"Gamers have solved the structure of a retrovirus enzyme whose configuration had stumped scientists for more than a decade. The gamers achieved their discovery by playing Foldit, an online game that allows players to collaborate and compete in predicting the structure of protein molecules. After scientists repeatedly failed to piece together the structure of a protein-cutting enzyme from an AIDS-like virus, they called in the Foldit players.

"Lithium-ion batteries could hold up to 10 times as much energy per cell if silicon anodes were used instead of graphite ones. But manufacturers don't use silicon because such anodes degrade quickly as the battery is charged and discharged. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Clemson University think they might have found the ingredient that will make silicon anodes work—a common binding agent and food additive derived from algae and used in many household products.

"I love a good hack, especially one that requires me to throw back a cold one before hand (or during). This simple wifi boost has actually been shown to increase signal strength by at least 2 to 4 bars. And, well, I will drink to that. These instructions came to us via The Chive and we think they are most definitely worth checking out. But here is the most important question: what kind of beer will you use? For this project you are going to need scissors, a utility knife, some adhesive putty and an empty beer can.

"When you're paying $30,000 for a PCIe flash card, it had better demonstrate an ROI. While users are still struggling with why solid state storage cost so much, when they target the technology at the right applications, the results can be staggering. For example, when Dan Marbes, a systems engineer at Associated Bank, deployed just three SSDs for his B.I.

"We got a feeling that we might see this external graphics materializing in 2012 and with 28nm Nvidia mobile chips, but this is not something we got confirmed or denied at this time. The bottom line is, external graphics with Nvidia chips inside are happening, something that might be the future for a number of Nvidia add-in-board partners who might end up selling external graphics, as the desktop graphics market dwindles. EVGA, Gainward, Asus, MSI, XFX, TGT and other usual suspects might resort to selling notebook external cards."

"The keyboard is still the predominant way we interact with a computer. Voice input, touch screens and even whole body gestural input may be on the increase but most of us still type our commands or data into the machine. This makes is all the more surprising to observe how many programmers use just two fingers when confronted by a keyboard and use the time honoured "hunt and peck" technique. It isn't stylish and it isn't efficient. Imagine if a musician picked up a guitar say and then proceeded to play using just one string at a time.

"Market analysis firm Cone Inc. has released its 2011 Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker, and survey data suggests the influence of the Internet and online reviews on consumers’ purchase decisions is stronger than ever. Cone found that 89 percent of consumers said they found online sources of product and service reviews to be trustworthy, and fully 80 percent of consumers have changed their minds about a purchase based only on negative information they found online. That last figure is up from 67 percent in 2010.

"University of Manchester professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, who won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work with graphene, write in the journal Nature Communications of a method of combining the carbon-based material with metallic nanostructures to use as photodetectors that could greatly increase the amount of light optical communications devices could handle. This advance in graphene light harvesting and conversion into electrical power could lead to communications rates tens or even hundreds of times faster than todays, the researchers say."

"During Display Taiwan, Transcend and Taiwan's ITRI displayed a finger-long USB stick that reportedly offers 2 TB of storage. That's no typo. It somehow holds up to 2 terabytes worth of information. So far neither company has released anything official in regards to specs or a simple introduction, nor does the high-capacity USB 3.0 stick appear on Display Taiwan's website. But as seen in the video below, the "Thin Card" thumb drive is even smaller than a thumb, measuring slightly thicker than a penny. It offers a minimum of 16 GB and a maximum of 2 TB."

"It's hard to stare at a computer monitor for hours after dark, with the rest of the lights turned off in your home or office. Still, this is how many of us play games, myself included. When Antec offered to send the soundscience halo 6 LED bias lighting kit—which is a long official name—I had nothing to lose. If it didn't work, I could write a short, snarky post dismissing it as hokum. If it did work, my eyes would be more comfortable.