Invisible Shield
The latest science invention is a spray-on invisible thin glass coating that sterilizes, protects and strengthens surfaces.
The coating also repels water, dirt, stains, mildew, fungus, bacteria and viruses.
A liquid coating invented at the Saarbrücken Institute for New Materials in Turkey and patented by Nanopool GmbH of Germany, is a flexible and breathable spray-on glass film approximately 100 nanometres thick (500 times thinner than a human hair) that has multiple applications and uses in numerous fields.
The coating is environmentally friendly (Winner of the Green Apple Award).
It can be applied within seconds to make any surface very easy to clean and safe from anti-microbes (Winner of the NHS Smart Solutions Award).
The special glass coating known as "SiO2 ultra-thin layering" protects practically any surface against water, uv radiation, dirt, heat, acid, stains, mildew, fungus. bacteria and viruses.
Trials by food processing plants in Germany have concluded that surfaces coated with liquid glass only need hot water for cleaning. In fact, the coating provided higher levels of sterility than surfaces cleaned with bleach or other chemicals.
A year long trial at a British hospital in Southport, Lancashire is to be published soon with very promising results for a wide range of coating applications used on medical equipment, implants, catheters, sutures and bandages.
Trials for in-vivo applications are confidential, but Neil McClelland, the UK Project Manager for Nanopool GmbH, describes the results as "stunning". "Items such as stents can be coated, and this will create anti sticking features. Catheters and sutures which are a source of infection, will also cease to be problematic," he says.
Colin Humphreys, a professor of materials science at Cambridge University, commented that liquid glass appears to have a wide range of applications and that the product 'looks impressive'.
The applications for this latest science invention seem endless - buildings, vehicles, appliances, clothing etc. can have dirt and germ free surfaces without using toxic coatings or chemicals.
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Building Human Organs 
Oganovo is a company based in San Diego, California. Their latest science invention is a technology (novogen) which allows living tissue cells to be assembled into patterns and complex structures, such as organs.
Organovo has partnered with Invetech. a company based in Australia, to develop a bio-printer.
The device prints (places) human cells in a three-dimensional matrix to construct human tissue.
"Building human organs cell-by-cell was considered science fiction not that long ago," says Fred Davis of Invetech.
Currently, the bio-printer can grow blood vessels.
It is anticipated that within five years the device will construct arteries and by 2020 sophisticated organs will be built by the device.
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Glass Nanobots Absorb Toxins
A nanobot particle made from glass is being developed that can absorb pollutants from contaminated water. The glass particles act like sponges by attracting and binding contaminants to themselves and expanding eight times in size during the process.
But unlike a sponge, these nanobots are hydrophobic, meaning they don't absorb water.
Scientists claim this new technology could be used to clean petroleum spills or other hazardous chemicals from our waterways. After the particles are dropped into the water, they collect pollutants and then rise to the surface when fully expanded. The particles are then skimmed from the surface, cleaned and placed back into the water to repeat the process.
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Physicist and inventor, Bruno Berge, has created a liquid optical lens. Using a process known as electro-wetting, a water drop is deposited on a metal substrate and covered by a thin insulating layer. When a voltage is applied to the metal, it modifies the angle of the liquid drop.
The liquid lens is comprised of two liquids, water and oil, one is a conductor while the other is an insulator. A variation in the voltage causes a change to the curvature of the liquid to liquid interface, which changes the focal length of the lens.
The use of liquids allows for low cost construction. There are no moving parts and electrical consumption is extremely low. The lens has a large inverse focal length range, quick response, high optical quality and can operate in a wide temperature range.
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Chungpin Liao, a professor at the Graduate School of Electro-Optic and Material Science of National Formosa University in Taiwan has invented an organic battery that creates electricity when wet. The "organic" battery generates a charge within 10 seconds and will last anywhere from two days to a week depending on the liquid. It works with water, beverages or even urine.
Although it will only produce half the strength of traditionalbatteries, the organic battery has a storage capacity greater than water-powered fuel cells and is very cheap to manufacture.
"Plus it contains no toxic substances and does not pose an environmental hazard" says Chungpin.
Liao received his degree in nuclear engineering from National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan. He earned his Masters and Ph.D degrees in plasma science and fusion technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, United States.
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As our population ages, impaired vision caused by damaged retinas has increased. A new invention ideas is to use silicon chips that can stimulate the retina to respond to light, which improves vision. But these chips are large and can tear or otherwise damage surrounding eye tissue over time.
Jeffrey Olsen, of the University of Colorado Hospital, has invented light amplifying "quantum" dots. This use of nanotechnology increases the light received by the retina so that images are brighter.
