Our Technological Future - Overview of 12 Exciting Developments

I have compiled a list of twelve recent and exciting technology developments. I recommend clicking the source-links to see the pictures and movieclips that go with them.


Solid to Liquid - The Story of Armor

This is any science fiction enthusiasts dream come true! Soldiers of The United States Army are testing liquid armor. This armor will enhance Kevlar, the fibre-based armor that is 5x stronger than steel.

For 1st Woman With Bionic Arm, a New Life Is Within Reach

Now, Mitchell can peel a banana in a less simian posture. All she has to do is place her prosthetic left arm next to the banana and think about grabbing it. The mechanical hand closes around the fruit and she's ready to peel.

Superconducting qubits get entangled

Physicists in the US have taken another step towards the dream of a quantum computer by entangling two superconducting quantum bits (or qubits) for the first time.

Physicists probe the fifth dimension

Can we prove realms exist beyond our plane ... or ‘brane’?

Machine readied to create ‘mini-Big Bangs’

Large Hadron Collider likely to shed light on dark matter, dark energy

Who put nanotechnology in my bra?

Though you can’t see it, nanotechnology is everywhere now, expanding the utility and appeal of basic products from cosmetics to all types of clothing. Below is a Top 10 list of the products you might least expect to employ this advanced technology.

Light Emitting T-Shirts by Phillips

Click link to see the movieclip.

Robotic Frisbees of Death

"The 3-D maneuverability of the Frisbee-UAV [unammned aerial vehicle] will provide revolutionary tactical access and lethality against hostiles hiding in upper story locations and/or defiladed behind obstacles," the company promises.

Smile! A new Canadian tool can re-grow teeth say inventors

Snaggle-toothed hockey players and sugar lovers may soon rejoice as Canadian scientists said they have created the first device able to re-grow teeth and bones.

Back From the Dead

A small but passionate group of doctors say that electricity applied deep in the brain can jolt patients out of irreversible comas. That's when the real problems begin.

Gene genius: Are scientists closing in on the holy grail?

Scientists claim they are near to finding a therapy that could cure Aids and cancer. So how real is this new medical dawn?

Crusher Robot

Who would pay millions of dollars for a vehicle with no steering wheel, seats, or a gas pedal? The U.S. Military, whose unmanned "Crusher" robot can drive itself. This ScienCentral News video explains.

Our Technological Future - Mixed Bag #2

Scientists Eye Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy for 2012.

CHEJU _ Cheju National University plans to set up a large biology research center with the aim of starting to use human embryonic stem cells in actual therapy around 2012.

Koh Choong-suk, president of the scenic Cheju Island-based university, yesterday unveiled the project that will be spearheaded by illustrious embryologist Park Se-pill.

``We recruited Park as the head of the stem cell center to be established at our university, and seek to hire about 20 more researchers and experts,'' Koh told a press meeting at the university.

``Under the stewardship of Park, we believe the lab will be able to use embryonic stem cells in therapy by 2012,'' Koh added.

Gene-therapy results touted in 2 advanced-cancer cases.

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute on Thursday reported they have successfully treated two patients with advanced cancer using gene therapy.

Two men, both with the rapidly growing skin cancer melanoma, were given immune-system cells taken from their own blood and engineered to attack their tumors. They are alive, with no evidence of cancer, 18 months later. Fifteen other patients who got the same treatment died.

The senior author of the study and others cautioned it would take several years to translate the treatment into a practical therapy.

The report, published online by the journal Science, is the latest result of a 30-year effort by Dr. Steven Rosenberg to find ways to manipulate the human immune system to fight cancer.

'Augmented reality' glasses tackle tunnel vision.

Superimposing computer-generated images over real scenes can dramatically improve the way people with visual impairment use their sight, say US researchers.

That conclusion is the result of tests of a so-called augmented-reality system on patients with tunnel vision, a condition which narrows a person’s field of view.

Physicists invent 'QuIET' - single molecule transistors.

University of Arizona physicists have discovered how to turn single molecules into working transistors. It's a breakthrough needed to make the next-generation of remarkably tiny, powerful computers that nanotechnologists dream of.

Re-inventing nature for cheaper solar power.

A research team in Sydney has created molecules that mimic those in plants which harvest light and power life on Earth.

“A leaf is an amazingly cheap and efficient solar cell,” says Dr Deanna D’Alessandro, a postdoctoral researcher in the Molecular Electronics Group at the University of Sydney. “The best leaves can harvest 30 to 40 percent of the light falling on them. The best solar cells we can build are between 15 and 20 percent efficient, and expensive to make.”

Are genomic technologies the answer to world hunger?.

Genomic technologies may have the potential to alleviate food insecurity and food shortages around the world. Researchers believe that biotechnology has the potential to improve the nutritional content of food crops and, crucially, resistance to insects and disease. This could lead to improved yields of food crops for both human and animal consumption. Researchers are also working on 'molecular farming' – production of pharmaceutical products in plants, with the potential to revolutionise vaccination procedures.