Scientists from Purdue University have prepared a new solid propellant with explosive results. The fuel, a combination of nanoaluminum and ice, is a new kind of environmentally friendly solid rocket fuel that could someday be used in missions to outer space. With the motive to minimize fuel consumption onboard, the fuel has been successfully field-tested [...]

Fluid
Designed by Melbourne-based Peddle Thorpe Architects, Fluid is a whale-inspired pavilion that is sure to be a showstopper at the much-anticipated 2012 World Expo in Yeosu, South Korea. (Pics)

Several winners were announced as top inventors for 2009
The DaVinci Institute, a futurist think tank and host of the 5th annual Colorado Inventor Showcase announced the award winners at the event held November 3rd at the Denver University Cable Center. Winners in the six categories accepted their honors as the evening came to a close.  [...]

Want to have a method that your car can generate power as it drives along the road? Well, check out the Carbon Zero road block system. This concept uses blocks on the road, and as you drive over these blocks, the pressure from your car pushes the blocks down, creating kinetic energy. N-type silicon and [...]

This representative-color figure shows the very-high-energy gamma-ray emission observed by VERITAS coming from the Cigar Galaxy, also known as Messier 82.
Nearly 100 years ago, scientists detected the first signs of cosmic rays — subatomic particles (mostly protons) that zip through space at nearly the speed of light. The most energetic cosmic rays hit with the [...]

New research confirms that the volcanic processes at work beneath the Ethiopian rift are nearly identical to those at the bottom of the world’s oceans, and the rift is indeed likely the beginning of a new sea.

In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed [...]

Nazca Lines in the Peruvian Desert.
An ancient South American civilisation which disappeared around 1,500 years ago helped to cause its own demise by damaging the fragile ecosystem that held it in place, a study has found.

Fermi’s Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows that an intense star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud named 30 Doradus is also a source of diffuse gamma rays.
Nearby galaxies undergoing a furious pace of star formation also emit lots of gamma rays, say astronomers using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Two so-called “starburst” galaxies, plus a [...]

Young tyrannosaurs did serious battle against each other.
We all know adolescents get testy from time to time. Thank goodness we don’t have young tyrannosaurs running around the neighborhood.

 CyberWalk has developed an omni-directional treadmill, which allows humans to walk in any direction yet stay centered on the treadmill. The user should be able to walk seemingly endlessly in any direction without leaving a small room.  Underneath the walking surface is many densely packed small balls which let the friction of the user’s shoes do [...]

NSA Headquarters
There’s an interesting article in the current New York Review of books (predictably, a book review) detailing the history of the National Security Agency, that shadowy power-behind-the-power to which we surrender much of our privacy. That in itself is interesting, but I found the introduction a bit shocking: the NSA is constructing a datacenter [...]

Abu Dhabi is probably tired of Dubai always stealing the thunder as the star of the United Arab Emirates, but that may change with the construction of a F1 spec race track and a Ferrari-based theme park set to open in 2010.
 

A harmless digestive enzyme can be turned into a toxin in two unrelated species — a shrew (pictured) and a lizard — thereby giving each a venomous bite.
Biologists have shown that independent but similar molecular changes turned a harmless digestive enzyme into a toxin in two unrelated species — a shrew and a lizard — [...]

A new generation of microcapsules, shown above, promise to deliver “chemicals on demand” for a wide range of uses, including medicine and personal care.
Scientists in California are reporting development of a new generation of the microcapsules used in carbon-free copy paper, in which capsules burst and release ink with pressure from a pen. The new [...]

New research finds that a quick glance at someone’s facial structure may be enough for us to predict their tendency towards aggression.
Angry words and gestures are not the only way to get a sense of how temperamental a person is. According to new findings in Psychological Science, a quick glance at someone’s facial structure may [...]

Mark Tuszynski, MD, PhD.
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that regeneration of central nervous system axons can be achieved in rats even when treatment delayed is more than a year after the original spinal cord injury.

This thin-section transmission electron micrograph (TEM) depicted the ultrastructural details of a number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) virus particles, or virions.
Researchers have shown how an antiviral protein produced by the immune system, dubbed tetherin, tames HIV and other viruses by literally putting them on a leash, to prevent their escape from infected cells. The [...]

Splash your way into the future!

What will bathrooms look like in 10 years time? Will it be the boring old room like the ones we currently use? Well, if the Roca Active & Relax Bathroom is anything to go by, the future is looking pretty clean (pun intended). How would you like a giant display [...]

Aida
As if you don’t have enough distractions while driving, the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab and MIT’s SENSEable City Lab have teamed up to create AIDA, a robot that lives in your dashboard, is way smarter than you, and has no compunctions about letting you know it: (Video)
 

Don’t you think a lot more people need to be aware of this?
Kevin Poulsen at Threat Level has a great item up about the growing menace of “money mules.” The term refers to bank customers who’ve been conned into unwittingly laundering cash that hackers have stolen from business bank accounts. The con and the funny [...]

Leonard DaVinci’s masterpiece Mona Lisa
The secret behind Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile has been explained by scientists who believe it changes depending on which part of the eye sees it first.  One of the charms of the world’s most famous painting is that she appears radiant one moment and then serious and sardonic the next.  Now [...]

It is an international symbol of love and romance. But the kiss may have evolved for reasons that are far more practical – and less alluring.
 

Featured Invention at the Colorado Inventor Showcase 2009
The Worlds First “Personal Loyalty Program” designed for the Social Media generation. With a free Loyal2.Me account you have the power to make businesses be Loyal to you instead expecting Loyalty from you. You get VIP deals on your favorite products and services from the Businesses you invite [...]

Featured Invention at the Colorado Inventor Showcase 2009
Seamount Solar is a product that augments a clean-powered hydrogen-transmitted energy system by making ultra-pure water, in quantity, from saline or polluted water evaporated and collected by solar power and condensed by the cooler non-potable source.  Hydrogen and oxygen produced by electrolysis burns to power the flow of clean vapor [...]

Featured Invention at the Colorado Inventor Showcase 2009
TelePresence Tech offers 3D TelePresence solutions designed to offer an enhanced communication experience for either corporate communications, or customer service applications.  3D TelePresence delivers aligned eye contact and a life-size, three dimensional sense of presence.