21st Century
Most of Birmingham's present day research and innovation is being undertaken in the fields of medical science, such as cancer research and eye disease research.
Since the establishment of its Nanoscale Physics Research Laboratory, the University of Birmingham has become one of the significant UK research centres for nanotechnology.
Aston University is also carrying out ground breaking research in the field of micro-technologies, including a micro-robotic drill for use in surgery, which is able to drill a hole so small into the shell of an egg, that the membrane remains intact. This is being developed for use in operations on the inner ear. A project to use fibre optics instead of electric sensors in aircraft fuel tanks is also being undertaken, cutting substantially the risk of sparks setting off an explosion.
Read more about this topic: Science And Invention In Birmingham
Famous quotes containing the word century:
“Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks;
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.”
—Anonymous. Late 19th century ballad.
The quatrain refers to the famous case of Lizzie Borden, tried for the murder of her father and stepmother on Aug. 4, 1892, in Fall River, Massachusetts. Though she was found innocent, there were many who contested the verdict, occasioning a prodigious output of articles and books, including, most recently, Frank Spiering’s Lizzie (1985)