Fast cars will go even faster with electric power – “SOME people think sports cars are threatened with extinction by tightening restrictions on carbon-dioxide emissions and unacceptable fuel-guzzling. They fear the roar of the V8 will be replaced by the whirr of the electric armature—and that motoring will never be the same again. Well, it ought to be quieter, that is true. But the Jeremy Clarksons and J. Bonington Jagworths of this world need not fear that it will be slower…”

Good Vibrations: Electric Car Uses Bumps to Charge Battery – “This odd-looking car is an interesting concept from industrial designer Jung-Hoon Kim and was an entry in the 2010 Michelin Challenge Design competition. Unlike other electric cars that rely on special charging stations or an extension cord plugged into an outlet at home, the P-Eco relies on four piezoelectric devices to charge the car’s battery as it moves…”

Robot Journalist Takes Pictures, Asks Questions, Publishes Online – “Robots are after my job. Researchers at the Intelligent Systems Informatics Lab (ISI) at Tokyo University have developed a journalist robot that can autonomously explore its environment and report what it finds. The robot detects changes in its surroundings, decides if they are relevant, and then takes pictures with its on board camera. It can query nearby people for information, and it uses internet searches to further round out its understanding…”

The 30-Year-Old Space Shuttle Flies On 1 MB of RAM, But At Least “There’s No Blue Screen” – “The soon-to-be-retired Space Shuttle is 30 years old and remarkably relies on an on-board flight computer much less sophisticated than the phone you’re reading this on: yup, the craft’s General Purpose Computer uses just one MB of RAM. It kind of puts your memory problems into perspective, now doesn’t it?”

Counter Surveillance Camera detects binoculars, cameras and rifle scopes pointing at you and even people staring – “The sniper is without doubt the most fearsome of opponents – capable of taking your life from great distance. Current anti-sniper counter measures depend on the sight or sound of the initial shot, and by that time, it may be too late. Now a new device which uses the same “red-eye” effect of flash cameras and projects it hundreds of meters, can identify binoculars, sniper scopes, cameras and even human eyeballs that are staring at you. It is hence the first machine that can offer 24/7 warning that you are being watched or targeted, BEFORE a shot is fired…”

A Naked Engine For Cleaner Flights – “In 1983, engineers at General Electric experimented with an “unducted fan” engine. Without the external casing, airflow through the blades increased, delivering more power for the same amount of fuel. The thing was loud, but the company pressed on because the trick could reduce fuel consumption by as much as 26 percent. Then fuel prices dropped, gas guzzling became acceptable, and GE mothballed the project. Now that airlines are again conscious of fuel costs and carbon, the idea is back, and new tech is making it feasible…”

The evolution of four stories

Discovery: First Scientifically Confirmed Poisonous Bird

Love, sex and the male brain – “Although women the world over have been doing it for centuries, we can’t really blame a guy for being a guy. And this is especially true now that we know that the male and female brains have some profound differences. Our brains are mostly alike. We are the same species, after all. But the differences can sometimes make it seem like we are worlds apart…”

This Is the Future of the Fight Against Cancer – “This Is the Future of the Fight Against CancerLook close. You may be staring at the end of cancer. Those tiny black dots are nanobots delivering a lethal blow to a cancerous cell, effectively killing it. The first trial on humans have been a success, with no side-effects…”

Innovative SpyParty Is Ultimate Mind Game – “SpyParty is like nothing else I’ve ever played. It’s an asymmetrical multiplayer game: One player mingles among computer-controlled party guests, attempting to perform sly feats of espionage. The other player watches the action from afar through the sight of a sniper rifle, hoping to pick out the human spy from a roomful of robots, then assassinate him….”

Nano-Gadget Holds the Salt – ” Water desalination plants can effectively turn seawater into drinking water, but they’re hardly portable. Now a team has created a salt-removing gadget so small that hundreds of them could fit onto a penny. If researchers can scale up this invention into a working device, it could generate up to a glass of fresh water per minute using about the same energy as a table lamp does…” See also: A system that’s worth its salt

Wikileaks: Something is up – “Sounds like the people behind Wikileaks are under some pressure. Since this is unlikely to turn up in your newspapers, I post it hear to spread awareness…”

HTC EVO 4G is Sprint’s Android-powered knight in superphone armor, we go hands-on – “We’ve been rumoring a WiMAX “HTC Supersonic” for a while now, and Sprint just dropped the hard news: the phone will be dubbed the HTC EVO 4G, will be released this Summer and it’s easily the best specced phone we’ve ever witnessed…”

Verizon, Sprint May Get First 802.11n Wi-Fi Phones – “The Wi-Fi alliance on Tuesday announced a major push to get faster 802.11n networking into mobile phones, along with the first 10 phones featuring 802.11n…”

With AT&T Femtocell, Your Coverage Troubles Could Be Over – “The incessant complaints about AT&T’s poor voice and data services could soon come to an end, though at a cost of $150. AT&T on Wednesday announced the nationwide release of its 3G MicroCell, the company’s first femtocell. It’s a device that creates a tiny 3G data and voice signal for your personal use, eliminating AT&T’s network issues within a limited range…”

