Liquid metal coolant for computer chips.
With advances in computational speed, thermal management has become a major concern in computer systems. To remove residual heat generated from computer chips or large scale integrated circuit raises, a research team from The Chinese Academy of Sciences Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry in Beijing, headed by Professor...

The bionic age begins: neural implants will treat tremors, paralysis, and even memory loss.
THEODORE BERGER, A PROFESSOR OF ENGineering at the University of Southern California, is ready for the era of the bionic brain. He has spent 30 years developing computer chips that can link with neurons in an effort to compensate for memory loss. The chips that can do it exist....

Frontiers of Science: join us at the cutting edge of tomorrow's possibilities.
LOOKING BACKWARD HAS NEVER THRILLED the editors at Discover--except, perhaps, to imagine the lifestyle of Sahelanthropus tchadensis, thought to be the earliest-known hominid. Instead, we have always preferred to peer ahead. Our very first issue in October 1980 set the tone: full of prognostications about computer art (rendering fur,...

'Fab'-rication splits an industry: semiconductor makers face a dilemma: whether to own or rent, build a billion-dollar plant, or "fab," or contract with another chipmaker. The stakes are high and the challenges daunting.
To compete in the fast-moving semiconductor industry, companies have to be ready to make billion-dollar decisions in a Silicon Valley second. It's a business ruled by a basic principle that says new technology will soon be sent to the dustbin of history by newer technology. For chipmakers,...

Jane South: Spencer Brownstone Gallery.
My initial impulse on seeing the nine sculptural assemblages in Jane South's recent exhibition at Spencer Brownstone Gallery was a juvenile one: I wanted to touch them. The checklist described the objects on view as made of cut paper and mixed media, and, with the exception of one floor-bound...

Beyond bar codes.
In the future, your refrigerator might alert you when the milk has gone sour. At the grocery store, cashiers won't need to scan bar codes because products will provide the data on their own. And packages and letters will carry electronic tags that send messages about where they are....

Ray of light: we shine a light on UV--a new technology for controlling chloramines at your pool.
We all know the reasons why chlorine is used to clean a pool, and swimmers certainly notice its presence. But recently, it's catching on that pool operators can keep a clean community pool without the odor and irritation of chlorine. The use of industrial ultraviolet (UV) technology for controlling...

Pushing the PC to the speed of light.
Computer components are shrinking, but the chips they sit on keep getting larger, creating information delays from one circuit to another. So electrical and computer engineer Kenneth O is creating a miniature wireless network to transmit data right across the chip. O and his graduate students at the University...

STEP IT UP!
A simple and relatively inexpensive device can help you and your family members stride toward fitness. Pedometers, which count the number of steps you take each day, range in price from $16 to $130. And computer chips have greatly improved today's versions. Now besides computing how many steps you...

Artistic neurons.
STEVE M. POTTER, A BIOMEDICAL engineer at Georgia Tech and at the Emory University School of Medicine, is giving rat neurons a chance to draw pictures. This seemingly whimsical endeavor is part of an effort to link brain cells with computer chips, a step toward building a smart machine....