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Robot surgeons

Researchers in the United States have developed tiny robots that can perform surgery on soldiers or astronauts under the direction of doctors thousands of miles away, according to an Associated Press report. The remote-controlled robots are about three inches tall and can be slipped into small incisions. Some models are equipped with cameras to send images back to surgeons. University of Nebraska researchers believe the robots may one day replace open surgery. The devices, which cost about US$200 each, are designed for one-time use.

Germ-free cell(phone)

Worried about avian flu or the return of Sars? Motorola has created a multi-media phone that is also resistant to germs. The company's i870 mobile device comes with an MP3 player and video recording functions. Silver ion technology from Agion Technologies also protects against bacteria. According to Agion, the non-toxic anti-microbial coating prevents the growth of mould and other bacteria. The i870's other features include Bluetooth connectivity and 1.3 mega-pixel camera. Tracked down

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has broken the code behind tiny tracking dots that some colour laser printers secretly hide in every document. The yellow-dot sequence - included in some printers at the behest of the United States Secret Service as part of efforts to identify counterfeiters - in some printers encodes the date and time the document was printed, along with the serial number of the printer. So far, the foundation has only broken the printer coder for the Xerox DocuColor line. Other printers known to be using similar codes, including the Hewlett-Packard Colour LaserJet 2550L (pictured), can be found at the foundation's website, www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/list.php.

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