Tech
- Tech
Speed Reader: Gene sequencing gets a boost
The first lab-ready technology to challenge the dominant gene-sequencing technique known as the Sanger method taps miniaturization and parallel reading of hundreds of thousands of DNA stretches to boost speed and slash cost.
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Easy Striders
New robots based on the mechanics of human walking use less energy and move more naturally than traditional bipedal robots do, suggesting new ways to approach two-legged robots and prosthetic design.
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Tapping Tiny Pores: Nanovalves control chemical releases
After creating arrays of nanovalves, each made from a single molecule, chemists used them to generate minuscule chemical discharges.
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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.
