In light of the biblical-scale cock-up that is the Three Gorges Dam, the development of a hydroelectric generator that works without damming seems all the more important an innovation.

Few things are less pleasent than vomit in freefall, and the other side-effects of motion sickness are no picnic either. The boys at NASA are working on a design for some goggles that cause a strobing effect in the wearer’s vision, which they are hoping will alleviate space sickness. They may also prove useful in more down-to-earth travel situations as well.

Yet another weird discovery regarding those tiny ‘tubes. Gases and liquids flow more effectively through nanotube pores in membranes than they do through pores made of other materials that are ten times the size. This property could revolutionise filtration processes.

We’ve been able to measure spatial dimensions at the nanoscale for a while now. But only recently have researchers developed a way to time events at a molecular scale in nanosecond increments, enabling a better understanding of the events that occur in nanoscience. That’s one step closer to my recycling fabricator unit.

A new European Commission funded project has been announced, named NEW TIES. It’s purpose is to further the study of natural social processes and advance the science of artificial intelligence, by creating a virtual world and releasing autonomous software agents into it so that they will evolve and develop independently of their creators. It is hoped that the agents will learn to cooperate without being programmed to do so, thanks to challenging environments that involve seasonal variation, competion for resources and so on.