Researchers at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY have developed technology that converts the vibrations generated by passing traffic into electricity. This electricity can be used to charge small, battery- powered wireless sensors that monitor the structural integrity of bridges. According to Assistant Professor Edward S. Sazonov,...

Physicians first used injections of gold salts in the early 1900s to ease arthritis, but treatment took months to take effect and side effects included rashes, mouth sores, and kidney damage. Now treatments like methotrexate and biologically engineered drugs are preferred over gold. Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have...

The Environment Purification Materials team of AIST’s Synergy Materials Research Center (Japan) has successfully developed and tested significantly improved electrochemical reactors for the selective elimination of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in a range of industrial exhaust gases containing...

A portfolio of technologies applies mid-infrared spectroscopy to the analysis of fluids. Any fluid can be analyzed, including blood, serum, and other biological fluids. Tests are non-destructive. The techniques require no reagents or other chemicals, and thus there are no chemicals to store or dispose of. The...

Technologies leading to sustainable and green production of polymers are sought. Candidate technologies should fit recently developed definitions for green chemistries. Chemistries that produce safe chemicals, that use safer solvents and auxiliaries, and/or that produce chemicals designed for...

This technology need is for an aerosol with properties that enable it to be easily launched using a pulsed jet fogger. It also must have reflectivity or other optical properties, and must be safe for human cutaneous and pulmonary contact. The aerosol should have optical properties that can be manipulated using laser light or...

Cryogenic shrouds have been designed and built for use in thermo- mechanical testing of samples of thermal- insulation panels on cryogenic vessels. In the original application for which these shrouds were specifically designed, the samples are representative of the large area thermal-...

A software library implements a new methodology of detecting faults in numerical subroutines, thus enabling application programs that contain the subroutines to recover transparently from single-event upsets. The software library in question is fault-detecting middleware that is wrapped...

Strategic Assessment of Risk and Technology (START) is a user-friendly computer program that assists human managers in making decisions regarding research- and- development investment portfolios in the presence of uncertainties and of non- technological constraints that include budgetary...

TIGRAS is client-side software, which provides tracking-station equipment planning, allocation, and scheduling services to the DSMS (Deep Space Mission System). TIGRAS provides functions for schedulers to coordinate the DSN (Deep Space Network) antenna usage time and to resolve the resource usage conflicts among tracking...

Maestro software provides a secure and distributed mission planning system for long-term missions in general, and the Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER) specifically. Maestro, the successor to the Science Activity Planner, has a heavy emphasis on portability and distributed operations, and requires no data...

The Portable Unit for Metabolic Analysis (PUMA) is an instrument that measures several quantities indicative of human metabolic function. Specifically, this instrument makes time-resolved measurements of temperature, pressure, flow, and the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide in breath during both...

Two documents discuss a breadboard version of advanced transponders that, when fully developed, would be installed on future spacecraft to fly in deep space. These transponders will be required to be capable of operation on any deepspace-communications uplink frequency channel between 7,145...

A document presents additional information on the means of implementing a capability for wide tuning of microwave receiver and transmitter frequencies in the development reported in the immediately preceding article, "VCO PLL Frequency Synthesizers for Spacecraft Transponders" (NPO-42909). The...

A paper discusses general problems in estimation and control of the states (positions, attitudes, and velocities) of spacecraft flying in formation, then addresses the particular formation-flying-control problem of synchronization of deadbands. The paper presents a...

A team of JPL researchers has analyzed stereoscopic vision software and produced a document describing its performance. This software is of the type used in maneuvering exploratory robotic vehicles on Martian terrain. The software in question utilizes correlations between portions of the...

A paper presents a method of utilizing some flight data, aboard a spacecraft that includes reaction wheels for attitude control, to estimate the inertia matrix of the spacecraft. The required data are digitized samples of (1) the spacecraft attitude in an inertial reference frame as measured, for...

A short document summarizes the redesign of a xenon-ion spacecraft thruster to increase its operational lifetime beyond a limit heretofore imposed by nonuniform ion-impact erosion of an accelerator electrode grid. A peak in the ion current density on the centerline of the thruster causes...

A report discusses an algorithm for an onboard planning and execution technology to support the exploration and characterization of geological features by autonomous rovers. A rover that is capable of deciding which observations are more important relieves the engineering team from much of the burden...

Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing (Leesburg, VA) offers the SVME/DMV-1901 6U VME single-board computer with the Intel® Core™ Duo processor running at speeds of 1.67 and 2.0 GHz.

For the last 20 years we have connected our monitors to our computer systems having the confidence that upon turn-on, we could surf or create with never a consideration of whether the display would operate satisfactorily. VGA (Video Graphics Adaptor) technology enabled us to do that with CRTs as well...

An optical filter consisting of a multilayer spectral coating on a flexible membrane has been designed to be placed in front of the 200-in. (5.08-m) Hale telescope on Mt. Palomar. The filter is intended to protect the telescope against solar radiant flux and limit solar heating of the interior of the telescope dome...

Breakthrough Imaging of Blood Vessels and Other Anatomical Structures This breakthrough technology allows for the imaging of vessels, blood vessels or any other type of vessels in biological bodies, using high penetration radiation. Fluorescent Nanodiamonds Glowing nanodiamonds can be tracked as they move...

It took millions of dollars and more than a decade of research and development, but a unique hydrogen sensor invented and patented in 1994 by scientists at Sandia National Laboratories is about to finally find its way into the commercial sector. What makes the Wide-Range Hydrogen Sensor unique is the fact that it was the first to...

By adding features to commonly used chemical- engineering software packages, researchers at the University of Arkansas, the University of Akron, and Chemstations Inc. have developed adaptive technology that allows blind or visually impaired students and working professionals to perform the essential functions of...

An input assisting device for CAD operation is designed to circumvent time-consuming and conventional methods of using a mouse. The technology comprises sensors and a physical/structural framework which is most effective when constructing a three dimensional object in a free-space field. This device enhances the synergy between...

Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech, have created a computer program called Pathogen Simulation (PathSim) to study the progression of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in humans. David Thorley-Lawson, PhD, professor of pathology at Tufts...

NASA Tech Briefs' 2007 National Nano Engineering Conference (NNEC) is being held November 14-15 at the Marriott Boston Copley Place. The NNEC is the premier event focused on current and future nano- technology developments. The event also includes the presentation of the third annual Nano 50™ Awards with a...

A wide range of new processing and preparation technologies for use in pharmaceutical preparation is sought. Such technologies may enhance current chemistry processes such as finer milling that leads to faster in-process reactions. Or, the technologies may be applicable to pharmaceuticals after preparation, such as techniques...

When discovered in 1938, the crystal ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) was observed to exhibit unusual electrical properties. A Florida State University chemist, Naresh S. Dalal, and three colleagues of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario in Argentina used the supercomputer at FSU's Supercomputer Computations Research...

Low NOX Burner Technology and Advanced Combustion Technology A company is interested in technology partnership or license agreement of deNOX technologies such as SCR or SNCR and advanced burner technologies. Nanotechnologies Wanted S.O.F.C. (solid oxide fuel cell) technology; low-temperature SOFC solid oxide materials...

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has licensed two technologies that could bring affordable graphic reading systems to the blind and visually impaired. The two systems bring electronic images to life in the same way that Braille makes words readable. The first technology, a tactile graphic display...

Bite into a hot pepper, and you'll feel the burn. But then, your tongue will go numb. It is that numbing process that scientists are studying in an effort to reduce post-surgery pain. Scientists have found that the chemical that makes chile peppers so hot (capsaicin) can actually relieve the pain of surgery. Capsaicin is being dripped...

A process has been developed to manufacture a self-aligned transistor where a thermally intolerant material may be used as a material of a gate insulating film and the gate electrode. The process makes it possible to produce high-performance, highly reliable, and inexpensive transistor devices. It leads to the improvement of...

The recent rash of wildfires in Southern California will likely increase concern over long-term global warming. Research published in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Nature concluded that wildfires in the boreal regions across northern Canada in 2003 were a major factor in higher carbon dioxide levels in that vast area,...

The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA's Glenn Research Center has developed a new silicon carbide differential amplifier integrated circuit chip that may provide benefits to anything requiring long-lasting electronic circuits in very hot environments. The chip exceeded 1,700 hours of continuous operation at 500...

