Week of Sun, 2007-04-29 00:00 to Sat, 2007-05-05 23:59

A RAND Corporation report issued today says Save the World Air Inc. would need to conduct further laboratory studies and in-use testing to determine the effectiveness of its Zero Emission Fuel Saver (ZEFS) technology that is intended to reduce tailpipe pollutants and increase fuel efficiency in gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.

“RAND's analysis of laboratory testing data provided by Save the World Air that deals with the performance of the ZEFS device installed in vehicles found at best mixed results from the tests and therefore could not confirm the effectiveness of the technology in actual use,” said Michael Toman, director of the Environment Energy and Economic Development program at RAND, which carried out the study.

The degree - BSc in Security Technology - is based on the security needs of today's world, but is nonetheless ahead of its time. It's the first degree course in the UK to combine online encryption with the study of the underpinning technologies behind surveillance and security gadgets.

Students will get to use cutting-edge equipment and will be taught to master techniques such as retinal scanning, through-wall radar imaging, infra-red surveillance and detection, and online encryption.

Manufacturers of the cellular modules at the heart of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications are currently facing an extremely difficult market characterized by increasing commoditization and shrinking gross margins.

A new study of this market from ABI Research reports that nearly 18 million cellular modules shipped into M2M applications in 2006, including telematics, telemetry, and Wireless Local Loop, and suggests that this number should grow to roughly 90 million in 2012. Telematics shipments are expected to increase at moderate double-digit growth rates, while both telemetry and WLL shipments should see strong growth in excess of 30% CAGR.

Solar powered mobility scooters could soon be on the streets thanks to the work of a student at The University of Nottingham. Matt Alvey, who is studying Architecture and Environmental Design, says the photovoltaic (solar electric) recharging system will turn the mobility vehicles truly green.

The project began when a company that manufactures secure storage sheds for the scooters approached the university about integrating solar power to recharge the vehicle. If Matt can find a solution it will overcome problems often associated with connecting mains power to the shed. This can prove costly as it requires a qualified electrician to do the work. It would also prevent the possibility of the charger overloading the owner's mains electricity supply to their home. Matt says “the other big advantage is that it will generate electricity by a renewable means and therefore has no harmful emissions”.

In the ongoing war on terror, intelligence on enemy movements saves lives on the battlefield. A small group of vanguard Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, took that crucial mission to new heights during their extended rotation in eastern Afghanistan. These Soldiers control the Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle designed exclusively for enemy surveillance.

Wally Schirra, the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, has died. He was 84 years old.

Schirra's NASA career began with his selection as one of the original seven Mercury astronauts in 1959 and spans the period from Americas first tentative steps into space to the missions to the moon.

A research team composed of electrochemists and materials scientists from two continents has produced a new form of the industrially-important metal platinum: 24-facet nanocrystals whose catalytic activity per unit area can be as much as four times higher than existing commercial platinum catalysts.

The new platinum nanocrystals, whose "tetrahexahedral" structure had not previously been reported in the metal, could improve the efficiency of chemical processes such as those used to catalyze fuel oxidation and produce hydrogen for fuel cells.

NETGEAR, Inc. will be acquiring privately-held Infrant Technologies, Inc.

Founded in March 2001 and based in Fremont, California, Infrant is dedicated to bringing enterprise-level storage technology to small businesses and professional home users at affordable prices. Its ReadyNAS™ family of network attached storage (NAS) products implements redundant array of independent disks (RAID) data protection, enabling users to store and protect data easily, efficiently and intelligently. The ReadyNAS lineup is powered by Infrant’s proprietary network storage processor, Linux-based RAIDiator™ operating system and patent-pending Expandable Protection (X-RAID™) technology, which allows for automatic RAID volume expansion as additional drives are added.

NEC Corporation, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) have together successfully demonstrated the world's first quantum bit (qubit) circuit that can control the strength of coupling between qubits. Technology achieving control of the coupling strength between qubits is vital to the realization of a practical quantum computer, and has been long awaited in the scientific field.

