1. A system for detecting a biological molecule or a biological reaction associated with said biological molecule, comprising:
a bead in a solution and having attached thereto a biological molecule;
a pair of electrodes in contact with said solution and positioned within the Debye layer of said bead; and
a bead capture feature that immobilizes said bead, in proximity to said pair of electrodes,
wherein, during use, said pair of electrodes and said bead provide an electrical current flow path for the generation of a signal useful for detecting said biological molecule or said biological reaction in said solution.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein one electrode of said pair of electrodes is adjacent to a substrate, wherein a dielectric layer is adjacent to said one electrode, and wherein the other electrode of said pair of electrodes is adjacent to said dielectric layer.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein said pair of electrodes are part of an array of electrodes.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein said array comprises a 2D array of electrodes.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein said solution is an aqueous solution.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein said aqueous solution has an ionic concentration of less than 10\u22128 molar.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said solution is a miscible mixture of an aqueous solution and an organic solution.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein said miscible solution has an ionic concentration less than 10\u22127 molar.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said pair of electrodes is shaped to conform to the shape of said bead.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one of said electrode pair of electrodes is shaped at least in part as an arc.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein one electrode of said pair of electrodes is angularly separated relative to the center of said bead from the other electrode of said pair of electrodes by greater than 30 degrees.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein one electrode of said pair of electrodes is angularly separated relative to the center of said bead from the other electrode of said pair of electrodes by an angle between 10 and 90 degrees.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein one electrode of said pair of electrodes is angularly separated relative to the center of said bead from the other electrode of said pair of electrodes by an angle between 30 and 85 degrees.
14. The system of claim 1, wherein one electrode of said pair of electrodes is angularly separated relative to the center of said bead from the other electrode of said pair of electrodes by an angle between 45 and 80 degrees.
15. The system of claim 1, wherein one electrode of said pair of electrodes is angularly separated relative to the center of said bead from the other electrode of said pair of electrodes by an angle between 60 and 75 degrees.
16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a computing system that (i) receives electrical signals from said pair of electrodes during detection of said biological molecule or said biological reaction, and (ii) using said electrical signals, determines a change in impedance resulting from said biological molecule or said biological reaction.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein said computing system uses said signals to determine a change of impedance of said bead.
18. The system of claim 1, wherein, during use, the electrodes of said pair of electrodes are electrically isolated from one another in the absence of said bead.
19. The system of claim 1, wherein an individual electrode of said pair electrodes has a Debye layer.
20. The system of claim 1, wherein said bead capture feature immobilizes said bead in proximity to said pair of electrodes by an immobilizing force.
21. The system of claim 20, wherein said immobilizing force is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic force and an electrical force.
22. The system of claim 20, wherein said bead capture feature comprises a magnet, and wherein said immobilizing force includes a magnetic force.
23. The system of claim 1, wherein said bead capture feature is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic structure and a depression.
24. The system of claim 1, wherein said bead capture feature is part of a magnetic array.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of maintaining accuracy in a channel line-up of a content player, comprising:
persistently retesting previously available channels for unavailability, on the content player;
self-modifying the channel line-up on the content player to exclude unavailable channels that were previously available channels;
persistently retesting previously unavailable channels for availability, on the content player;
self-modifying the channel line-up on the content player to include available channels that were previously unavailable channels;
wherein testing frequency is increased for one or both of: previously available channels that have become unavailable and previously unavailable channels that have become available.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing notification of modifications to the channel line-up.
3. The method of claim 2, where providing notification includes displaying a list that includes available channels that were previously unavailable.
4. The method of claim 2, where providing notification includes displaying a list that includes unavailable channels that were previously available.
5. The method of claim 2, where providing notification includes displaying a program guide that depicts unavailable channels that were previously available differently than unavailable channels that were previously unavailable.
6. The method of claim 2, where providing notification includes displaying a program guide that depicts available channels that were previously unavailable differently than available channels that were previously available.
7. The method of claim 1, where the channel line-up is persistently tested for accuracy according to a fixed schedule.
8. The method of claim 1, where the channel line-up is persistently tested for accuracy according to an adaptable schedule.
9. The method of claim 1, where a channel is only excluded from the channel line-up after a confirmation test confirming unavailability.
10. The method of claim 1, where a channel is included in the channel line-up on a probationary basis until that channel remains available for a qualifying period.
11. The method of claim 1, including persistently retesting channels from a plurality of heterogeneous content sources.
12. The method of claim 1, where the channel line-up is a comprehensive line-up including channels from a plurality of heterogeneous content sources, and where the comprehensive line-up is maintained with persistent retesting and modification.
13. A method of facilitating channel selection on a content player, comprising:
detecting a change in channel availability on the content player;
updating a channel line-up on the content player responsive to detecting the change;
presenting changes to the channel line-up via the content player;
increasing frequency at which channel availability is tested responsive to detection of a previously available channel that has become unavailable or a previously unavailable channel that has become available.
14. The method of claim 13, where detecting a change in channel availability includes detecting availability of a previously unavailable channel.
15. The method of claim 13, where presenting changes to the channel line-up includes displaying a program guide that depicts available channels that were previously unavailable differently than available channels that were previously available.
16. The method of claim 13, where presenting changes to the channel line-up includes displaying a program guide that depicts unavailable channels that were previously available differently than unavailable channels that were previously unavailable.
17. A content player memory comprising machine executable instructions for self-maintaining accuracy in a channel line-up on a content player, where, upon execution, the instructions provide for:
persistently retesting previously available channels for unavailability;
self-modifying the channel line-up to exclude unavailable channels that were previously available channels;
persistently retesting previously unavailable channels for availability;
self-modifying the channel line-up to include available channels that were previously unavailable channels;
wherein testing frequency is increased for one or both of: previously available channels that have become unavailable and previously unavailable channels that have become available.