Surface plasmon resonance is a breakthrough in high-throughput protein interaction analysis. Aiding researchers in a host of fields, the technology is real time, non-invasive, and above all, accurate.

Surface plasmon resonance is a breakthrough in high-throughput protein interaction analysis. Aiding researchers in a host of fields, the technology is real time, non-invasive, and above all, accurate.

While working at Affymax, a Dutch company, Dr Stephen P.A. Fodor shook the scientific community in the early 1990s with his invention of the DNA chip. Nothing short of a revolution in medicine, researchers are now able to look at genes tens of thousands at a time instead of just one at a time.

Three researchers’ discovery of Erbium-doped fibre amplifiers enabled optical signals to be transmitted hundreds of miles without the need for electronic conversion. This has made long-distance optical communications more cost-effective and manageable, a major pre-requisite for the formation of the Internet as it is today.

One French engineer discovery of Turbo Codes solved a data communications puzzle that had evaded researchers for 40 years. His invention opened new avenues of research that have led to modern advances in mobile telephony, as well as satellite and radio communications.

Scientists at Rhein Biotech invented a method for making proteins in Hansenula yeast, which is used as a key component in the production of an affordable Hepatitis B vaccine. More than 450 million doses of the WHO-qualified vaccine have since been sold in over 90 countries to date, helping combat the spread of the disease.

By the time he appeared on the scene, everything – in a sense – was already too late. In 1970, Intel's developers had fallen behind in the microchip stakes, and catching up seemed almost impossible. One colleague claimed that the development of a microprocessor had been completed, and disappeared on a business trip, although in fact nothing was finished. A Japanese client, seeing that the chip would not work in his pocket calculators, became furious and, abandoning Japanese decorum, noisily accused his business partner of incompetence. That was the starting signal for Federico Faggin, who had only just joined the company. Working 12 to 16 hours a day, he struggled heroically to carry out his mission. He had invented the metal-on-silicon microprocessor some years before when working for Fairchild Semiconductors. But no one had yet managed to fit an entire CPU on a single chip.

At last, a man who really helps with the housework – James Dyson. He is the originator of an idea – the bagless vacuum cleaner – which sparked off a global revolution in the home appliance market. Friends tried to dissuade him – "But James, if anyone could make a vacuum cleaner that was so much better, Hoover or Electrolux would have invented it long ago" – when he took up the fight with the big companies. No one had ever questioned the basic principle of vacuuming since the technology was invented in 1901. No one, that is, until Dyson arrived.

Karlheinz Brandenburg contributed to revolutionising the music world – and the computer industry with it