When watching most science fiction movies, you probably can’t help thinking about how glad you are to live in such a simple, non-apocalyptic world. The only problem is, our world isn’t really that simple anymore. The fact is, it’s closer to science fiction than you think. Believe it or not, proof of this can be seen in the lengths that scientists have gone in discovering new and more efficient ways of making flash memory drives.

Just a decade ago, the best option that we had for easy on-the-go storage was a bulky and relatively fragile 3.5” hard disk drive. With IBM introducing the first commercial USB flash drives in 2000, the world quickly realized the amazing benefits of flash memory and as interest rose, so did the technology. Flash drives rose quickly from a mere 64 MB all the way to the 64 GB drives of today. Read the rest of this entry »

The days of science fiction are over. It seems the ideas once thought to be impossible are now only several lab tests away from becoming reality (i.e., designer babies and steaks grown in petri dishes). On the video side of technology, we already have a complete convergence of digital technology on our hand-held devices, not to mention the ability to make paper-thin, “go-anywhere” digital displays. However, there are those who desire something just a little more portable than the fore mentioned. Lucky for them, they need not wait too long, for scientists are developing the most portable of all displays: the LED tattoo.

The brains at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Illinois, and Tufts University in Medford, MA, have combined their research to develop implantable silk-silicon electronics. These implantable electronics include silk-silicon LEDs that can be placed into the skin, as well as biocompatible electrodes that could work in conjunction with the nervous system. The intention is to apply this technology to medical devices, such as blood-sugar readings that would automatically appear on the skin. Philips’ Design Probe took a different approach to the obvious medical implementation. Their vision is a world of touch sensitive body art, or “interactive skin technology.” Read the rest of this entry »