On National DNA Day, PM's resident geek takes the first extensive look at the Archon X Prize in Genomics, the $10 million race for a cheap, disease-hunting gene sequencer that could land on your kitchen counter sooner than you think.

Night vision, zooming and screens in your skull: New contacts with functional circuitry and LEDs offer hope for superhuman vision, and without surgery. Potential uses include virtual displays for pilots, video-game projections and telescopic vision for soldiers. (Published in the April 2008 issue)

No one likes a trip to the dentist—and for good reason. But if you’re going to devalue the tooth industry’s turn toward high-tech, go spend some more time in those inverted torture chairs. You’ll be happy these oral solutions are right around the corner.

Today’s prosthetics are medical miracles, but one myoelectric hand can cost $35,000 and up, well out of reach for many amputees around the world. So when a team of students in Mexico began working on a new hand, their goal was simple: Cut costs.

Because antibiotic beads have to be hand-formed by a doctor at surgery, they’re of little use in Iraq, where troops hit by improvised explosive devices need immediate treatment to avoid amputations. One company is developing new beads for use in battlefield hospitals. (Published in the August 2007 issue)