Researchers have designed a system capable of simultaneously measuring hundreds of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and rapidly testing new RFID tag prototypes.

With the aid of multiple antenna technology, ETH Zurich researchers have succeeded in quadrupling the existing transmission rate of conventional networks from 54 megabytes per second (Mbps) to 216 Mbps. The successful tests involving several users were conducted within the framework of a research project funded by the European Union.

A new antenna made of plasma (a gas heated to the point that the electrons are ripped free of atoms and molecules) works just like conventional metal antennas, except that it vanishes when you turn it off.

In a major feat of nanotechnology engineering researchers from Harvard University have demonstrated a laser with a wide-range of potential applications in chemistry, biology and medicine. Called a quantum cascade (QC) laser nanoantenna, the device is capable of resolving the chemical composition of samples, such as the interior of a cell, with unprecedented detail.