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The article reports that Carisbad, California-based Luxtera Inc. (LI) has found a way to hasten the journey of electrons between chips. LI discovered how to get signals in and out of chips on the backs of light waves. It controls costs by working in bulk silicon and using the complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology. LI has also sculpted a laser, waveguide, and modulator into a tightly coupled silicon package. And the company claims that its chip handles 10 gigabits per second.

The article reports on the status of delivering broadband over power lines in the U.S. The idea of delivering Internet service over power lines has arrived in the U.S. For instance, IBM Corp. and CenterPoint Energy Inc. announced a pilot broadband-over-power-line (BPL) project in Houston, Texas. The potential of BPL for monitoring and controlling its own power networks is emphasized. Also testing the service are Google Inc., which has invested in the technology, and Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc., which have joined in writing standards.

The U.N. working group on disaster reduction advocated building a tsunami early-warning system in the Indian Ocean, but nothing happened. Now the U.N. wants to put one together in a year. This article focuses on the creation of a sensor, which will be put on the Pacific Ocean's floor to detect variations in water pressure, and relay the data to tsunami warning centers. Such sensors will soon be put in the Indian Ocean. The Pacific warning system ties together two elements such as a surveillance network of seismic sensors, tide gauges, and satellites and detailed maps of the ocean floor. Together they enable scientists to predict how hard a given tsunami will hit a given target's shores. Neither the monitoring nor the mapping has gone very far in the Indian Ocean.

The article presents the "IEEE Spectrum" periodical's 2004 list of the ten top technology companies for the next ten years. The magazine tried to divine the future from a collection of the most daring technology start-ups in 2004. It narrowed the field by considering technological innovations in conjunction with the people who have bet on them; people, unlike new ideas, have track records that can be vetted. The board of editors of "IEEE Spectrum" did the vetting, aided by many IEEE fellows.

Focuses on the concept of tailoring the right drugs for patients, due varying genetic differences. Overview on the inconvenience of administering drugs due to genetic differences of patients; Explanation on the proof of the concept; Two important things to understand before customizing medicine.

Reports on the scientific collaboration on bioremediation of carbon between the U.S. Department of Energy and Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives. Purpose of the project; Budget; Benefit of the study for the ecosystem.

The article examines how legislation and politics affect biotechnology research in the United States. The biotechnology industry is faced with two difficult challenges. One is the redefinition of intellectual property rights and the other is the possibility that stem cell research will be impeded. Intellectual property debate now awaits the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on the case of Festo Corp. versus Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki. Meanwhile, the political debate on stem cells is raging in U.S. Congress.

The article profiles physician and biological researcher Terence Kealey. Kealey is a physician turned biochemist turned historian of science. In his book, "The Economic Laws of Scientific Research," he claims that the U.S. and Great Britain led the world economically and technologically because their governments had the least priority for funding public science. He points out that the government subsidies were later found to be wasted on white elephants such as Charles Babbage's failed clockwork computer.

This article offers a look at the establishment of regenerative medicine-based biotechnology companies in Europe. While Europe is a latecomer to the biotechnology industry compared to the United States, the field of regenerative medicine, the art and science of repairing shattered organs, could spur development of the industry. CellFactors, in Cambridge, Great Britain, has gone one product made of living cells--for Parkinson's disease--and another extracted from cell culture--to encourage bone re growth. But with a burn rate of $150,000 a month and just $3 million in funding, it can not afford to push ahead with both programs. For now, CellFactors plans to place its extract Skeletax for bone re growth into clinical trials in early 2002. Other promising therapies come from the patient. In what is known as autologous grafting, cells are taken from the patient, manipulated in a laboratory and re implanted. The idea, pioneered 15 years ago in the United States, have become popular in Europe, where many countries classify self-grafts as non drugs. Even so, Modex Therapeutics, in Lausanne, Switzerland, has volunteered to stage human trials for its autologous skin replacement, EpiDex, to win over doctors, insurers and regulators. Early results are promising; final data is due in 2002. What about stem cells for regenerative medicine? Research on embryonic stem cells is far from the clinic, and perhaps a bit farther now that U.S. President George W. Bush has limited U.S. research to colonies of cells that have already been founded. The governments of Europe, however, are offering warmer support for embryonic stem-cell research. But that is only half the story. Stem cells remain in the realm of pure research, the fruits of which will help all companies, everywhere. The patents that arise will simply go to the highest bidder, probably in licensing agreements--on both sides of the Atlantic. Only then will bio technologists begin turning ideas into products.

Discusses how the military philosophy of the U.S. government has led to an increased funding for development of security related start-ups in the country. Impetus to a long-meditated drive to shed conventional military strategies; Emphasis on the primacy of intelligence in the military doctrines held by the U.S.; Use of advanced devices in data communications and computing networks.

Reports on stroke-information search or `spiders' that is used in the Internet to search for keywords in the title or the body of a digitized document. Simultaneous scanning of documents from the world's Web sites; Construction of master bibliography that shows which books cited which others; Funding from venture capitalists; Yahoo! web service by David Filo and Jerry Yang.

