Brain boosters and energy harvesters

From New Scientist - Energy

Power-generating buoys shelter in the deep - A new kind of wave-power generator will be sited 50 metres below the surface to avoid the damaging effects of storms

Mini heat harvesters could be new energy source - A new generation of small and efficient acoustic heat engines - which convert heat into electricity - could provide power in a host of applications

Rapid-fire 'spark plug' may bring fusion power closer - It delivers a high-power pulse every 10 seconds and may boost a technology currently lagging in the pursuit of clean energy

Catalyst could help turn CO2into fuel - It might allow CO2from the atmosphere to be used instead of fossil fuels as the source for synthetic carbon compounds and even fuels

From New Scientist - Biotechnology

Tycoon seeks patent for 'minimal genome' - Craig Venter, who led the private-sector effort to sequence the human genome, is seeking exclusive commercial rights to the bare essentials for life – and not everyone likes it

Gene variant may be responsible for human learning - The gene variant found in humans but not in our closest cousins, is similar to one that improves learning in mice

Faulty body clock may cause mania - The hyperactive behaviour of mice with a mutation in the gene which normally keeps the body on a daily cycle offers clues about bipolar disorder in humans

From Technology Review

From Leftovers to Energy - Scientists develop microbes that convert food scraps into energy.

Brain Boosters - Our reporter enters the new world of neuroenhancers by having his brain zapped with electricity and dosed with chemicals to see if it makes him smarter and more alert.

Our Microbial Menagerie - New genomic technologies allow us to study the thriving but mysterious populations of microörganisms in our bodies, providing important insights into obesity and other health problems.

Glass chips and Cancer fighting curry

From New Scientist - Nanotechnology

Replacing glass with vacuums speeds up chips - Vacuum-filled polymer tubes better insulate computer chips than glass, resulting in increased speed and efficiency

'Energy harvesting' can boost optoelectronic efficiency - Fast silicon chips that use both light and electricity to process data can be made more efficient – the technique also solves a tricky problem for chip makers

Nano-generator could power tiny devices - The day when you can charge your cell phone or iPod just by going for a stroll around the block could be a step closer, thanks to a "nano-generator"

From Physics Org

Nanotube adhesive sticks better than a gecko's foot - Mimicking the agile gecko, with its uncanny ability to run up walls and across ceilings, has long been a goal of materials scientists. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Akron have taken one sticky step in the right direction, creating synthetic "gecko tape" with four times the sticking power of the real thing.

From Technology Review - NanoTech

Nanocurry vs. Cancer - Researchers hope that curcumin encapsulated in nanospheres will spice up clinical trials for Alzheimer's, cystic fibrosis, and cancer.

See-Through Transistors - Transparent transistors made from nanowires could mean bright and clear OLED displays.

From Transmaterial

Multi-Touch Interaction - Developed by Jefferson Han at New York University, Multi-Touch Interaction offers a wide variety of application scenarios and interaction modalities that utilize multi-touch input information. These go far beyond the "poking" actions you get with a typical touch screen, or the gross gesturing found in video-based interactive interfaces.