Someday, they’ll build wireless Internet into every building, just the way they build in running water, heat and electricity today. Someday, we won’t...
Solegear receives award for 100% biobased Polysole plastic
The North American Frost and Sullivan Award* for New Product Innovation of the Year has been awarded to Canadian company Solegear, for...
The Deepening Crisis: When Will We Face the Planet’s Environmental Problems?
Image via Wikipedia Failure to act on threats to global sustainability brings the world closer to disaster With this final column I will transition Sustainable Developments from...
New high-speed, low-cost water purifying nanofilter developed
As their name suggests, most existing water purifying filters clean the water by physically trapping or filtering out bacteria. Stanford researchers have now developed...
NEC goes nuts to create new bioplastic
Image via Wikipedia NEC has announced the development of a new biomass-based plastic produced by bonding non-edible cellulose with cardanol, a primary component of...
The World’s First Home to Produce More Energy than it Consumes
If someone asks you to describe a solar power plant you'd likely look to convey an image of row upon row of sun-soaking panels...
Astronaut airbags hold promise of a smooth landing
Should the astronauts living on the International Space Station (ISS) ever need to evacuate, the plan is that they will be able to board...
Scientists sequence apple genome
Image via Wikipedia No sooner do we hear about the sequencing of the wheat genome, than word comes this week that the genome of the...
Shape-shifting UAV designed for stormy sea rescues
People often need to be rescued at sea because of stormy weather – exactly the kind of conditions in which it is not safe to...
Creation of liver cells from skin cells gives hope in fight against liver disease
Researching liver disorders is extremely difficult because liver cells (hepatocytes) cannot be grown in the laboratory. However, researchers at the University of Cambridge have...
Advances Offer Path to Shrink Computer Chips Again
Image via Wikipedia Scientists at Rice University and Hewlett-Packard are reporting this week that they can overcome a fundamental barrier to the continued rapid miniaturization...
Wheat genome sequenced – superior types of wheat could result
Scientists from the University of Liverpool, in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the John Innes Centre in Norfolk, have sequenced the...
Google Chrome Shows Off What HTML5 Can Do With Arcade Fire Video
Image via CrunchBase Google is a big proponent of HTML5, especially for video and rich graphics in the browser. To show off what HTML5 can...
Juicing Up Laptops and Cell Phones With Soda Pop or Vegetable Oil?
Image via Wikipedia Scientists have reported the development of a new battery-like device that opens the possibility that people one day could "recharge" cell ...
‘Dry Water’ Could Make a Big Splash Commercially, Help Fight Global Warming
An unusual substance known as "dry water," which resembles powdered sugar, could provide a new way to absorb and store carbon dioxide, the major...
Engineers Develop an Organic LED Light Source for Home Electronics, Medicine and Clean Energy
Electronic products pollute our environment with a number of heavy metals before, during and after they're used. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 70%...
LEDs Promise Brighter Future, Not Necessarily Greener
![R, G, and B LEDs [7].](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/RBG-LED.jpg/300px-RBG-LED.jpg "R, G, and B LEDs [7].")
Image via Wikipedia Solid-state lighting pioneers long have held that replacing the inefficient Edison light bulb with more efficient solid-state light-emitting devices (LEDs) would...
Hi-Tech Rechargeable Batteries Developed for Military
Image via Wikipedia Scientists report progress in using a common virus to develop improved materials for high-performance, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that ...
Secrets of the Gecko Foot Help Robot Climb
Image by Furryscaly via Flickr A Stanford mechanical engineer is using the biology of a gecko's sticky foot to create a robot that climbs. In the...
A Method For Encumbering Progress By Patenting Other People’s Ideas
Inventor: Paul Allen Filed: August 27, 2010 Abstract: A method for preventing innovation, specifically in the tech sector, by way of a dangerous misconception of ...
Silicon Valley’s Dark Secret: It’s All About Age
An interesting paradox in the technology world is that there is both a shortage and a surplus of engineers in the United States. Talk...
Yet another human job is replaced by a robot
BIG crowds, strong surf and powerful rip currents are only a few of the obstacles that lifeguards must overcome to keep swimmers safe. Strong winds...
MIT researchers develop autonomous oil-absorbing robot to clean up oil spills
Over 80 skimmers were deployed in the Gulf of Mexico during the summer of 2010 to help clean up the Deepwater Horizon leak; however, it...
Google Shakes It Up Again With Free Phone Calls
Image via CrunchBase Google just loves upsetting the apple cart. It shook up Web searching and advertising. It shook up free, Web-based e-mail...
Hybrid Battery Issues
Image via Wikipedia THE whole point of paying an extra $5,000 or so for a hybrid car was supposed to be that...
MIT researchers develop a better way to grow stem cells
Stem cells have been touted as the potential key to treating ailments ranging from Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis to spinal cord injuries, to...
Biosynthetic corneas restore vision to humans
A study made public this Wednesday has shown that biosynthetic corneas can and do restore eyesight in humans. Researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute...