A group of world leading telecom technology manufacturers and network operators comprised of Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, France Telecom/Orange, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, T-Mobile, and Vodafone have announced a joint initiative aimed at driving forward the realisation of the next-generation of high performance mobile broadband networks based on 3GPP Release 8 "Long Term Evolution / System Architecture Evolution" (LTE/SAE) specifications.

Combining diamond anvils and powerful lasers, laboratory researchers have developed a technique that should be able to squeeze materials to pressures 100 to 1,000 times greater than possible today, reproducing conditions expected in the cores of supergiant planets.

Until now, these pressures have only been available experimentally next to underground nuclear explosions.

Earthrace started undergoing engine repairs in Koror, 26 April 2007, however the damage has been more extensive than originally anticipated.

Earthrace Captain, Pete Bethune, says on removing the head, one of the exhaust valves was found to have a 5mm x 5mm square chip missing from one side, with no suggestion as to what might have caused the failure.

In the ongoing war on terror, intelligence on enemy movements saves lives on the battlefield. A small group of vanguard Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, took that crucial mission to new heights during their extended rotation in eastern Afghanistan. These Soldiers control the Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle designed exclusively for enemy surveillance.

In recent years, the science of biology has been dominated by genomics – the study of genes and their functions. The genomics era is now making way for the era of proteomics – the study of the proteins that genes encode.

Future proteomics research should see a substantial acceleration with the development of a new device that provides the first monolithic interface between mass spectrometry and silicon/silica-based microfluidic “lab-on-a-chip” technologies. This new device, called a multinozzle nanoelectrospray emitter array, was developed by scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Solar energy could become more affordable following a breakthrough by UNSW scientists, who have boosted the efficiency of solar cell technology.

The advance could see the price of an installed solar system for an average house fall from around $20,000 to $15,000. Up to 45 percent of the cost of solar cell technology is due to the high cost of the silicon used to convert sunlight to electricity.

Taiwan Commate Computer Inc.(COMMELL) has introduced the 3.5" Embedded Fanless Miniboard LE-365. This single board consists of the VIA Eden 1GHz processor, drawing a max. power 5W with the VIA PadLock Security Engine and the CX700M is based on a highly sophisticated power efficient architecture that enables such rich integration into a compact package with a maximum power envelope of just 3.5 watts. The CX700M features the VIA UniChrome™ Pro II Integrated Graphics Processor (IGP).

The first-ever application of a breakthrough self-assembling nanotechnology to conventional chip manufacturing, borrowing a process from nature to build the next generation computer chips.

The natural pattern-creating process that forms seashells, snowflakes, and enamel on teeth has been harnessed by IBM to form trillions of holes to create insulating vacuums around the miles of nano-scale wires packed next to each other inside each computer chip.

Modec officially opened its new production plant based in Binley, Coventry, on the 8th of March.

The battery powered Modec vehicle provides the world’s first high performance, emission free alternative to traditional diesel delivery fleets and has been heralded as the future of urban commercial transport. Quiet, efficient and with the added advantage of zero tax and zero congestion charge, the vehicle has already attracted orders from Tesco, Hildon Water, Islington Borough Council and dozens of other organisations keen to improve their fleet environmental credentials. Around 500 Modec vehicles are expected to be produced in the first year.

Rice University scientists today revealed a breakthrough method for producing molecular specks of semiconductors called quantum dots, a discovery that could clear the way for better, cheaper solar energy panels.

The research, by scientists at Rice's Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN), appears this week in the journal Small. It describes a new chemical method for making four-legged cadmium selenide quantum dots, which previous research has shown to be particularly effective at converting sunlight into electrical energy.

Members of the 820th Security Forces Group are set to employ a new high-technology search system in the war on terrorism that will help increase base security that also can deter acts of aggression against coalition forces.

