for Android users can now buy a single issue or subscribe to the most popular newspapers and magazines, have them automatically delivered to their Android-powered device, and enjoy a full color reading experience optimized for the touch interface of Android-powered devices. Additional new features include the ability to seamlessly buy and download Kindle books and periodicals within the Kindle for Android app, share reading progress via social networks, and zoom closer to images and other graphics. Kindle for Android is the first major e-book app to offer periodicals on the Android platform. The new Kindle for Android app is available from Android Market. Customers who have already downloaded Kindle for Android will receive the update automatically. Learn more about Kindle for Android at www.amazon.com/kindleforandroid. (more…)

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