Instant Manufacturing
Machines that create products directly from digital files can save hours of painstaking human labor, compress production schedules, and eliminate costly overstock.
Features
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GE Finds Its Inner Edison
Jeffrey Immelt, a former salesman now chairman and CEO of General Electric, tells why he has a "hot button" on technological innovation-and why he's beefing up R&D in nanotechnology, molecular imaging, hydrogen power, and more.
Essay: Biotech's Big Chill
Government efforts to keep science and technology out of terrorist hands conjure images of the Cold War. But it's biomedical researchers in the United States who could be frozen out.
Essay: You Bought It. Who Controls It?
Technology makers are tamperproofing products to make them secure and prevent pirating-and are stifling innovation in the process.
Patents Go Global
A single global patent system could simplify the international patent process. Will the United States sign on?
Surveillance Nation
Webcams, tracking devices, and interlinked databases are leading to the elimination of unmonitored public space. Are we prepared for the consequences of the intelligence-gathering network we're unintentionally building?
Creating a Culture of Ideas
Nicholas Negroponte says expertise is overrated. To build a nation of innovators, we should focus on youth, diversity, and collaboration.
R&D 2002: Advanced Brain Imaging
Hitachi Advanced Research Labs' brain science applications program breaks the mold with research to improve education through brain imaging.
R&D Scorecard 2002
Research that breaks the mold.
R&D 2002: Nano Ceramics
General Electric's nanotechnology program breaks the mold with research to toughen ceramics based on the microstructure of seashells.
