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Will the future bring us the teleportation devices of "Star Trek" or the sinister machines of "The Matrix"? Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku of the City College of New York says that many of the things that were once the domain of science fiction — cars that navigate rush-hour traffic on their own, wallpaper that can switch colors when you remodel, an elevator that takes you into outer space — are already here, or well on their way. His book "Physics...

Mom's chocolate chip cookies Total time: 45 minutes, plus cooling time Servings: Makes 2 dozen cookies. Note: This recipe comes from my mother, who was a home ec teacher. It's the one she taught me and my sister, and our friends from high school -- all of whom would gather in our kitchen after school. She added the oatmeal because it was a Quaker school. My mother made these cookies with Crisco and generic bags of chocolate chips. I use unsalted butter and coarsely chopped Valrhona chocolate (71%)

Though far less devastating an enemy than the house-chewing termite or the apartment-infesting bedbug, the cockroach remains one of urban man's most reviled insect enemies. Now, a team of engineers has learned to control these insects' movements like a kid would a toy car. Researchers have been working to build small, maneuverable robots that creep, leap and crawl like living critters - and such robots could be useful for search-and-rescue operations. But bug-sized bots are difficult to design and power.

Question: We are planning a trip to London and have heard that some of our charge and credit cards may not be accepted because they are not Chip and PIN. If that's so, what are our choices? We don't want to carry a load of cash. Nancy Jones Claremont Answer: This was going to be such an easy answer. I'd just direct Jones to Travelex, which had a Chip and PIN (personal identification number) card, and that would be the end of it. The Travelex card would be a backup, because many places overseas can accept U.S. cards that have a magnetic stripe.

The race to decode a person's genome on the cheap got tighter this week. The sequencing company Ion Torrent announced this week in Nature that it used a $49,500 machine, based on computer chip technology, to unravel a full human genome - aptly, using the DNA of Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel. The same machine decoded the E. coli strains from a recent outbreak in Germany in a matter of hours, and is drawing praise for its novel approach to reading DNA. But in the goal to bring the price point down to $1,000 per genome, some caution not to get too excited - yet. Unlike some of its other competitors, the Ion Torrent machine uses semiconductor chip technology to read DNA - this Nature News article explains how DNA is washed across a $99 computer chip with more than a million tiny wells (the chips were $250 not too long ago)

The life of Henry T. Nicholas III ("Extreme Tech," by P.J. Huffstutter, Jan. 23) has all the makings of a Greek tragedy. Abandoned by an alcoholic father, overachieving to a point of near self-destruction--who knows what the Furies scream at his inner child? Bullying, browbeating, berating his subordinates (much like his father treated his mother), Nicholas certainly has had the sins of his father visited upon him. Sacrificing his family (his "reason for living") on the altar of ego, giving away millions to buy respect, throwing parties with rockers and porno stars to boost an image.

Re "Justices Close Book on '80s Lawsuit Against Abortion Protesters," March 1 Yes, I can hear that noise in the background getting louder and louder. Listen, you can hear it too: chip, chip, chip, chip -- chipping away at every American woman's right to decide what to do with her own body. JEAN BENNETT Sun City, Calif.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. plans to sell computer chips with six processors built into one piece of silicon in its effort to wrest sales away from Intel Corp. The six-core "Istanbul" chip will come out in the second half of next year, followed by a 12-processor product, Advanced Micro said.

Why bother having Cynthia Parsons review former Secretary of Education William Bennett's "Back to Moral Basics" (Book Review, Dec. 25)? From the first to the last, her grousing reveals a consuming chip on her shoulder. Her readers receive hardly a glimpse of what the book is about, just how greatly Parsons disdains it and how quickly she dismisses it as so much conservative palavra. Parsons derides Bennett for using the first person often in these speeches delivered when he was the head of the Department of Education (how dare he!

Although demand is limited now, Intel expects its new 32-bit microprocessor to become its most important product after production starts in the company's Livermore, Calif., plant. Intel has spent $100 million to develop the new chip and its varied support systems.

Matt Barkley gets his first real taste of the NFL when the Philadelphia Eagles' rookie mini-camp opens Friday. Many fans and NFL draft prognosticators were shocked when new Eagles Coach Chip Kelly drafted the former USC quarterback. But USC Coach Lane Kiffin was not. Kiffin said Monday that Kelly spoke with him about Barkley "early on" in the evaluation process and later sent the Eagles' quarterbacks coach to Southern California to work out the Trojans' four-year starter.

