15.05.10

Scientists say they can measure rate of oil leak if BP releases clear seafloor video

Since BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded into one of the worst man-made ecological disasters in history, one big question has remained unanswered: Just how big of a mess is it? While BP asserts there's no way to know, marine experts say that if the oil giant would but release
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Inhalable local anaesthesia could replace painful needles at the dentist

Your dentist may soon be moving from needle drugs to a snort-able variety. Researchers have found that local anesthesia delivered through an inhalable nasal spray quickly travels down one of the face's primary
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Newest Gates Foundation grants include sweat-activated vaccines, laser-guided parasite killers

One of the richest men in history is spreading his wealth around again. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced its fourth round
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Embedded DNA commands let nanomachines follow instructions, assemble components

Nanotech has opened the door to some serious sci-fi possibilities: tiny robots -- built by other tiny robots -- that swim in our bloodstreams eradicating infection or hunting tumors, or perhaps assembling miniscule electronic components. But programming such tiny objects to do what we want
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Bioelectric nanotube transistor could bring biology and machines closer together

Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab have taken a big step toward bridging the gap between mind and machine. Using ATP - adenosine triphosphate, the molecular medium of energy exchange present in nearly all living cells - the team has created a novel transistor that could allow
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Bionic vision set to be a reality within five years

We brought you the news yesterday of a sensor-equipped contact lens that helps to monitor the eye at all times. While that is certainly impressive eye-related
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US Air Force Tests Method for Using Light to Heal Battlefield Injuries

In the near future, wounds may be treated with a flash of light. A process called photochemical tissue bonding can replace conventional stitches, staples and glues in repairing skin wounds and even reconnecting nerves and blood vessels. Researchers
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Motorola looking to offer 3D mobile phones

We’ve said it before, but for dramatic effect we’ll say it again: 2010 is the year of 3D. And while TV manufacturers are currently vying for your attention as to why their particular 3D TV flavour is better than the rest, at least one mobile phone manufacturer is looking to bring 3D to
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How It Works: The Deepest Drill

The world's deepest drill is about to get taller-tall enough to dig into Earth's semi-molten interior. Already, the Chikyu research vessel is capable of fetching samples at depths of 2,890 feet below the seabed, two to four times that of any other drill. In 2007, off the coast of Japan,
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Finland Launching National Pilot Program To Open and Scan All Snail Mail

In an effort to increase efficiency, cut carbon emissions, and reduce costs, Finland has begun a pilot program wherein snail-mail letters are
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The Future of...the Hot Dog?

According to both common sense and the US Academy of Pediatrics, there are two truths about hot dogs which neither science nor industry can afford to ignore: kids love hot dogs, and hot dogs are the perfect size and shape for a child to choke
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Video: Apocalypse-Fearing Folk Can Seek Shelter in Futuristic US$10 Million Doomsday Bunker

A doomsday bunker envisioned by California company Vivos can offer you, your family, and 4,000 other people the chance to escape the end of the world in a network of 20 underground shelters. Surely even the sceptics can't resist the allure of scary music played over scenes of comfortable underground
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Sanyo's Solar Parking Lots Charge Community Bikes Without Tapping the Grid

The future of community bike systems may not require much pedaling at all; Sanyo has just installed two "Solar Parking Lots" that serve as solar charging stations for 100 Eneloop electric hybrid
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Although It's Been Said Many Times, Many Ways: The iPad is the Future

After a weekend using the iPad, I've realised I'm not interested in hedging my reaction to it with careful considerations of its lack of a USB port or webcam. It's not every day, or every year or maybe even every decade that we're able to see a piece of technology that takes a familiar human
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Autonomous Roving Robot Seeks Out Polluted Water to Sustain Its Onboard Plant Symbiotes

What if we could use our pollution as fuel? That notion seems intractable within the current energy paradigm, in which so many of our pollutants are byproducts of our fuels. But it's precisely that idea that inspired Mexican artist Gilberto Esparza to create "Nomadic
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