Fastest Integrated Circuit Doubles the Previous Record, Getting Close to One Terahertz [Circuits]

Following up on a 2007 world record for the fastest transistor speed, Northrop Grumman announced today that it has shattered the world record for integrated circuit performance, nearing one terahertz. More » Technology – Terahertz – Physics – Electromagnetism – Terahertz radiation

Scientists Successfully Embed Silicon Chips Inside Human Cells [Science]

Scientists have already created mini-cyborgs out of living cells and semiconductor materials, but now biological cells can also contain tiny silicon chips, which could become sensors that monitor microscopic activities, deliver drugs to target cells or even repair cell structures. More »

South Korean Scientists Transmit Broadband Signals Through Human Arm [Conductivity]

Human skin is apparently a very energy-efficient conduit for transmitting data. A recent experiment achieved a rate of 10Mbps, which may put my Internet connection to shame. The experiment used small, flexible electrodes and took place at Korea University. More »

Heat-Channeling Carbon Nanotubes Produce 100 Times More Energy than Li-ion Batteries [Nanotubes]

Johnny Cash can’t have known about carbon nanotubes when he sang about rings of fire, but MIT scientists have shown how they can create electrical current—about 100 times as much energy per unit of weight as lithium-ion batteries. The new experiments involved nanotubes, or submicroscopic structures just a few billionths of a meter in diameter, [...]

Inside the Excruciatingly Slow Death of Internet Explorer 6 [InternetExplorer]

It’s the bane of Web designers everywhere, and it makes most modern Websites look broken and horrible. So why are 20% of web surfers still using it? Today was supposed to be a great day for the Web. As of March 1, 2010, Google will no longer support Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6 browser-a decade-old dinosaur [...]

Next for NASA: Inflatable Space Stations, In-Orbit Refueling, Space UAVs and More [Nasa]

As we’ve been hearing for months, 2010 is going to be a year of belt-tightening for NASA. But it still has some cool technologies on the way: inflatable space stations, research into mid-orbit refueling, and new autonomous space vehicles. Inflatable space station modules rank high on NASA’s wish list for an important reason: they’re cheap. [...]

It’s About Time: A Drill-Free Fix For Cavities [Teeth]

If bacteria settle in between your teeth and form a cavity, your dentist must drill through your tooth just to get at it. But now dentists can trade their drills for a simple treatment that stops early-stage cavities. The Icon system lets dentists halt decay between teeth. Usually when a dentist spots an early cavity-when [...]

NASA’s Puffin Is a Stealthy, Personal Tilt-Rotor Aircraft [PopSci]

What’s cooler than a hover-capable, electric-powered, super-quiet personal VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft? If you answered “absolutely nothing,” do read on, because NASA is preparing to oblige you. The space agency’s Puffin aircraft design will be officially unveiled tomorrow, showing just how far personal, electrically propelled flight could change the ways we live and [...]

China’s Loongson Processor Could Power First Natural-Born Chinese Supercomputer [PopSci]

The People’s Republic has unveiled more details on its quest to phase U.S.-made processors from its microchip diet. China’s next supercomputer will run purely on Chinese processors, possibly before the end of this year. China has been developing its own CPUs at the state-run Institute of Computing Technology (ICT) for several years, but iterations of [...]

New Laser-Driven Displays Use 75 Percent Less Power Than Today’s Screens [Lpd]

LCDs, make way for LPDs. Xconomy reports on a California startup’s new laser phosphor displays (LPDs) that use just 25 percent of the electricity required by today’s liquid-crystal displays (LCD) or LEDs. LPD screens can supposedly come in any size or shape, including square tiles and long, thin ribbon bands. That would allow the lights [...]

India Developing ‘Kill Vehicle’ to Knock Enemy Satellites Out of the Sky [Satellites]

With perennial foe Pakistan always teetering on the brink of political collapse and neighboring superpower China taking strides into space technology, India has announced that it is developing an exo-atmospheric “kill vehicle” that will knock enemy satellites out of orbit. The program was proudly announced as part of India’s ballistic missile defense program, a division [...]

Sped-Up Bacteria Could Transform Carbon Dioxide into Natural Gas [Bacteria]

Bacteria naturally turn carbon dioxide into methane gas over billions of years. Now Japanese researchers want to give that process a speed boost, to help counter global warming and create some much-needed natural gas. Agence France-Presse reports that Japan hopes to reduce the transformation period from billions to about 100 years. The researchers at the [...]

Can Microwave Technology be Used to Make Food Cold? [Microwaves]

Microwaves can transform a frozen pizza into hot, melted goodness in four minutes flat, but they can’t rescue your melted ice-cream sundae. Or can they? To cook food, a microwave oven converts voltage into high-frequency electromagnetic microwaves. The molecules in food-especially water and fat-absorb this energy and wiggle at high speeds, causing them to heat [...]