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Beer to thank for consumer electronics explosion?
Beer has certainly found its place in worldwide culture, but claiming that it's the foundation for all of the consumer electronics that we enjoy today is probably stretching it. Nevertheless, the controversial (or just plain sarcastic) Charlie Bamforth proclaims that "beer is the basis of modern static civilization," touting his three decades at Anheuser-Busch as a knowledge base. Essentially, Charlie insinuates that beer spurned innovation in ages past by making the early brewers think outside of the box, which subsequently led to tents, then cities, and by extension, iPods, laptops, and USB-powered oddities. Granted, the man's linkages make entirely more sense when inebriated (or at least tipsy), so if you're looking to prove just how important alcohol is to your gadget collection, grab a few cans and hit the read link below.[Via Inquirer]
Sugar fueled batteries could power portable electronics
Before you take a swig of that kosher Coke this passover, think about what else you could be doing with your sugar-rush-in-a-can: powering your laptop for example, if a team of researchers at Saint Louis University in Missouri are successful. A study at the University showed that it was possible to create fuel cells that run on a variety of sugar sources that could potentially last up to four times longer than conventional lithium-ion batteries. The current proof of concept is a postage stamp sized fuel cell which can power a portable calculator, and the project lead Shelley Minteer PhD suggested that the new cell could be commercialized within 5 years. Apparently the best solution for the entirely renewable fuel cells -- which use enzymes to convert the fuel to electricity -- is simple sugar water: turns out our kosher Coke suggestion isn't apparently altogether that great due to the carbonization which weakens the fuel cell. Apart from the potential for laptop charging and on-the-go cellphone recharges, the military -- which funded the research -- also thinks there's potential for in the field implementations; their oddball idea is to use tree sap to recharge portable devices.
Microscopic chain mail could embed sensors, electronics into clothing
It won't be too long before those new threads sport some kind of socially-infused assistants or help you regulate body temperature, but if researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have their say, your garb could end doing a lot more than that. Following up on discoveries made over six years ago at Harvard and Cambridge, the scientists have devised microscopic chain mail made from miniscule metal links, which could ultimately be woven into "3D textiles." Aside from feeling a bit like Sir Lancealot, the chain-like structures could have electronics and sensors built right in, and the flexible fabric could also conduct electricity when not beaming secret messages or being used as one large homing device for the cops to track you down. Novel as this may sound, wearing a proverbial lighting rod isn't really our bag, so hopefully the cotton biz will continue to do its own thing for old timers' sake.
Daring DIY'er devises homegrown heart monitoring device
While there's already a plethora of safe, proven methods to monitor your heart rate, there's just no satisfaction in buying an off the shelf BioShirt when you know you possess the skills (and spare time) to craft a system of your own. Interested in making his own mark in biomedical engineering, a crafty individual set out to build his own electrocardiograph for nothing more than fun, but rather than keeping his homegrown work all to himself, he busted out a set of instructions in order for us less inventive souls to replicate the process. Aside from creating an ECG board, reading results with LABView, and having the nerve to actually strap leads to your body and hope that you don't electrocute yourself, there's still a good bit of coding and behind the scenes work necessary to pull this off. So if you never got around to going to medical school, but you know you've got the DIY skills to operate a heart monitoring system in your home office, be sure to hit the read link and read that blurb about "destroying your nervous system" real carefully.[Via MAKE]
Diminutive cable holds promise in medical, solar realms
We tend to prefer our electronics to be as far from invasive as possible, and that definitely includes cabling. While we'd take wireless over the corded approach any day, tethered applications still have their place, and a diminutive new cable is showing bigtime promise in a few prominent fields. A research team has developed a cable that resembles that of an old fashioned coaxial strand, yet it's reportedly "much thinner than a human hair" and can transmit visible light. By constructing a cable about 300-nanometers wide which houses an inner wire of carbon surrounded by an insulator and an outer wire of aluminum, visible light can pass through, paving the way for its use in highly efficient solar energy cells, or furthermore, "miniature electrical circuitry and microscopic light-based switching devices for optical computing." Researchers even suggest that it could be used in retinal implants or "detecting single molecules of pathogens in the body." We're not yet sure just how potent or powerful these itty bitty cables can be, but judging by size alone, we're halfway sold already.
Electronics-free $10 Braille writer
If you've ever needed a surefire way to impress a professor, besting his estimates by 80 percent on a project is probably a safe bet. Four mechanical engineering students at The Johns Hopkins University were tasked with developing a simple tool to write in Braille for less than $50, and no electronic components could be used; their portable writing invention checked in at around $10 apiece when mass produced. Typically, computer-assisted and typewriter-style composition is quite costly and isn't very practical for, say, busy blind professionals trying to write on-the-go. Braille letters are traditionally formed by creating up to six impressions -- better known as bumps -- into sequenced cells that form words. The students' writer has six buttons with corresponding pins that can be depressed simultaneously, which makes filling in cells substantially quicker than the traditional "one bump at a time" method. The team recently presented the device to the National Federation of the Blind where board members saw a great deal of promise for the handheld tool, and although commercialization plans have yet to be envisioned, this advancement in Braille transcription is definitely an eye-opener.[Via MedGadget]
NEC Electronics' Embedded DRAM in the Wii
NEC Electronics announced yesterday that Nintendo has chosen to go ahead with NEC Electronics' 90nm CMOS-compatible embedded DRAM for the Wii. This means that the new LSI chips will be manufactured using advanced technologies on NEC Yamagata's 300mm production lines. Viewed as an optimal solution to integrate high bandwidth data using minimal power, this collaboration between the two companies should equal great success in the launch of the Wii.
Rumor: Mario Paint on the DS
1up editor Luke Smith recently posted about some tastey morsels that'll be running in the May issue of Electronics Gaming Monthly. Of these morsels, the tastiest to DS Fanboy readers (and Bloggers) is a rumor that the DS could be seeing an adaptation of the beloved SNES title Mario Paint. Considering how accessible the DS is to people who aren't hardcore gamers and the recent success Brain Training has enjoyed on the handheld, the idea of a Mario Paint game hitting the DS is a great idea. Using the stylus to swat flies would be too much fun!