Tech

Tech

Wiring up molecules

Minuscule gaps of controlled sizes in gold microwires may serve as test sites for probing properties of specks of material as small as a single molecule and as a basis for novel sensors and circuit components.

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A nanoprinter for cheaper diagnostics

Using strands of DNA as movable type, scientists have created a miniaturized printing technique for mass-producing medical diagnostic chips.

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Sensor measures mass of one DNA molecule

A new biosensor that can detect the mass of a single DNA molecule could lead to faster and more accurate screening for HIV infection, cancer, and other diseases.

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Slick trick snags catalyst

A costly type of catalyst sticks to Teflon, suggesting a new way to recover these chemicals from solutions.

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Smart Trap: Nanosensor tracks major brain chemical

The study of neurological diseases and brain functions could get a lot more precise with the invention of an optical sensor that can closely monitor a key chemical in the brain.

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Morphing Memory

A promising memory technology for future portable gadgets exploits the same atom-shuffling materials that have already led to rewritable CDs and DVDs.

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Fields of Beams: Carbon nanotubes crop up for big-screen TV

Carbon nanotubes serve as the electron emitters that light up the screen of a new experimental, high-definition television display.

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Morphing wheels for beginner bikers

A new bike design for kids morphs from tricycle into bicycle as the rider gets moving, possibly easing the often-fearful starts at riding two-wheelers.

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Nuke batteries get more practical

Nuclear batteries that will last for decades may have moved closer to reality with the demonstration of a silicon chip riddled with radioactive, tritium-filled pits where radiation is efficiently converted to electricity.

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Carbon nanotubes drive X-ray scanner

X-ray scanners based on carbon nanotubes could make airport luggage screening and high-tech medical imaging more efficient.

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In Its Own Image: Simple robot replicates itself block by block

A robot made by stacking identical, cubelike modules has demonstrated that it can copy itself.

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Radio-a-Wreck

Radio transmitters broadcasting from imploding buildings are informing engineers about how such collapses disrupt radio communications and how rescuers might overcome those disruptions.