In nature, trees pull vast amounts of water from their roots up to their leaves through capillary action, but now scientists at the University of Rochester have created a simple slab of metal that lifts liquid using the same principle – but does so at a speed that would make nature envious. The technology could be… »
For the first time, MIT researchers have shown they can genetically engineer viruses to build both the positively and negatively charged ends of a lithium-ion battery. Angela Belcher, the MIT materials scientist who led the research team said “The new virus-produced batteries have the same energy capacity and power performance as state-of-the-art rechargeable batteries being… »
Microsoft integrated Photosynth, technology that enables you to automatically stitch groups of photos together into one big interactive 3D viewing experience, with their mapping service Virtual Earth. Microsoft claims ‘hundreds of thousands’ of users have already used Photosynth – which was released to the public back in August 2008 – and uploaded more than 12… »
Many plants are heliotropic, gradually tilting towards the sun to optimize solar energy capture. Current sun-tracking solar panels involve the use of motors and electronic control systems, but we believe a biomimetic heliotropic solar panel can be created with the use of alternative materials and designs. Practically, the heliotropic solar panel could be useful in… »
AccuVein applies advanced technologies to important healthcare challenges. AccuVein AV300 is the world’s first hand-held, non-contact vein illumination device that helps healthcare professionals locate hard-to-find veins. IV starts and blood draws (venipuncture) can be a source of patient anxiety and discomfort, and accessing veins in difficult patients can take up to 10 minutes and require… »
A team from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia said that by harnessing nanoparticles and a “polarization” dimension to existing technology, storage can be massively boosted without changing the size of a current disc. For the first time researchers from the university’s Centre for Micro-Photonics have demonstrated how nanotechnology can enable the creation of ‘five… »
It’s actually so small that even the researchers had to publish an artist rendering of the light bulb instead of a real photo. Besides other usages it will help in an effort to explore the boundary between thermodynamics and quantum mechanics – two fundamental yet seemingly incompatible theories of physics. The world’s smallest glowing bulb… »
Imagine all the data which could be stored on 250 DVDs. A team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of California Berkeley said they had found a faster, more efficient way of making a thin semiconductor film that, by their claims, could dramatically improve data storage. Many teams have tried to use… »