The article features Antioch, California-based small linear actuator manufacturer NanoMuscle. NanoMuscle President Rod MacGregor believes that his company's tiny linear actuators could replace miniature motors used in toys, cameras, disk drives and automobile controls. The company was established in 1998 and it is preparing to produce millions of the metal muscles which about the size of a paper clip whose active component is a very thin wire with a nano-scale inner structure. The company depends on the shape-memory alloy, which is able to contract, pulling in a linear direction, if heated beyond a critical temperature.

The article reports that the San Diego, California-based company, BoltBlocker, is developing a lightning rod made of a single squirt of lightly salted water held together by a pinch of polymer. The device is meant to protect electronic devices, like microwave relays, from lighting. According to the engineers who developed the device, the system's polymer is used in industrial water-cutting machines that can take the leaves off trees from a hundred yards away. BoltBlocker is seeking venture financing to develop a manufacturable version of the device.

Predicts that molecular electronics will become the first major application of nanotechnology to evolved into an early-stage technological developments. Developments that evoked the interests of investors in nanotech industry; Demonstration of the theoretical possibility of nanotechnology application; Development of ultralow-cost memory for disposable smart cards and inventory tags.

For all the amazement that swarms of consumer-grade drones provoke—flying in choreographed clusters to form logos, pictures, and even QR codes in the sky—they're also a subject of some strategic concern among national security experts. Drone swarms, one analyst says, are the new WMD (weapon of mass destruction); “slaughterbots” are the new nightmare technology, says another; one prominent media account describes “sin-ister” flocks of “really creepy” drones buzzing residents in rural areas and raising fears of mass surveillance, or worse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Profiles the leaders in the field of general technology as chosen in Scientific American's Top 50 technology leaders. The development of light-emitting polymer (LEP) displays at Cambridge Display Technology; Research leaders Alexander Pines and John Clarke of the University of California at Berkeley; Jeffrey Immelt of General Electric Company; New Jersey Representative Rush Holt as a policy leader.

Profiles the leaders in the field of transportation as chosen in Scientific American's Top 50 technology leaders. Dean Kamen of DEKA Research and Development Corporation; Hiroyuki Yoshino of Honda Motor Company; Fran Pavley of the California State Assembly as a policy leader; Low-cost rocket engines at XCOR Aerospace.

Profiles the leaders in the field of medical diagnosis as chosen in Scientific American's Top 50 technology leaders. Gary W. Small, director of the Aging and Memory Center of the University of California, on the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease; Peter D. Meldrum of Myriad Genetics; Eric Goemaere of Doctors Without Borders; The use of genetics at Celera Diagnostics.

Profiles the leaders in the field of medical treatments as chosen in Scientific American's Top 50 technology leaders. Anthony J. Atala as the director of tissue engineering at the Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts; Emilio A. Emini of Merck & Company; Kofi A. Annan of the United Nations as a policy leader; Cancer treatments at IDEC Pharmaceuticals.

Profiles the leaders in the field of manufacturing as chosen in Scientific American's Top 50 technology leaders. Sunlin Chou of the Technology and Manufacturing Group at Intel Corporation; A group of scientists that work on self-assembling circuits for molecular computing; The building of small optical components at Nanoopto Corporation; Alice H. Amsden, professor of political economy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as a policy leader.

Profiles the leaders in the field of environmentalism as chosen in Scientific American's Top 50 technology leaders. Joan Bavaria of Trillium Asset Management as a business leader; Michael E. Mann, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia, on the debate over global warming; Power plants at the Public Service Electric and Gas of New Jersey; S. William Becker of State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators as a policy leader.

Profiles three executives who are leaders in computing. Paul Horn, director at IBM Research; Ann Beeson, staff counsel at American Civil Liberties Union; John Kubiatowicz, assistant professor of computer science, University of California, Berkeley; Work at Matrix Semiconductor on integrating circuits.

Profiles the leaders in the field of defense as chosen in Scientific American's Top 50 technology leaders. Joaquin H. Castro,manager of the hypersonic programs at Prat & Whitney Space Propulsion, as a research leader; Gilman Louie, president of In-Q-Tel, as a business leader; Unmanned spy planes at Northrop Grumman Corporation; Lieutenant General John Riggs, director of the U.S. Army Objective Force Task Force, as a policy leader.

Focuses on the visions of leaders in chemicals and materials research. Anthoula Lazaris and Costas Karatzas, executives at Nexia Biotechnologies; Randy Howard, president of Cargill Dow; Jon S. Corzine, U.S. Senator from New Jersey; Work of Motorola company using semiconductors in hybrid integrated-circuit chips.

Focuses on the visions of three executives in agricultural research. Allison A. Snow, professor of evolution, ecology and organizational biology at Ohio State University; G. Steven Burrill, chief executive officer at Burrill & Company; Sandra L. Postel, director of Global Water Policy Project; Work of Prodigene company with transgenic corn.

Profiles Geoffrey Ballard, chairman of General Hydrogen. His idea that hydrogen can replace gasoline as an automotive fuel; Ballard's dual citizenship of Canada and the United States; Career highlights including fuel-cell research.

Profiles Stephen Goff of Syngent'a Torrey Mesa Research Institute, Huanming Yang of Beijing Genomics Institute, and Jun Yu of the University of Washington Genome Center. Outlook for their vision of deciphering the genome of rice to make a breakthrough in farming.

Introduces articles honoring individuals, teams and companies in the technology sector as part of the annual roundup, the Scientific American 50.