Wonder material graphene has been touted as the next silicon, with one major problem -- it is too conductive to be used in computer chips. Now scientists have given its prospects a new lifeline. Scientists have now literally opened a third dimension in graphene research. Their research shows a transistor that may prove the missing link for graphene to become the next silicon.

The first systematic power profiles of microprocessors could help lower the energy consumption of both small cell phones and giant data centers.

In an example of life imitating art, biologists and bioengineers have created a living neon sign composed of millions of bacterial cells that periodically fluoresce in unison like blinking light bulbs.

The microchip revolution has seen a steady shrinking of features on silicon chips, packing in more transistors and wires to boost chips' speed and data capacity. But in recent years, the technologies behind these chips have begun to bump up against fundamental limits, such as the wavelengths of light used for critical steps in chip manufacturing. Now, a new technique offers a way to break through one of these limits, possibly enabling further leaps in the computational power packed into a tiny sliver of silicon.

A multi-purpose optical chip which generates, manipulates and measures entanglement and mixture -- two quantum phenomena which are essential driving forces for tomorrow's quantum computers -- has now been developed. This work represents an important step forward in the race to develop a quantum computer.

After having revealed the electronic advantages of molybdenite, researchers in Switzerland have now taken the next definitive step. The researchers have made a chip, or integrated circuit, confirming that molybdenite can surpass the physical limits of silicon in terms of miniaturization, electricity consumption, and mechanical flexibility.

For decades, scientists have dreamed of building computer systems that could replicate the human brain's talent for learning new tasks. Researchers have now taken a major step toward that goal by designing a computer chip that mimics how the brain's neurons adapt in response to new information. This phenomenon, known as plasticity, is believed to underlie many brain functions, including learning and memory.

Researchers have developed a low-power microchip that uses a combination of microfluidics and magnetic switches to trap and transport magnetic beads. The novel transport chip may have applications in biotechnology and medical diagnostics.

Auditors Ernst & Young presented the German Biotechnology Report 2011 “Weichen stellen” at the Stuttgart Stock Exchange on 19 April. The event was hosted by BioRegio STERN Management GmbH and LBBW Venture Capital GmbH. Although Ernst & Young had already published the annual industry survey on 4 April, many entrepreneurs and investors from the region took up the invitation to learn about the details and analyses at first hand.

Auditors Ernst & Young presented its latest “Pulse of the Industry” medical technology report as guests of BioRegio STERN Management GmbH and the Medical Valley Hechingen Academy at the Villa Eugenia in Hechingen on Wednesday, 30 March. The annual report provides figures and detailed analyses on the performance of an industry that continues to be highly successful, yet needs to face up to new challenges.