Scientists have engineered an approach that is leading to improved performance of plastic solar cells (hybrid organic solar cells).

Researchers are developing the basic principles of nano-origami, a new technique that allows engineers to fold nanoscale materials into simple 3-D structures. The tiny folded materials could be used as motors and capacitors, potentially leading to better computer memory storage, faster microprocessors and new nanophotonic devices.

While astronomers have found more than 300 planets beyond our solar system in the last 15 years, none of those "exoplanets" has been a likely candidate for extraterrestrial life. The exoplanets discovered thus far are all either too close to the hot sun or too far away and therefore too frigid to host life as we know it. But Alan Boss says it's just a matter of time before we find Earth-like planets in the "Goldilocks zone": he calculates that 100 billion of them may exist within our own Milky Way galaxy. And NASA's Kepler satellite, which is expected to launch on March 5, may be the key to finding them, he says.

More accurate than a mood ring–but every bit as colorful–pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) can tell engineers how a plane will fare under the extreme conditions it encounters in flight. The paint itself glows a faint red when it's put under blue or ultraviolet light. But that blush dims as a surface is exposed to more oxygen, which happens when atmospheric pressure increases. Specialized cameras pick up variations in the faint glow and feed the data to a computer, which analyzes it and spews out a rainbow of information on how well planes hold up under pressure.

Fifty years ago this month, inventor Robert Noyce created the first planar integrated circuit made from silicon–an innovation that allowed multiple transistors to be placed on the same microprocessor and paved the way for the development of ever smaller and more powerful electronics. Silicon Valley pioneer Intel Corp., co-founded in 1968 by Noyce? and fellow inventor Gordon Moore in Santa Clara, Calif., today hosted a confab in New York City highlighting the company's role in developing faster, more powerful and greener electronics used to make tomorrow's computers.

Mary Lou Jepsen didn't set out to invent the netbook and turn the computer industry upside down. She was just trying to create a supercheap laptop. In 2005, Jepsen, a pioneering LCD screen designer, was tapped to lead the development of the machine that would become known as One Laptop per Child. Nicholas Negroponte, the longtime MIT Media Lab visionary, launched the project hoping to create an inexpensive computer for children in developing countries. It would have Wi-Fi, a color screen, and a full keyboard-and sell for about $100. At that price, third-world governments could buy millions and hand them out freely in rural villages.

Doodling is often frowned upon in meetings and classrooms, but now scientist say it might help you remember details in an otherwise boring presentation. The back-of-the-envelope speculation as to why? Doodlers don't daydream as much. Forty test subjects – all rather smart folks (they are members of the research panel of the Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge) – were made to listen to a dull phone message. It was 2.5 minutes long and contained names of people and places.

Researchers have developed a technique using spun-sugar filaments to create a scaffold of tiny synthetic tubes that might serve as conduits to regenerate nerves severed in accidents or blood vessels damaged by disease.

Neptune Marine Services today reported first half 2009 revenues of $95 million versus $31.7 million in H1 2008. Income from continuing operations, excluding non-cash charges, was $15.6 million, representing diluted earnings per share of 5.1 cents versus 1.0 cent for the same period last year. Operating cashfows for the period were $6.4 million versus $4.2 million for the first half of 2008.

Neptune’s managing director and CEO, Christian Lange, said the result was particularly encouraging in light of the current global economic climate. “As previously outlined, Neptune has not experienced a …

Scientists have invented the world’s smallest version of the periscope and are using it to look at cells and other microorganisms from several sides at once.