Tech
- Tech
Injectable Medibots: Programmable DNA could diagnose and treat cancer
Researchers have created a miniature DNA computer that can detect cancer genes in a test tube and respond by releasing a drug.
- Tech
Super-repellent surface switches on and off
Nanotechnologists have created a remarkably effective liquid-repelling surface that can also become, at the flick of a switch, liquid-attracting.
- Tech
Aircraft trick may give big rigs a gentle lift
Using sheet-like jets of air to control aerodynamic drag and lift—a technology first developed for aircraft—may boost gas mileage and improve braking and handling of tractor-trailer trucks.
- Tech
Bacteria churn out new type of electronic paper
Researchers have developed a new way of making flexible electronic paper displays using cellulose derived from bacteria.
- Tech
Reinventing the Yo-Yo
No longer simple toys, today's pricey yo-yos sport high-tech features—such as ball bearing transaxles and precision string-snagging mechanisms—that permit dazzling new styles and complex tricks.
- Tech
Fluid lens flows into focus
By controlling a boundary between oil and water, researchers have created a liquid lens that can quickly alter its shape in response to electric signals.
- Tech
Soaring at Hyperspeed: Long-sought technology finally propels a plane
For the first time, an airplane flew at hypersonic speed under power of a scramjet, an engine that operates at high velocities using oxygen from the atmosphere.
- Tech
Miniaturized 3-D Printing: New polymer ink writes tiny structures
A new 3-D printer can build up complex polymer microstructures with features small enough for creating photonic crystals or scaffolds for tissue engineering.
- Tech
Golden waves make stretchy microcircuits
Microscale wires with stretchy, wiggly shapes may prove useful for sensors and other electronic gadgets embedded in pliable or elastic items such as clothing or living tissue.
- Tech
Iron Power: Eking more juice from batteries
By creating an extremely thin layer of an unusually electron-hungry form of iron, chemists have made a prototype rechargeable battery electrode that may lead to improved metal hydride batteries.
- Tech
Special Treatment: Fuel cell draws energy from waste
Researchers have created a fuel cell that breaks down organic matter in wastewater and, in the process, generates small amounts of electricity.
- Tech
Silicon goes optical
The advent of a fast, light-manipulating microdevice made from silicon suggests that speedy optical-fiber links now too expensive for broad use in businesses and homes may soon become widespread.
