Today's computers often use as many as four different kinds of memory technology, from the hard drive to the memory chips, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. A new memory technology may be poised to disrupt this landscape, however, with a unique combination of features. It goes by the unwieldy acronym STT-MRAM, which stands for spin-transfer torque magnetic random access memory.

For well over a decade, electrical engineer Holger Schmidt has been developing devices for optical analysis of samples on integrated chip-based platforms, with applications in areas such as biological sensors, virus detection, and chemical analysis. The latest device from his lab is based on novel technology that combines high-performance microfluidics for sample processing with dynamic optical tuning and switching, all on a low-cost "chip" made ...

Sharks, skates, and rays can detect very weak electric fields produced by prey and other animals using an array of unusual organs known as the ampullae of Lorenzini. Exactly how these electrosensory organs work has remained a mystery, but a new study has revealed an important clue that may have implications for other fields of research.

Scientists at UC Santa Cruz and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have reported the first example of ultrafast 3D-printed graphene supercapacitor electrodes that outperform comparable electrodes made via traditional methods. Their results open the door to novel, unconstrained designs of highly efficient energy storage systems for smartphones, wearables, implantable devices, electric cars and wireless sensors.