Is the battle over standards for the next-generation high-definition DVD about to be resolved? Warner Brothers engineers Alan Bell and Lewis Ostrover have filed a patent () for a disc that has Sony鈥檚 Blu-Ray format inscribed on its top layer, with a Toshiba HD-DVD-compatible layer stashed beneath it. Flip it over and the other side is a standard DVD for carrying low-resolution footage. So everyone鈥檚 happy.
Novel napkins could detect surfaces that are contaminated with pathogenic strains of E. coli or the superbug MRSA. Researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, have attached a variety of bug-sensing molecules to highly absorbent 鈥渆lectro-spun鈥� fabrics, which have a large surface area. After wiping a surface in a hospital, say, dipping the cloth in a disclosing liquid makes it change colour if a certain pathogen is present.
