The amazing microbial fuel cell: turns poo into power

Now if they can just put this in a car....  Imagine, no more pulling over 10 times on a long trip so the kids can go potty.

Researchers at Penn State, working in cooperation with a scientist from Ion Power, Inc., have developed a microbial fuel cell that can turn wastewater and bacteria into hydrogen. According to Penn State, the new process can get up to four times as much hydrogen straight out of the biomass than what can typically be generated by fermentation alone. But Bruce Logan, the co-inventor of the process (seen at right), doesn’t think he smells a solution to the world’s energy problems, saying that there’s just not enough “waste biomass to sustain a global hydrogen economy.
Engadget]

Spyguard blocks WiFi

This is too cool.  They can't ride on something that they can detect. :)

WiFi-blocking paint and wallpaper are a good start, but if you need total protection from all those hackers that are out to get you, you’re going to have to do something about those windows, right? You could just live and work in a windowless sub-basement like we do, never seeing the light of day or interacting with another living creature, or you could try and put an end to your paranoia with Spyguard, a transparent film that blocks any and all WiFi signals from leaking out through your windows. You could also just take your chances and secure your network by encrypting your traffic, it’s really up to you.

[Via The Wireless Weblog]

[Engadget]

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Your Linguistic Profile:

45% General American English

30% Dixie

10% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Not sure what it means... but I am from the south y'all. :) Thanks Technodaddy for pointing this out.

Suspended animation becomes a reality?

So THAT'S the reason why everyone seems to pass out after I eat eggs...

Suspended animation has long been a hallmark of science fiction. In long voyages spanning tens of light years, crews would be put into a state of suspended animation and revived as the starships come close to their destination. Now an experiement with mice has moved the concept further away from the realm of sci-fi and closer to reality.

Now, a group in Seattle, WA, has published a report in Science this week, with the remarkable discovery that hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), the terrible smelling gas given off by rotting eggs and sewage, can reduce the metabolic rate and core body temperature of mice. Or, in plainer English, it induced a state similar to hibernation.

Obviously, it's a ways away from being applied to humans, although we're both mammals. However, it's definitely an interesting development.

Other science news covered this week include the effect of e-mail on your IQ, retreating Antarctic glaciers, innovations in space flight, and more.
[Ars Technica]

Star Wars Revelations...

I haven't watched it yet but the site looks cool...

Have you seen the newest Star Wars movie yet? No, not some bootleg of Episode III on a p2p service. I'm talking about Revelations. It's what happens when you get a fan with a vision to tell a part of the Star Wars story who meets up with the latest personal digital technology. Revelations runs at 40 mins and it's a tale that fits in post Episode III and prior to Episode IV. More importantly it shows what the vision of one person looks like when brought to life though digital technology that would have simply been prohibitive for an individual to afford or too complex for a mortal to use. Probably worth quoting George Lucas again...  “Anyone with a Macintosh and a Sony digital camera can do anything I can do. I just happen to have a few cameras and a few Macintoshes". What a great promotion for the Star Wars folks but a much better promotion of the tools that were used to create it. While most consumers still prefer to consume content rather than create it for those with the vision and the talent, it's amazing to see what can be done with stuff that's just off the shelf and available to anyone.
[Michael Gartenberg]

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Trix adopted us...

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The boys don't like trix..