The "quantum" dots fluoresce when hit by photons so the images are more visible to functioning light sensitive cells.
The dots act as semiconductors and are implanted into the retina. They are much smaller than silicon chips.
To appreciate the miniature world of nanotechnology, it helps to get an idea of the sizes involved. A nanometer (nm) is the unit of measurement on the nanoscale. A nanometer is smaller than the wavelength of visible light or a hundred thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair.
On the nanoscale, atoms are assembled to make the latest science inventions - such as light amplifying "quantum" dots.
Viral Micro-batteries
Researchers at MIT have created the world's first batteries constructed from microscopic viruses.Viruses are genetically engineered to attract specific anode and cathode materials, molecules like cobalt oxide from a solution, which form wires packed together to create electrodes smaller than a human cell.
Batteries consist of two opposing electrodes, anode and cathode, separated by an electrolyte.
"Once you do the genetic engineering with the viruses themselves, you pour in the solution and they grow the right combination of these materials on them," says professor Angela Belcher.
The team is working on practical applications for this new invention idea, which include fiber configurations, smaller than a human cell, spun like silk and integrated into textiles providing a wearable power source. Nano-films could also be printed or laminated to electronic devices for the same purpose.
The research is being funded by the Army Research Office Institute of Collaborative Biotechnologies, the Army Research Office Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies, and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation.
KAPIL PATSARIYA
INDIANS LEAGUE
Power Leap
Elizabeth Redmond of Chicago is using the law of thermodynamics to create floor tiles that compress to generate and distribute electricity.The tiles convert kinetic energy into electrical energy from the pressure exerted by people walking on them.
They are intended for high traffic areas such as sidewalks, public transport platforms etc.
"Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. This project is exactly about that," says the 23 year old inventor.
The innovative flooring system is a solution to wasted human kinetic energy by harnessing it from pedestrian foot traffic to generate electricity for the community.
NanoTube - Hair-Thin Loudspeakers
Shoushan Fan, Kaili Jiang and Lin Xiao, scientists at Tsinghua University in Beijing, have invented a super-thin loudspeaker (one thousandth the width of a human hair). The material is flexible, transparent, stretchable - uses no magnets or moving parts - and produces sound quality as good as conventional speakers.
An audio frequency current is sent through a sheet of carbon nanotube to generate sound by vibrating surrounding air molecules.
The sheet of film experiences rapid temperature oscillations from the current causing pressure oscillations in the surrounding air, which creates sound pressure waves.
The film doesn't vibrate or move and can produce sound while being flexed or stretched, bent or even when partly damaged.
The applications for this new invention idea appear limitless.
Combined with wireless technology, the nanotube film could be incorporated into textiles converting your favorite sweater into an wearable ipod.
The film can be laminated to a computer or television to replace conventional speakers. It can be attached to any surface - ceilings, walls, doors, car interiors - anywhere you wish to create acoustical sound.
Solar Foil - The Future of Solar Energy
Anil Sethi, chief executive of the Swiss company Flison, holds a dark polymer foil. A paper-thin foil 200 times lighter than glass solar material. So light, it can be stuck to the sides of a building. So light, it can be mass-produced in rolls like packaging material.This is solar film. This new invention idea is made from a semiconductor compound that is embedded into polymer foil. A compound that absorbs light by freeing electrons, which can generate electricity for heating, lighting and air-conditioning.
Just a small piece can power a mobile phone or laptop.
It will even work on a grey, cloudy day and it should be commercially available by 2010.
"We don't need subsidies, we just need governments to get out of the way and do no harm. They've spent $170 billion subsidizing nuclear power over the last thirty years," says Sethi.
The solar industry is expected to surpass wind power.
According to Michael Rogol, a solar expert with Credit Lyonnais, the industry will grow to $40 billion by 2010, especially in Japan and Germany where green energy laws have forced utitilies to purchase surplus electricity from households.
Solar foil technology is accelerating so fast that the cost for electricity per watt could be 70 cents within a few years and around 30 cents within a decade.
"This is a very powerful technology," says Mike Splinter, chief executive of the U.S. based semiconductor company Appied Materials.
Populations across Asia and Africa that do not have networks of electrical grids, could jump into the solar age with this technology, similar to how they jumped into wireless phones.
Electrical utilities in Japan and Germany have already seen diminishing profits.
But Jeroen Van de Veer, chief executive at Shell Oil assures us that oil will be around for awhile, "We have invested a bit in all forms of renewable energy ourselves and maybe we'll find a winner one day. But the reality is that in twenty years time we'll still be using more oil than now."
KAPIL PATSARIYA
INDIANS LEAGUE
