Technology News for April 29, 2008

Now, a micromachine that spins silk just like a spider
A pair of German researchers has created a prototype micromachine that spins silk just like a spider. ANI

Ancient Antarctic sediment will reveal climate change history
Newly discovered ancient Antarctic sediment cores will give international scientists a close-up look at fluctuations that occurred in Antarcticas ice sheet and marine and terrestrial life as the climate cooled considerably between 20 and 14 million years ago. ANI

Optics study may pave way for faster, energy efficient computers
North Carolina State University physicists have made a significant advance in gaining a deeper understanding of how light interacts with matter. ANI

Space war would leave destructive legacy
Two new studies have determined that if a war ever breaks out in space, it will leave a destructive legacy, with resulting debris harming satellites for decades. ANI

Sticky nanotubes hold key to creating standards for nano-manufacturing
A scientist of Indian origin and his team have precisely measured the forces required to peel tiny nanotubes off of other materials, opening up the possibility of creating standards for nano-manufacturing. ANI

Sunflower farming began in Mexico more than 2,000 years ago
Contrary to the earlier belief, sunflowers were grown as a domesticated crop in Mexico more than 2,000 years ago, says a new study. ANI

Increasingly popular recreational drug gives primates fast and brief high
Brain-imaging studies conducted on animals by American scientists have provided clues as to why an increasingly popular recreational drug that causes hallucinations and motor-function impairment in humans is abused. ANI

Two extinct plants discovered in Australia
Scientists have announced the discovery of two blooming woodland plants in Australia, which were long thought to be extinct. ANI

Experimenting may see birth of human-chimp hybrid humanzee, warns scientist
Scientists have bred ligers, the worlds largest cats by breeding lions with tigers, zorses by doing the same with zebra and horses, and zonkeys by breeding zebra and donkeys. Now, a leading scientist has warned that unless the UK government lays boundaries to such experimenting, the day may not be far away when the world may see humanzees, the offspring of humans and chimps. ANI

Pricing may lower CO2 emissions from electric generators
Levying a charge on carbon dioxide emissions from electric generators may help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, suggest scientists. ANI

US citizens contribute twice as much greenhouse gas to atmosphere as global average
A study by an MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) class has estimated that anyone who lives in the US contributes more than twice as much greenhouse gas to the atmosphere as the global average. ANI

Scientists take first nanoscale image of soil
Cornell researchers have taken a closer look at soil than anyone else - at a scale of 50 nanometers - and revealed that though it may look similar to the naked eye, soil has an incredible variety. ANI

Ancient ecosystems organized much like our own
A new study has determined that networks of feeding relationships among marine species that lived hundreds of millions of years ago are remarkably similar to those of today. ANI

Human immune cell protein opens new front in fighting AIDS virus
A research group supported by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has blocked HIV infection in the test tube by inactivating a human protein expressed in key immune cells - a process that may offer a way to circumvent problems with drug resistance. ANI

Global warming is affecting poor children the most
UNICEF, the UN childrens agency, has warned that global warming is already affecting the prospects for children in the worlds poorer countries. ANI

High self-esteem may not always be healthy
Always placing yourself on a pedestal isnt all its cracked up to be, says a leading psychologist, whose research reveals that people with fragile high self-esteem are more defensive if they feel attacked by others than those who have more stable and secure self-worth. ANI