Science

Panda poop is green... who knew? Evidently researchers from Kitasato University in Tokyo did, and now the many hours they spent analyzing the anal leavings of giant pandas has them smelling like roses. 

If you happen to be in London between now and December 23, 2009, you may want to stop by the Sci-Fi Surgery exhibit at the Qvist Gallery at the Hunterian Museum. Put on by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the exhibit features some pretty weird medical robots, as well as depictions of medical gadgets from film, anime, and sci-fi literature. Here are 7 robotic members of the exhibit that you just may find visiting your person some day....

A study at the Women's Health Program at Monash University in Australia explored the links between sexual satisfaction and other aspects of mental health, particularly "well-being" and "vitality."  Don't shy off there, boomers... the research included women aged 20 to 65!

Halloween is upon us and as the time approaches some Halloween celebrating fanatics (people I know personally) will go crazy trying to outdo their neighbor with the best Halloween decor. If only they could get their hands on a SonUmbra. They could take their décor to an eerie level.

Let me introduce you to Phragmatopoma californica, the sandcastle worm, if you haven't already met. This incredibly self-contained worm, found on the southern coast of California, not only gathers its own materials to build its home, but uses its own bio-produced cement to superglue the materials together, creating its own permanent honeycomb housing - under water!

Can you imagine the energy harnessing potential we would have if the roads we drove on every day were solar paneled?

The thought of eating genetically grown veggies is one thing, but meat and fish grown from pre-mixed muscle cells and nutrients...? I just can't bring myself to say hmm...yummy.

If you love solar power and solar products, but fear the impact shade from cloudy or dark days may have on your panels, your fears conquered soon. GreenSun Energy Ltd. has found a colorful and innovative new way to harness indirect sunlight.

Both gasoline engines and diesel engines have their advantages over the other when it comes to certain applications.  However, they both also suffer from drawbacks that some people find too difficult to live with.  This may all change though, as a new gasoline-diesel mixture is being researched and tested that promises to bring the best of both worlds into the hands of the consumer.

The technology winners of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) awards do not disappoint.  They impact the world on a global scale or at least very significant parts of it.   Their arrival instigates change; they are watersheds, game changers...  The WSJ winners are all that through their efficiency, their flexibility, and their economy of energy, of expenditures, of time, of personnel, and of materials.  The inventor in all of us should find these 12 winners very inspiring.

Remember how much you enjoyed Christmas, until you learned that Santa was really your parents?  Or how much you loved swimming in the ocean, until you saw the movie Jaws?  Well, this news may hit you in much the same way....

At Oxford University, the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) has been studying the brain size of four large cats -- leopards, jaguars, lions and tigers -- in relation to their average overall size. The largest brain by length measurement is the lion's , but the volume of the tiger's brain, contrary to the researchers' expectation, is larger than the lion's brain relative to body size. So what's the big deal?

What would it take to harness solar power from space then beam it down to earth? Money? Years? Super long cables? Solar panel maker Mitsubishi Electric Corp and IHI Corp would like to find out.

Scaling up the amount of ethanol produced every year is no easy task. Aside from the huge amount of corn needed to produce a decent amount of fuel, the process also requires an almost constant flow of water. While many people are working to solve the issues, others are looking for alternative methods to produce the cleaner fuel. Interestingly enough, that alternative method may end up being watermelons.

Another reuse for human hair has been discovered thanks to a young bright man from Nepal. Using human hair, the young man and his friends, invented a method to power more affordable solar panels for their village and hopefully the rest of the world. Is it Solhair Power?

Before Schwarzenegger became the governor of California, he was known to don a Terminator costume every now and then and assume super robotic powers in a few movies of the same name. What if humans today could virtually see what Arnold's fictional character saw? 

Do you remember Wall-E's girlfriend Eve? Her mission was to find plant life. Once she did, it was her mission to protect the plant. Le Petit Prince, though still a concept, is also a robot that has a similar mission, except he already has a plant inside him and it's his mission to keep it alive.

You've heard of 'sticky fingers?'  Well, green mussels, aka Perna viridis, have sticky feet!  And that is the secret -- just released by scientists at the University of California Santa Barbara's (UCSB) Marine Science Institute -- of their superior adhesive powers.

Watch your soda intake... and your juice intake....  Don't drink bottled iced tea or lemonade or eat candy bars or packaged frozen dinners....  They're full of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which scientists have postulated is responsible for the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder that has killed off one-third of the honeybee population in the U.S.  See why this study affects you!

Looking for an inspiration to build more crash resistant aircraft, mechanical engineers are looking at the architecture of the tooth.