February 23, 2006

Magnetic randomaccess-memory (MRAM) could make it possible to store 100 movies on a coin-sized chip, even when it (the chip) is powered down.

Hasbro's Nerf basketballs are wired with electroluminescent (EL) light from Elam EL Industries Ltd., Jerusalem, Israel.

Eyeballs, a severed hand, fingers in Ziplock bags, and back-alley eye replacements.

Scaled Composites LLC used finite-element analysis to analyze buckling and optimize the weight of its SpaceShipOne.

A study by IBM and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation says the Chinese automotive industry faces significant challenges as it continues to expand.

IBM, which has received more U.S. patents than any other company for 13 years in a row, is working with the U.S. Patent Office to improve patent quality.

South Africa-based PBMR (Pty) Ltd. will get the core structure ceramics for its Pebble Bed Modular Reactor from SGL Carbon Group

The EZ-Rocket, a plane developed and built by Xcor Aerospace, Mojave, Calif., flew for 10 min this past December, setting a record for the longest flight ever for a rocket-powered plane.

Postage-stamp-sized microfluid chips that perform multiple chemical reactions in sequence may boost production of imaging tracers for biological research, drug discovery, and patient diagnostics, say developers at UCLA.

Turning physical shapes and prototypes into digital data just got a little more convenient, thanks to Faro Technologies Inc., Lake Mary, Fla.

Wheeling, Ill. . . . The North American Die Casting Association (Nadca) has launched an online technical forum to answer questions posed by designers, buyers, and die-casting specifiers.

Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory have found that gold "shines" in a different way at the nanoscale.

High-temperature superconductors — materials that conduct electricity without resistance when cooled to liquid-nitrogen temperature — find use in RF filters for mobile-telephone networks, MRI machines, and particle accelerators.

Civil engineers at Purdue University are developing a new generation of corrosion-resistant plastic bars reinforced with glass or carbon fibers that promises to double the time between expensive bridge repairs.

The Gripen DK fighter aircraft has been cleared for takeoff in the competition to replace Denmark's aging fleet of F-16s.