The USPTO, demonstrating that beauracracies are not incapable of change, has announced plans to pilot a peer reviewed patent process.

The central Asian banks have been buying U.S. debt instruments in brobdignagian proportions because they’re using it as an unofficial index currency on which to peg their own currencies. That party may be ovre soon: they’re talking about establishing a new Asian Currency Unit index to serve that role. If they reduce their investment in dollars you can expect the dollar to go to hell in a hurry. Wonder if that has anything to do with the price of gold.

Scientists at the University of Texas have demonstrated that carbon nanotubes can carry electrical signals to neurons. Now they’re working on making that a two way communication.

If you live in St. Cloud, Minnesota, you can buy your gasoline at today’s prices and withdraw it tomorrow. Some customers are filling their cars on gasoline they bought for $0.99 a gallon.

If you’re short of transport solutions, why not get your new friends to drop things off for you if they’re going the right way? That was NASA’s thinking when they heard that the Indian space program was doing a moon launch, and had a bit of extra space for a few instruments from NASA’s inventory of goodies. This may well be the first of many such collaborative projects.