Known as the Z backscatter van, the $1.2 million, 13,000-pound, lead-lined delivery truck uses low-power X-rays to detect the presence of radiological or low-density organic materials like explosives or drugs hidden inside metal structures, said Staff Sgt. Jonathan Hobbs, an 820th SFG sensors technician.

New Horizons spacecraft has provided new data on the Jupiter system, stunning scientists with never-before-seen perspectives of the giant planet's atmosphere, rings, moons and magnetosphere.

These new views include the closest look yet at the Earth-sized "Little Red Spot" storm churning materials through Jupiter's cloud tops; detailed images of small satellites herding dust and boulders through Jupiter's faint rings; and of volcanic eruptions and circular grooves on the planet's largest moons.

An interactive "supermap" that portrays the mutations and spread of the avian flu around the globe over time should help researchers and policy makers better understand the virus and anticipate further outbreaks, according to a new study involving University of Colorado at Boulder and Ohio State University researchers.

The research team used data from the known evolution and spread of the avian flu, known as H5N1, to create a roadmap of viral spread in time and space, said CU-Boulder ecology and evolutionary biology Assistant Professor Robert Guralnick, a study co-author. The team projected genetic and geographic information onto an interactive globe using Google Earth technology, allowing users to fly virtually around the planet and analyze movements and changes in the genomes, or genetic blueprints, of known avian flu sub-strains that have been sequenced since the virus was first detected in Guangdong, China, in 1996.

TIBCO Software Inc. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Spotfire Inc., a rapidly growing, privately held software company headquartered in Somerville, Mass, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $195 million.

Spotfire provides an interactive, visual approach to data analysis that puts the power to ask and answer questions on demand directly into the hands of a wide range of business professionals. Unlike current first generation business intelligence systems, the Spotfire Enterprise Analytic platform is architected to deliver a radically faster experience and one that is infinitely more adaptable to multiple industries and business processes. The Spotfire Enterprise Analytics platform delivers the ability to ask and answer virtually unconstrained questions.

comScore revealed the top 20 UK Internet properties and the top gaining properties during March 2007, based on data collected through its comScore World Metrix audience ratings service. Notable findings include:

· Google maintained its place as the most-visited site in the UK with 27.3 million UK visitors, followed by Microsoft Sites and eBay, which attracted 26.8 and 22 million visitors, respectively.

New Stryker simulators at the John A. Pittman Mission Support Training Facility here are already earning their keep.

Perhaps the most realistic training simulator to date, the Common Driver Trainer/Stryker Variant is designed to provide initial training for drivers and vehicle commanders on all 10 variants of the Army's workhorse urban combat vehicle. The $800,000 simulators are expected to save lives, money and time.

Over the past three years, there has been a sharp escalation in the development and marketing of edutainment toys aimed at toddlers, grade-school children, and more recently, at infants, reports In-Stat (http://www.in-stat.com). The edutainment market is distinguished by innovative uses of existing technology typically found in mainstream consumer electronics products, the high-tech market research firm says. Therefore, semiconductor companies now have an opportunity to leverage existing, portable, multimedia solutions in order to power products found in the price-sensitive edutainment toy market.

A sixth defendant has pleaded guilty in connection with Operation D-Elite, the first criminal enforcement action targeting individuals committing copyright infringement on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network using BitTorrent technology, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Gregory A. White for the Northern District of Ohio announced today.

