Researchers in Australia said on Sunday they had made with pinpoint accuracy a working transistor consisting of a single atom, marking a major stride towards next-generation computing. The device comprises a single phosphorus atom, etched into a silicon bed, with “gates” to control electrical flow and metallic contacts that are also on the atomic scale. “Our group has proved that it is really... 

In today’s ever-more digitalized world, we all have a tale or two to share about how personal computers have let us down: like how they refused to let us run different programs at the same time or how the data was so heavy that the damned device kept us on hold forever before conducting even the most trivial operation. Well, there is one machine in the world — and it’s in Japan — that... 

From a new bride in Singapore to girl soldiers in Mozambique, a free iPhone and iPad app launched by the World Bank Wednesday uses striking photographs to highlight women’s issues around the world. Teaming up with online photo encyclopedia Fotopedia, the app pays “poignant tribute to the diversity and strength of women around the world,” said the World Bank, which promotes gender equality as... 

As Facebook goes public, Silicon Valley is buzzing in anticipation of the “instant millionaires” that may soon be looking for ways to spend their newfound wealth. Eight years after Mark Zuckerberg founded the company in a Harvard dorm room, the stock market debut is expected to value the social media giant at as much as $100 billion. While Zuckerberg and other longtime staffers stand to benefit... 

A graffiti artist who decorated the walls of Facebook’s headquarters seven years ago is set for a $US200m windfall when the social network makes its initial public offering (IPO). David Choe, 35, reportedly thought the social network was “ridiculous and pointless”, but nonetheless accepted a few thousand pounds of shares as payment when he was commissioned by Sean Parker, Facebook’s... 

For an emerging generation of Japanese innovators, the dream isn’t a job for life at a big company. They have new ambitions, and they’re determined to go places. Especially Silicon Valley. Small but growing numbers of Japanese entrepreneurs are jumping into the startup scene in northern California, particularly since the earthquake and tsunami last March. They include Naoki Shibata, who took the... 

Bridgestone Corp has developed a new printing technology for tires that is different from any tire printing or coloring process on the market today. Until now, white rubber has been used on the sidewalls of tires to manufacture white ribbon and white letter tires. This process requires the use of large amounts of white rubber to prevent discoloration and to also maintain durability. This conventional... 

A $1.5 billion effort to link America’s three major electricity grids is getting a boost from Japanese investors and a European company well versed in integrating power markets. The partnerships with Mitsui and Co and the European Power Exchange will ensure access to a large talent pool and funding for the next three phases of development for the Tres Amigas SuperStation in eastern New Mexico, said... 

China now has more than 500 million people on the Internet and nearly half use weibos, microblogs similar to Twitter that can circumvent the country’s powerful censors, official data showed on Monday. The weibos have become hugely popular platforms for people to vent their anger over perceived injustices or corruption and organize and spread news of protests, posing a challenge to government attempts... 

Scientists have designed tiny wires, 10,000 times thinner than a human hair but with the same electrical capacity as copper, in a major step toward building smaller, more potent computers. The advance, described in the U.S. journal Science, shows for the first time that wires one atom tall and four atoms wide can carry a charge as well as conventional wires. That could lead to even tinier electronic...