Scientists have developed artificial genetic molecules with different structural backbones (XNA, TNA) and/ or a different nucleic acid alphabet. (from April 2012)
Electron microscope studies reveal that the electron bombardment leads to polymerization of the outer layer of some insect larva's skin and protects them from dehydration. Artificial method to create this effect tested as well. Allows observation of living animals under electron microscope! Question: can the insects still breath after they are back in air? :-S
The Robobee takes off without guide wires!
It is still powered via a wire, and the control is done with the help of a VICON system and on an external computer, but this still is an amazing feat!
The way they make this thing is just as impressive. The manufacturing technique is "pop-up book" folding, a method that has been developed by the same group and that allows a two dimensional monolithic MEMS structures to be easily assembled into a 3D structure. I actually put this as an item of the "Technology List 2020" on the wiki this morning.
Linked to the discussion we had last week on elastically non-linear polymers. The inverted liquid->solid phase transition might be interesting and the material might be self-healing just above the transition.
Really cool research. I think that the potential of analog computing has been neglected for quite a long time. Building the whole thing within a single cell makes it only more awesome.