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Bioengineers Develop Endurance-Improving Smart Suit
A $2.6 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard will enable bioengineers to develop a smart suit that helps improve physical endurance for soldiers in the field.The novel wearable system would...
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Synthetic Pores Mimic Important Natural Features
Inspired by nature, an international research team has created synthetic pores that mimic the activity of cellular ion channels, which play a vital role in human health by severely restricting the types of materials allowed to enter cells.The pores the scientists built are permeable to potassium ions...
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Musical Glove Improves Sensation, Mobility
Georgia Tech researchers have created a wireless, musical glove that may improve sensation and motor skills for people with paralyzing spinal cord injury (SCI).The device is called Mobile Music Touch (MMT). The glove, which looks like a workout glove with a small box on the back, is used with a piano...
Question of the Week
Is the traditional resume becoming obsolete?
Facebook plans to launch its own jobs board, working with some existing sites to let users search listings. Similar online developments have led job experts to say that the traditional resume is turning into a thing of the past.
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NASA Concept Plane Combines Three Aircraft Design Features
With its pair of jet engines riding on top, it looks like an airplane that has its wings bolted on upside down. But this innovative 1/11th-scale model recently tested by NASA in a California wind tunnel might represent the future of commercial aviation. Nicknamed AMELIA (Advanced Model for...
News: Materials
Research Paves the Way for Accurate Manufacturing of Complex Aerospace Parts
Producing strong, lightweight, and complex parts for car manufacturing and the aerospace industry is set to become cheaper and more accurate thanks to a new technique developed by engineers from the University of Exeter (UK). The research team has developed a new method...
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Army Radar System Will Allow Unmanned Systems to Fly in National Air Space
By March 2014, the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, an Army unmanned aerial system (UAS), will be able to train in the same airspace as the Boeing 747, with the help of the Army-developed Ground Based Sense and Avoid (GBSAA) system.
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Georgia Tech Transforms Trainer Plane Into a Light Attack Aircraft
Researchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are helping convert an aircraft used to train pilots into one with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), and light attack capabilities. The new aircraft would provide a less expensive alternative to legacy...
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Semiautonomous System Takes the Wheel
A new semiautonomous safety system uses an onboard camera and laser rangefinder to identify hazards in a vehicle’s environment. An engineering team devised an algorithm to analyze the data and identify safe zones — avoiding, for example, barrels in a field, or other cars on a roadway. The system allows a...
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New Device Enables Eye-Controlled Computers
Millions of people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries or amputees could soon interact with their computers and surroundings using just their eyes, thanks to a new device.Composed from off-the-shelf materials, the new device can work out exactly where...
News: Energy
Electrical energy storage is the obstacle preventing more widespread use of renewable energy sources. Due to the unpredictable nature of wind and solar energy, the ability to store this...
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Researchers Develop New Eyes in the Sky
University of Iowa scientists have created a technique to help satellites "see" through the clouds and better estimate the concentration of pollutants, such as soot. The finding is important, because, like GPS systems, clouds block remote-sensing satellites' ability to detect, and thus calculate, the...
Question of the Week
Will the growing number of personal smartphones and tablets in the workplace (and growing expectations) create greater security problems for organizations?
A recent survey from the network security company Fortinet found that Gen-Y employees in the workplace have an expectation that they will be able to use their own mobile smartphones and tablets...
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Racing fans who read NASA Tech Briefs already know about a unique contest being run by circuit protection manufacturer Littelfuse called Speed2Design that gives five lucky engineers the chance to win an all-expenses paid...
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Picatinny Engineers Design New Laser Weapon
Scientists and engineers at Picatinny Arsenal are developing a device that will shoot lightning bolts down laser beams to destroy its target. The Laser- Induced Plasma Channel, or LIPC, is designed to take out targets that conduct electricity better than the air or ground that surrounds them. How did the...
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Lab Develops Air-Cleansing System for Submarines
Creators of a nanotech-based system that captures carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere within a submarine, while providing a more environmentally friendly removal process, have won the Federal Laboratory Consortium Interagency Partnership Award for 2012. The technology — Self Assembled...
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New Tactical Network Set To Begin Fielding
New networking equipment and training that is part of the Army's "Capability Set 13" will begin fielding in October. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas, will be the first recipients of more than 15 new systems included in the set. Over the next two years, a total of 14...
News: Nanotechnology
Researchers creating electricity through photovoltaics want to convert as many of the sun’s wavelengths as possible to achieve maximum efficiency. For this reason, they see indium...
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Researchers Identify Precise Measurement of Radiation Damage
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have for the first time simulated and quantified the early stages of radiation damage that will occur in a given material.
News: Physical Sciences
Algorithm Simulates Particle Collisions on Quantum Computers
Quantum computers are still years away, but a trio of theorists has already figured out at least one talent they may have. According to the theorists, including one from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), physicists might one day use quantum computers to study the...
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Software Simulates How Liquid Droplets Behave on Surfaces
It would make life a lot easier if the surfaces of window panes, corrosion coatings, or microfluidic systems could keep themselves free of water and other liquids. A new simulation software has been developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials in Germany...
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NASA 'Webb Cam' Features Double Vision
NASA's special "Webb-cam," the camera in a giant clean room at NASA Goddard, now has "double vision." Two video cameras focus on what's happening with the very first completed instrument that will fly onboard the James Webb Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope contains four science instruments, but...
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Researchers Use 3D Printing to Improve Living Tissue
University of Pennsylvania researchers have shown that 3D printed templates of filament networks can be used to rapidly create vasculature and improve the function of engineered living tissues.Rather than trying to print a large volume of tissue and leave hollow channels for vasculature in a...
Briefs: Materials
Asymmetric Supercapacitor for Long-Duration Power Storage
A document discusses a project in which a series of novel hybrid positive electrode materials was developed and tested in asymmetric capacitors with carbon negative electrodes. The electrochemical performance of the hybrid capacitors was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and a DC...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System
A document discusses a hyperspectral imaging instrument package designed to be carried aboard a helicopter. It was developed to map the depths of Greenland’s supraglacial lakes. The instrument is capable of telescoping to twice its original length, allowing it to be retracted with the door closed during...
Articles: Automotive
IndyCar racing features some of the most technologically sophisticated automobiles in the world today. Weighing just 1,565 pounds and powered by single- or twin-turbocharged 2.2L V6 engines that produce...
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Articles: Photonics/Optics
Laser diodes are very sensitive to electrostatic discharge (ESD), current/ voltage transients, and temperature changes, and extra care must be taken to ensure the laser diode...
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Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
From apples to oranges, from avocado to zucchini — the fruit and vegetable departments of large supermarkets offer an overwhelming choice of...
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
885-nm Pumped Ceramic Nd:YAG Master Oscillator Power Amplifier Laser System
The performance of a traditional diode pumped solid-state laser that is typically pumped with 808-nm laser diode array (LDA) and crystalline Nd:YAG was improved by using 885-nm LDAs and ceramic Nd:YAG. The advantage is lower quantum defect, which will improve the thermal...

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