Silica, in a rough and highly contaminated form, is the primary component of sand. Feldspar, granite, quartz, and more are all based on silicon-oxygen compounds.

In a recent experiment, researchers used directed evolution to create enzymes that make silicon dioxide, used in semiconductors and computer chips. Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Krzysztof Burghardt ...

Whether or not this discovery can break the memory barrier and help computer chips continue to shrink remains to be seen. However, not everyone is convinced silicon oxide circuits are the way to go.

This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays. Most people need toilet paper and computer chips every day, and yet we rarely think about either of ...

Foraging for fungi may not only mean mushrooms are on the menu. New research has shown that mushroom skins could provide a biodegradable alternative to some plastics used in batteries and computer ...

Building a computer chip might seem like a typical process similar to constructing a car in a factory, but it's significantly more complex and microscopic.

Researchers showed that creating computer chips made out of honey is possible. Researchers believe that neuromorphic computer chips can be made more unique and more biodegradable in the future.

Future computer chips could be built on top of mushrooms, making a flexible circuit that is environmentally friendly and biodegradable.

In a breakthrough that could potentially revolutionize the technology industry, scientists have constructed transistors made out of a silicon-based material with the thickness of a single atom ...