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In a number of recent Hollywood hit films, robots do all kinds of spectacular things, from battling it out in boxing rings to saving the world from alien invaders. Seagate Technology is helping university students in Thailand bring those futuristic visions a little closer to reality.

A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME) announces a collaboration with Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, for the research and development of advanced power electronics devices.

Clues to how a rare group of patients can resist infection by HIV are reported in a paper this week in Nature Immunology. So-called ‘elite controllers’ are able to retain normal immune function and undetectable levels of HIV infection despite regular exposure to the virus.

An innovative computer program brings color to grayscale images

Imaging nanoporous metals with beams of electrons provides deep insights into the unusual optical properties of these materials

New patterning technique produces a faithful reproduction of grayscale images down to the micrometer level

A*STAR’s Snap2Tell image recognition technology is at the forefront of new media applications for mobile phone and iPad users.

A comprehensive analysis of endangered species threat records and of international trade patterns shows how consumers in developed countries drive biodiversity threats in developing countries. The study reveals that, excluding invasive species, 30% of global species threats are due to international trade.

Opening a way to a new hybrid composite, Mohd Iqbal Misnon and collaborators of UiTM Shah Alam, Malaysia tested hybrid composites made of rubberwood, coconut shell and textile fabrics (woven cotton and polyester fabrics).

Singapore, 6 June 2012 - The 2nd phase will build on the work accomplished in Phase I to develop 3 product-oriented (PO) devices, namely, the Oscillator, Magnetometer and Energy Harvester, which are among the fastest growing MEMS devices in the next five years.

The resulting technology will substantially enhance performance, lower costs and shrink the size of multi-megapixel image sensors found in mobile applications such as smart phones, digital cameras and tablet personal computers.

Singapore, 4 June 2012 - The temperature sensor will be part of a tyre pressure monitoring system which maintains the correct tyre pressure for comfortable driving, fuel efficiency, longer tyre-life and higher safety for the driver.

A rapid rise in radiocarbon around AD 775 measured in tree rings is attributed to an increase of cosmic-ray intensity. The specific cause of this cosmic-ray event remains to be determined, but this study suggests that neither a solar flare nor a local supernova is likely to have been responsible.

From fish collagen for cosmetics and medical applications to multi-petaflop supercomputing, and environmentally responsive organic materials—the Tokyo Institute of Technology Bulletin contains the latest information about cutting edge research projects and related activities at Tokyo Tech.

Tokyo Tech’s Toshiyuki Ikoma and Junzo Tanaka have developed technology for producing artificial bones from fish scales and apatite. Ikoma describes the potential of fish collagen for cosmetics, artificial bones, and other medical applications in a video interview in the latest issue of Tokyo Tech’s online newsletter the Tokyo Tech Bulletin.

Singapore, 31 May 2012 - Singapore today announced the establishment of the Advanced Remanufacturing & Technology Centre (ARTC), the first centre in Asia to look into research and development (R&D) to develop technologies for remanufacturing that can be readily adopted by industry.

The genome sequence of the tomato, a major crop plant and a model system for fruit development, is published in this week’s Nature. Analysis of the sequence provides insights into the evolution of genes that control fruit characteristics, such as colour and fleshiness.

Najua Tulos and co-researchers of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, studied the potential of chitosan to dye polyester fabric. Produced commercially by removing the acetyl groups from chitin (a derivative of glucose), chitosan was found to greatly improve the colourfastness of polyester fabrics.

Singapore, 30 May 2012: Hitachi and Data Storage Institute (DSI), a research institute of A*STAR are devising a data compression technique to tackle the increasing volume of genome sequencing data generated by the healthcare and biomedical industry.

A study of the evolution of bird skulls from their primitive reptilian ancestors reveals that the skulls of adult birds are very similar to those of young dinosaurs. Retention of juvenile features in the adult may have had an important role in the evolution of bird skulls, according to the report in Nature this week.

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today announced the exceptional achievements of local innovators at the 40th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva.

The latest news and events from the world of nanotechnology. Including the 2013 IEEE International Nanoelectronics Conference, 2013 IEEE 26th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems and details of the 12th Asia Pacific Physics Conference

The University of Strathclyde has been selected as the exclusive European partner university for South Korea’s global research and commercialisation programme.

The IME and NXP team will collaborate on the development of process technologies for the manufacturing of GaN devices on 200mm wafer, which is expected to bring about considerable reduction in manufacturing cost compared to using smaller size wafers.

Nature News has gained access to an independent report that offer a comprehensive assessment of radiation doses received by workers following last year's meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Independent experts contacted by Nature say that the risk presented by the doses described in each report are low.

Discovery of a sensory organ in the jaws of rorqual whales might provide clues about how these large creatures feed. According to a report in this week’s Nature, the organ seems to be involved in coordinating a number of processes — from prey detection to jaw movements — that facilitates lunge feeding.

‘Tractor beams’ of light that pull objects towards them are no longer science fiction. Haifeng Wang at the A*STAR Data Storage Institute and co-workers have now demonstrated how a tractor beam can in fact be realized on a small scale.

New intelligent algorithms could help robots to quickly recognize and respond to human gestures. Researchers at A*STAR Institute for Infocomm Research in Singapore have created a computer program which recognises human gestures quickly and accurately, and requires very little training.

A novel approach to designing artificial materials could enable magnetic devices with a wider range of properties than those now available. An international team of researchers have now extended the properties and potential uses of metamaterials by using not one but two very different classes of nanostructures, or metamolecules.

The innovative plastics offer improved performance and wider viewing angles over existing anti-reflective plastics in the market. This plastic uses a locally-developed nanotechnology method that creates a complex pattern of super tiny structures that mimic the patterns found on a moth’s eye, which has a unique method of diffusing light.