Science Technology Society

This flu season, people with a fear of needles have an alternative. A new device made by PharmaJet uses spring tension to produce a high velocity jet of air to deliver medications and vaccines through the skin. Most people coming in for the flu shot at the Andover Senior Center still opted for the standard needle but the new way is gaining popularity. Nearly one third of those getting a vaccine chose the PharmaJet. (Video by Andre Malok/The Star-Ledger)

A team of planet hunters from the University of California (UC) Santa Cruz and the Carnegie Institution has announced the discovery of a planet, Gliese 581g,

Scientists have discovered that our brains have the ability to determine the shape of an object simply by processing specially-coded sounds, without any visual or tactile input.

Scientists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have designed an electrical link to living cells engineered to shuttle electrons across a cell's membrane to an external acceptor along a well-defined path. This direct channel could yield cells that can read and respond to electronic signals, electronics capable of self-replication and repair, or efficiently transfer sunlight into electricity.

Dr. Mandelbrot, a maverick mathematician, developed an innovative theory to study uneven shapes and applied it to physics, biology and many other fields.

Powerful robots must know their limits to avoid injuring humans - and the only way to learn is from experience

Last night, Google announced that it has agreed to invest heavily in a proposed $5 billion, 350-mile power transmission backbone that would provide infrastructure for future offshore wind projects along the mid-Atlantic coast. But even with the backing of one of the world's mightiest tech companies, various financial investment firms, and many important officials in government, the transmission line is going to be something of a technological trick.

Harvard researchers have created nanodevices made of DNA that self-assemble and can be programmed to move and change shape on demand. The nanodevice structure is based on the principle of tensegrity: its strength and stability results from the way it distributes and balances the counteracting forces of tension and compression. This new technology could lead to nanoscale medical devices and drug delivery systems, such as virus mimics that introduce drugs directly into diseased cells. Or it could one day be used to reprogram human stem cells to regenerate different kinds of injured organs and tissue.

Google has been working on vehicles that can drive themselves using software.

University of Miami (UM) developmental psychologists and computer scientists from the University of California in San Diego (UC San Diego) are studying infant-mother interactions and working to implement their findings in a baby robot capable of learning social skills. The objectives are to help unravel the mysteries of human cognitive development and reach new the frontiers in robotics.

Much like a Facebook profile, " The Social Network " is made more appealing through some artful lies, well-chosen omissions and careful shading.

With insurgents attacking American fuel supply convoys into Afghanistan, the military is pushing renewable energy sources like solar power.

China and other nations are beginning to challenge U.S. supercomputing leadership, something that has implications for every aspect of U.S. leadership in science and product development, say experts.

Google has announced the winners of Project Project 10^100 (ideas for changing the world by helping as many people as possible). Thousands of people from more

Creating a laser that can melt a soda can in a lab is a finicky enough task. Later this year, scientists will put a 40,000-pound chemical laser in the belly of a gunship flying at 300 mph and take aim at targets as far away as five miles. And we're not talking aluminum cans. Boeing's new Advanced Tactical Laser will cook trucks, tanks, radio stations-the kinds of things hit with missiles and rockets today. Whereas conventional projectiles can lose sight of their target and be shot down or deflected, the ATL moves at the speed of light and can strike several targets in rapid succession.

Professor Andre Geim, who along with his colleague Professor Kostya Novoselov won the 2010 Nobel Prize for graphene - the world's thinnest material, has now modified it to make fluorographene - a one-molecule-thick material chemically similar to Teflon. Fluorographene is fully-fluorinated graphene and is basically a two-dimensional version of Teflon, showing similar properties including chemical inertness and thermal stability.

A New Energy Program with Steve Chu speaking at the Climate Change and Global Politics Conference hosted by the World Affairs Council of Northern California.No one nation can effectively reverse the growing problems caused by our changing climate. Coordinated global efforts - between governments, corporations, and individuals - can help us conserve and develop energy resources, as well as ensure the continued growth of emerging and developed nations.What can political leaders do? What can businesses and investors do? nd what can you do? - World Affairs Council of Northern California

Researchers have developed a water-purifying filter that makes the process more than 80,000 times faster than existing filters. The key is coating the filter fabric -- ordinary cotton -- with nanotubes and silver nanowires, then electrifying it. The filter uses very little power, has no moving parts and could be used throughout the developing world.

"ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2010) - Two new groundbreaking scientific papers by researchers at UC Santa Barbara demonstrate the synthesis of nanosize biological particles with the potential to fight cancer and other illnesses. The studies introduce new approaches that are considered "green" nanobiotechnology because they use no artificial compounds."

"As the fastest growing energy technology in the world, solar energy continues to account for more and more of the world's energy supply. Currently, most commercial photovoltaic power comes from bulk semiconductor materials. But in the past few years, scientists have been investigating how semiconductor nanostructures can increase the efficiency of solar cells and the newer field of solar fuels. "