STRONG MATERIALS
Bulletproof vests could soon be woven out of nanotubes. Drawing the carbon tubes into threads about 30 centimetres long and then heat-treating them produces suitable super-strong threads, Chinese researchers report in Nature (vol 419, p 801).
CELLPHONES
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No sooner have picture phones arrived than they are being banned. Swimming pools, sports centres and hotels in Singapore, including the world-famous Raffles Hotel, are set to ban the snappy mobile phones to protect their customers鈥� privacy.
FUTURE FUELS
A company in Blakeley, Georgia, is developing a way to extract hydrogen from peanut shells. A pilot plant run by Scientific Carbons can make 1.5 kilograms of hydrogen from 20 kilograms of peanut shells.
COMPUTING
The 鈥淏rains in Bahrain鈥� clash between world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik and Deep Fritz, a computer program developed by Hamburg-based ChessBase, ended in a draw last week. Each won two games, the remaining four being draws. Kramnik missed out on the chance of a $1 million prize purse, making do instead with $700,000.
CONTRACEPTION
Condoms designed to prolong sex by numbing a man鈥檚 penis have outsold other condoms made by the same company fivefold in the three months they have been available on the Net according to its manufacturer Durex. The Performa condoms, which contain a blob of the anaesthetic benzocaine, will go on sale at the end of the year.
CRIME PREVENTION
Ever fancied giving a car thief a piece of your mind? A new device from I-Mob of Italy will soon make this possible. If your vehicle is stolen or towed away I-Mob鈥檚 system notifies your cellphone so that you can talk to the malefactor via a device installed in the car, or immobilise the vehicle 鈥� or both.