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ASD(R&E) S&T <strong>News</strong> Bulletinat the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, havedesigned a metal-organic framework (MOF) to collectcommon uranium-containing ions dissolved in seawater.The material was at least four times better than the conventionalplastic adsorbent at drawing the potential nuclearfuel.Tags: Advanced materialsCarbon in a twirl: The science behind a selfassemblednano-carbon helixNanowerk, 16MAY2013An international team of researchers from Austria, the UKand Germany have now achieved a bilateral formation ofinorganic nanomaterials in a controlled environment byimplementing a new method. Their method might leadthe way to the formation of more complex nano-networks.TECHNICAL ARTICLETags: Advanced materials, NanomaterialsCatching Graphene Butterflies: DramaticallyChanging Electronic Properties of World’sThinnest MaterialScience Daily, 15MAY2013An international team of researches (UK, France, Spain) hasfound that when graphene is placed on top of insulatingboron nitride, or ‘white graphene’, the electronic propertiesof graphene change dramatically revealing a patternresembling a butterfly, referred to as the elusive Hofstadterbutterfly. Combining graphene with other materials inmultiple-layered structures could lead to novel applicationsnot yet explored by science or industry. TECHNICALARTICLETags: Advanced materials, Materials scienceAUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS & ROBOTICSVideo Friday: Droneapult Launch, Robot RopeAscender, and Spock vs. SpockIEEE Spectrum, 17MAY2013Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAV (Unmanned Combat AirVehicle) launching from an aircraft carrier.Tags: Autonomous systems & roboticsBIG DATAComputational tool translates complex datainto simplified 2-dimensional imagesScience Daily, 20MAY2013Researchers at Columbia University and StanfordUniversity have developed a computational method thatenables scientists to visualize and interpret “high-dimensional”data produced by single-cell measurement technologiessuch as mass cytometry. TECHNICAL ARTICLETags: Big dataVolume 3, Issue 21 ■ 24MAY2013BIOTECHNOLOGYEngineered Microbes Grow in the DarkScience Daily, 20MAY2013Scientists at the University of California, Davis usedsynthetic biology approaches to probe and rewire photoautotrophic(exclusively relying on carbon dioxide andlight energy for growth) cyanobacterial metabolism for theability to grow without light energy.Tags: Biotechnology, BiologyCells as living calculatorsMIT <strong>News</strong>, 15MAY2013Using analog computation circuits, MIT engineers designcells that can compute logarithms, divide and take squareroots by exploiting natural biochemical functions that arealready present in the cell rather than by reinventing themwith digital logic, thus making them more efficient thanthe digital circuits pursued by most synthetic biologists.TECHNICAL ARTICLETags: BiotechnologyNovel brain training device to reconnect brainand paralyzed limb after strokeScience Daily, 15MAY2013According to researchers in Hong Kong, the Brain TrainingDevice is able to guide stroke patients to relearn the reconnectionbetween the brain and the limb, with a new designon the EEG headset and the EMG forearm brace to transmitdata for controlling a hand robotic system interfaced by atelecare software platform using iPad app.Tags: Biotechnology, NeuroscienceBREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGYFriction in the nano-world: Physicists discovera new kind of frictionScience Daily, 15MAY2013Researchers in Germany examined how and why singlepolymer molecules in various solvents slide over or stickto certain surfaces. Their goal was to understand the basiclaws of physics at the molecular scale in order to developtargeted anti-friction surfaces and suitable lubricants.TECHNICAL ARTICLETags: Breakthrough technologyNanoscavengers could usher in next generationwater purificationScience Daily, 15MAY2013Stanford University reported that it has developed a newtype of nanoscavenger with a synthetic core that is ultraresponsiveto magnetism, allowing the easy and efficientrecovery of virtually every one of the nanoscale purifiers.TECHNICAL ARTICLETags: Breakthrough technologycontinued...BACK TO TOP2

ASD(R&E) S&T <strong>News</strong> BulletinVolume 3, Issue 21 ■ 24MAY2013“Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineeringthat changes the world.”ISAAC ASIMOVCOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGYAll-optical broadband ... cheaper, faster andgreenerEU R&D <strong>News</strong>, 17MAY2013A European team of researchers is exploring new ways ofusing fibre-optic technology to deliver ultra-high-speedinternet access to even the remotest locations in Europe, atless cost and with less impact on the environment.Tags: Communications Technology, S&T EUNew record in wireless data transmissionScience Daily, 17MAY2013Researchers in Germany have achieved the wireless transmissionof 40 Gbit/s at 240 GHz over a distance of onekilometer. Their most recent demonstration sets a newworld record and ties in seamlessly with the capacity ofoptical fiber transmission.Tags: Communications Technology, S&T GermanyCan Math Models of Gaming Strategies Be Usedto Detect Terrorism Networks?Science <strong>News</strong>line, 16MAY2013Researchers utilize the similarities in the previous terroristcell model to "Seepage" (a two-player outdoor game), where"greens" try to prevent the sludge from moving to the sinksby blocking nodes. A number of different winning strategiesemployed by both players are explored when playedon a DAG. The Seepage and green number for disrupting agiven hierarchical social network are analyzed. TECHNICALARTICLETags: Communications Technology, MathematicsMaking frequency-hopping radios practicalMIT <strong>News</strong>, 15MAY2013Researchers at MIT have developed a new method formanufacturing filters that can isolate any frequency in awide band that should improve their performance whileenabling 14 times as many of them to be crammed