A cantilever is a very thin single needle currently used for quality control at the nanoscale, but to improve and speed up the process scientists are developing an array of needles, a cantilever array, functioning simultaneously.

It is a damning neologism of our age, a new word combining the threat of two major health problems of epidemic-like proportions. In Europe alone, around 33 million adults are expected to be suffering from type-2 diabetes by 2010.

Bacteria and other microorganisms that cause infections are remarkably resilient and can develop ways to survive drugs meant to kill or weaken them.