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Thursday, 20 December, 2001, 19:24 GMT
Invisible circuits top science honours
![]() Tiny molecules form the basis of miniature circuits
The top scientific breakthrough of 2001 has been learning to wire up the tiny electronic components created from individual atoms and molecules by nanotechnology researchers.
"The possibilities are remarkable, because the scale is thousands of times smaller than that embodied in the very best contemporary computer chips," they say. No longer just atomic-scale novelties, nanocircuits have proved themselves capable of carrying out simple computing tasks, the first step towards developing computers so tiny they could float on the wind or swim in the blood. Genetic advance Number two on Science's list of breakthroughs is the work done in 2001 on RNA, the single-stranded sister molecule of DNA. Studies have found RNA to be much more versatile than previously realised and have uncovered a way of switching on and off the operation of individual genes in a cell. Genes are the codes that control the way all living things grow and live. The potential for science, and medicine in particular, of knowing how to control them individually is enormous, and the work could help discover just what all those genes found by the human genome project actually do. The remaining eight breakthroughs share equal honours in the Science top 10:
The International Space Station (ISS) makes an appearance, too; not in the list of breakthroughs but of breakdowns. Science highlights the platform's budget problems as one of the year's major problems, alongside what it describes as a "scientific vacuum" in the US Government. |
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