I don't know much about electronics, but I can tell that this is huge. Scientists have created a fourth basic electronic circuit element (joining the capacitor,  the resistor, and the inductor). The new element is called the "memristor", and is able to remember the amount of charge that has passed through it.

The initial applications of this is pretty basic -- it can lead to instant-on PCs, for example, and non-volatile RAM. It also will have applications in machine learning, as it can function much like a synapse in the brain.

The big deal, though, is that it's a paradigm shift in electronics -- a whole new way of looking at the world. It's like suddenly adding a new physical law, or adding an extra state in a binary bit.

I can't wait to see how this shakes out.