redwyre

 The properties of the memristor were firstpredicted in 1971, and now have been proven to exist.  This discovery is huge, because it allows a new type of memory that is smaller (HP have already prototyped memory with over 6x the density) and doesn’t need constant power to keep it’s contents. Basically it replaces RAM and HDDs.  Also, the memristor has analog memory properties similar to synapses, so we will probably see some advances in neural nets as well.

Some more links:

• http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2008/080430a.html
• http://www.dailytech.com/HP+Invents+Fabled+Memristor+New+Class+of+Electrical+Components/article11652.htm
• http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13812-engineers-find-missing-link-of-electronics.html