02/26/2009 | Shooter

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Technology Review has released its annual report on 10 emerging technologies with the potential to change lives around the world. Some of the listed technologies could reach the market within the year, others may take years, but all are expected to have a huge impact in the years ahead. Three of the technologies are nanotechnology-based: a US$100 genome - a nanofluidic chip that could lower DNA sequencing costs dramatically; racetrack memory - the inventor is using nanowires to create an ultradense, rugged memory chip; and, nanopiezoelectronics - piezoelectric nanowires that could power implantable medical devices and serve as tiny sensors. The other seven listed technologies are: an intelligent software assistant; biological machines; paper diagnostics; a liquid battery that allows cities to run on solar power at night; a traveling wave reactor to make nuclear power safer and less expensive; HashCache - a new method for storing Web content that could make Internet access more affordable around the world; and, software-defined networking.