Qualcomm sponsors $10 million prize for medical breakthroughThe most indispensable tool in the doctor's bags of "Bones" McCoy, Beverly Crusher, and the rest of Star Trek's famous chief medical officers, the tricorder, has amazed TV audiences with its futuristic ability to diagnose ailments by simply scanning patients. This technology may seem far-fetched, but Qualcomm has made a move to ensure it becomes a reality sooner rather than later.

During CES, the company announced its sponsorship of the Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize, which will award $10 million to the individual or team that is able to produce a working facsimile of the classic sci-fi device. The X Prize Foundation rocketed to fame in 1996 when it offered a $10 million prize for commercial space flight, later won by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, eventually giving birth to Virgin Galactic.

In order to win the Tricorder X Prize, a device must meet certain criteria, such as weighing less than five pounds and having the ability to diagnose a set of 15 diseases. In addition, the device must be

Turn your 2D images into 3D art with Casio's 3D painting technology

From making hermit crab shells to creating vases based on the shape of your face, 3D printing seems to be doing everything these days. So, really, we shouldn't have been surprised to see Casio showing off their own 3D printing tech on the CES show floor.

Casio's gallery of 3D artwork was created from 2D images and their own 3D printing technology. It comes in two flavors: relief paintings, like the image above, which are subtly textured; and 3D digital paintings, like the ones below, which make a big jump into the third dimension. (We can't lie: while the technology at work here is definitely impressive, some of their pet photos were a bit on the creepy side.)

Though it's not on the market yet, Casio hopes to offer this wild 3D printing technology as a service at some point in the future — so if you're interested, you should start looking for your best pet photos to digitize right now.

Creepy or cool? You decideThis article originally appeared on Tecca

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• CES 2012 Roundup: Our coverage so far

If only judging by the epic billboard-scale advertising plastered all over the CES 2012 convention center, Samsung's inventive (but admittedly odd) Galaxy Note is poised to make a big splash. Just outside of the pocketable size range at 5.3", the Galaxy Note is an strange bird indeed — but an interesting one. The original 5" Dell Streak (and to some extent, the 7" Streak follow-up) tried to pull off the same phone/tablet hybrid trick before, but the Note is a considerably cleverer device.

We spent plenty of hands-on time with the the Note, and had a blast doodling on the tiny tablet's gorgeous Super AMOLED screen with a pretty slick stylus. It actually felt almost like a little Wacom tablet that you could take on the go. Maybe it's the size and the stylus, but (beyond digital doodle masterpieces) the odd device seems designed for productivity — it's even a bit reminiscent of the Palm PDAs of yore. Unfortunately, for now the Note is bound up with AT&T, so you'd need a carrier contract