Tech
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Tech
Virus has the Midas touch
Researchers have recruited a stringlike virus to carry nanoscale loads of gold that could serve as imaging agents in cancer diagnosis.
- Tech
Microbial Moxie
Microbial fuel cells, which take advantage of the fact that some microbes generate electricity when they break down organic matter, could one day power remote sensors, wastewater-treatment plants, and portable devices.
- Tech
Bizarre Stuff
Curious about airships or zoetropes? Want to build one? Created by Brian Carusella, this Web site spotlights unusual inventions and bizarre items. For each object, the site offers a history and review of how it was constructed. It features lots of ideas for interesting science projects and home experiments, along with easy-to-follow advice. Go to: […]
- Tech
Cranberry aid for assay
Cranberry juice, often used to stave off urinary-tract infections caused by Escherichia coli, also keeps the bacterium from reducing a biosensor's specificity.
- Tech
Is Anybody out There?
To speed the search for extraterrestrial life, researchers are using extreme conditions on Earth to develop a flotilla of detection devices to tease out signs of life in unlikely places.
- Tech
Transistors sprout inner forests
By combining nanowires and conventional transistor structures, researchers are creating novel transistors with improved performance and the potential to be easily manufactured.
- Tech
Hearing implant knows where it goes
A new type of cochlear implant includes sensors whose signals may help surgeons insert the device more deeply into the inner ear and so provide better hearing.
- Tech
Facing a hairy electronics problem
Investigating why kinky metal filaments sprout spontaneously on electronic- circuit cards, researchers have found that the way metal films have been electroplated onto the surface in the first place plays a lingering role.
- Tech
Narrow Escape: Sharp nanogutters hustle out wetness
Nanochannels with sharply tapered edges can dramatically boost fluid flow rates and potentially play a role in improved microchip cooling, fabrics to wick away perspiration, and other uses.
- Tech
Nanotubes spring eternal
Researchers have discovered that forests of carbon nanotubes squish and expand like foams, but with extraordinary resilience.
- Computing
The Risky Business of Spreadsheet Errors
Faulty spreadsheets and poor software practices can put businesses at risk.
- Tech
Reaction in Hand: Microreactor produces radioactive probe in a jiffy
A miniature chemical reactor that whips up a diagnostic tool could widen the availability of positron-emission tomography (PET) scans.