on asingle chip.Tags: Communications TechnologyCYBER SECURITYNew software spots, isolates cyber-attacks toprotect networked control systemsScience Daily, 16MAY2013Researchers from North Carolina State University havedeveloped a software algorithm that detects and isolatescyber-attacks on networked control systems—which areused to coordinate transportation, power and other infrastructureacross the United States.Tags: Cyber securityELECTRONIC WARFARENew payload brings jamming capability to anArmy UAS for the first time<strong>Defense</strong> Systems, 15MAY2013Raytheon has delivered two electronic attack payloads foruse on the Army’s MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraftsystem, which will mark the first time the Army will havejamming capability on a UAS.Tags: Electronic Warfare, Military technologyENERGYExxon Takes Algae Fuel Back to the DrawingBoardMIT Technology Review, 20MAY2013The idea behind the Exxon-Synthetic Genomics project wasto sort through large numbers of algae strains, looking forones that might produce fuel economically—or that couldbe easily modified with “conventional” approaches, such asmaking a few changes to algae’s genetic material. A $300million project seems to have failed to produce a cheap wayto make fuel from algae.Tags: EnergyENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCEReading rock to understand how climatechange unfoldsScience Daily, 19MAY2013Geologists are studying rocks to understand the naturalrules that govern the Earth’s climate in the absence ofhuman activity. New work by researchers at the Universityof Wisconsin is challenging many assumptions about theways drastic climate change unfolds—and what to expectnext.Tags: Environmental science, ClimatologyINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYIron-platinum alloys could be new-generationhard drivesEurekAlert, 20MAY2013UC Davis researchers have found a convenient way to makelayered iron-platinum alloys and tailor their properties, apromising material for a potential new generation of datastorage media.Tags: Information Technology, Advanced materialscontinued...BACK TO TOP3

ASD(R&E) S&T <strong>News</strong> BulletinVolume 3, Issue 21 ■ 24MAY2013MATERIALS SCIENCENew insights into how materials transfer heatcould lead to improved electronicsScience Daily, 16MAY2013Researchers from the University of Toronto and CarnegieMellon University have published new insights into howmaterials transfer heat, which could lead eventually tosmaller, more powerful electronic devices. TECHNICALARTICLETags: Materials scienceMEDICAL SCIENCESWireless signals could transform brain-traumadiagnosticsKurzweilAI, 16MAY2013University of California, Berkeley researchers havedeveloped a device that uses wireless signals to providereal-time, non-invasive diagnoses of brain swelling orbleeding. The device analyzes data from low energy,electromagnetic waves, similar to the kind used to transmitradio and mobile signals. It could potentially become acost-effective tool for medical diagnostics and to triageinjuries.Tags: Medical Sciences, Biotechnology<strong>Feature</strong>d ResourceCSOProvides news, analysis and research on a broadrange of security and risk management topics. Areasof focus include information security, physical security,business continuity, identity and access management,loss prevention and more. RSSNEUROSCIENCEComplex brain function depends on flexibilityMIT <strong>News</strong>, 20MAY2013There are many neurons, especially in brain regions, thatperform sophisticated functions such as thinking andplanning. Instead of responding exclusively to one stimulusor task, these neurons react in different ways to a widevariety of things. Researchers from MIT and ColumbiaUniversity report that these neurons are essential forcomplex cognitive tasks, such as learning new behavior.TECHNICAL ARTICLETags: NeuroscienceDoes thinking about professors make your moreintelligent?The Conversation, 17MAY2013I ask you to think about the word “professor.” I get youto write down all of the characteristics and qualities ofa professor that you can think of in a five minute period.Then I ask you—in an ostensibly unrelated task—to do ageneral knowledge quiz. Some research suggests you wouldget a better score on this general knowledge test if you’djust been thinking about professors than if I’d asked you tolist the characteristics and qualities of soccer hooligans.Tags: NeuroscienceA New System Interprets the Brain Signals ofPeople with Disabilities And Helps Them toInteract with Their EnvironmentScience <strong>News</strong>line, 16MAY2013A European project called BrainAble has developed aprototype that allows people with severe disabilities toperform actions that they could not otherwise do, simplyby reading electrical brain signals, without moving amuscle. The prototype consists of a combination of humancomputerinterfaces composed of Brain Computer Interface(BCI) sensors with other physiological sensors thatmeasure a person’s physical and emotional state (affectivecomputing) and with virtual reality environments, and theconnection of these interfaces with smart homes and onlinesocial networks.Tags: NeuroscienceShocks to the brain improve mathematicalabilitiesNature <strong>News</strong>, 16MAY2013According to researchers at Oxford University, randomelectrical stimulation, a technique that applies a gentlecurrent through the skull, leads to a long-lasting boost inthe speed of mental calculations. Benefits of electrical brainstimulation lasted months but critics point to study’s smallsize as a weakness.Tags: Neuroscience, S&T UKBrain Rewires Itself After Damage or Injury,Life Scientists DiscoverScience Daily, 15MAY2013Scientists from UCLA and Australia have pinpointed regionsof the brain involved in creating alternate pathways whenthe brain’s primary “learning center” is damaged. Theyfound that parts of the prefrontal cortex take over whenthe hippocampus, the brain’s key center of learning andmemory formation, is disabled. TECHNICAL ARTICLETags: Neuroscience, S&T EUcontinued...BACK TO TOP4