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Labs are currently working on growing synthetically engineered tissues such as muscle or cartilage needed for transplants. Towards that end, Cornell University engineers have developed a microvascular system that can nourish growing tissues. They have engineered tiny channels within a water-based gel that mimic a vascular...

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), IBM, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have pushed the measurement of thin films to the edge to produce the first data on how the edges of metallic thin films contribute to their magnetic properties. The results may impact the...

A frictional properties test mechanism for an aircraft brake comprises a means for providing inertial rotary motion, a wheel element attached to the inertial rotary motion means, a means for effecting braking of the wheel element and including braking load receiving means, a means for creating oscillatory motion of the braking...

Objects just a few millimeters across could pierce the thin aluminum skin of spacecraft such as the International Space Station orbiting 220 miles above Earth. And even a tiny hole can mean a leak of pressurized air. Dale Chimenti, an Iowa State University professor of aerospace engineering, is leading a team that has been contracted by...

Your unique invention could win you $20,000 or other great prizes in the 2007 Create the Future Design Contest, presented by SolidWorks Corp. and NASA Tech Briefs. Innovative design ideas are being accepted in six categories: Machinery, Equipment, and Component Technology; Consumer Products; Medical; Safety and...

NASA's Inductive Monitoring System (IMS) is a new computer program that monitors gyroscopes that keep the International Space Station properly oriented in space. Engineers will add the new software to a group of existing tools to identify and track problems related to the gyroscopes. If the software detects warning signs, it...

Small Geometry Flash EEPROM & DRAM Memory Patents These patents cover such topics as Flash EEPROM and DRAM device, high storage capacity, cell size, cell layout, product material, etching masking material, photolithography technique, narrower spacing between adjacent line patterns, high packing density of pattern...

Researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK have developed a way to identify partial, distorted, scratched, smudged, or otherwise warped fingerprints in a few seconds. Previous techniques have tried to identify a few key features on a fingerprint and match them against a database of templates. The new method considers...

Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX) has invented photocatalytic/ magnetic composite particles as an improved method of photocatalysis for removing chemical and biological pollutants from air and water. Read more here.

A company seeks an aerosol that can be easily launched using a pulsed jet fogger, has reflectivity or other optical properties, and is safe for human cutaneous and pulmonary contact. Visually reflective aerosols are sought with emitted or reflected light that can be manipulated using laser or other optical sources. Click here...

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new technique for identifying and repairing small, potentially dangerous cracks in aircraft wings and other structures made from polymer composites. By infusing a polymer with electrically conductive carbon nanotubes, and then monitoring the structure's electrical...

Each month, NTB highlights tech briefs related to a particular area of technology in a special section called Technology Focus. Here are some of the technologies featured in the October issue focus on Sensors. Wirelessly Interrogated Position or Displacement Sensors Researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center have developed...

The Jettison D® is an ionizer that works in conjunction with a diesel engine's emission control system to decrease the amount of pollutants emitted while improving fuel economy, reducing maintenance, and enhancing engine performance. It changes unburned oil droplets and vapors emitted from the engine into light, burnable...

The University of Illinois (UI) at Urbana- Champaign and Unity High School in Tolono, IL, have teamed with Simbex, a research and product- development company in New Hampshire, to develop a system inside a football helmet that monitors head injuries. It works in tandem with helmets made by Riddell, and was first tested on the...

This monthly review lets you "meet" the new advertisers appearing in Defense Tech Briefs (DTB). Here's a sneak peek at the products, services, and offers available from October's first-time advertisers. AVX Corp. (Myrtle Beach, SC) offers products for defense, aerospace, and space applications, including ceramic capacitors,...

Portfolio of Mobile Messaging Patents for Sale Four U.S. patents, several U.S. applications and a family of international counterparts are available. Reinforced Micromodule This technology relates to a reinforced micromodule of the kind for supporting an integrated circuit adapted here for use in combination with...

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center, have built a low-cost robotic device that enables any digital camera to produce gigapixel (billions of pixels) panoramas called GigaPans. The device attaches to any digital camera and enables the public to shoot interactive...

Have you entered your unique invention in the 2007 Create the Future Design Contest, presented by SolidWorks Corp. and NASA Tech Briefs? If not, you only have until October 15 to submit your design idea. Entries are being accepted in six categories: Machinery, Equipment, and Component Technology; Consumer Products; Medical; Safety...

Glenn Research Center (Cleveland, OH) has designed a power supply for a cordless drill in which ultracapacitors, rather than batteries, are used to store energy. Whereas charging of batteries usually takes hours, ultracapacitors can be charged in seconds. Read more here.

The Biomedical Center in Moscow has produced a vaccine that induces cytotoxic lymphocyte (CTL) clones and enables them to recognize and selectively kill Listeria- infected cells. As the lifetime of CTL clones is very long (three-seven years or more), the formulation could be used for both prophylaxis and treatment of Listeriosis,...

Cars already automatically lock doors when they sense motion and turn on warning lights if they detect engine problems. But they are about to get a lot smarter. A research team at Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, NM) is designing cars capable of analyzing human behavior. Future models may, for example, deduce from your driving...

Vertical Take-Off and Landing with Fixed-Wing Speed and Efficiency This technology, already proven under a US Army contract, creates a hybrid aircraft that combines the best attributes of helicopters with the best attributes of fixed wing aircraft, i.e. VTOL and safe auto-rotation of gyroplanes with the efficiency, cost,...

A new turbulence detection system alerts pilots to patches of rough air as they fly through clouds. The system, designed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and tested by United Airlines on commercial flights, is designed to better protect passengers from injuries caused by turbulence while reducing flight delays...

Your unique invention could win you $20,000 or other great prizes in the 2007 Create the Future Design Contest, presented by SolidWorks Corp. and NASA Tech Briefs. Innovative design ideas are being accepted in six categories: Machinery, Equipment, and Component Technology; Consumer Products; Medical; Safety and...

Glowing firebrands (burning wood pieces) make for a warm evening in front of the fireplace, but for homeowners in high fire-risk areas, windborne fire material can be a nightmare. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has built a firebrand generator to study how firebrands ignite structures. It generates...

A company is seeking an absorbent pad capable of being loaded with a terpanol, which, when saturated, will allow the free flow of air or other gases through its structure. The pad can be made of any thickness or material, and can be used in household, office, and industrial applications. Find out more here.

Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania have developed nanowires that can store computer data for 100,000 years and retrieve the data 1,000 times faster than existing portable memory devices such as Flash and micro-drives. The self-assembling nanowire is made of germanium antimony telluride, a phase-changing material that...

The MDrive 14Plus Motion Control system from Intelligent Motion Systems (Marlborough, CT) combines the motor, driver, controller, and encoder in one system using a NEMA size 14 brushless 1.8-degree motor. It measures 1.9 x 1.4 x 2.0" and includes a programmable controller and programming instruction set. Communication is via RS-422/485...

Researchers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, have developed a diaphragm pump driven by a piezoelectric actuator. The pump is a prototype of a lightweight pump for circulating cooling liquids in protective garments, high-power electronic circuits, and other medical applications. The pump contains no sliding seals or...