
Scientific American 50
TRENDS

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Scientific American 50
TRENDS

Research Leader of the Year: The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, U.K.

Amyris Biotechnologies, Emeryville, Calif.
The emerging field of synthetic biology provides candidates for a new generation of biofuels

Policy Leader of the Year: X Prize Foundation, Santa Monica, Calif.
The lure of multimillion-dollar prizes prompts inventors to pursue breakthroughs in space travel, DNA sequencing, automotive fuel efficiency, and robotics

Connections to an Untethered Future
Delivering electric power through the air cuts the final cord

Getting from Here to There
A protein borrowed from the rabies virus gets a drug to where it is needed

Fueling Alternatives
Engineers make progress toward new green fuels and energy storage devices

Advances in Ultrameasurement
Zeptoliter pipettes and quantum rulers give new meaning to the word "small"

Fighting Toxins in the Home
Everyday materials may pose health and environmental threats

Mosquitoes Enlisted to Beat Malaria
Bugs engineered to avoid transmitting the disease could outcompete bugs that do transmit it

Material World
Scientists take inspiration from nature and instill novel magnetic properties

Neurological Insights
Biologists devise a memory on a chip and new ways to tackle Alzheimer's

Light Manipulation
New technologies exercise extraordinary control over light

Sun Power Gets a Boost
A stolen idea from the plant world could improve prospects for solar power

Progress against Prions
Ideas for treating the human form of mad cow disease begin to emerge

Stem Cell Control
The essential character of the mother of all cells reveals itself in a set of breakthrough findings

Squirt and Spin
Printers squirt out silicon chips, and the spin of electrons is used in computer logic

Making Them Whole
Artificial limbs and a prosthetic arm create a path to better bionics

The Fastest Way to Get There
Novel ways of calculating routes and predicting traffic jams promise less time in the car

See-Through Technology and Better Sleep
A mix of technology accompanies the doings of a maverick researcher

Hot Spots Unplugged
Long considered fixed founts of molten material from deep within the planet, hot spots now join the list of moving parts

The Human Instrument
When judged by its size, our vocal system fails to impress as a musical instrument. How then can singers produce all those remarkable sounds?

A Solar Grand Plan
By 2050 solar power could end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and slash greenhouse gas emissions

Second Thoughts on Fluoride
New research indicates that a cavity-fighting treatment could be risky if overused

Taming Vessels to Treat Cancer
Restoring order to the chaotic blood vessels inside a tumor opens a window of opportunity for attacking it. Surprisingly, drugs meant to destroy vasculature can make the repairs and may help reverse conditions that lead to cardiovascular disease and blindness

Self-Powered Nanotech
Nanosize machines need still tinier power plants