Yearly Archives: 2011

The Twilight of Moore’s Law?

For decades, the computer industry has been driven by Moore’s law, which started as an observation by Intel’s Gordon Moore that computer chips doubled in capability (or shrink in size by half) every 18 months or so. But at this … Continue reading →

Posted in technology | Tagged computer, energy efficiency, eniac, Intel, koomey's law, mobile phones, moore's law, power saving, Technology Review, trends | Leave a comment

Lasers of Unusual Material

Today’s Nature Photonics story of a laser made of a kidney cell got me thinking of all the weird ways lasers can be made. Such as: they can be made out of a gin and tonic drink, on a stretchy … Continue reading →

Posted in lasers, physics, science, technology | Tagged atmospheric laser, gain medium, gin and tonic, kidney cell, laser, lasers, lasing, living laser, mars atmosphere, mars laser, natural laser, optical cavity, rubber laser, venus laser | Leave a comment

Making a Little Hydrogen

This hydrogen generator is used to make small amounts of hydrogen for chemical reactions in the analytical chemistry lab at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where scientists are searching for compounds that disrupt the growth of childhood cancers. There was … Continue reading →

Posted in science, technology | Tagged analytical chemistry, chemistry, drug discover, hydrogen generator, st. jude children's research hospital | Leave a comment

Natural Killer Cells Attack Cancer

During my research for a story on pediatric cancer, I learned about an experimental approach that turns the immune system’s natural killer (NK) cells into cancer fighting soldiers. Dr. David Shook, at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, published … Continue reading →

Posted in science, video | Tagged dr. david shook, immunotherapy, nk cells, pediatric cancer, st. jude children's research hospital, video | Leave a comment

Programming the Tubes

Computers and smart phones can be improved with software updates and new apps. Not so for networks. The way servers, found in company IT rooms and massive data centers, communicate with each other is essentially static, with instructions for traffic … Continue reading →

Posted in technology, video | Tagged cisco, facebook, google, networks, nick mckeown, onf, open networking foundation, openflow, programmable networks, software-defined networking, stanford, Technology Review, uc berkeley | Leave a comment