The chaos computer chip

TheDepartment of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida in Gainesville, is exploiting the principles of chaos to build a revolutionary computer chip that just may prove faster, cheaper, and far more flexible than traditional designs.

Their chip is like the microelectronic version of a stem cell: It's a device that can assume all sorts of different functions. But a chaotic chip goes one step further: It can morph over and over again. For computer design, this has huge implications. In a traditional chip, the basic elements, called logic gates, are hardwired to perform a single, specific task. In a chaotic chip, each logic gate can be converted on the fly to perform any function.

What this means is that computers will no longer need separate, costly chips for the CPU, memory, video RAM, graphics accelerators, arithmetic processing units, and so on. Instead, one chip will convert itself to whatever functions the software needs at a given moment.

If all goes well, we'll see the fruits of this chaos long before another decade rolls around. Their new company called ChaoLogix, will develop the technology, and they expect to have a demonstration chip ready in January.



Silicon Brains

IBM, in conjunction with scientists at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, is working on the first complete computer-based model of a human brain. Using the IBM supercomputer Blue Gene, the fastest computer in the world, researchers have been noodling with a software-driven version of the neocortex, a part of the brain that is unique to mammals and that handles most of our cognitive functions.

The model brain could also serve as an example for infusing future robots and artificial intelligence systems with humanlike responses and capabilities. Meanwhile, European researchers have created neuro-chips that fuse together brain cells and microprocessors. Scientists put 16,000 transistors and hundreds of capacitors onto a tiny chip and glued neurons on in such a way that they can pass electrical signals to the chip. The hope is that the technology could lead to prosthetic devices for people with neurological handicaps.



Bacterial Photography

It's been a rough few years for 35mm film. First digital photography took all of its glory—and now even lowly bacteria can capture a Kodak moment. Using a genetically modified form of E coli—the bacteria that can wreak havoc at cookouts—rese archers at the University of California San Francisco have developed a biological light sensor. The images it creates take hours to form and are monochrome only, but bacteria's minute size allows for super-high resolution, about 100 megapixels per square inch—ten times what you can get today!

So how could we use this technology? We could use it to make a bacterial camera; a microorganism that can produce energy; or a bacterium that can find a tumor, bond to it, and release a drug.




Tritium Batteries

One of the least pursued and yet most profound developments in energy technology is the battery that virtually never needs a recharge. Known as the BetaBattery, this little powerhouse could provide continuous power for up to 40 years.

For now, the technology is just for offbeat applications such as sensor networks for monitoring traffic and for communication satellites, not for consumer electronics. The BetaBattery is not based on chemical reaction. Instead, it relies on the decay of the hydrogen isotope tritium. This continuous emission of electrons is the key to the ever-present charge in BetaBatteries. That kind of longevity is much longer than conventional batteries can muster.



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In a recent survey, 47% of Americans said they thought there was a serious immigration problem that this administration needed to address.

...the other 53% responded, "No hablo Ingles."