PepsiCo develops first PET plastic bottle made completely from plant-based material

PepsiCo develops first PET plastic bottle made completely from plant-based material: "Mountain Dew's green bottles could become even 'greener' with an announcement from PepsiCo claiming it has developed the world's first polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle made entirely from plant-based, fully renewable resources including switch grass, pine bark and corn husks."

Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi gets a US release date

Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi gets a US release date: "As promised at this year's CES, Motorola has announced that the Wi-Fi version of its Xoom Android tablet will be available this month. The 10.1-inch device is the first tablet to benefit from all the widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization capabilities of Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), and is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor supported by a gigabyte of RAM."

CryoEnergy System uses liquid air to store energy

CryoEnergy System uses liquid air to store energy: "Balancing demand for energy with timely production is a juggling act that is particularly relevant to renewable sources such as wind and solar. Because the wind isn't always blowing and the sun isn't always shining, the energy produced by these systems needs to be stored efficiently so it can be used when it's needed."

Individual Gunshot Detectors to help give U.S. soldiers a bead on enemy fire

Individual Gunshot Detectors to help give U.S. soldiers a bead on enemy fire: "In the heat of battle I imagine things can get pretty hectic and pinpointing just where the shooting is coming from, as quickly as possible, could mean the difference between life and death. To give its soldiers an edge in this regard the U.S. Army will begin providing its forces in Afghanistan with the first of 13,000 gunshot detection systems later this month."

'The Pearl' dome house - passive solar design with a touch of high-tech

'The Pearl' dome house - passive solar design with a touch of high-tech: "Like its stablemate the Domespace house, David Fanchon's eco-friendly design is aimed at maximizing passive solar energy – though unlike the Domespace there's no rotating option."

New microscope captures 3D movies of living cells

New microscope captures 3D movies of living cells: "In some cases, looking at a living cell under a microscope can cause it damage or worse, can kill it. Now, a new kind of microscope has been invented by researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute that is able to non-invasively take a three dimensional look inside living cells with stunning results."

Solar Soldier system to take the weight off infantry soldiers

Solar Soldier system to take the weight off infantry soldiers: "If you've ever removed the battery from a laptop, then you will know that it constitutes quite a large percentage of the total weight of the computer."

New material designed for hydrogen storage

New material designed for hydrogen storage: "Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created a composite material that they claim can store hydrogen densely and safely, yet that also allows it to be easily accessed for creating electricity. Some materials that are currently used for hydrogen storage have a relatively small capacity, and need to be superheated or supercooled in order to work at peak efficiency. The new material, however, is said not to have either of these limitations."

H2O Power radio runs on water from the shower

H2O Power radio runs on water from the shower: "For all the people out there who like listening to the radio while they're in the shower, various companies offer waterproof battery-operated 'shower radios.' There's nothing particularly wrong with these radios, but ... why change or recharge the batteries if you don't have to? No, we're not suggesting running a power cord into the shower. Instead, you might be interested in getting an H2O Power water-powered radio."

Japan earthquake may have shortened length of days and shifted Earth’s axis

Japan earthquake may have shortened length of days and shifted Earth’s axis: "Using a complex model to perform a theoretical calculation based on a U.S. Geological Survey, Richard Gross of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has determined that by changing the distribution of the Earth's mass, the earthquake that devastated Japan last Friday should have sped up the Earth's rotation, resulting in a day that is about 1.8 microseconds (1.8 millionths of a second) shorter."

EvoMouse turns your digits digital

EvoMouse turns your digits digital

With the plethora of mouse alternatives available or in development you'd be forgiven for thinking the humble computer mouse was some kind of torturous device inflicted upon computer users. But despite challengers such as the trackball, theWOW-PEN Joy, the ErgoSlider Plus, the Orbita Mouse and the AirMouse – just to name a few – the mouse has maintained its dominance while remaining largely unchanged since its unveiling in 1968.

Banana peels can be used to purify water

Banana peels can be used to purify water

The skin of a banana has been used to great comic effects in numerous slapstick routines for many years. It's also good for the skin and is a traditional cure for warts. You can polish shoes and silver with it. You can make wine with it and it's even been known to find itself being dried, wrapped in paper and smoked. Now, research published in the journal of the American Chemical Society claims that mashed up peel can remove heavy metals from river water.