Tech
- Tech
A Moment in the Life of a Cell: Microscopic scan images without intruding
A laser technique similar to a CAT scan produces 3-D images of living cells without the need for chemical staining.
- Tech
Uncharted atomic landscapes
A refinement to electron microscopes enables them not only to visualize atoms but also to identify different elements.
- Computing
Cloudy Crystal Balls
Computer programs that model climate may be so complex that global warming predictions will never settle on a single, definitive answer.
- Computing
Virtual Surgery
Computer simulations of blood flow in the heart allow doctors to test surgical innovations before trying them on patients.
- Computing
Check on Checkers: In perfect game, there’s no winner
Thanks to an immense calculation that worked out every possible game position, computers can now play a flawless game of checkers and force a draw every time.
- Tech
Double-decker solar cell
A two-layer, polymer-based solar cell has good efficiency and could be cheap to mass-produce.
- Tech
More bang for the biofuel buck
Microbes that ferment glycerol to ethanol could add an economically valuable new ingredient to the biofuel industry.
By Sarah Webb - Tech
Biowarfare: Engineered virus can invade bacterial film
A genetically engineered virus not only kills bacteria but makes an enzyme that breaks up the biofilm in which the bacteria live.
- Tech
Cellular Smugglers: Laden nanoparticles hitch a ride on bacteria
Molecular cargoes loaded onto nanoparticles can sneak into mammalian cells on the backs of bacteria.
By Sarah Webb - Tech
Life Swap: Switching genomes converts bacteria
Transplanting the entire genome of one species of bacteria into another paves the way for making synthetic microbes with manmade DNA.
- Tech
A computer in every cell
Artificial genes inserted into cells make RNA molecules that can perform logical computations.
- Computing
Mapping a Medusa: The Internet spreads its tentacles
After tracking how digital information weaves around the world, researchers have concluded that, structurally speaking, the Internet looks like a medusa jellyfish.