Gurus at Purdue University have conjured up a prototype device which, when injected into a tumor, can actually track the "precise dose of radiation received and locate the exact position [of the tumor] during treatment." Currently, the needle-sized device is held within a hermetically sealed glass capillary, contains a miniature radiation dosimeter, operates without batteries and instead relies on "electrical coils placed next to the patient" for activation. As small as the RFID-enabled unit is, engineers are still hoping to create a version that is around the size of a grain of rice, and hopes are to have it in clinical trials in 2010.

[Via Physorg]

Usually you can't tell that there's a problem with one of your tires until you've already swerved off the road and crashed into something stationary, but thanks to a group of scientists from Purdue University, the next generation of wheel wraps may be able to detect problems before you're face-to-face with the base of a telephone pole. Led by Gary Krutz of the school's Electrohydraulic Center, the team was able to produce a multi-layer design that can sense damage or defects anywhere on the tire, and which immediately alerts the driver to danger via an embedded chip. First up to adopt the new tech will likely be race car sponsors, who have a high incentive to protect their expensive investments against flats; unfortunately, this safety improvement for drivers will come at the expense of the nation's rabid NASCAR fans, as the likely decline in crashes will only serve to direct their blood-lust at fellow spectators.

[Image courtesy of Purdue University]

A team of researchers at Purdue University look to be doing their best to put conventional computer cooling techniques to shame, to that end developing a prototype system that uses an "ionic wind" to keep chips cool, something they say could eventually allow for much more powerful computers. According to the BBC, the system employs an ionic engine that produces positively charged particles when a voltage is applied to it. Those particles are then naturally drawn to a negatively charged wire, resulting in a constant air movement over the chips. That, the researchers say, increases the cooling rate from a conventional fan by up to 250%. They're apparently far from satisfied with the system just yet though, and they're now working to make it a hundred times smaller than its current size -- a feat all the more daunting considering that it already measures just a few millimeters.

[Thanks, Xander and Del Monte]

If you're like us and haven't washed your car since, like, ever, you're probably used to the windshield getting all fogged up (not in the good, make out point way, however) and habitually swiping at the glass with your sleeve while swerving between lanes and praying that your airbag still works. Well thanks to a new coating developed by researchers at Purdue University, your dangerous driving habits may soon be a thing of the past (well, except for those occasions when you're texting your buddies while eating a cheeseburger and fiddling with the radio), as this material has the unique ability to both prevent the formation of water droplets (no more fog!) as well as cause oil-based substances to bead up for easy cleaning (no more road grime!). The science behind this breakthrough is a little boring (i.e. we don't really understand it), but it seems that by covalently bonding a DuPont substance known as Zonyl FSN-100 to ordinary glass, the component polymers are able to change shape and react differently depending on the chemicals they come into contact with. After figuring out a way to apply the coating cheaply through spray or roll-on techniques, the next step for the Boilermakers will be to coax the material into repelling other nasty substances, making it suitable for use on the gadgets and glasses we geeks hold so dear.