Best of the Week

Drive-by Gun Scans Prompt Privacy Questions

Police hope terahertz-scanning devices can be more effective than patting people down, but civil rights groups are wary.

Twitter Bots Create Surprising New Social Connections

Researchers show how simple programs posing as real people can shape interactions on Twitter.

Eye Study Is a Small but Crucial Advance for Stem-Cell Therapy

The results show that the treatment can be safe, but whether it can be effective is another question.

Smallest-Ever Nanotube Transistors Outperform Silicon

A nine-nanometer device shows that nanotubes could be a viable alternative to silicon as electronics get even tinier.

Business Impact

January | The Connected Vehicle

The Online Map Wars

Inspired by Wikipedia, Waze lets app users draw its maps.

Better Place Launches Electric Fleet in Israel

A network of fast battery-switching stations offers an unusual business model for electric cars.

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New Virtual Helper Challenges Siri

An app named Evi uses semantic data to provide a wider range of answers.

In the Developing World, Solar Is Cheaper than Fossil Fuels

Advances are opening solar to the 1.3 billion people who don't have access to grid electricity.

Startup Makes Peel-Off Solar Cells

Astrowatt's wafer-making method could mean cheaper solar power.

Wasting Hackers' Time to Keep Websites Safe

Instead of blocking attacks, a startup distracts attackers with false information.

Startup Makes 'Wireless Router for the Brain'

Kendall Research's devices could make optogenetics research much more practical.

Tabletop Computer Knows You by Your Shoes

A system with foot-level cameras aims to cure the problem of multiple people using one touch screen.

Fracking Quakes Shake the Shale Gas Industry

Well shutdowns prompted by fracking-induced seismicity may inspire technology tweaks.

New Apps Let Facebook Record Your Personal History

The site can now provide summaries and stats that offer a window on your life months or years in the past.

Photosynthesis Fuel Company Gets a Large Investment

Joule Unlimited will build a production plant for turning sunlight and CO2 into liquid fuels.

Yahoo Predicts America's Political Winners

The effort combines a variety of data-driven approaches.

New Process Makes Heat-Harvesting Materials Cheaply

Such materials could be used to cool computers and buildings, and harvest waste heat in cars.

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Clean Energy

A Technology Review Special Report focusing on innovations in alternative energy sources and the technologies driving them.

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Meet 2011 TR35 Winner Pieter Abbeel

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Technology Review Archives

December 1976

The Prospect for Fusion

By David J. Rose
Enormous difficulties have developed in the attempt to control the energy of the stars. But that is inevitable at this stage of humankind's largest technological venture.

Nominate a TR35

Who are the best young innovators from around the world? We're taking nominations for the 2012 edition of the TR35.

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Technology Review Lists

TR50

Our list of the 50 most innovative companies, including the following:

Silver Spring Networks

Applied Materials

Novartis

Geron

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