PhysOrg.com

Moustache protector, anyone? Weird inventions on show in London
A grenade that puts out fires, a self-pouring teapot, periscope spectacles, a peach peeler and a moustache protector are among oddball inventions on show at the British Library.

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Grow your mobile in a pot? Maybe someday, say Nokia researchers
With a mobile phone you can make calls on the go, shoot photos and pinpoint your position on a map. And who knows, maybe one day you'll be able to grow your phone in a pot, if the futuristic ideas of technology researchers come true.

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Researchers report finer lines for microchips: Advance could lead to next-generation computer chips, solar cells
MIT researchers have achieved a significant advance in nanoscale lithographic technology, used in the manufacture of computer chips and other electronic devices, to make finer patterns of lines over larger areas than have been possible with other methods.

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New laser spectrometer opens the way for more effective carbon trading, drug development and carbon dating
Carbon offsets increasingly are becoming a major component in the arsenal for reducing global warming. Even Bon Jovi, the Rolling Stones and the Dave Matthews Band are doing it: acquiring carbon offsets to reduce the carbon footprint of their tours. As more organizations and businesses start trading in carbon offsets, the need for accurate measurements of carbon emissions also is becoming critically important for fair and exact exchanges.

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OSU's Transparent Electronics Key to Solar Energy Breakthrough
Transparent transistors and optoelectronics created by researchers at Oregon State University and HP have found their first key industrial application in a new type of solar energy system that its developers say will be four times more cost-efficient than any existing technology.

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Tiny science tests Russia's hi-tech ambitions
In the world's largest country, tiny objects measured in billionths of a metre are the future of the economy -- or so the government claims.

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Decoding the dictionary: Study suggests lexicon evolved to fit in the brain
The latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary boasts 22,000 pages of definitions. While that may seem far from succinct, new research suggests the reference manual is meticulously organized to be as concise as possible — a format that mirrors the way our brains make sense of and categorize the countless words in our vast vocabulary.

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NIST Micro Sensor and Micro Fridge Make Cool Pair
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have combined two tiny but powerful NIST inventions on a single microchip, a cryogenic sensor and a microrefrigerator. The combination offers the possibility of cheaper, simpler and faster precision analysis of materials such as semiconductors and stardust.

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Advancing the study of antimatter
“Right now, most physicists would predict that hydrogen and antihydrogen have the same properties,” Gerald Gabrielse tells Physorg.com, “What`s irresistible is that we of the opportunity to - potentially - look for tiny differences.”

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Biotechnology needs 21st century patent system: Expert
Biotechnology discoveries - like the method for creating synthetic life forms - are at risk of being unduly hindered or taken hostage by private corporations unless patent systems are brought into the 21st century, an expert from The Australian National University argues.

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