Here’s a great idea from the UK government: taxing individuals based on their carbon emissions and use of non-renewable resources. It makes a lot of sense…but typically of New Labour, it’s such a complicated and obscure process that it may prove to be impractical in the form suggested. At least they’re making an effort, though.

What exactly are the supermassive objects at the centre of galaxies? Recent theories have maintained that they are black holes, devouring matter from the space around them and churning out X-rays. But a physicist in Texas thinks that they may be something to do with axions, a type of hypothetical particle that is one of the candidates for the origin of ‘dark matter’. It all boils down to the fact that we don’t really understand how gravity works at large scales evenm nearly as well as the scientists would like to – not yet, at least.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of waiting for my wearable cybertech enhancements. It looks like some other folk are getting twitchy too, to the extent of getting on with it themselves – some futurist with sharp eyes and steady hands cheerfully went and built his own head-up display into a pair of innocuously normal-looking sunglasses. I wonder if he does custom orders?

Semiconductor circuits are pretty versatile, but you can’t bend the ones in your computer without having to place an expensive parts order with your favourite tech supplier afterwards. Chips are set to become far more flexible in future, however, in both senses of the word – a team of engineers have discovered a way to remove the circuitry from a rigid substrate and place it on a pliable material. Flexible computing could revolutionise a number of technology spheres, medical apps and solar cells for instance.

Technology giant Philips have announced a new prototype gadget – an ultrasound ‘cuff’ that will diagnose and treat internal bleeding in human limbs. Predictably in this time of global unrest, the stated scenario is that of the injured soldier in the heat of battle, who needs a quick fix and can’t make it to medical facilities in time, but this would surely be just as useful to A&E teams and other civiliand outfits too. Philips hopes for proof-of-concept in the next twelve months.