BEIJING - North Korea on Sunday denied it would use a jailed Korean American as a political bargaining chip, saying it had no plans to invite a prominent American to Pyongyang to seek the release of Kenneth Bae.  Bae, 44, of Lynwood, Wash., was sentenced last week to 15 years of hard labor by the country's highest court for committing “hostile acts” toward the government. Pyongyang has not specified the crimes but said Sunday that Bae entered North Korea with a “disguised identity” and had confessed to the offenses.

Always pack a flat rubber water-stopper for leaky bathtub and sink drains. I've needed it even in highly rated hotels. Bob Myers Lake Arrowhead When traveling with a child in diapers, prepare a grab-and-go package of diapers and wipes. Put three or four wipes in a snack-size plastic bag, then put that and one diaper in a quart-size bag. Place these single packages in a carry-on or diaper bag. For a diaper change, grab one pack and go. Save the leftover wipes in their bags for the return trip.

Dear SOS: On a recent trip to London, I was quite taken with the chocolate chip cookies I ate at Gail's restaurant and bakery [341 Fulham Road in Chelsea]. I would be very greatful if you could obtain the recipe. Jonathon Most Los Angeles Dear Jonathon: Crunchy around the edges but oh-so ooey-gooey tender in the center - and with no shortage of chocolate to boot - these are a chocolate chip cookie lover's dream come true. The recipe makes enough for a dozen generously sized cookies, but I'd recommend doubling it. Trust me on this one. Gail's Artisan Bakery chocolate chip cookies 1 hour, plus chilling time for the dough.

The question has bedeviled the Kings throughout this lockout-shortened season: What to do about the Willie Mitchell conundrum? In acquiring 32-year-old veteran defenseman Robyn Regehr from the Buffalo Sabres on Monday for two second-round draft picks, the Kings took a significant step in trying to fill the injured Mitchell's absence, which will be keenly felt during the playoffs. Although injured defenseman Matt Greene is expected to return at the end of April, the Kings have been working under the premise that Mitchell and his injured knee won't be back this season.

Scott McGregor, the chief executive of chip developer Broadcom Corp., is happy to talk about the expanding list of uses for his company's products - smart cars, for instance - and new innovations that will fuel his company's growth for years to come. Just don't ask which cellphone he carries in his pocket. Broadcom, based in Irvine, designs and sells chips that are used in Apple Inc.'s iPhone as well as in smartphones that use Google Inc.'s Android operating system, the iPhone's chief rival.

Ed Turney, 79, a co-founder of semiconductor manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices Inc., died Wednesday at a retirement home in Cupertino from brain cancer, according to his brother George Turney. Turney's first jobs at the Sunnyvale-based company -- founded in 1969 -- included buying equipment and overseeing construction of the company's first chip factory. He also built a sales organization and developed a network of electronics distributors. He was born March 26, 1929, in Brooklyn, N.Y., where as a child he sold pretzels on the streets.

National Semiconductor of Santa Clara said it is holding talks with the Japanese firm over alleged copying of a type of computer chip, known as a universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter, that links personal computers to peripheral devices. National Semi said the companies met least week, and discussions are expected to continue for several more weeks.

Double-dipping -- it's the gravest of party fouls. Well, if you don't count passing out on someone's front lawn, breaking a window or accidentally knocking over an entire bottle of liquor. But, it's up there with the worst things you can do. Dip once, you're good. Dip twice, you get the boot.  But if you've ever been at a party and thought you could sneak in a double-dip, you're not alone. In honor of National Chip and Dip Day, which happens to be Saturday, Tostitos commissioned Ketchum communications agency to conduct a survey about double-dipping.

A strange and sometimes harsh season, when UCLA's every step has been thoroughly dissected, reached this point late Wednesday night: Coach Ben Howland publicly lauded the media. Talking about his four freshmen, Howland said, "The media got it right. They are the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. " Of course, whether the Bruins were No. 1 or No. 2 depended upon which website was cited. And calling those who handicap recruiting the "media" might be a stretch. But why quibble?