ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Building trustworthy big data algorithms Posted: 29 Jan 2015 02:04 PM PST Much of our reams of data sit in large databases of unstructured text. Finding insights among emails, text documents, and websites is extremely difficult unless we can search, characterize, and classify their text data in a meaningful way. A new algorithm shows better accuracy and reproducibility than the leading algorithm for mining unstructured text.

Generating Mobius strips of light Posted: 29 Jan 2015 12:16 PM PST Physicists have experimentally produced Möbius strips from the polarization of light, confirming a theoretical prediction that it is possible for light's electromagnetic field to assume this peculiar shape.

New technique for growing high-efficiency perovskite solar cells Posted: 29 Jan 2015 12:16 PM PST Researchers have revealed a new solution-based hot-casting technique that allows growth of highly efficient and reproducible solar cells from large-area perovskite crystals. The researchers fabricated planar solar cells from pervoskite materials with large crystalline grains that had efficiencies approaching 18%.

Where did the missing oil go? New study says some is sitting on the Gulf floor Posted: 29 Jan 2015 12:15 PM PST Some 6 million to 10 million gallons of oil from the BP oil spill are buried in the sediment on the Gulf floor, about 62 miles southeast of the Mississippi Delta, researchers have discovered.

Public and scientists express strikingly different views about science-related issues Posted: 29 Jan 2015 11:30 AM PST Despite similar views about the overall place of science in America, the general public and scientists often see science-related issues through a different lens, according to a new pair of surveys.

Understanding portable biodetection technology for identifying suspcious substances Posted: 29 Jan 2015 08:35 AM PST The number of portable biodetectors has grown exponentially in the last decade. During this time, first responders could try different devices, but they didn’t have independent, standardized comparisons to determine which devices better met their needs. Now they do.

Rapid test kit detects dengue antibodies from saliva Posted: 29 Jan 2015 07:42 AM PST Finding out whether you have been infected with dengue may soon be as easy as spitting into a rapid test kit. Researchers have developed a paper-based disposable device that will allow dengue-specific antibodies to be detected easily from saliva within 20 minutes. This device is currently undergoing further development for commercialization.

Novel eye-tracking technology detects concussions, head injury severity Posted: 29 Jan 2015 07:40 AM PST New research could move the medical community one step closer toward effectively detecting concussion and quantifying its severity. Neuroscientists and concussion experts present a unique, simple and objective diagnostic tool for concussion that can be utilized in the emergency room or, one day, on the sidelines at sporting events. The study utilized a novel eye-tracking device to effectively measure the severity of concussion or brain injury in patients presenting to emergency departments following head trauma.

Vehicle body made from cotton, hemp, and wood Posted: 29 Jan 2015 06:42 AM PST Carbon and glass fibers reinforce synthetics so that they can be used for vehicle body construction. But in this regard, there is an abundance of potential found in natural fibers -- obtained from hemp, cotton, or wood. If you combined bio-based textile and carbon fibers, you can obtain extremely light yet very sturdy components.

Ultrasound technology made to measure Posted: 29 Jan 2015 06:42 AM PST The range of uses for ultrasound is gigantic; the applied technologies are just as diverse. Researchers are now covering a wide range of applications with a new modular system: From sonar systems to medical ultrasound technologies and all the way to the high frequency range – such as for materials testing.

Solar chip monitors windows Posted: 29 Jan 2015 06:42 AM PST A new kind of radio chip is intended to warn when windows are left open. This way, you can avoid having the heat go out the window on cold days. The sensor also detects break-in attempts early on. The key: This maintenance-free chip powers up with energy supplied by solar power.

Nanomedicines of the future will build on quantum chemistry Posted: 29 Jan 2015 06:41 AM PST Quantum chemical calculations have been used to solve big mysteries in space. Soon the same calculations may be used to produce tomorrow’s cancer drugs, experts say.

Could a new proposed particle help to detect Dark Matter? Posted: 29 Jan 2015 06:41 AM PST Researchers have proposed a new fundamental particle which could explain why no one has managed to detect 'Dark Matter', the elusive missing 85 per cent of the Universe's mass. Dark Matter is thought to exist because of its gravitational effects on stars and galaxies, gravitational lensing (the bending of light rays) around these, and through its imprint on the Cosmic Microwave Background (the afterglow of the Big Bang). Despite compelling indirect evidence and considerable experimental effort, no one has managed to detect Dark Matter directly.