Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Biometric sensors no dirtier than doorknobs, study finds

10-10-2007 · EurekAlert!

While biometric equipment is gaining popularity in a variety of applications, such as ensuring secure access to buildings, industries are finding that many users believe the devices are unsanitary and a potential source of germs that could cause illness. But a Purdue University study has found that while the platen glass surfaces of devices that scan fingerprints or hand geometry may look more unsanitary due to visible dirt and prints, they in fact harbor about the same amount of bacteria as a typical doorknob.

Keywords: biometric, sensors, dirtier, doorknobs, study, sensor, doorknob

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "Biometric sensors no dirtier than doorknobs, study finds":

The sensitive side of carbon nanotubes: Creating powerful pressure sensors
10-23-2007 · EurekAlert!
Blocks of carbon nanotubes can be used to create effective and powerful pressure sensors, according to a new study by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Taking advantage of the material's unique electrical and mechanical properties, researchers repeatedly squeezed a 3-millimeter nanotube block and discovered it was highly suitable for potential applications as a pressure sensor. No matter how many times or how hard they squeezed the block, it exhibited a constant, linear relationship between how much force was applied and electrical resistance.
Similar news · Read more »
Right counter height can improve fingerprint capture
01-19-2007 · EurekAlert!
Once a tool primarily used by law enforcement, biometric technologies such as fingerprint readers increasingly are being used by governments and private industry for a personal ID that can't easily be forged or stolen. NIST researchers have studied the effect of the work surface height of a fingerprint sensor on the quality and the time required to collect prints.
Similar news · Read more »
Study identifies glucose 'sensor' that plays dual role in glucose metabolism and fat synthesis
12-26-2006 · EurekAlert!
In a new study, scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have described for the first time a glucose-activated sensor that acts as a switch to decrease production of endogenous glucose in the liver, and increase conversion of glucose to fat for storage in adipose tissue. This dual action makes the sensor, Liver X Receptor, a potential target for new therapies aimed at obesity and diabetes. The research may also have implications for heart disease and stroke.
Similar news · Read more »
Diagnostic ultrasound could provide automated method of fingerprint identification
05-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
Diagnostic 3-D ultrasound of fingers could be used for biometric identification based on matching paired images using internal fingerprint structures that would be difficult to fake, offering the possibility of a unique automated fingerprint identification system, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Similar news · Read more »
Delft nano-detector very promising for remote cosmic realms
01-17-2007 · EurekAlert!
A miniscule but super-sensitive sensor can help solve the mysteries of outer space. Cosmic radiation, which contains the terahertz frequencies that the sensors detect, offers astronomers important new information about the birth of star systems and planets. Merlijn Hajenius developed these sensors for Delft University of Technology's Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, in cooperation with the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research. He will receive his PhD degree on 19 January based on this research subject.
Similar news · Read more »
Sensor Sensibility
05-05-2007 · Science News Online
Networks of tiny computerized sensors that adjust their function as needed may soon pervade our environment.
Similar news · Read more »
Study: Wireless sensors limit earthquake damage
04-16-2007 · EurekAlert!
An earthquake engineer at Washington University in St. Louis has successfully performed the first test of wireless sensors in the simulated structural control of a model laboratory building. Shirley J. Dyke, Ph.D., the Edward C. Dicke Professor of Civil Engineering and director of the Washington University Structural Control and Earthquake Engineering Laboratory, combined the wireless sensors with special controls called magnetorheological dampers to limit damage from a simulated earthquake load.
Similar news · Read more »
Tiny 'gas-flow' sensor has industrial, environmental applications
02-02-2007 · EurekAlert!
Researchers at Purdue University have shown how to create a new class of tiny sensors for applications ranging from environmental protection to pharmaceutical preservation.
Similar news · Read more »
Nano-layer of ruthenium stabilizes magnetic sensors
08-03-2007 · EurekAlert!
A layer of ruthenium just a few atoms thick can be used to fine-tune the sensitivity and enhance the reliability of magnetic sensors, tests at NIST show. The nonmagnetic metal acts as a buffer between active layers of sensor materials, offering a simple means of customizing field instruments such as compasses and stabilizing the magnetization in a given direction in devices such as computer hard-disk readers.
Similar news · Read more »
Magnetic computer sensors may help study biomolecules
05-10-2007 · EurekAlert!
Magnetic switches like those in computers also might be used to manipulate individual strands of DNA for high-speed applications such as gene sequencing, experiments at NIST suggest.
Similar news · Read more »