The Googleplex has launched their free wifi service in their home town of Mountain View in California, jumping the gun due to the barrage of positive feedback and join-up requests they’ve had since they rolled out the beta. Of course, their plans for municipal networks elsewhere are more likely to be financially motivated, and this is doubtless a great bit of un-evil PR for them, but even so they surely deserve some credit for giving something back to the community where they are based.

Much as I hate to make sweeping statements about scientists, a few notable exceptions apart, they aren’t known for their garrulous media-whoredom. Grigory Perelman, a staggeringly intelligent Russian mathematician, is about to make the most retiring lab-lurker look like a reality TV reject. He’s recently solved one of the longest-standing mathematic mysteries, Poincare’s conjecture, but is still lurking well away from the limelight, and is expected to refuse to accept a major award next week. Little is known about him beyond his work, but to judge from the reactions of his fellow mathematicians, that work speaks volumes on his behalf.

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.