Researchers at the University of California, Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering have developed a novel paper-like material for lithium-ion batteries. It has the potential to boost by several times the specific energy, or amount of energy that can be delivered per unit weight of the battery.

It's nearly 50 years since Gordon Moore predicted that the density of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every two years. "Moore's Law" has turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy that technologists pushed to meet, but to continue into the future, engineers will have to make radical changes to the structure or composition of circuits. One potential way to achieve this is to develop devices based on single-molecule connections.

Nanometer-sized "drones" that deliver a special type of healing molecule to fat deposits in arteries could become a new way to prevent heart attacks caused by atherosclerosis, according to a study in pre-clinical models by scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Columbia University Medical Center. These findings are published in the February 18th online issue of Science Translational Medicine.

One of the biggest ideas in treating disease involves material so small it isn't even visible. Miniscule gold particles – the size of several atoms – are being touted as vehicles to send drugs exactly where they are needed in the body, minimizing side effects and the dosage needed.

Enhancing the electron emission of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) is key for applications ranging from cold cathodes used in high-resolution electron microscopes to portable X-ray imaging systems. In a paper recently published in Nanotechnology, a team led by Professor My Ali El Khakani, from the Energie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre of INRS (INRS-EMT), has reported an original approach for the development of novel graphenated-MWCNTs with enhanced field electron emission (FEE) properties.

Carbon nanocoils (CNCs) composed of helical shaped carbon nanofibers have potential applications including mechanical springs and nano-solenoids. There are some reports which measure the spring constant of CNCs.

Apple on Tuesday was awarded a patent on a headset that could let iPhones be part of augmented or virtual reality displays.

A Purdue innovation that enables people to use a new class of hands-free, gesture-based 3D modeling software is being commercialized by Zero UI, a Cupertino, California-based company that specializes in 3D modeling technology.

Computer chips' clocks have stopped getting faster. To keep delivering performance improvements, chipmakers are instead giving chips more processing units, or cores, which can execute computations in parallel.

A group called Elemental Path has posted a Kickstarter project aimed at kids, or perhaps more accurately, their parents. And they want investors to offer funds to both build an idea and a finished product. They call their idea, cognitoys—toys with some degree of cognition so that kids that play with them can interact. It is a grand idea, filled with both promise and trepidation.

Did the National Security Agency plant spyware deep in the hard drives of thousands of computers used by foreign governments, banks and other surveillance targets around the world?

How many remotes does it take to watch television, stream Netflix or record your favorite show on DVR?

Strap on the Samsung Gear S or the Sony SmartWatch 3 if you want to take a jog on the beach or head out for a bike ride without your phone clunking along.

The Chinese tradition of giving gifts of money in red envelopes at Lunar New Year has turned into big business for Web giants Alibaba and Tencent, which now both offer electronic "hong bao".

Money-losing Sony will spin off its video-and-sound business into a separate company and shrink its headquarters as part of a three-year turnaround plan to speed up decision-making and become profitable again.

Snapchat, the vanishing-image service, is seeking to raise venture capital in a deal that would value the startup at $19 billion, The New York times reported Wednesday.

For the first time in six years, Energy Star certification, a standard seal of approval for energy efficiency, has been expanded to include another major household appliance.

Ever since the invention of the first camera obscura and the advent of photography in the 19th century, scientists have been fascinated by the use of light sensors to capture the world around us from the perspective of a man-made machine. Most recently, all eyes have been on image sensors relying on CCD or CMOS technology. These state-of-the-art camera devices can convert optical images into an electronic signal, and are used in applications for sectors including healthcare, automotive, media or security.

Thanks to space technology, some Parisian Metro riders now enjoy a very high-tech commute. A satellite spin-off is paving the way for more comfortable journeys.

Television broadcasts in 3D promised to give people an extra dimension in viewing movies, sport and other entertainment but take up of the technology has not been that great. This is not the first time the industry has tried to use television screens to bring 3D to our living rooms. So what's going wrong?

A Swedish company has cracked the challenge of scaling up wave energy, with the help of technology from researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Small wireless computing devices, ranging from the size of a matchbox to the size of a dime are going to change the way Florida monitors its water quality, sea level rise, hurricanes, agriculture, aquaculture, and even its aging senior population. The types of sensing devices developed by computer scientist Jason Hallstrom, Ph.D., who recently joined Florida Atlantic University, can collect information about the surrounding environment and transmit that information to cloud-based computing systems that store, analyze and present that information to educators, researchers and decision-makers. Deployable at massive scales, the technology represents a paradigm shift in how our world is observed and managed.

Russia's search engine provider Yandex asked local antitrust authorities Wednesday to investigate Google for unfairly keeping its rivals' services off its mobile devices.

Ride-hailing app Uber plans to launch its carpooling service in Los Angeles, one of the most congested cities in the world.

For 2015, Volkswagen's best-selling vehicle, the Jetta compact sedan, builds on its fine road handling character and adds a nicer interior, freshened front and rear styling, new safety features and a more fuel thrifty diesel engine.

