3-D models, produced by combining a patient's CT scans and 3-D printing technology are proving useful in neurosurgical planning.

Scientists have developed software that makes it easier to predict the three-dimensional shape that will result from a given DNA template. While the software doesn't fully automate the design process, it makes it considerably easier for designers to create complex 3-D structures, controlling their flexibility and potentially their folding stability.

Researchers have created a new kind of cloaking material that can render objects invisible in the terahertz range. Though this design can't translate into an invisibility cloak for the visible spectrum, it could have implications in diagnostics, security, and communication.

Recent advances in ground-penetrating radar could be used to help structural engineers and conservationists assess the stability of historic buildings or buildings affected by earthquakes that otherwise appear sound.

Engineering researchers have made a significant breakthrough in the use of nanotechnologies for the construction of a synthetic brain. They have built a carbon nanotube synapse circuit whose behavior in tests reproduces the function of a neuron, the building block of the brain.

A better understanding of corrosion resistance may be possible using a data-mining tool. This tool may also aid research in other areas where massive amounts of information exist.