Tech
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Tech
Corralling Brownian motion
A new microscope system uses electrically controlled fluid motions to counteract Brownian motion, preventing those random jitters from driving proteins, viruses, and other tiny objects out of the field of view.
- Tech
Device rids homes of sounds of rap
Woodpeckers cause millions of dollars of damage to homes and buildings each year, but a battery-operated, sound-activated, spider-shaped device installed beneath a home's eaves can help prevent this avian scourge.
- Tech
Viral building blocks
Proteins taken from a spherical virus and combined with pieces of DNA can form tubular nanostructures, researchers report.
- Tech
Meddling with Metal: Novel nanocontrol yields chromium rival
A new, nontoxic alloy that might reduce use of toxic chromium springs from a novel way to manipulate crystalline metal structures via precise control of their atomic composition.
- Tech
Making the most of chip fabrication
An advance in the way microelectronic circuit patterns are created may help preserve conventional chip-making methods beyond the currently predicted date of their demise.
- Tech
A dim view of biologic and chemical agents
Microscopic gel balls that act as lenses may become the active ingredient of quick-acting sensors for bioagents and chemicals.
- Tech
Tiny ticker
Researchers have demonstrated that they can control how frequently a DNA-based nanodevice changes between two forms.
- Tech
New View: Speedy microscope takes fuller look at the nanoworld
Action movies of molecules and a better feel for microscopic surfaces could flow from a radically revised version of the atomic-force microscope.
- Tech
Artificial Animalcules
Advances that include the first swimming micromachine and novel designs for similar devices are deepening scientists' understanding of the bizarre world of microscale liquids.
- Tech
Beyond Bar Codes: Tuning up plastic radio labels
Electronic labels made from plastic semiconductors can now pick up and respond to radio signals at a frequency suitable for use on products.
- 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.