JupiterResearch has found teens ages 17 and older among the leaders in embracing new technology. In a new report, "Teens and New Technology: Understanding the Adoption Cycle," JupiterResearch found older teens are more than twice as likely to be early adopters of some key new technologies as younger teens. Despite the initial disparity, the study indicates the gap narrows significantly as technology matures. "Adoption of technologies like cell phones or MP3 players among older teens is initially much higher in the early stages, but within a short period of time, that changes substantially, " said Zia Daniell Wigder, Research Director at JupiterResearch. "For example, in 2004, eight percent of older teens embraced the iPod as compared to two percent of the younger teen population. Within two years, use by both 13- and 17-year-olds had increased to almost 30 percent." According to the study, the same trend does not apply to internet usage. During a five year period, 2002 - 2006, there was a near uniform increase in time spent online among all teens. Although older teens recorded the highest hours-per-week online, usage by most teen groups increased by approximately 20 percent regardless of age. "Teens play a very significant role in influencing the purchasing decisions for new technology. Although older teens are consistently found to be the early adopters, the rate at which younger teens adopt the technology is not insignificant," said David Schatsky, President of JupiterResearch. "Understanding this behavior will help marketers determine the best strategy for promoting new technology to younger consumers."

A series of IDE Flash Disk Modules (FDM’s), from Super Talent Technology, are on display this week at the Embedded Systems Conference.

These FDM’s are based on NAND Flash technology, which is an
ideal non-volatile storage medium for FDM’s due to its compact size, high performance and reliability, and low cost. With an industry standard IDE interface, Super Talent’s FDM’s are compatible with virtually any motherboard. Models are offered with a 40-pin or 44-pin IDE connector, and with the connector oriented either vertically or horizontally. The horizontal IDE connector is designed for low-profile enclosures. These FDM’s are available in a variety of capacities up to 8GigaBytes.

A state-of-the-art production facility for the Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS)has been unveiled by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]. The new $3.7 million facility will produce the Container Launch Unit (CLU) subsystem of the NLOS-LS.

The NLOS-LS Precision Attack Missile (PAM), produced by Raytheon Missile Systems, is capable of targeting visually-obscured or over-the-horizon adversaries as part of the U.S. Army’s Modular and Future Combat Force, as well as Special Operations Forces. The self-contained system, which can operate either vehicle-mounted or deployed independently in the field, is capable of autonomous or manned operations. Raytheon Missile Systems will also produce components of the CLU at their facility in Tucson, AZ.

Researchers at The University of Warwick and Leicester University have used an artificial snot (nasal mucus) to significantly enhance the performance of electronic noses.

The researchers have coated the sensors used by odour sensing "electronic noses” with a mix of polymers that mimics the action of the mucus in the natural nose. This greatly improves the performance of the electronic devices allowing them to pick out a more diverse range of smells.

Materials scientists will tell you that to best understand, characterize and eventually utilize the properties of a specific material, you have to be able to define how the atoms within it are arranged. In the case of common crystals, there are numerous methods, such as X-ray diffraction, by which this can be done. Not so for nanostructured materials (structures with atomic arrangements at a scale of 1-100 nanometers, or between 5 to 1,000 atoms in size) where the inability to determine atomic order with high precision has been dubbed the “nanostructure problem.”

Flight testing has begun on the Gunship with new 30 mm cannons at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

The Boeing Company is modifying four gunships for the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command by installing and testing the cannons so existing airplanes have increased combat effectiveness. The AC-130U features increased weapon stand-off range, improved first-shot accuracy, and a suite of electronic and infrared countermeasures that greatly enhance its survivability. Boeing will deliver the gunships later this year.

A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. has indicted two companies operating a digital currency business and their owners on charges of money laundering, conspiracy, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

EMC Corporation and Oracle have announced several key areas of joint support as part of the Oracle® Unbreakable Linux program. The EMC E-Lab, together with Oracle engineering, has tested and qualified Oracle Enterprise Linux on core EMC platforms and software products to help ensure ease of deployment and use.

In addition to extensive joint testing, Oracle Enterprise Linux customers can reduce implementation time and risk by leveraging pre-defined best practices and reference architectures. These tools document end-to-end environments where EMC and Oracle have tested and validated a complete solution. The solutions are backed by the EMC Oracle Joint Escalation Center where EMC and Oracle collaborate to resolve customer issues quickly and efficiently.

