Pocket-Size Device Turns Smartphone into a High-Powered Microscope

Ever wonder what weird microorganisms are crawling around on your kitchen counter? Or, perhaps you'd like a close-up view of those dust bunnies in the corner of your room.

Storing Electricity In Paper

One sheet, 15 centimetres in diameter and a few tenths of a millimetre thick can store as much as 1 F, which is similar to the supercapacitors currently on the market. The material can be recharged hundreds of times and each charge only takes a few seconds.

Nanoscale one-way-street for light

If light is able to propagate from left to right, the opposite direction is usually allowed as well. A beam of light can normally be sent back to its point of origin, just by reflecting it on a mirror. Researchers at TU Wien have developed a new device for breaking this rule. Just like in an electrical diode, which allows current to pass only in one direction, this glass fibre-based device transmits light only in one direction. The one-way-rule holds even if the pulse of light that passes through the fibre consists of only a few photons. Such a one-way-street for light can now be used for optical chips and may thus become important for optical signal processing.

Biologically Powered Chip Created

"In combining a biological electronic device with CMOS, we will be able to create new systems not possible with either technology alone," says Shepard. "We are excited at the prospect of expanding the palette of active devices that will have new functions, such as harvesting energy from ATP, as was done here, or recognizing specific molecules, giving chips the potential to taste and smell. This was quite a unique new direction for us and it has great potential to give solid-state systems new capabilities with biological components."

Illustration depicting biocell attached to CMOS integrated circuit with membrane containing sodium-potassium pumps in pore

Virtual Reality Tech Lets You 'Teleport' Back in Time

The feeling you got when you first saw your newborn's face. That glorious moment when the entire family was laughing over dinner. The epiphany you had when you reached the peak of your favorite mountain. If only you could travel back and experience those instances again.

Innovation From Recession

"History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas." As President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Feb. 24, he took a moment to look back, pointing to the innovations that have arisen from times of difficulty: the railroad tracks, laid across the country in the midst of the civil war; the public high school system that emerged from the Industrial Revolution; the GI Bill that sent a generation to college. Obama's theme was clear: Times of economic difficulty can inspire extraordinary innovation. And now, even as the markets continue their roller-coaster ride, he described a time "to put in place tough, new common-sense rules of the road so that our financial market rewards drive and innovation and punishes shortcuts and abuse."
We talked to several trend-watchers and futurists about the kind of innovations they expect to come from this recession. Along with Obama, they focused on themes of energy and health care, with technology and computing rounding out their wish lists. All saw the opportunity to reframe problems to come up with radically new solutions. "There's a reason why they call them market corrections," says author and futurist David Zach. "Things that don't work, are inefficient, out of date, or bloated often need to be bypassed." He sees this scenario developing in realms such as the Web, with access to high-speed Internet overcoming geographical barriers to allow ever greater marketplace participation.

Air Into Water

Johathan Ritchey has invented the Watermill, which is an atmospheric water generator. It converts air into fresh water.

Vein identification

Another technology innovation is the biometric identification and security device known as PalmSecure.

A House that Walks

A new prototype house walked around the campus of the Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridgeshire, England.

The eco-friendly house is powered by solar cells and minature windmills, and comes with a kitchen, a composting toilet, a system for collecting rain water, one bed, a wood stove for CO2 neutral heating, a rear opening that forms a stairway entrance, and six legs.

Sci-Fi Cloaking Device Could Protect Soldiers from Shock Waves

A researcher at the defense company Boeing has filed a patent for a sci-fi-esque cloaking device that would protect soldiers from intense shock waves generated by explosions.  

3D Printed Car

The latest technology inventions in 3d printing are rapidly changing how things are being made.

It's an emerging technology that is an alternative to the traditional tooling and machining processes used in manufacturing.