BBC Knowledge Asia Edition

DISCOVERIES

THAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE

P O O BRYAN MELTZ/EMORY PHOTO X2, LIU, RICE UNIVERSITY, ISTOCK X2, NATUREPL.COM, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

Flat

camera

A flat camera with no lens could better

today’s smartphone snappers in

low-light conditions. To house lenses,

today’s cameras are cube-shaped.

But Rice University scientists have

developed a prototype that’s around

1mm thick, enabling it to be built into

wallpaper, credit cards and curved

surfaces. The FlatCam has a mask

instead of a lens and constructs an

image using computer algorithms.

Since they’re made like computer

chips, the breakthrough could lead

to cheap, disposable digital cameras.

A microphone with a vibrating graphene

membrane has been made at the

University of Belgrade. It’s 32 times

more sensitive than current commercial

models based on nickel. Eventually,

graphene mics could capture more

than just audible frequencies – a

membrane with more layers could pick

up ultrasonic sound.

Graphene

microphone

Hairy

clothing

New lensless, flat cameras could be built into wallpaper

Seeing round

corners

It’s now possible to see around corners

thanks to a new camera developed

at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

The camera scatters a laser beam in

all directions and detects any ‘echoes’

that hit objects and return to the

camera. Applications include dashboard

cameras that show drivers potential

hazards around the next bend.

PHOT

O:

B

The dream of sending

microscopic robots

through the body to deliver

drugs or repair tissue

is a step closer. A DNA

motor devised by Emory

University chemists moves

at the speed of 1cm per

week – a vast improvement

on previous designs that

would have taken 20 years

to cover the same distance.

It consists of a glass sphere

with hundreds of DNA

legs. The legs bind to RNA

on a surface and then

detach from the sphere to

propel it along. The motor

could be used in disease

diagnosis or even biological

computers.

10

DNA

motors

Khalida Salaita and Kevin Yehl

(below) helped create a new

‘high-speed’ DNA motor

Fur is probably the last material you’d

think would be water-repellent, but

scientists at MIT have proved otherwise.

They found that long, dense hairs help

the skin below stay dry by trapping air

between them. Also, the trapped air

doesn’t conduct heat anywhere near as

well as water, so it helps semi-aquatic

animals like fur seals and otters to stay

warm too. The research could

lead to better wetsuits

and waterproof

clothing.

Update

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