Teams of high school students from Edwin O. Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut and Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, West Virginia won first place in their events at the annual U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Science Bowl® Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Challenge at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center. The first event, contested on a ten meter straight track, rewarded the fastest cars. The second event tested a model car’s ability to scale a six-foot inclined track in less than two minutes. The winning teams won cash prizes of $1,750 for their schools’ science departments.

A group of students and staff attended the reception to showcase their energy efficient electric cart, part of the Racing Green project to design, build and race a zero-emission electric hybrid fuel cell racing car. Malcolm Wicks, Minister for Science and Innovation, attended the event and sat in the Imperial racing cart.

Violent solar events, like flares and coronal mass ejections, are the hurricanes of space weather, capable of causing havoc with satellites, power grids, and radio communication, including the Global Positioning System. The sun is heading into a new season of turbulent solar activity. Just like its seasonal hurricane predictions, on April 25, 2007, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will issue an update on efforts to predict the sun’s next solar cycle. The solar cycle is about 11 years long and marked by increases in the number of Earth-impacting solar storms and sunspots, dark areas on the sun caused by the intense, unstable magnetic fields that power fierce solar weather.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have devised a system for manipulating and precisely positioning individual nanowires on semiconductor wafers. Their technique, described in a recent paper,* allows them to fabricate sophisticated test structures to explore the properties of nanowires, using only optical microscopy and conventional photolithographic processing in lieu of advanced (and expensive) tools such as focused ion or electron beams.

Websense SC Operations Limited, has made a pre-conditional cash offer to acquire all of the issued and to-be-issued ordinary shares, excluding treasury shares, of SurfControl PLC. Under the terms of the proposal, SurfControl shareholders will receive 700 pence in cash for each SurfControl share. The proposal values SurfControl’s existing issued share capital at approximately £201 million (approximately US$400 million).

Mass production of 16 gigabit (Gb) NAND flash, the highest capacity memory chip now available has begun. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., said it will fabricate the devices in 51 nanometers (nm), the finest process technology to be used in memory mass production to date.

51nm NAND flash chips can be produced 60 percent more efficiently than those produced with 60nm process technology. Samsung achieved this new migration milestone just eight months after announcing production of its 60nm 8Gb NAND flash last August.

Maj. Paul "Max" Moga and the world's only fifth-generation fighter aircraft may be appearing at an airshow near you this season.

Following a 12-minute performance April 27, Air Combat Command officials gave Major Moga and his F-22A Raptor demonstration the official seal of approval.

The evaluation and approval process is something every Air Force aerial demonstration team - from single aircraft demos to the Thunderbirds - must complete.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has taken aim at a bogus patent threatening innovative technologies that enhance consumer awareness, requesting a reexamination by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).

NeoMedia Technologies, Inc., claims to own rights to all systems that provide information over computer networks using database-like lookup procedures that rely on scanned inputs, such as a barcode. NeoMedia has used these claims not only to threaten and sue innovators in the mobile information space, but also to intimidate projects focused on increasing awareness among consumers about the social and environmental impact of the products they buy. For example, the Consumer Information Lab at the College of Natural Resources at the University of California at Berkeley uses such technology to examine how health, environmental, and social information affects consumers' shopping behavior and decision-making. Were NeoMedia to control the patent rights to this technology, such projects could be severely limited and potentially shut down.

An international team led by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., has developed a prototype of the first fully integrated prosthetic arm that can be controlled naturally, provide sensory feedback and allows for eight degrees of freedom—a level of control far beyond the current state of the art for prosthetic limbs. Proto 1, developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Revolutionizing Prosthetics Program, is a complete limb system that also includes a virtual environment used for patient training, clinical configuration, and to record limb movements and control signals during clinical investigations.

A demonstration project begun this week at an abandoned West Virginia coal mine will showcase a technology that can convert methane, a greenhouse gas, into a source of clean energy. EPA, the Department of Energy (DOE), and industry have partnered to support this first U.S. trial of the technology.

