Notable & Newsworthy

March 2014

Is Google a threat to electronic component distributors?

Jon Barrett, Publitek

Google is synonymous with search, and due to its overwhelming dominance, nearly everything a search engine optimising professional does is to ensure we comply with best practice, and avoid the penalties. One such best practice is the use of structured markup – using tags to define the context of content �

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Date:

03/31/2014

Tracing paper may boost solar cell efficiency

A piece of transparent paper made from wood-based cellulose fibers

Tracing paper may boost solar cell efficiency

A piece of transparent paper made from wood-based cellulose fibers is an unlikely addition to a solar cell that actually increases its efficiency. The work by US and Chinese scientists builds on recent developments in paper-based electronics that could offer a green and sustainable future for electronic devices by

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Date:

03/28/2014

Dolphin whistle translated by computer in real time

Wild Dolphin Project

Dolphin whistle translated by computer in real time

Hal Hodson, New Scientist

It was late August 2013 and Denise Herzing was swimming in the Caribbean. The dolphin pod she had been tracking for the past 25 years was playing around her boat. Suddenly, she heard one of them say, "Sargassum". "I was like whoa! We have a match. I was stunned," says Herzing, who is th

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Date:

03/27/2014

In-Situ bandgap tuning of graphene oxide achieved by electrochemical bias

The newly-fabricated EDL transistor with graphene oxide (GO) made by WPI-MANA researchers allows fine tuning of bandgaps in the GO, meaning that conductivity, as well as magnetic and optical properties, can be carefully controlled.

In-Situ bandgap tuning of graphene oxide achieved by electrochemical bias

The ability to modulate the physical properties of graphene oxide within electronic components could have numerous applications in technology, WPI-MANA scientists report Super-strong graphene oxide (GO) sheets are useful for ultrathin, flexible nano-electronic devices, and display unique properties including

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Date:

03/27/2014

Awardees for Caltech's Resnick Intitute Resonate Awards chosen

The advisory panel for Caltech’s Resnick Sustainability Institute 2014 Resonate Awards, which honor breakthrough achievements in energy science and sustainability, has been announced. Included are executives from Google and Facebook, scientists from top universities and national labs, current and former members of

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Date:

03/25/2014

Wolfson & Audyssey revolutionize audio recordings on mobile devices

WM1811 Stereo CODEC with 3 digital audio interfaces

Wolfson & Audyssey revolutionize audio recordings on mobile devices

Wolfson Microelectronics and Audyssey Laboratories have announced a strategic partnership to greatly improve audio capture on mobile devices. Wolfson is the first partner to bring Audyssey’s AudioFrame™ advanced audio recording technology to market with its low-power Audio Hub product portfolio. With AudioFram

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Date:

03/25/2014

The solar panels of the future could be grown from bacteria

Rachel Feltman, Quartz

One day we could have conductive materials that grow, evolve, and self-repair. Researchers at MIT have taken the first steps to creating them. A new study (paywall) describes “living materials” that combine bacterial cells with nonliving materials that can conduct electricity and emit different colors of li

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Date:

03/25/2014

Engineering know-how for printed electronics

The ongoing development of printed electronics continues unabated. This particularly attractive technology is complementing classic silicon microelectronics with thin, lightweight and flexible technologies such as affordable data memory, flexible displays and printed batteries. However, there are still a few hu

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Date:

03/24/2014

Facebook introduces ‘Hack’ programming language

Facebook engineers Bryan O’Sullivan, Julien Verlaguet, and Alok Menghrajani spent the last few years building a programming language unlike any other. Working alongside a handful of others inside the social networking giant, they fashioned a language that lets programmers build complex websites and other

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Date:

03/20/2014

ARM-powered robot breaks world speed record for solving a Rubik’s Cube

The CUBESTORMER 3 robot

ARM-powered robot breaks world speed record for solving a Rubik’s Cube

The CUBESTORMER 3 robot which uses ARM® processor technology has smashed the Guinness World Record™ title for solving a Rubik’s® Cube, recording a time of 3.253 seconds at the Big Bang Fair in Birmingham, UK. It is the fastest-ever time set by a robot for the completion of a Rubik’s cube and the result of

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Date:

03/17/2014

World Science University wants to teach you physics for free

Science Unplugged

World Science University wants to teach you physics for free

John Timmer, arstechnica.com

With online lectures, MOOCs, and open courseware, it's probably never been easier to get access to college-level instruction on a huge variety of topics. But yesterday saw the launch of a new entry dedicated to scientific concepts: the World Science University, launched by the group that runs the World Science Fes

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Date:

03/14/2014

On the 25th anniversary of the web, let’s keep it free and open

The first web server, used by Tim Berners-Lee

On the 25th anniversary of the web, let’s keep it free and open

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web, for the Google Blog

This essay was posted yesterday on the Google Blog -Ed. Today is the web’s 25th birthday. On March 12, 1989, I distributed a proposal to improve information flows: “a ‘web’ of notes with links between them.” Though CERN, as a physics lab, couldn’t justify such a general software project, my boss

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Date:

03/13/2014

Research shows potential to create flexible, semi-transparent solar cells

Thomas Müller, Marco Furchi, Andreas Pospischil (left to right)

Research shows potential to create flexible, semi-transparent solar cells

It does not get any thinner than this: The novel material graphene consists of only one atomic layer of carbon atoms and exhibits very special electronic properties. As it turns out, there are other materials too, which can open up intriguing new technological possibilities if they are arranged in just one or ve

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Date:

03/12/2014

$NREL working to clean air in fracking process$

NREL scientist Qiang Fei examines a fermenter containing microbes that can consume methane at NREL's Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility. NREL is working with partners to see if the microbes can eat the methane vented or flared off gas wells in the fracking process.

NREL working to clean air in fracking process

Bill Scanlon, NREL

In the annals of impressive eating, there was The Cat That Swallowed the Canary and The Eggplant That Ate Chicago. Now, add The Microbe That Consumes the Methane. A microbe capable of digesting methane could save countless tons of greenhouse gas from reaching the atmosphere during the hydraulic fracturing process. Hy

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Date:

03/11/2014

Scientists unlock mystery of out-of-body experiences

fMRI showed a "strong deactivation of the visual cortex" while "activating the left side of several areas associated with kinesthetic imagery"

Scientists unlock mystery of out-of-body experiences

Jordan Kushins, Sploid

Some people claim that they have experienced out-of-body experiences—aka "astral trips"—floating outside of their bodies and watching themselves from the outside. A team of scientists found someone who says she can do this at will and put her into a brain scanner. What they discovered was surprisingly st

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Date:

03/10/2014

STEM higher ed council formed to increase America's STEM talent pipeline

STEMconnector announced its newest initiative - the STEM Higher Education Council (HEC) -- a national forum for college and university leaders to address America's need for STEM talent through innovative education, training and strategic partnerships with business and industry. Rob Denson, President of Des Moi

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Date:

03/06/2014

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