Technology: August 2009 Archives

In a new approach to an effective "electronic tongue" that mimics human taste, scientists in Illinois are reporting development of a small, inexpensive, lab-on-a-chip sensor that quickly and accurately identifies sweetness -- one of the five primary tastes. It can identify with 100 percent accuracy the full sweep of natural and artificial sweet substances, including 14 common sweeteners, using easy-to-read color markers.

Researchers from Norfolk State University, Purdue University and Cornell University have unveiled the tiniest laser called the Spaser. Applications including superfast computers, advanced sensors and imaging that are potentially 10 times more powerful that today's could be the result with this new innovation.