Tag: physical sciences
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Pressure-Cooked Nanoparticles Improve Lithium-Ion Batteries
Engineers at University of California in Riverside discovered a process for improving cathodes in lithium-ion batteries found in today’s electric cars and most electronic devices, and thus their performance. The team from the lab of Riverside’s David Kisailus published their findings in this month’s issue of the journal Crystal Growth and Design (paid subscription required).…
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Virtual Reality Helps Stroke Patients Improve Hand Function
A system developed by a University of Minnesota medical student helps rehabilitating stroke patients gain more use of their hands and arms by visualizing their thoughts through virtual reality. Alexander Doud, who developed the system while a masters degree student in the lab of Minnesota biomedical engineering professor Bin He, is scheduled to report his…
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Challenge Seeks Endothelial Progenitor Cell Culture Process
A new challenge on InnoCentive is seeking a technique for storing and growing endothelial progenitor cells captured from blood samples and vital for research on and testing for various disorders. The competition has a purse of $25,000 and a deadline of 5 January 2014 for submissions. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing competitions for…
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New Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging System Developed
Engineers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh developed a new, more dynamic, approach for wirelessly charging moving electric vehicles and built a small-scale prototype to prove the concept. The team led by electrical engineering professor Srdjan Lukic published its findings online in a recent issue of the journal IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics (paid…
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Biosensor Detects Brain-Damaging Proteins in Heart Surgery
Engineers and medical researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore developed a tiny sensor for technology to detect potential brain damage among patients undergoing heart surgery, particularly children. The team led by Howard Katz, chair of Johns Hopkins’s engineering and materials science department, published its findings in today’s issue of the journal Chemical Science (paid…
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Inkblots Add Extra Layer to Online Password Security
Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh devised a technique using inkblots to provide an extra layer of security for passwords stored for authenticating online user accounts. The developers — doctoral student Jeremiah Blocki, and faculty members Manuel Blum and Anupam Datta — described their system called Generating panOptic Turing Tests to Tell Computers and…
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Research Consortium Applies X-ray Lasers to Drug Molecules
A group of eight universities and research institutes in the U.S. is advancing the use of X-ray laser technology in biology, with direct applications in finding molecular targets for new therapies. The Center for Biology with X-ray Laser, or BioXFEL, is funded by a $25 million grant from National Science Foundation, led by University at…
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Computer Learning Process Developed for Robotic Arm Movement
Computer scientists at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York developed an algorithm to fine-tune movements of industrial robotic arms, through feedback and learning from interactions with humans. A team from the lab of computer science professor Ashutosh Saxena will present its findings next month at the Neural Information Processing Systems conference in Lake Tahoe, California.…
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Algorithm Improves Activity Tracking for Wellness Apps
Engineers and physiologists at Northwestern University in Chicago developed an algorithm to improve the way health and wellness apps on smartphones track a user’s physical movements. Professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation Konrad Kording, with colleagues Stephen Antos and Mark Albert, published an advance version of their findings online in the Journal of Neuroscience Methods…
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Algorithm Designed for Cars to Alleviate Traffic Jams
A computer science professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology proposed a mathematical model for monitoring traffic flow in cars to prevent temporary traffic jams that could be implemented with technology already in some vehicles. Berthold Horn, a faculty member in MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, discussed his algorithm earlier this month at IEEE’s…