Researchers at Purdue University, working with the U.S Air Force, have developed tiny wireless sensors resilient enough to survive the harsh conditions inside jet engines to detect when critical bearings are close to failing and prevent breakdowns. The devices use MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology to achieve a...

By activating multiple fluorescent proteins in neurons, neuroscientists at Harvard University have developed a method to image the brain and nervous system in a plethora of colors dubbed a "Brainbow." The technique, developed by Harvard scientists Jean Livet, Joshua R. Sanes, and Jeff W. Lichtman, allows researchers to tag...

A tiny sensor that can detect magnetic field changes as small as 70 Femtoteslas — equivalent to the brain waves of a person daydreaming — has been demonstrated at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The sensor could operate on a single AA battery and reduce the costs of non-invasive biomagnetic...

A company is seeking new analgesic actives. Speed of effectiveness, toleration, and shelf-life are of particular interest. Analgesics vary in dosage load, dosage form, molecular size, speed of effectiveness, and side effects or toxicity. The form of the new proposed analgesic active is open to discussion. A minimum of...

Duke University Medical Center researchers have pinpointed a new marker that may help identify those at greatest risk for cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. The Duke researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to track regions of the brain that become...

The use of robots to help infants with special needs learn cognitive movements is the focus of research at the University of Delaware. Two university researchers - James Galloway, associate professor of physical therapy, and Sunil Agrawal, professor of mechanical engineering - have outfitted kid-size robots to provide mobility...

Neuroscientists have advanced brain- machine interface (BMI) technology to the point where severely handicapped people who cannot contract even one leg or arm muscle can now independently compose and send e-mails and operate a TV in their homes. They are using only their thoughts to execute these actions. Cutting-edge...

MIT researchers have found a way to use the technology of optical tweezers to pick up, hold, and move around individual cells and other objects on the surface of a microchip. The development could become an important tool for both biological research and materials research, say MIT researchers Matthew J. Lang and David C....

Researchers from the Neurological Institute at University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC) have found that Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) helps patients with Tourette Syndrome (TS) – the neurobehavioral disorder characterized by sudden, repetitive muscle movements and vocalizations. DBS involves the surgical...

NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center has developed a prototype of an advanced resistive exercise device (ARED) that can perform a number of different exercises on one machine. Conceived to help astronauts maintain strength and endurance in low-gravity environments, the ARED could also be advantageous in terrestrial settings. Read more...

A company seeks microwavable packaging that produces authentic grilled foods in a home microwave oven with typical microwave food preparation times and convenience (3-8 minutes). All materials must be generally recognized as safe for contact with human food and withstand temperatures from -40 degrees to 450 degrees F....

Credit card transactions may be a little more secure due to the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Version 2, which was recently adopted by the payment card industry. The system is co-authored by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with 23...

Scientists have identified a means to detect neural progenitor cells, which can develop into neurons and other nervous system cells, in the human brain using an imaging method called magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The discovery could pave the way for improved diagnosis and treatment for depression, Parkinson's disease,...

Though not among the top 10 causes of death, decompression sickness can be fatal. A University of Houston professor is seeking to develop a laser-based system that can diagnose the sickness in seconds. Decompression sickness affects those who experience sudden, drastic changes in the air or water pressure surrounding...

A light-emitting diode (LED) array, formed on a substrate using an etching method, is shaped to produce uniform light intensity and high production yield. A terrace formed under the light-emitting edge surface together with the grooves protects the LED from handling-induced damage during mounting because it is formed in a portion...

Finding and fixing design bugs in computer chips after they've been fabricated in silicon can be a tedious and costly process due to signals being buried inside the silicone. Engineering researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a new technology called FogClear to automate post-silicon debugging. FogClear uses...

Fuel and Solar Cell Technologies This search for fuel cell system technologies includes the following: (1) Membrane Electronic Assembly (MEA) design & manufacturing; (2) MEA Membrane manufacturer/ supplier; (3) Supplier or material vendor of SGL graphite for stack manufacturing; (4) Hydrogen storage alloy technology;...

The Web- based Real- Time Asset Monitoring (RAM) module enables emergency personnel to monitor and analyze data in the event of a natural disaster. The software can manage many disparate sources of data - including streaming data - within a facility, city, or county. Learn more here.