It eats flies and stinks to high heaven, but if this robot works, it will be an important step towards making robots fully autonomous. To survive without human help — perhaps to rove in dangerous or inhospitable terrain — a robot needs to generate its own energy. Now a robot has been developed that catches flies and digests them in a special reactor cell to generate electricity — but to do so it will most likely have to attract flies by using a stinking lure made from human excrement
A burial site of six Viking men and women, with swords, spears, jewellery, fire-making materials and riding equipment, has been found in England. The site, discovered near Cumwhitton in northwestern England, is believed to date to the early 10th century
Anthropologists stepped into a hornets’ nest after revealing research that suggests the original inhabitants of America may in fact have come from what is now known as Australia. The claim will be extremely unwelcome to today’s native Americans who came overland from Siberia and say they were there first
A replica of the Kon-Tiki balsa raft will sail the Pacific in 2005 to study mounting environmental threats to the oceans since Thor Heyerdahl made his daredevil 1947 voyage. One of Heyerdahl’s grandsons will be among the six-strong crew for the trip from Peru aiming to reach Tahiti, about 500km west of the Raroia atoll where the Kon-Tiki ran aground after traveling 8,000km in 101 days
Astronomers involved in SETI have found an unexplained radio signal. This signal, now seen on three separate occasions, is an enigma. It could be generated by a previously unknown astronomical phenomenon. Or it could be something much more mundane, maybe an artefact of the telescope itself. But it also happens to be the best candidate yet for a contact by intelligent aliens. Astronomers, surprised that a blip generated so much hype, have moved swiftly to quell speculation they may have received a deep-space radio signal from ET
Scientists have developed an invisible coating that will waterproof almost anything including mobile phones.
The revolutionary nanometre-thick coating was first researched to protect soldiers’ suits against chemical and biological warfare agents by Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down and the University of Durham.
The new invention, which is three times more water repellent than Teflon, could radically change sportswear, clothing, mobile phones and medical devices. Apart from its military uses DSTL is now trying to capture the civilian market as it launches a joint venture with industry.
The Royal College of General Practitioners has accused pharmaceutical companies of disease-mongering in order to boost sales, bringing the NHS to the brink of collapse
A jawbone, grown on his shoulder, using a titanium mold, bone marrow, and recombinant bone morphogenic protein, enabled a man to chew for the first time since he lost his lower jaw in radical surgery for cancer. Since then he was able to eat only soup and soft foods. But just four weeks after a pioneering jaw-creation and transplantation procedure, he tucked into a meal of sausages and bread
Though Skippy the Hamster powers this night light by running on his exercise wheel, the same concepts and low-rpm alternator design could be applied to a school science project using different energy sources. A small wind or hydro turbine could easily power this alternator. He’s a Syrian Hamster, and we chose that breed since they are nocturnal and like to run on the exercise wheel
A new kind of planet has been discovered in a star system 50 light years away. It is the smallest world to be found outside our Solar System, and probably the first rocky planet found so far. The planet orbits the star mu Arae, which has been monitored by a European team of astronomers using an instrument called HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher), attached to the 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile
Scientists in the US have developed a novel technique to make bulk quantities of glass from alumina for the first time. Anatoly Rosenflanz and colleagues at 3M in Minnesota used a flame-spray
technique to alloy alumina (aluminium oxide) with rare-earth metal oxides to produce strong glass with good optical properties. The method avoids many of the problems encountered in conventional glass forming and could, say the team, be extended to other oxides. Scotty would be pleased
Lonely sheep, like lonely people, are much happier when they see pictures of friends and family. A group at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge has found that the sight of a friendly face reduces stress in sheep
MSK is producing transparent solar panels. The panels can generate 3.8 watts of electricity per square foot, an above-average level of efficiency
. They come in a thick version that can be used for glazing buildings. As an interesting aside, they can also be used as screens for projection TV units
The Mobility Denial System is an oil-slick-in-a-can, a combination of Drilling Mud Additive, Flocculent and water
that renders surfaces as slippery as wet ice — via boingboing
Once applied, the material will degrade or impair the adversary’s ability to move. For Interior applications it can be applied to flat, smooth, non-porous surfaces such as linoleum, tile, wood floors or staircases. Exterior applications include sloped, rough, porous surfaces such as concrete, asphalt, and grassy areas.
Connovation, a New Zealand company, is now making a synthetic skunk gel
called Skunk Shot that is being used by law enforcement to keep vagrants and junkies out of abandoned buildings — via boingboing
While non-lethal weapons are all well and good in theory, in practice they tend to get used to first immobilise an opponent so lethal means can be then used. Apparently most US law enforcement officers missed the instead of
coda.
There’re so many Prozac-takers in the UK that urine-borne traces of unmetabolised antidepressent have contaminated the drinking-water supply. The exact amount of Prozac in the nation’s drinking water is not known — via Rogue Sun
The International Electrotechnical Commission has formed a working group to draw up standards that will ensure compatibility between micro fuel-cells. Toshiba is among several that are developing such devices as alternative power sources for handheld electronic devices. Development of a standard could mean the micro fuel cell could be launched in music players, digital cameras, and other devices as early as next year
Hungry summer picnickers will soon be able to tuck into their sandwiches, sausages and pork pies without having to take the clingfilm off first.
Scientists have developed a wrapping that not only keeps food fresh but can also be safely eaten.
The film, which contains natural preservatives, can be fortified with vitamins and minerals. Used in liquid form, it can also be sprayed on fresh foods such as fruit to keep them fresher.
The legendary island nation Atlantis, the existence of which has sparked debate for thousands of years, was actually Ireland, according to a new theory by Swedish geographer Ulf Erlingsson
A Mowgli-like wild boy who appears to have been raised by a dog since he was three months old has been discovered living in a remote part of Siberia seven years after he was abandoned by his parents
Australian newspaper The Age has an interesting story on squeezing coal before burning it in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The process, discovered by Victorian scientists, is expected to make brown coal (lignite) burn 30% cleaner. Good news, as Australia is the world’s number one exporter of coal.
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