Topic

Johns Hopkins University researchers have developed biodegradable nanosized particles that can bypass the body's mucus secretions to deliver a sustained-release medication cargo. The nanoparticles, which degrade over time into harmless components, could someday be used to carry life-saving drugs to individuals suffering...

Do the Russians know something we don’t? In the waning days of 2009, the head of Russia’s federal space agency, Dr. Anatoly Perminov, made huge headlines by telling a Russian radio station that their space agency was contemplating sending a mission to Apophis, an 885-foot (270-meter) asteroid first...

This week’s question concerns tablet computers. Apple Computer is strongly rumored to soon unveil a tablet computer able to play music and video, read E-books, and provide Internet access. Several PC makers, including Motorola and Hewlett-Packard, also demonstrated tablet computers at...

I mentioned in my last blog post I will travel to Anaheim in early February to attend several shows, notably the Pacific Design & Manufacturing Show and Medical Design & Manufacturing West. That means once again subjecting myself to the rigors of airport security - whipping out my photo ID, emptying my pockets...

As the holidays fade and the New Year unfolds, it’s back to business for most of us. For NASA Tech Briefs, that includes a bunch of trade shows and conferences our editors will attend over the next few months. One show I plan to attend is the Pacific Design & Manufacturing Show, taking place at the Anaheim Convention...

The first Question of the Week for 2010 concerns airline security. The recent foiled attempt by a Nigerian terrorist to set off a bomb aboard a Northwest Airlines flight landing in Detroit has renewed concerns that current X-ray technology is insufficient in detecting concealed weapons and...

The speckFINDER HD from Dazor (St. Louis, MO) is a digital computer microscope designed with a flat panel digital display for training, instructing, or supervising. With three USB outputs and a video output, users can output files to a Flash drive or project live images to an overhead screen. The high-resolution,...

As a potential source of food for long-duration space missions, space-grown plants could give astronauts an important psychological boost, as fresh vegetables could serve as a welcomed change from reconstituted foods in plastic bags. Even more, these plants could likely aid in the recycling of air and...

Silica-filled polymers made from ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) have been found to be useful as ablative thermal-insulation materials. These polymers have been investigated as candidates to replace some previously developed polymeric ablative rocket-engine insulating materials...