"This project shows how we can work through public-private partnerships to develop innovative, climate-friendly technologies," said Bill Wehrum, acting assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. "By capturing methane from coal mines, we can promote clean energy while reducing greenhouse gases."

Terahertz (THz) radiation, or far-infrared light, is potentially very useful for security applications, as it can penetrate clothing and other materials to provide images of concealed weapons, drugs, or other objects. However, THz scanners must usually be very close to the objects they are imaging. Doubts have lingered over whether it is possible to use THz waves to image objects that are far away, because water vapor in air absorbs THz radiation so strongly that most of it never reaches the object to be imaged.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. has closed its offering of $2.2 billion aggregate principal amount of 6.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2015, including $200 million of notes that were issued in connection with the exercise in full of the initial purchasers’ over-allotment option. The notes were privately offered to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

U.S. Reps. Don Manzullo (R-IL) and Jay Inslee (D-WA) have introduced bipartisan legislation to protect Internet music Web casters from unfair government regulations that threaten to put them out of business and end the access to music over the Internet for more than 70 million Americans.

The Internet Radio Equality Act would reverse a recent decision of the federal Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) to at least triple the amount of royalties Internet radio broadcasters pay to copyright holders for playing a song.

As products made with nanometer-scale materials and devices spread to more industries and markets, there is a growing opportunity and responsibility to leverage nanotechnology to reduce pollution, conserve resources and, ultimately, build a "clean" economy, advises a new report from the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.

A "strong marriage" between nanotechnology and the principles and practices of green chemistry and green engineering "holds the key to building an environmentally sustainable society in the 21st century," concludes Green Nanotechnology: It's Easier Than You Think. Summarizing proceedings at a national American Chemical Society symposium and four workshops held in 2006, the new report was authored by science writer Karen Schmidt for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, an initiative of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Shelby Automobiles will use newly-developed Ford Racing GT500 performance packs to help transform a limited number of 2007 and 2008 Ford Shelby GT500’s into “Super Snake” coupes. The Super Snake post-title package will include enhancements to the Ford Shelby GT500’s handling, styling and power; tuning options will range from a warranted 600 HP V8 to over 725 HP (unwarranted). Only a limited number of Super Snakes will be built per model year at the Shelby Automobiles facility in Las Vegas beginning in late 2007.

An electrical circuit that should carry enough power to produce the long-sought goal of controlled high-yield nuclear fusion and, equally important, do it every 10 seconds, has undergone extensive preliminary experiments and computer simulations at Sandia National Laboratories’ Z machine facility.

Z, when it fires, is already the largest producer of X-rays on Earth and has been used to produce fusion neutrons. But rapid bursts are necessary for future generating plants to produce electrical power from sea water. This had not been thought achievable till now.

All systems are moving toward "go" here as officials prepare for upcoming tests on the next-generation strike fighter, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.

A new mission control room opened its doors earlier this month, equipped so the Integrated Test Force will be able to monitor real-time performance of the aircraft during its test missions here beginning this fall.

47 high school and college teams participated in NASA's 14th annual Great Moonbuggy Race at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center April 13-14 in Huntsville, Ala.

The Huntsville Center for Technology was named champion of the high school division. The Rochester Institute of Technology team of Rochester, N.Y., rumbled to victory in the college division, overcoming not only the simulated lunar terrain, but also wet, stormy weather that interrupted the race several times throughout the day.

Hynix Semiconductor, Inc. (‘Hynix’ or ‘the Company’, www.hynix.com) officially announced the groundbreaking of its front-end 12-inch wafer fabrication facility in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Korea.

Hynix plans to manufacture high-density NAND Flash memory devices implementing sub-48 nanometer process technology in the new facility.

The Company aims to complete construction in the second quarter of next year and commence mass-production in the third quarter, investing total of 3.8 trillion won for two years and four months.