A San Francisco taxi company is kicking its 82-year-old brand to the curb and renaming itself after a smartphone app in the latest sign of how mobile technology is changing the way people get a ride.

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday announced a deal to buy LoopPay, a young digital wallet firm challenging Apple Pay at retailer checkout terminals.

Joshua Levinson was about to splurge on some exercise equipment, but a personal finance app on his smartphone gave him a friendly reminder: He'd just recently dropped $150 for Valentine's Day.

Uber said Wednesday that it expanded its latest funding round to pick another billion dollars from investors eager to put money into the controversial ride-sharing service.

Could desalination be the answer to California's drought? As parts of the state become drier, scientists are looking at ways to turn seawater into drinkable water.

RMIT's Dr Abhijit Date was awarded the $AUD132,000 grant for his research into a sustainable and economical fresh water management system that could be used in coastal areas of India and salt-affected farming land in Australia.

With 13,000 international buyers, Toy Fair 2015 looks and sounds like the best-behaved children's party ever. Without the young ones in attendance, of course.

Iran is concerned by a Russian cybersecurity firm's report suggesting a new family of malicious programs and worms is infecting computers there and elsewhere in the world, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Television viewers in 10 U.S. markets are now able to watch their local NBC stations live on computers and mobile devices—as long as they are paying customers.

Cuba has temporarily reduced the hourly charge for using state-run Internet cafes in the country's first small but substantive public move to increase online access since the declaration of detente with the U.S.

(Phys.org)—Photosynthesis – the ubiquitous yet remarkable process by which most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria convert light energy into chemical energy – provides the atmospheric oxygen and organic compounds fundamental to the evolution of life on Earth, and in so doing captures some six times more energy than humans consume while annually converting roughly 100 billion tons of carbon into biomass. In the effort to find alternatives to fossil fuels, the field of artificial photosynthesis – a chemical process that replicates natural photosynthesis – seeks to capture and store energy from visible light, including sunlight, in the chemical bonds of what is known as a solar fuel (for example, hydrogen, methane or methanol).

Limpet teeth might be the strongest natural material known to man, a new study has found.

Researchers from Chongqing University in China have developed a high sensitive fluorescence-based sensor device that can rapidly identify cancer related volatile organic compounds—biomarkers found exclusively in the exhaled breath of some people with lung cancer.

A research team led by the University of Chicago's Dmitri Talapin has demonstrated how semiconductors can be soldered and still deliver good electronic performance.

Terpenes and their derivatives exert important biological and pharmaceutical functions. Starting out from a few basic building blocks nature elegantly builds up complex structures. Chemically particularly challenging are bridged ring systems such as eucalyptol. Chemists at the Technische Universität München (TUM) have now developed a catalyst that initiates the formation of such compounds. A special feature of the catalyst: it self-assembles from smaller units.

Using a newly developed X-ray source, scientists have revealed how a new type of pain-relievers works - bonding to the same neuroreceptors that morphine does, but without the accompanying physical dependence.

A new cellular labeling strategy gives researchers an efficient tool for studying the development of tissue that could help prevent the onset of obesity and cardiovascular disease.

A labeling compound identified at A*STAR that specifically marks neuronal stem cells is not only a useful research tool, but could also assist clinical efforts to repair neurological damage in patients.

Researchers succeeded in creating an electrocatalyst that is needed for storing electric energy made of carbon and iron.

Whereas resistance to antibiotics complicates certain treatments, antimicrobial silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are gaining popularity for medical use. These particles are toxic for certain bacteria, but what about for humans? Researchers at INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier Research Centre have taken a step toward understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that affect these particles. In an article published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Denis Girard's team established for the first time that AgNP induce stress in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which is one of the signs of nanotoxicity.

Criminals with a penchant for dyeing their hair could soon pay for their vanity. Scientists have found a way to analyze hair samples at crime scenes to rapidly determine whether it was colored and what brand of dye was used. Their report appears in the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry.

In recent years, scientists have found a surprising a connection between some people with autism and certain cancer patients: They have mutations in the same gene, one that codes for a protein critical for normal cellular health. Now scientists have reported in the ACS journal Biochemistry that the defects reduce the activity and stability of the protein. Their findings could someday help lead to new treatments for both sets of patients.

Addressing the needs of a company that sells mango as raw material for processing as puree, nectar or juice, researchers at the University of Guanajuato (UGTO), in the center of Mexico, designed a prototype pasteurization machine and a procedures manual to keep products in excellent condition after harvest.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), including Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis, are hard to completely cure. Globally, IBDs affect more than 4 million people, today. However, Professor Soichi Tanabe (Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University) and his collaborators have demonstrated that 10-hydroxy-cis-12-octadecenoic acid (HYA), a gut microbial metabolite of linoleic acid, has a suppressive effect on intestinal inflammation. HYA is expected to be practically applied as a functional food.