Honda’s Hydrogen-Powered Sports Car

Filed under: Design, Transportation

Every concept car has to look like it’s straight out of The Fifth Element. If it doesn’t, it might as well be an inflatable Porsche. Not solely making walkers for old people, Honda has brought forth its new concept, the FC Sport. It’s a three-seat hydrogen fuel cell sports car that comes stocked with a high-power fuel cell stack placed between the rear seat, and a backup battery pack placed in the middle of the car.

Don’t expect to be driving it any time soon, or it all for that matter. It’s just a concept, though. So you know it will more than likely never be available commercially. Seriously, whens the last time you got to sit in the driver seat of a high-performance, low-weight hydrogen sports car?

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Fuel Cell Stickers, No Outlet Required

Filed under: Cellphones, Design, Eco-tech

Can you imagine charging your cellphone without plugging it into an outlet? No, I’m not talking about those plug and charge kits you can purchase for select phones, I’m talking about fuel cell stickers. Just slap ‘em on the back of your phone and considered it charged.

The Swedish-based company myFC is trying to expedite the act of charging cellphones by creating this alternative eco-friendly method. It’s a flexible .11 inch thick, .2 ounce charger that provides .9 watts of power at .5 volts. While it might not be as nifty as a jacket that charges your gadgets, it’s certainly more convenient. Slap one on your face and see what happens.

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Successfully Transplanted Tailor-Made Windpipe From Stem Cells

Filed under: Internet, Science

Claudia Castillo suffered from a tuberculosis infection which affected her bronchial tube making it collapse at the point where it entered her lungs. Facing a complete lung removal, Claudia instead went through a pioneering operation to have a new windpipe grown for her using her own bone marrow stem cells. Claudia, a native to Barcelona, has become the first person to be given a whole organ tailor-made just for her.

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Longevity Drug Is A Hit With The Mice

Filed under: Internet, Science

It would be nice to never have to age into a decrepit sack of sagging flesh, but alas, that is the fate of every one of us. However, it doesn’t have to be. Science is always real reliable when it comes to doing the impossible and what’s more impossible than prolonging death? Scientists recently working with a potential longevity-enhancing drug have had great success while testing it on mice. Having passed its final animal testing challenge, we’re ready to start testing this on humans, Tuck Everlasting-style!

The mice whom had been given the new drug dieted on fatty foods for four months without gaining weight or developing diabetes. They also ran twice as far on a treadmill as their drug-free brethren. Talk about progress. Those mice might live long healthy lives, but there isn’t anything preventing them from getting caught in a Victor.

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ASUS Hopping On The Android Bandwagon

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Out of left field comes an announcement that ASUS is producing a Google Android-equipped cellphone. There’s not many details available on the device, except that it’ll launch during the first half of 2009. Until then, all we can do is wait and kill time by photoshopping Android screenshots onto HTC devices.

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Scientists Now Able To Memory Wipe Mice

Filed under: Internet, Science

I knew this day would come. The day I attempt to go on a beautiful vacation to Mars, only to realize that I’m really a secret agent fighting against an evil and corrupt Mars administrator. Yes, Total Recall.

Dr. Joe Z. Tsien, a brain scientist and co-director of the Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute at the Medical College of Georgia School, and his team were successful in removing new and old memories in mice by over-expressing a protein critical to brain cell communication just as the memory was recalled. What does this mean for humans? We’re all going to get mind-wiped and turned into a zombie army. That, or the Total Recall thing.

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Scientists Generate Blood With Stem Cells

Filed under: Science

Blood transfusions used to be a silly business involving long waits for donors that required compatible blood types. Thanks to stem cell research, waiting for these donors is no longer necessary. Scientists have used embryonic stem cells to generate blood which could eventually lead to an unlimited supply of type O-negative blood, the most sought after blood for transfusions.

“We literally generated whole tubes in the lab, from scratch,” said Robert Lanza, chief science officer at Advanced Cell Technologies.

Unbelievable, but don’t stop donating blood just yet, Lanza and his colleagues at the Mayo Clinic and University of Illinois devised this method of blood creation but have yet to test it on animals, much less humans.

“At this stage, the work is very promising, but has not progressed to the stage where the cultured cells are fully equivalent” to natural cells, said the organization in a statement. “Much more work will yet be needed before this becomes a practical reality.”

Well, I guess it’s back to the Red Cross donation center for me.  With an immunity to AIDS just a gene edit away and a cure for cancer just over the horizon, the future is looking bright for all of mankind.

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Duracell Charger Is Good To Go

Portable devices are with you wherever you go. That’s exactly why Duracell wants to charge your phone or iPod. By powering handheld devices with its PowerSource Mini, Duracell can save you precious battery life so long as you charge via mini USB. Currently it comes in two forms: one for your iPod and the other to power your BlackBerry.

This isn’t any ordinary battery charger- it can power two, that’s right, two devices simultaneously with its second USB port. While it serves the same purpose as an emergency AA battery, it packs a meaner punch with a boring design. No word on the pricing or whether or not it’ll ever be able to charge inexpensive Bic disposable phones, but one things for certain: you’ll never not have enough juice to surf porn on your BlackBerry during your daily commute home.

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Kenyan Teenager Invents Automobile Anti-Theft System

This kid has managed to render OnStar obsolete and he’s all the way on the other side of the world doing it! The self taught gadget wiz, Morris Mbetsa, has managed to create an anti-theft device and tracking system for vehicles that’s cellphone-based. The owner can take control of their vehicle’s ignition and disable it with his/her cellphone at any time. Locking the car remotely as well as the ability to listen in on any conversations taking place within the vehicle all via your cellular phone are two other features Mbetsa has added to his invention.

Sometimes stickers that make your car look beat up or fake head units just won’t do the trick to prevent would-be thieves. We like what this young man has done and we look forward to seeing more of his amazing hacks.

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Disposable Bic Pre-Charged Cellphones

Filed under: Cellphones, Design

Disposable razors, pens and even lighters just weren’t enough for Bic. No, it had to team up with Orange France to launch the Bic Phone. Due out around August 7th (in France), the Bic Phone will come in two amazing colors: disposable razor orange and Bic lighter green.  With a pre-charged battery and an hour of free calls, why would you want to chuck this cellphone in the trash? For $80, hold on to it, maybe they’ll release some flashy ring tones for it.

“Don’t expect too many features though, because Bic states that the phone’s only designed for making calls and sending text messages.”

Never mind.

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