Cyclists transform into mobile pollution sensors

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Taking a major step towards improved CMOS sensors for most in-car camera systems, scientists have developed a new process that could provide colours to these systems. The CMOS sensors are semiconductor chips that convert light signals into electrical pulses and are installed in most digital cameras.

September 25th, 2009 SYDNEY - Researchers are developing a technique to provide unparalleled ability to explore environments as diverse as oceans and the human body. Using ion-selective electrode technology, Curtin University of Technology researchers are working on a hand-held or implantable device, using self-calibrating sensors that will be able to cheaply and easily monitor pollution in rivers and oceans, or heparin levels as a clotting factor in blood.

September 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom regulator Wednesday issued guidelines on mobile number portability (MNP) that will allow subscribers to change operators while retaining the original number, but only within a particular circle. The new facility will become a reality from Dec 31 in metros and by March 20, 2010 in the rest of the country, said a statement from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

August 29th, 2009 LONDON - Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, has announced that it has a vision to become the world's best city for cyclists. Copenhagen, which will host the United Nations climate change summit, already has a third of its population cycling to work, school and university.

August 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the University of Granada (UGR) have announced the creation of a system that uses Artificial Intelligence techniques to help elderly people, or those with special needs, avoid forgetting certain everyday tasks. The researchers have revealed that their system uses sensors distributed in the environment to detect people's actions, and mobile devices to remind them.

August 5th, 2009 PARIS - Two German inventors have come up with an idea on how to use satellites to reduce the overall carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by the trucks, and improve the allocation of truck capacity. Dr Mario Neugebauer and Dr Jurgen Anke from German company 'ubigrate GmbH' came up with an intelligent solution to locate available load volumes in real time, and won the prize for the best idea on how to utilize transport capacity better at the 2008 European Satellite Navigation Competition.

August 5th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Heavy mobile phone users have poorer memory, slower reaction times and make more mistakes, a new study has found. The study by researchers from Monash University reviewed 300 students aged 12 to 14 from 20 Melbourne private and state schools.

July 31st, 2009 CHANDIGARH - All field officials of the Punjab Police are to get mobile telephones to improve their connectivity and response time. The telephones will be given to all police officers and non-gazetted officers posted in the field, a police department spokesman said Friday.

July 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In an effort to extend the sensory range of 'electronic noses' (e-noses), scientists from CSIRO's Food Futures Flagship have developed a system that would help compare their performance against the much-superior nose of the common house fly. "Although e-noses already have many uses - such as detecting spoilage in the food industry and monitoring air quality - they are not as discriminating as biological noses," said CSIRO scientist, Dr Stephen Trowell.

July 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Shrimp is no longer just a sophisticated appetiser, it has re-invented itself to become a component of bio-fuel. Yes, you heard it right.

July 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has come up with the strongest evidence yet that noise pollution negatively influences the nesting habits of birds. The study also indicates that at least a few species opt for noisy areas over quiet ones, perhaps because of their vocalisation pitches, a reduction in nest predators and less competition from other song birds that prefer quiet environments.

July 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Reports indicate that the flight computer of a test satellite planned for 2012 will contain electronic hardware that can be completely reconfigured in space, allowing it to switch form. According to a report in New Scientist, dubbed the "flying laptop", the spacecraft is the brainchild of Toshinori Kuwahara of the Institute of Space Systems at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.

May 29th, 2009 SYDNEY - A researcher has developed the first robo-fish Wanda that moves like its natural counterparts and navigates underwater, conducting inspections within confined spaces. Researcher Scott McGovern of the University of Wollongong created Wanda (wireless aquatic navigator for detection and analysis) seeking out targeted objects.

April 22nd, 2009 LONDON - A Japanese firm is launching a solar-powered waterproof mobile phone that can be entirely operated by exposure to sunlight. The new phone is a sunlight-powered device, which will be sold by mobile phone company KDDI from June, reports The Telegraph.

March 19th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists in the UK have developed robotic fish that would released into the sea for the first time to detect water pollution. According to a report in the Telegraph, the carp-shaped robots will be let loose in the port of Gijon in northern Spain as part of a three-year research project.