The likes of botulism and anthrax in the air aren't necessarily
cause for alarm. The
first nationwide census of airborne bacteria aims to differentiate
between natural and suspicious fluctuations in airborne pathogens
by cataloging the thousands of species that constantly drift
and swirl aloft.
Laser
bursts lasting just one-quadrillionth of a second can determine
the chemical composition of all kinds of solids with unprecedented
accuracy.
To mimic their big brothers,
nanoscale semiconductors will have to be doped one atom at a
time. It's just been done
with buckyballs.
Busting Malaria With Designer Bugs
The most promising and potent antimalarial drug is the plant
extract artemisinin. It's also the scarcest and most expensive.
The fledgling field of synthetic biology may provide a much
less expensive means of making this vital drug available where
it is needed most — by engineering
bacteria to make it.
Just One Junction Grabs All the Light
Efficiency is the fundamental issue for solar cells: how much
of the light that falls on them can they convert to electricity?
Most photovoltaics respond to only a narrow range of the sun's
many colors, but with a newly discovered material, a single-layered
cell responds to sunlight's entire spectrum.
March
24, 2004
