In reality, quite a bit of time has passed since we've heard of the next great leap in the (seemingly) never-ending journey towards quantum computing, but we're incredibly relieved to learn that at least someone is still out there, somewhere, pressing on. An international team of researchers have reportedly shown that they can "control the quantum state of a single electron in a silicon transistor, even putting the electron in two places at once." Essentially, the team is using tiny semiconductor transistors to "control the state of a quantum system," but there is still a long ways to go before any of this is meaningful. The crew managed to discover a few things by chance, yet to create a quantum computer, they would need to "position atoms of arsenic (or some other material) in the transistors more reliably." For those of you way too geeked out, fret not -- we'll let you know when all of this technobabble finally amounts to something.

[Thanks, Chris]

For those who just can't call it quits, a team of researchers at Tufts University has developed a head adornment which can determine when you've been overly stressed, bored or simply numb to the world around you when using your computer. The crew is studying functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology, which "uses light to monitor brain blood flow as a proxy for workload stress a user may experience when performing an increasingly difficult task." The band itself utilizes "laser diodes to send near-infrared light through the forehead at a relatively shallow depth," after which it can purportedly judge how intense one's workload is (or isn't). 'Course, we'd guess the most of us wouldn't need a machine to tell us that, eh?

[Via InformationWeek]

While the hefty yellow gun developed by CDEX Inc. may look like something from a 80s sci-fi film gone bad, it could eventually end up standard fare in a patrol car. Contrary to the title's implication the meth gun does not shoot uppers at what's in its crosshairs. The flamboyant device cracks down on crime by emitting small amounts of UV radiation onto a suspicious surface which causes most illegal substances to release a "spectral fingerprint" which the meth gun identifies. This investigative aid allows cops to detect and identify drug traces without even knowing (or suspecting) that chemical foul play was involved. The finalized version will scan for essentially any drug you can think of trying, but there's a fair amount of red tape and field testing that must be accomplished before this oversized neon pistol gets whipped out on a regular basis. Priced at around $10,000 this drug-buster isn't exactly cheap, but compared to desktop detectors that run upwards of 50 grand, we can envision quite a few precincts placing orders for what CDEX is dealing.