Brian Dorsett

Magma Design Automation Inc., a provider of chip design software, today launched Quartz iPOP, the 'improved Productivity, Operability and Performance' initiative to facilitate designers' adoption of the Quartz DRC and Quartz LVS software for designs targeted at 65 nanometers and below.

The science behind gecko toes holds the answer to a dry adhesive that provides an ideal grip for robot feet. Stanford mechanical engineer Mark Cutkosky is using the new material, based on the structure of a gecko foot, to keep his robots climbing.

This nanotechnology breakthrough is expected to cut down the cost of memory devices such as touchscreens and e-books and improve their performance.

The imaging tools developed so far by the European ENCITE project should improve monitoring of cell therapy and improve the understanding of the fate of transplanted cells and the mechanism of action of cell-based therapies. Using the knowledge obtained in these studies, tools and treatment strategies can be further optimised to reap the full benefit of cell-based therapies.

European researchers have combined computer modelling of quantum mechanics and precision fabrication processes to create novel transparent conductive oxides made to order for a wide range of scientific and consumer applications.

Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a versatile, practical and efficient method for activating sites on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and subsequently binding a wide range of molecules to them. This new method will enable large-scale manufacture of modified CNTs.

Carl Zeiss MicroImaging announces it has been selected as a winner of the prestigious R+D 100 Awards.

The integration of single-spin magnetoelectronics into standard silicon technology may soon be possible, if experiments confirm a new theoretical prediction by physicists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The researchers predict that a family of well-known silicon surfaces, stabilized by small amounts of gold atoms, is intrinsically magnetic despite having no magnetic elements.

Crazy bands are cool because no matter how long they've been stretched around a kid's wrist, they always return to their original shape, be it a lion or a kangaroo. Now a Duke and Stanford chemistry team has found a polymer molecule that's so springy it snaps back from stretching much smaller than it was before.

ICPC Nanonet has scheduled free webinars for September.

Scientists and engineers seek to meet three goals in the production of biofuels from non-edible sources such as microalgae: efficiency, economical production and ecological sustainability. Now, researchers have uncovered a process that is a promising step toward accomplishing these three goals.

Future flash memory could be faster and store more data without changing its basic design by using a clever nanocrystal material proposed by scientists at Taiwan's Chang Gung University, who describe a new logical element made with the rare earth material gadolinium.

Because they are portable and easy to operate at ambient temperatures, cold atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJs) should find innovative applications in biomedicine, materials science and fabrication industries.

In a step toward more efficient, smaller and higher-definition display screens, a University of Michigan professor has developed a new type of color filter made of nano-thin sheets of metal with precisely spaced gratings.

Along with control of fire, iron smelting is one of the founding technological pillars of civilization. Industry has used the same basic process to make iron for over 3000 years. Yet, it is also one of the major global sources of greenhouse gas release. Iron, a basic commodity, is still produced by the greenhouse gas intensive reduction of iron oxide by carbon-coke and currently accounts for the release of one quarter of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions by industry. For instance, on average 1.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide are emitted for every tonne of steel produced. Due to a large share of coal in the energy mix of current production technology, the CO2 emissions are high. Through a new understanding of the chemistry of iron at high temperature, researchers have uncovered an effective new carbon-dioxide-free process to form iron.

The use of embedded nanosensors during minimally invasive surgery coupled with robotic technology allows the surgeon to customize the surgery for each individual patient's knee condition.

A Finnish and Swedish team headed by Andreas Walther and Olli Ikkala has now developed a nacre analogue with mechanical properties that outperform those of some high-performance polymers.

Dynasil Corporation of America has announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved seven of its Phase-II SBIR projects for awards, ranging from $750,000 to $1,000,000 each. The awards, totaling $6.2 million, are being made to its wholly owned subsidiary, Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc, to develop its state of the art nuclear sensors and instruments.

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is seeking proposals to create computer models to help build and improve electric drive vehicle (EDV) batteries.

Scientists apply a discovery in nanotechnology, based on self-assembled peptide nanotubes, to 'green' the optics and electronics industry.