IBM are hard at work as ever, attempting to create a toolkit of molecules that can be used as the components of logic and memory systems, in place of the semiconductor structures we use today. The search is going well, it seems – two researchers have announced that they have been able to use single molecules as a storage medium, by switching them between two discreet charged states. At 1.5 nanometers, the molecules are 1% of the size of CMOS structures that perform the same functions. Moore’s Law has held up well so far, but it will take developments like this for us to continue making smaller faster electronics.

Wired seems to be running a set of articles on India’s efforts to join the club of spacefaring nations. They talk about India’s developing reputation for cheap and effective launches of satellites and other hardware, and list some of their home-grown space technology projects, that include new propulsion systems and a lunar imaging satellite. Last but not least there’s an interview with Madhavan Nair, chief of the nation’s civilian space agency, about his outfit’s aims for the future. India has been described as a ‘leapfrog’ economy – will they leapfrog the West to the Moon?

A US Navy diver has set a new record for depth while testing the new Atmospheric Diving System (ADS) suit. The suit enabled him to descend over 2000 feet below the surface of the ocean – it is designed to assist in submarine rescue work, to the extent that the its joints actually work more effectively once it gets deeper than 1300 feet.

Space.com is running a great interview with Scaled Composites’ head honcho Burt Rutan. The company are the creators of the prize winning SpaceShipOne, and are pushing hard to make commercial space tourism a reality. He talks about his long term visions and dreams for the company, plans to make SpaceShipTwo an enjoyable experience for customers by providing the room to enjoy zero gravity, and why he went with Richard Branson as an investor.

A team of computer scientists have written an article that calls for the establishing of a new field of study within and beyond their own discipline – they want to see a ‘science of the Web’ that will focus on the potentials and pitfalls of the platform, which has so far been largely been ignored by computer science academics. In the last fifteen years the Web has gone from an engineering curiosity to being a part of daily life for a large part of the world’s population – if that trend is to continue successfully, more research is called for.