Topic

Looking at ways to encode an image as a file, one byte in the file contributes information to one pixel (PPM files) or a small group of pixels (GIF, JPEG). In other image technologies such as wavelets, certain bytes contribute much more information than others. Lossy...

This emissions control system effectively reduces up to 100% of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from fossil fuel combustion engines. It is suitable for gasoline, natural gas, propane, syngas, and diesel engines. The Emission Reduction System technology is...

A company’s current product is applied in granular or prill form, and a coating acts to inhibit the release of the product within. The company is looking for a method to modify the release of the organic compound. The compound becomes active when it comes into contact with...

A company supplies a variety of chemicals, including inverse emulsions that consist of a very-high-molecular weight, water-soluble polymer dispersed in a continuous oil phase. The typical ratio of the key components is approximately 1:1:1...

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology have developed a whispering gallery microcavity based on plasmons - electromagnetic waves that race across the surfaces of metals. This plasmonic whispering gallery microcavity consists of a silica...

Over a million people attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington last week. With extremely tight security restricting access, photographer David Bergman found an ingenious way to photograph the event, with the help of imaging technology used on the Mars Rover. According to an article on his...

A design for bendable electronic devices produces parts that can be wrapped around complex shapes, without reducing electronic function. The technology is based on semiconductor nanomaterials that offer high stretchability and large twistability. Potential uses include electronic devices for eye cameras, smart surgical...

Scientists from Dartmouth College and Ice Engineering LLC have invented a way to cheaply and effectively keep ice off power lines. Called a variable resistance cable (VRC) de-icing system, the technology switches the electrical resistance of a standard power line from low to high. The high resistance automatically creates heat...

Northeastern University was recently awarded a $9 million federal research grant to develop new multi-sensor technology systems for cars and trucks that will allow for real-time assessment of road and bridge infrastructure across the country. Northeastern will lead the five-year VOTERS (Versatile Onboard Traffic Embedded...

According to research performed at Sandia National Laboratories, the current trend of increasing the speed of supercomputers by increasing the number of processor cores on individual chips may actually worsen performance for many complex applications. A Sandia team simulated key algorithms for deriving knowledge from large data...

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a prototype malaria test printed on a disposable Mylar card that could easily slip into your wallet and still work when you took it out, even months later. The cards are a critical step in a long-term project funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates...

Fleeing drivers are a common problem for law enforcement. Existing traps, made from elastic, may halt a Hyundai, but they're no match for a Hummer. In addition, officers put themselves at risk of being run down while setting up the traps. Imaginative design and engineering funded by the Small Business Innovation Research Office of the...

A microscopic biological sensor that detects Salmonella bacteria in lab tests has been developed by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and university colleagues. The nanotechnology-based sensor could be adapted to detect other food-borne pathogens as well. The biosensor was developed by ARS engineer...

Johns Hopkins researchers have invented dust-particle-size devices that can be used to grab and remove living cells from hard-to-reach places without the need for electrical wires, tubes, or batteries. Instead, the devices are actuated by thermal or biochemical signals. The mass-producible microgrippers each measure approximately...

University of Florida scientists achieved a new record in the efficiency of blue organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. Because blue is essential to white light, the advance helps pave the way to lighting that is much more efficient than compact fluorescents, but can produce high-quality light similar to standard...

UCLA scientists have used brain-scan technology, along with patient-specific information on Alzheimer's disease risks, to help diagnose brain aging before symptoms appear. The researchers used positron emission tomography (PET), which allows the revealing of plaques and tangles, the hallmarks of neurodegeneration. The PET...

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and Cornell University have developed a new generation of microscopic particles for molecular imaging, constituting one of the first promising nanoparticle platforms that may be readily adapted for tumor targeting and treatment in the clinic. According to the...

In the comics, the Phantom is a masked crime fighter who protected the innocent from pirates, hijackers and other evildoers. While not as dashing or exciting as its costumed namesake, an electromagnetic phantom - a carbon and polymer mixture that simulates the human body - is being readied by the National Institute of...

A chip has been designed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to increase the usefulness of monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuit (MMIC) components at submillimeter-wave frequencies. The chip incorporates two integrated, radial E-plane probes with an MMIC amplifier in between, thus creating a fully integrated waveguide module....