Nanotechnology

While the world awaits for mass production to begin on the NanoSolar PowerSheet, think thin metal sheets containing solar-absorbing nano-ink, research in the field forges on.  Scientists from Swansea University in the UK are working towards developing a solar paint which can be applied to any type of steel.  The team has successfully applied the paint to small surfaces and are working with colleagues at other UK universities to improve the performance.  We last heard about this idea from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2007.  Swansea team's leader, David Worsley describes the current research as "a collision between two existing technologies – one for generating electricity and one for applying paint to steel." "We should see a commercial cell in two-and-a-half years."

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding a $19.7 million dollar project to develop mosquitoes that are genetically modified so that they cannot carry malaria or dengue fever.  Scientists have to engineer mosquitoes resistant to carrying the diseases and find an efficient way of spreading the modified genes throughout the wild population.  Researchers are focusing on dengue fever first because it is carried by a single species of mosquito.  There are many people who are afraid of genetically modified organisms and the consequences of their release into the wild.  However this fear must be weighed against the millions of lives at risk  from insect borne diseases.  In the meantime visit nothingbutnets.net to see how you could help save a life for as little as $10.

While some are engineering insects in hopes to save lives, others are working on developing a "bionic hornet" to chase, photograph and kill enemy targets.  The robot no bigger than a hornet is being developed by Israel to combat terrorism while minimizing collateral damage.