Part 1: A new approach to China: an update – “So earlier today we stopped censoring our search services—Google Search, Google News, and Google Images—on Google.cn. Users visiting Google.cn are now being redirected to Google.com.hk, where we are offering uncensored search in simplified Chinese, specifically designed for users in mainland China and delivered via our servers in Hong Kong. Users in Hong Kong will continue to receive their existing uncensored, traditional Chinese service, also from Google.com.hk. Due to the increased load on our Hong Kong servers and the complicated nature of these changes, users may see some slowdown in service or find some products temporarily inaccessible as we switch everything over…”

Part 2: Google Faces Fallout as China Reacts to Site Shift – “In an interview on Tuesday, David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, said he did not see the company’s decision to serve Chinese search customers from outside China as an act of defiance. He said the move was consistent with Chinese law and with the company’s goal to stop participating in censorship. While it is possible that Google’s prospects in China could suffer, the company has yet to see any concrete business impact from its decision, he said…”

Part 3: Google Official Calls for Action on Web Restrictions – “A top Google executive on Wednesday called for new rules to put pressure on governments that filter the Internet, saying the practice was hindering international trade…”

Airport worker given police warning for ‘misusing’ body scanner – “The police have issued a warning for harassment against an airport worker after he allegedly took a photo of a female colleague as she went through a full-body scanner at Heathrow airport. The incident, which occurred at terminal 5 on 10 March, is believed to be the first time an airport worker has been formally disciplined for misusing the scanners…”

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough… – “We think that this new elevation service is a natural complement to our recently launched bicycling directions. Now you can determine in advance just how painful your bicycling route is likely to be. In fact you’ll be happy to hear that the Maps API bicycling directions already factor in elevation, which is why if you ask for a route up Lombard Street you will be sent the long way round…”

Iron-nitrogen compound forms strongest magnet known – “A group of scientists from the University of Minnesota say that Fe16N2 crystals are more magnetic than the most magnetic material previously known, and its magnetism exceeds the predicted limit of magnetism for a material…”

Physicists create carbon magnetism by removing atoms from graphite – “Physicists have found that, by removing individual atoms from a graphite surface, they can create local magnetic moments in the graphite. The discovery could lead to techniques to artificially create magnets that are nonmetallic and biocompatible, as well as cheaper and lighter than current magnets…”

SanDisk ships 32GB mobile memory card – “Set to disclose that high capacity mobile drive is now available for $199..”

How to stay in shape without a gym membership – “Gym memberships can get pricey, time consuming and flat-out inconvenient after awhile. But don’t let that become your excuse for not working out. In fact, you can get some of the best cardio and muscle training right at home. Laundry bags, stairs, chairs and even the bare floor can help build strength and endurance and burn fat. Here are some back-to-the-basics tips for creating your own workout without breaking the bank…”

SleepingTime.org lets you stalk Tweeter addicts even more effectively – “When people post many times every day, the very act of posting reveals some interesting patterns. For example, if you know what timezone someone is in and you follow them and see what times of day they aren’t actively posting, you can figure out when they go to sleep and how long they sleep, on average, per night. Do you think that sounds creepy? That’s what SleepingTime.org does, on a more massive and organized scale…”

The Real Truth About Broadband Speeds – “Suppose you went to the supermarket to buy a pound of steak for dinner and when you got home you noticed that the package seemed very light. So you went back and complained to the manager, only to be told that the label says “up to 1 pound,” and you’re stuck with it…”

Nintendo announces 3DS — the glasses-free 3D successor to the DS – “Whoa, now this is a whopper coming (almost) out of nowhere. Nintendo has just slipped out a press release in Japan informing the world that all-new 3D-capable portable hardware is coming, with a full unveiling set for E3 2010 this June…”

Primpo to introduce ‘Isonic’, its revolutionary white cane for the visually impaired – “Unlike conventional white canes, with which a user can not detect obstacles above waist height, the “Isonic” model can detect obstacles within a range of 25 degrees horizontally and 50 degrees vertically with an integrated supersonic sensor…”

Intel Prototypes Low-Power Circuits – “The smaller a silicon transistor becomes, the more electrons it leaks. That can mean unreliable, battery-draining chips. Researchers at Intel have come up with a way of dealing with the problem that subverts the industry’s strong preference for precision. The company’s prototype chip operates in a low-power but error-prone mode, but it detects and corrects its errors. This approach, researchers have found, saves 37 percent on power compared with running in conventional mode with no loss of performance…”

Dark Energy: The Biggest Mystery in the Universe – ““We have a complete inventory of the universe,” Sean Carroll, a California Institute of Technology cosmologist, has said, “and it makes no sense.””

Bill Gates, Toshiba in early talks on nuclear reactor – “A company backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Toshiba are in early talks to jointly develop a small nuclear reactor, the Japanese electronics giant said Tuesday. The Nikkei business daily earlier reported that the two sides would team up to develop a compact next-generation reactor that can operate for up to 100 years without refueling to provide emission-free energy….”

Solar Powered Augmented Contact Lenses Cover Your Eye with 100s of LEDs – “Want eyesight that would make the Terminator jealous? Well, in a few years, you might be able to say hasta la vista to your normal old contact lenses and hello to the solar powered augmented lenses that University of Washington professor Babak Amir Parviz and his students are working on. The technology would embed hundreds of semitransparent LEDs onto a thin lens, letting wearers experience augmented reality right through their eyes. And the applications – from health monitoring to just plain bionic sight – could be endless…”

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