Science, 1 March 1996: "Isotope Switch Toughens Transistors." Semiconductor researchers are reaching for superlatives to describe the discovery that a simple isotope switch deuterium for hydrogen can improve transistor lifetimes by factors of 10 to 50, according to a paper just accepted at APL. The finding "has huge implications worldwide," says Dan DiMaria of IBM. "Mixing Nanotube Structures To Make a Tiny Switch." Two research teams have developed a way to make an all-carbon nanotube that behaves like a semiconductor at one end and a metal at the other. The intersection in the middle forms a gatelike junction that controls the flow of electrons. In the macroworld, such gates, known as heterojunctions, form the basis for transistors and a host of other electronic devices. (PRL, 5 February.) SWI_tch