| What makes a data visualization memorable? Oct 16th 2013, 18:56 "Chart junk" -- the noisy visual elements that attract criticism in design circles -- can help make a data visualization more memorable. And the chart types we learned about in school (bar graphs, pie charts, etc.) are not the easiest to recall. |  | Software uses cyborg swarm to map unknown environs Oct 16th 2013, 15:27 Researchers have developed software that allows them to map unknown environments -- such as collapsed buildings -- based on the movement of a swarm of insect cyborgs, or "biobots." | | Quantum particles find safety in numbers Oct 16th 2013, 14:01 Researchers have uncovered a novel effect that, in principle, offers a means of stabilizing quantum systems against decoherence. The discovery could represent a major step forward for quantum information processing. | | World record: Wireless data transmission at 100 Gbit/s Oct 15th 2013, 14:38 Extension of cable-based telecommunication networks requires high investments in both conurbations and rural areas. Broadband data transmission via radio relay links might help to cross rivers, motorways or nature protection areas at strategic node points, and to make network extension economically feasible. Researchers have now presented a method for wireless data transmission at a world-record rate of 100 gigabits per second. | | New micro water sensor can aid growers Oct 15th 2013, 14:36 Researchers have developed a microfluidic water sensor within a fingertip-sized silicon chip that is a hundred times more sensitive than current devices. The researchers are now completing soil tests and will soon test their design in plants, embedding their "lab on a chip" in the stems of grape vines, for example. They hope to mass produce the sensors for as little as $5 each. The new sensor will benefit crop growers, wine grape and other fruit growers, food processors and even concrete makers. | | New discovery in quest for better drugs Oct 15th 2013, 13:46 Scientists have combined cutting edge computer modelling with pharmacology and medicinal chemistry to reveal new insights into how the body interacts with novel drug treatments, in research that could lead to the creation of drugs that are more targeted and with fewer side effects. | |
