It’s the little things, done by many, that can make a difference on a global scale. Water is becoming something we never expected it to be, even here in the West – a commodity in limited supply, something that needs to be used sparingly. One use of water that could be cut back a great deal is the flushing of toilets, and a new design of the classic piece of bathroom furniture could help us all do our bit, if you’ll excuse the phrase. The Propelair WC employs air pressure for increased performance, and hence uses a mere 1.5 litres per flush, as opposed to the 9 litres of the average UK toilet.

There have been a fair few scare stories in the media recently, regarding the dangers nanoparticles could pose to humans and our environment. I’m a huge fan of nanotechnology, but even I recognise that it’s important that we get it right first time – we’ve made mistakes in the past by rushing in on new technologies without taking care to restrict risky practices. Regulation is the key, as with any new industry, and Worldchanging has a good rundown on the future pros and pitfalls of governmental oversight of this most exciting and promising new scientific field.

Those controversial stem cells are showing promise of having a multitude of uses. The latest development comes from the University of Washington, where researchers are implanting stem cells into the retinas of blind animals and achieving great results in the regeneration of photoreceptors. Indications are that this sort of procedure could be a harbinger of retinal reconstitution treatments in humans, too.

The blogosphere especially likes to trumpet the demise of the ‘old media’ vanguards of print, radio and cinema – but is there any evidence to support these prophecies? Forbes.com has an article that disagrees strongly, pointing to the survival of old media forms through previous technology revolutions, and talking about ‘unimedia’ as opposed to multimedia – one platform (computers, the web) that can deliver all the old forms in one package. Maybe the dinosaurs aren’t fossilised quite yet.

It is in the nature of science that every new discovery or piece of data leaves you with yet more mysteries to solve, and cosmology is no exception to the rule. The Spitzer telescope has just shown us planet-forming dust discs in the Orion cloud complex, but there aren’t as many of them as were expected. Likewise, what might be a very young star has been spotted within 100 light years of the super-massive black hole at our own galaxy’s centre – if it doesn’t turn out to be a migrant or a binary pair, its formation in such a turbulent region is unexplained by current theories.