LED lightbulbs: Are you ready to make the switch? – “Lighting Science Group this week plans to introduce a portfolio of LED replacement white lightbulbs that it hopes will attract more consumer interest. The product line uses the same sockets as Edison bulbs. According to Gibler, the bulbs perform well on a warmth and color rendering index–blue looks blue, yellow looks yellow, etc.–they have a long life cycle, and consume 80 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs…”

Gamucci, the e-cigarette – “Finally, every smoker’s dream came true, a cigarette that’s not bad for you…”

Three Words That Could Overthrow Physics: “What Is Magnetism?” – “For one thing, as far as I can tell, nobody knows how a magnet can move a piece of metal without touching it. And for another—more astonishing still, perhaps—nobody seems to care…”

Lying? The Face Betrays Deceiver’s True Emotions, But In Unexpected Ways – “How can we tell who’s lying, who’s not? New research out of Stephen Porter’s Forensic Psychology Lab at Dalhousie University determines the face will betray the deceiver’s true emotion, but not in the stereotypical ways we think…”

Unlimited Phone Service and No Bills? – “As we all know, with most too-good-to-be-true offers, there’s a catch. Infomercials touting the benefits of VoIP (or Voice-over Internet Protocol) are no exception. The fine print usually contains a clause requiring the user to install expensive routers, switch provider services or endure other hassles. Surprisingly, the magicJack is one product that seems to be excluded from these tribulations. If you have a home computer and a broadband connection, you can free yourself from phone bills…”

Science fiction inspires DARPA weapon – “Now DARPA are working on a weapon called MAHEM – Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition – that uses the same principle as Clarke’s fictional device. Using magnetic fields it will propel either a narrow jet of molten metal or a chunk of molten metal that morphs into an aerodynamic slug during flight. Unlike Clarke’s Stiletto, they will come from a device that generates a powerful electromagnetic field from an explosion, not giant capacitors…”

New Source for Biofuels Discovered by Researchers – “A newly created microbe produces cellulose that can be turned into ethanol and other biofuels, report scientists from The University of Texas at Austin who say the microbe could provide a significant portion of the nation’s transportation fuel if production can be scaled up…”

For a Pinball Survivor, the Game Isn’t Over – “Being inside a pinball machine factory sounds exactly as you think it would. Across a 40,000-square-foot warehouse here, a cheery cacophony of flippers flip, bells ding, bumpers bump and balls click in an endless, echoing loop. The quarter never runs out…”

Bionic eye allows blind people to see – “The two patients operated on at Moorfields, who have not been identified, were fitted with a pair of glasses carrying a tiny camera and transmitter which sends a signal to an ultra-thin electronic receiver inserted into the back of the eye, attached to the retina. Images picked up by the camera and transmitted to the receiver stimulate the remaining healthy nerves in the retina, sending a signal via the optic nerve to the brain. The pattern of light and dark spots perceived by the brain depend on which electrodes in the retina are stimulated…”

Contact lenses ‘boost sexual success’ – “Swapping glasses for contact lenses can dramatically increase success with the opposite sex, research on short-sighted students in a nightclub has found…”

Where Will Tomorrow’s Oil Come From? – “Just last week, Haroldo Lima, the head of Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency, revealed the unofficial figures from a new reservoir, known as Carioca, which could hold 33 billion barrels of oil and gas. If true, Carioca would be the world’s largest discovery in at least 32 years. Upon hearing the news, brokers and analysts rushed to tell their clients that Brazil, as one minister put it just months ago, was about to become the ‘new Saudi Arabia…’”

NTT Firmo transmits data through skin – “NTT has begun selling a device that transmits data across the surface of the human body and lets users communicate with electronic devices simply by touching them, the company announced on April 23…”

Psychologists Demonstrate Simplicity of Working Memory – “A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but humans may have even less to work with than previously thought. University of Missouri researchers found that the average person can keep just three or four things in their “working memory” or conscious mind at one time. This finding may lead to better ways to assess and help people with attention-deficit and focus difficulties, improve classroom performance and enhance test scores…”

New Threat to Farmers: The Market Hedge – “In what little free time he has, Mr. Grieder attends Illinois Farm Bureau meetings to join other frustrated farmers who are lobbying officials in Chicago and Washington to fix a system that was designed half a century ago to reduce uncertainty for food producers but is now increasing it…”