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NEWS
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All-in-one nanotube radio
A single carbon nanotube serves as antenna, tuner,
amplifier and demodulator -- all the components of a radio
except power source and speaker. The experimental nanotube
radio receives music and voice signals in the FM frequency
range. The infinitesimal radio could lead to radio-controlled
nano devices and smart materials. (Nanotube
Radio, Nano Letters, November 2007)
Crowd vision
A computer vision system builds three-dimensional
models of buildings and landscapes from online public
collections of photographs. The software resolves variations
in lighting, scale, obstructions and image quality of
thousands of photographs on Flickr and Google to produce
three-dimensional digital models of famous structures
like Notre Dame and the Statue of Liberty. (Multi-View
Stereo for Community Photo Collections, ICCV 2007:
Eleventh IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 14-20, 2007)
Keeping your head up, practically
A prototype mobile head-mounted display lets the
wearer see computer-generated images projected on her
field of view. The prototype uses lightweight materials
and miniature optics in an effort to make mobile head-mounted
displays practical. (A
Mobile Head-Worn Projection Display, Optics Express,
October 29, 2007)
Carbon nanocircuits
Nanoscale strips of graphene -- one-molecule thick
sheets of carbon atoms -- show promise as building blocks
for integrated circuits for future computer chips. Sharp
bends, splitters and connectors cut from graphene, which
is extremely efficient at conducting electricity, could
be used to build high-speed, low-power computer circuitry.
(Building
Blocks for Integrated Graphene Circuits, Nano Letters,
November 2007)
DNA addressing
Nanoscale paired hexagons made from DNA molecules
can be combined to form structures capable of storing
information. Each 3.4-nanometer side of the hexagon can
be given a unique DNA sequence, making it possible to
connect other DNA molecules to specific places on structures
made with the hexagon pairs. This DNA addressing technique
could be used to build data storage devices or nanoscale
circuits. (Triplex
Addressability as a Basis for Functional DNA Nanostructures,
Nano Letters, published online November 6, 2007)
Cellular Trojan horse
Monocyte immune system cells loaded with artificial
nanoparticles were drawn into cancer tumors. The technique
could lead to new ways of delivering drugs to cancer tumors,
whose centers are often inaccessible to cancer treatments.
(A
Cellular Trojan Horse for Delivery of Therapeutic Nanoparticles
into Tumors, Nano Letters, published online
November 3, 2007) |
FEATURES
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View
from the High Ground: ICL's John Pendry
Physics as machine tool, negative refractive
index, metamaterials, shattered wine glasses, higher capacity
DVDs, scientific backwaters, risk perception and practice,
practice, practice.
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How
It Works: Quantum computing: qubits
Photons, electrons and atoms, oh my! These particles are
the raw materials for qubits, the basic building blocks
of quantum computers. |
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"Physics
is to the rest of science what machine tools are
to engineering. A corollary is that science places
power in our hands which can be used for good or
ill. Technology has been abused in this way throughout
the ages from gunpowder to atomic bombs."
- John Pendry, Imperial College London |
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Thanks
to Kevin from
GoldBamboo.com
for technical support |
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