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3D-printed bottle caps will let you know if your milk goes bad
If you're not a fan on the ol' smell test to see if milk has spoiled, you might soon be in luck. Researchers from the University of California at Berkley and National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan created a "smart cap" for food storage containers that can detect spoilage. Using 3D-printed electronics, the lids house circuits and passive wireless sensors that are capable of determining if milk or juice has spoiled when it comes in contact with the lid. The components can detect changes in the liquid due to the presence of bacteria and transmit details wirelessly in real time. This means that you could potentially use a mobile app to check the freshness of food before you decide to buy it, for example. The group of engineers sees other uses for the technology too, including so-called smart implants that can relay pressure and drug concentrations to an external device. [Image credit: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Chaos Theory: How The Secret World has spoiled an MMO vet
Well ladies and gents, The Secret World has basically done the impossible: It's turned me into a one-game guy (for the moment, at least). I've been an unfaithful game-hopping MMO tourist for longer than I care to remember, and while F2P has made that gaming lifestyle more affordable than it used to be, it hasn't made it any more fun. Oh sure, I'll dabble in PlanetSide 2 and Guild Wars 2, but as far as my MMO home goes, it's The Secret World by a landslide (at least until ArcheAge heads west). Why is that? Well, plenty of reasons, more than I can relate in this week's column, in fact. I will say this, though: The Secret World's launch feature set has made me a bit pickier in terms of what I'll put up with in competing games.
Researchers create sour milk alarm
Finally, the days of ruined breakfasts and tossed cups of coffee will be a thing of the past, thanks to work being done by researchers in the US and China. Scientists have discovered a simple chemical reaction that can sense if your 2 percent has lost its charm before you get it home and crack it open. The system works by floating a small widget in the milk which can be scanned at a supermarket checkout by magnet -- the device will vibrate slowly if the liquid has thickened. The same will occur if the potentially harmful bug Staphylococcus aureus -- which can cause food poisoning -- thins the consistency of the milk. Researchers claim that the system will cost less than a penny per carton, and could also be used in fruit juices. This all sounds pretty altruistic, but as soon as you can get this into super-cheap domestic beers, please give us a call.[Via Switched]
