Major league baseball players like Derek Jeter make actions like catching a fly ball look effortless. But if you want to understand the complexity underlying these moves, try teaching them to a robot. By combining expertise in engineering and psychology, ASU researchers have created Catchbot, a baseball-playing robot. In the process, they have learned a lot about how people perceive and respond to a moving target. --by Skip Derra

To humans, trichloroethene (TCE) is a dangerous pollutant, one that recently forced two Phoenix-area municipalities to shut down their water supplies. But to a group of bacteria called dehalogenerators, TCE is like oxygen. These microorganisms take in TCE and remove the chlorine, leaving harmless ethene behind. Now a team of scientists has developed a specialized water treatment system that employs the bacteria to make water supplies safer. --by Joe Caspermeyer

We've all heard that playing video games can improve your hand-eye coordination--usually from kids trying to evade mom's order to go play outside. But those kids may be on to something. New research shows that playing a video game on the Nintendo Wii can help medical students become better surgeons by improving hand dexterity. --by Joe Kullman

Scientists at ASU have developed the world’s first gene detection platform made up entirely from self-assembled DNA nanostructures. The structures are made using "DNA origami" techniques to create spatially addressable nanoarrays. The work could have broad implications for gene chip technology and may also revolutionize the way in which gene expression is analyzed in a single cell. --by Joe Caspermeyer

Microbial fuel cell technology uses the tiniest organisms on the planet--bacteria--as a viable option to make electricity. By linking bacterial metabolism directly with electricity production, the MFC eliminates the extra steps necessary in other fuel cell technologies. --by Joe Caspermeyer

An ASU researcher has designed a special backpack that can produce an electrical charge through the force of the motion of its wearer. This "energy harvesting" can generate the power to charge batteries or run small electronic devices such as cell phones, iPods or flashlights. --by Joe Kullman

A team of scientists has developed a new way to close the gaps in the global pollution dragnet using NASA satellite data. The technique uses satellite information to improve computer models of ozone events—filling in the blanks while expanding coverage to much larger areas. --by Nicholas Gerbis

The unknown health and environmental effects of
nanotechnology are a bigger worry for scientists than for the public,
according to a new report. --by Skip Derra

NJ Tao and colleagues have developed two different chemical sensors based on the tiny quartz tuning forks used in wristwatches. --by Linley Erin Hall

As consumer electronics such as MP3 players and digital cameras shrink, the need to put more memory in a smaller space grows. Traditional electronics begin to break down at the nanoscale, or molecular level. Researchers at ASU are working to overcome these limitations using nanoionics, a technique for moving ions around on a chip. --by Nicholas Gerbis

Imagine that an antenna has a kind of eyesight. Engineers and scientists are trying to better focus that eyesight in certain directions. They want to extend its reach over various distances without disturbance or interference from things they don’t want the antenna to “see.”--by Joe Kullman

Humans have a set of built-in chemical-detection devices. For example, the nose identifies chemicals by their smells. The tongue identifies chemicals by their tastes. Computers, on the other hand, do not have this skill. Researchers at ASU are hoping to allow computers to interact with the chemical world using nano-sized sensors that recognize molecules. --by Linley Erin Hall

The Electromagnetic Anechoic Chamber. It doesn’t sound like a place you would choose to enter voluntarily. But for Constantine Balanis, it’s the ultimate playroom. Experiments in the dark chamber shed light on the workings of electromagnetic waves. --by Joe Kullman

Smart cars and smart phones already exist. Engineers at ASU say that making antenna systems ‘smarter’ promises to further expand the horizons of the wireless communications world. --by Joe Kullman

Researchers from ASU and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center are teaming up to create the next generation of powered prosthetic devices based on lightweight, energy-storing springs. --by Christine Lambrakis

Temperature-sensitive polymer gels may be the solution to a lot of tricky medical problems. By injecting the gels directly into the blood vessels, doctors can treat dangerous aneurysms or deliver chemotheraphy drugs with fewer side effects. --by Melissa Crytzer Fry

"We never tell the contractor what to do, because we’re hiring him to know what he’s doing,” says Dean Kashiwagi, director of ASU's Performance Based Studies Research Group. The group has developed a hands-off approach to managing contractors in the construction industry. The result? Lower costs, faster delivery and a higher quality finished product. --by Melissa Crytzer Fry

Inverse Ocean Modeling (IOM) is a tool for combining computer models with observations of the ocean. Researchers at ASU are helping to make the system more accessible and easier to use. --by Jessica McCann

Predicting how the smallest details of a golf ball's design will make it act in flight is a painstakingly complex task. --by Joe Kullman

Why study computational fluid mechanics? Julia Muccino says that her ultimate goal is not really the work that she does. Rather, it is the work she can help people do better in the future. --by Jessica McCann

This stereo image of fungal cell nuclei in the process of dividing was one of several microscopic images displayed in an art exhibit at the Tilt Gallery in Phoenix. --by Diane Boudreau

Golfers are always looking for an “edge” to improve their game. So are jet aircraft designers. Thanks to work by ASU engineers, the ardent pursuit of better golfing appears poised to lead to technological innovations that reach far beyond the game. --by Joe Kullman