Gallery: Sneak peeks at 8 emerging technologies

From transparent aluminum to billion-year memory chips to household pest-eating robo-furniture, these are some of latest technology trends that promise to affect our lives.

Above, Johns Hopkins engineers are using LEGO pieces shaped like pegs to visualize the behavior of particles, cells and molecules taking place inside lab-on-a-chip devices at a scale that can more easily be observed. (Credit: Will Kirk/JHU)

The full story: LEGO toys and Shrinky Dinks aid in development of microfluidics

(Credit: Will Kirk/JHU)

A medical device consisting of a colorful, toy-like headset that connects to a game component and distributes nitrous oxide, an anesthetic gas to a preoccupied child.

The full story: Pediatric dentists create Game Boy with nitrous oxide feed

(Credit: PediSedate)

A figure illustrating how nanorobots could be used to detect brain aneurysm: (a) the nanorobots enter the vessel and flow with the bloodstream (b) the nanorobots are moving through the vessel with the fluid (c) the aneurysm saccular bulb begins to become visible at the vessel wall (d) nanorobots move closer to the vessel deformation (e) mixed with the plasma, NOS (nitric oxide synthase) signals can be detected as the chemical gradient changes, denoting proteomic overexpression (f) the same workspace viewed without red cells (g) the nanobiosensor is activated as the nanorobots move closer to the aneurysm, emitting RF signals sent to the cell phone (h) as the nanorobots keep flowing, the chemical signals become weaker, deactivating the nanorobot transmission (i) red cells and nanorobots flow with the bloodstream until they leave the vessel.

The full story: Nanorobot for Brain Aneurysm

(Credit: Adriano Cavalcanti)

A group of German scientists created a “flight simulator” to investigate what goes on in the brains of flies while they’re flying. Specific flight patterns are simulated by controlling optical "flux fields" presented to the fly.

The full story: 'Flight simulator' for flies sheds light on visual processing

(Credit: Max-Planck Institute for Neurobiology

Oxford scientists claim to have created a transparent form of aluminum by bombarding the metal with the world’s most powerful soft X-ray laser.

The full story: Scientists create 'transparent aluminum,' call it a new state of matter

(Credit: University of Oxford)

UC Berkeley researchers developed a nanoscale electromechanical memory device that can pack a trillion bits of data into one square inch of medium and retain that data for a billion years. It writes/reads data based on the position of an iron nanoparticle in a carbon nanotube. The memory devices here are displaying a binary sequence 1 0 1 1 0

The full story: Billion-year ultra-dense memory chip developed

(Credit: Zettl Research Group)

Jonathan Kuniholm, an engineer at Duke University, wears a prototype of the prosthetic arm created by the DARPA Revolutionizing Prosthetics project.

The full story: Advancing the prosthetic aesthetic

(Credit: Mike McGregor)

This household lamp is actually a robot inspired by carnivorous pitcher plants. Insects are lured into the shade by ultraviolet lights - which are lit only at night - and become trapped.

The full story: Robo-furniture eats household pests

(Credit: Auger-Loizeau)