Tech
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Tech
Wash Those Hands!
A Florida-based company is now developing a laser-based scanning technology to scout for dirty hands. Installed in restaurant washrooms or daycare centers, it could identify fecal traces — evidence that hand washing was incomplete. Indeed, these sensors might even be coupled to a lock that allows workers back into a kitchen after a restroom break, notes Richard Stroman, vice president of eMerge Interactive, which is applying for a patent on the system. Kitchen or food-processing-plant workers who don't pass the laser test would be forced to go back and lather up again.
- Tech
Special Delivery: Metallic nanorods shuttle genes
A new gene therapy technique relies on nanorods made of gold and nickel to deliver genes to cells in the body.
- Tech
The Daily Flicks: Morphing ink may bring video to newspapers
New types of electronic-paper pixels may eventually make it possible to view full-color video clips in your morning newspaper.
- Tech
Dream Machines from Beans: Legume proteins provide motion
Plant proteins swell and shrink in response to calcium, sparking new ideas for micromachines.
- Tech
Channeling light in the deep sea
Light-conducting fibers that naturally sprout from certain deep-sea sponges may hold lessons for makers of optical fibers for telecommunications.
- Tech
Memory Enhancers
Engineers take aim at increasing the density of data storage on magnetic media.
- Tech
Smart dust can swarm target
Microscopic mirrors can swarm a target and produce an optical signal that identifies the target to the observer.
- Tech
Mind-Expanding Machines
Researchers have designed computer systems aimed at amplifying human thought and perception, such as a new type of cockpit display for aircraft pilots that exploits the power of peripheral vision.
- Tech
Bomb Sniffer: Cantilevers detect trace amounts of explosives
An ultra-sensitive chemical sensor uses microcantilevers to detect airborne plastic explosives within seconds.
- Tech
High-flying wing destroyed in crash
The unmanned NASA aircraft that holds the world record for high-altitude flight without rocket propulsion recently broke up over the Pacific Ocean.
- Tech
Shining True: Marking original documents with a lick of gloss
Scientists have a new way of making forgery-proof documents by using laser color printers to embed hologramlike images in a document’s glossy surface.
- Computing
Computer Game Art and History
Curious about early video games or recent developments in game technology? This Web site accompanies the “Game On” exhibition, developed by the Barbicon Gallery and the National Museums of Scotland. An exhibition guide briefly explains what the various displays include. The education section offers tips for creating a video game as a classroom project. The […]
