ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Discovery offers starting point for better gene-editing tools

Posted: 26 May 2022 12:18 PM PDT

New research has big implications for genomic medicine. Scientists have defined with atomic precision a new genome editing tool that is less than half the size of CRISPR-Cas9 -- currently the most reliable genome editing system. This new tool would allow scientists to fit genetic editors into smaller viral delivery systems to fix a variety of diseases.

How to tie-dye cotton with acorns and rust

Posted: 26 May 2022 12:18 PM PDT

Tie-dyeing is a fun activity that can spice up clothes with colorful patterns. Although kits are available in stores, nature provides dyes that can be extracted from items found in one's yard -- for example, acorns and rust. Researchers now present a 'green' process for tie-dyeing cotton with renewable resources and wastes that undergraduate students can easily do under minimal supervision. The activity links together science, art and sustainability.

Autonomous underwater imaging: Faster and more accurate

Posted: 26 May 2022 11:48 AM PDT

Recently conducted tests used new algorithms to outperform state-of-the-art programming for autonomous underwater sonar imaging, significantly improving the speed and accuracy for identifying objects such as explosive mines, sunken ships, airplane black boxes, pipelines and corrosion on ship hulls.

Finding coherence in quantum chaos

Posted: 26 May 2022 10:53 AM PDT

A theoretical breakthrough in understanding quantum chaos could open new paths into researching quantum information and quantum computing, many-body physics, black holes, and the still-elusive quantum to classical transition.

A unique catalyst paves the way for plastic upcycling

Posted: 26 May 2022 09:57 AM PDT

A recently developed catalyst for breaking down plastics continues to advance plastic upcycling processes. In 2020, scientists developed the first processive inorganic catalyst to deconstruct polyolefin plastics into molecules that can be used to create more valuable products. Now, the team has developed and validated a strategy to speed up the transformation without sacrificing desirable products.

Arc volcanoes are wetter than previously thought, with scientific and economic implications

Posted: 26 May 2022 09:21 AM PDT

The percentage of water in arc volcanoes, which form above subduction zones, may be far more than many previous studies have calculated. This increased amount of water has broad implications for understanding how Earth's lower crust forms, how magma erupts through the crust, and how economically important mineral ore deposits form, according to a new article.

New light shed on cell membranes

Posted: 26 May 2022 09:21 AM PDT

Researchers are using light in novel ways to better image biological samples.

Researchers hunt for one-pole magnets by combining cosmic rays and particle accelerators

Posted: 26 May 2022 08:28 AM PDT

Particle accelerators have helped researcher to draw new leading limits on the existence of magnetic monopoles from the collisions of energetic cosmic rays bombarding the Earth's atmosphere.

3D in a snap: Next generation system for imaging organoids

Posted: 26 May 2022 08:28 AM PDT

A team of researchers has built a better system to quickly produce high-resolution 3D images in real time, providing a quantitative analysis of organoids.

Flash Joule heating process recycles plastic from end-of-life F-150 trucks into high-value graphene for new vehicles

Posted: 26 May 2022 08:28 AM PDT

Chemists have processed waste plastic from end-of-life trucks into graphene for composite materials in new vehicles.

Agriculture tech use opens possibility of digital havoc

Posted: 26 May 2022 06:55 AM PDT

Wide-ranging use of smart technologies is raising global agricultural production but international researchers warn this digital-age phenomenon could reap a crop of another kind -- cybersecurity attacks. Complex IT and math modelling has highlighted the risks.

New non-radioactive, neutral reagent reveals viruses in clear detail

Posted: 26 May 2022 06:55 AM PDT

Researchers have demonstrated the benefits of a new non-radioactive, neutral negative staining reagent by imaging viruses at nanometer-scale. The salt-presenting reagent is a structurally stable and neutral molecule with a longer shelf life and less procurement restrictions than the conventionally used reagent, uranyl acetate.

Wealthiest homeowners most at risk of wildfire hazard

Posted: 26 May 2022 06:55 AM PDT

The top ten per cent most valuable homes in the western United States are 70% more likely to be in high wildfire hazard areas than median-value properties, according to a new study.

Helping submersibles navigate more safely in shallow water

Posted: 26 May 2022 06:55 AM PDT

Researchers propose a process for improving the accuracy of acoustic positioning in shallow water using a mathematical method for removing the reflected waves. This work may lead to the safer navigation of submarines and divers in ports and other narrow waters.

Researchers use CRISPR technology to modify starches in potatoes

Posted: 25 May 2022 01:37 PM PDT

Humble potatoes are a rich source not only of dietary carbohydrates for humans, but also of starches for numerous industrial applications. Scientists are learning how to alter the ratio of potatoes' two starch molecules -- amylose and amylopectin -- to increase both culinary and industrial applications.

Tiny robotic crab is smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot

Posted: 25 May 2022 12:17 PM PDT

Engineers have developed the smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot -- and it comes in the form of a tiny, adorable peekytoe crab. Just a half-millimeter wide, the tiny crabs can bend, twist, crawl, walk, turn and even jump. Although the research is exploratory at this point, the researchers believe their technology might bring the field closer to realizing micro-sized robots that can perform practical tasks inside tightly confined spaces.

Chemists' HAT trick for greener chemical synthesis

Posted: 25 May 2022 08:08 AM PDT

A technique used in chemical synthesis is called hydrogen atom transfer, or HAT. It's a potentially powerful and versatile chemical tool, but technical constraints have limited its use. Now chemists have borrowed a technique from the chemistry of energy storage to accomplish HAT with fewer chemicals and less cost.