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A method to join and seal the flow field plate to the gas diffusion layer or the coolant plate of a fuel cell structure eliminates seals and gaskets in the fuel cell assembly. This design potentially achieves considerable cost reduction and simplifies assembly. Eliminating the seal reduces the chance of stack failure due to...

A violent fate awaits a white dwarf star that wanders too close to a moderately massive black hole. According to a new study from the University of California at Santa Cruz, the black hole's gravitational pull on the white dwarf would cause tidal forces sufficient to disrupt the stellar remnant and reignite nuclear...

A company is seeking enhancement to an existing consumer package that saves weight, money, shipping costs, and also preserves the product. Current packaging is cylindrical. The new consumer packaging should convey the qualities of freshness, taste, novelty, and differentiation from other products. It should be able to be...

Researchers at the University of Washington developed a tiny camera designed to take high-quality, color pictures in confined spaces. Such a device could find warning signs of esophageal cancer, the fastest growing cancer in the United States. The scanning endoscope developed at UW consists of just a single optical fiber for...

Air-source heat pumps typically deliver 1 1/2 to three times more heating energy to a home than the electric energy they consume. National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers are working to improve the performance of air-source heat pumps even further by providing engineers with computer-based...

A toolkit facilitates quick development of Honeywell Communications Interface (HCI) and OPC-compliant servers. The kit includes a time-out indicator (TOI) feature to overcome situations wherein real-time process control systems become suspended indefinitely or for long time periods. An intermediary object between the client and...

Computational biologists at Virginia Tech have mathematically modeled the process that regulates cell division in a common bacterium. The model was developed to confirm hypotheses, provide new insights, and identify gaps in the scientists' understanding of the molecular machinery that governs replication of DNA and cell...

Using embryonic stem cells from mice, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center researchers have prompted the growth of healthy, functioning muscle cells in mice afflicted with a human model of muscular dystrophy. This is the first time transplanted embryonic stem cells have been shown to restore function to defective muscles in...

The John H. Glenn Research Center has developed a process and benchtop-scale apparatus to detect proteins associated with specific microbes in water. Possible applications include testing of blood and other bodily fluids in medical laboratories, and testing for microbial contamination of liquids. A sample can be prepared and analyzed...

An organization seeks to replace a portion of the starch currently used in its snack foods with protein. While proteins provide the same caloric load as carbohydrates, they are metabolized much more slowly. One potential difficulty is the protein's reaction to heat, which is used to bake or fry many foods. Heat can cause...

The Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic fever and during outbreaks kills 50 - 90 percent of its human victims. Due to its virulent nature, and lack of vaccines or treatments, scientists studying the agent have had to work under stringent biocontainment protocols, limiting research to a few highly specialized labs and hampering the ability...

Scientists from the Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials in the Department of Physics at the University of Bath in England have discovered a method to cut the production cycle for hollow-core optical fibers from a week to a single day. Initial tests also show that the new optical fiber outperforms other fibers, making it a key...

Engineers and physicians at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a carbon nanopipette thousands of times thinner than a human hair that measures electric current and delivers fluids into cells. The tiny carbon-based tool can probe cells with minimal intrusion and injects fluids without damaging or inhibiting cell...

A modular direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) cartridge and stack design offers flexible assembly, efficiency improvements, and higher performance in methanol fuel cell assemblies. Conductive polymer micro DMFC plates with different flow field designs were evaluated to determine their performance efficiencies. Higher power densities...

Energy lost as heat during the production of electricity could be harnessed through silicon nanowires synthesized via a technique developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley. Scientists believe the technology could produce massive savings on fuel...

Tracking the location of resources such as hospitals, fire stations, transportation equipment, and water during an emergency situation can be life-saving. The Geographic Tool for Visualization and Collaboration (GTVC) was initially developed for military applications, and has recently been modified by the Georgia Tech Research...

Each month, NTB highlights tech briefs related to a particular area of technology in a special section known as Technology Focus. Here's an Insider look at the January focus on Sensors.

An organization seeks a rapid, inexpensive, and reliable test that can detect even small levels of acrylamide in foods. Acrylamide is a known carcinogen that appears naturally all through nature. It is also found in larger concentrations when any food is cooked and carbonized. The solution should be cost-effective to use on a...

NASA introduced a new book, "Touch the Invisible Sky," at a ceremony at the National Federation of the Blind. Images of nebulae, stars, and galaxies from the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, Spitzer Space Telescope, and ground-based telescopes are brought to the fingertips of the blind. Each image is embossed...

Scientists remain in an ongoing quest to validate the Big Bang theory tracing the early history of the universe. The NASA Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite was designed to study radiation patterns from the first few moments after the universe was formed, in an effort to unravel the mystery of the Big Bang.

Researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have made progress in unlocking the secrets behind the Fragile X syndrome, the most common cause of inherited mental retardation and the most common genetic cause of autism. "I think we've discovered a core mechanism underlying Fragile X syndrome," said Dr. Kimberly...

A permanent magnet alloy being developed by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, promises high- temperature performance for next-generation drive motors for electric vehicles. The alloy retains much of its magnetic strength at 200°C to help make electric drive motors more efficient...

Objet Geometries, Billerica, MA, has introduced the Connex500™ multi-material 3D printer based on the company's PolyJet Matrix™ technology, which provides simultaneous jetting of multiple model materials. The system, which was named NASA Tech Briefs' Product of the Month for January, enables the printing of parts and...

An improved ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) for industrial proximity sensor applications provides ease of programmability, embedded trimming capability, and dual slope temperature compensation. This ASIC design enables inductive proximity sensor/switches to be easily programmed after full assembly in production or...

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have successfully fabricated high- performance field effect transistors using thin films of Carbon 60, also known as fullerene. The new devices - which have electron- mobility values higher than amorphous silicon, low threshold voltages, large on-off ratios, and high operational...

US Patents for Sale High-Speed Technique for Noise Reduction, Compression & Pattern Recognition. Three issued US patents for sale. Click here for more info. Digital Video Encoding and Transmission System. Two issued US patents for sale. Click here for more info.

An international team of researchers, led by Professor Akintundle Ibitayo Akiniwande, are developing a tiny sensor that could be used to detect minute quantities of hazardous gases, including toxic industrial chemicals and chemical warfare agents, more quickly than current devices. A key factor in the team's success is their ability to...

A company is looking for technologies to prevent garbage bags from falling into garbage cans during usage. The technology should be economical and appropriate for a low-cost, high-volume consumer product. Possible approaches include adhesives that do not leave behind residue, electrostatic approaches, frames at the top of the...

Magnetic therapy is an alternative method for treating multiple conditions. Thomas Skalak, a biomedical engineering professor at the University of Virginia, has been researching its effectiveness. Skalak's lab focuses on microcirculation research - the study of blood flow through the body's tiniest blood vessels. Skalak set out to...