Creating single photons is becoming straightforward. Now engineers have worked out how to steer the photons they produce with the flick of a switch. Photon guns are important tools for engineers attempting to build the next generation of quantum communications gear.

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Blog – Get Ready for Steerable Photon Guns

Implantable devices work in diabetic pigs for over a year–human tests could be next. Researchers have successfully tested a fully implantable glucose-monitoring device in pigs for nearly two years, according to new research published today in Science Translational Medicine . Scientists plan to file for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin human tests. Eventually, researchers aim to couple this kind of device with one that would automatically deliver insulin in response to changing blood-sugar levels.

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Glucose Monitors Get Under the Skin

A computer security researcher demonstrates attacks on cash machines. Yesterday, during a flashy presentation at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, a computer security expert showed several ways to break into ATMs.

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How to Make an ATM Spit Out Money

A chemical-infused scaffold generates new tissue by attracting stem cells. Today’s titanium replacement joints work very well for 10 to 15 years, but replacing them after they’ve worn out is a challenge for both patient and surgeon. A team of researchers from Columbia University proposes a way around that problem: by implanting a scaffold that encourages the patient’s own stem cells to regrow the joint.

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Helping Joints Regrow Themselves

A federal investigation finds conflicting test results and false marketing claims.

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Video – Genetic Tests Get Bad Grades

A malicious site can find out what social-networking groups you belong to–and then figure out your identity. People often get categorized by social group–jock, geek, soccer mom. The same is true for our online identities: If you have an account on Facebook or LinkedIn, you might also belong to several groups on each site.

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Your Groups Tell Hackers Who You Are

A federal investigation finds conflicting test results and false marketing claims. Consumers who buy genetic tests in hopes of seeing what diseases they are likely to contract may be misled, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. In addition, the results can vary so widely that they are “of little or no practical use,” the report concludes.

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Genetic Tests Get Bad Grades

Mobile carriers might get marketing insights from studying whom you call and what device you use. Each time you make a cell-phone call, your network provider knows whom you’re calling, for how long, and what device you’re using. Now researchers at one of the world’s largest wireless carriers are exploring whether such information can help companies target their marketing pitches.

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Wireless Companies Could Use Your Friends

Engineered stem cells carry markers of their former identities–a trait that could hinder research into diseases. While reprogrammed stem cells –those derived from fully differentiated adult cells–can be transformed into any type of tissue, scientists have now discovered that they preserve a memory of where they came from. That memory appears to influence the cells’ development; reprogrammed stem cells are more easily converted back to their original identity, according to a study released online today in Nature . The findings could affect research into the two main uses for reprogrammed stem cells; growing efforts to study disease in cells derived from patients with those diseases, and the development of replacement cell therapies.

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Reprogrammed Stem Cells Remember Their Past

A new approach does away with the need for long string of letters and numbers. Researchers at Microsoft have come up with a way to create easy-to-remember passwords without making a system more vulnerable to hackers.

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Passwords that are Simple–and Safe