Second Wind: Air-Breathing Lithium Batteries Promise Recharge-Free Long-Range Driving--If the Bugs Can Be Worked Out: Scientific American

Second Wind: Air-Breathing Lithium Batteries Promise Recharge-Free Long-Range Driving--If the Bugs Can Be Worked Out: Scientific American IBM-led research to create lithium-air electric vehicle batteries gets a boost from Japanese chemical companies toward the goal of 800 kilometers out of a full charge

By Larry Greenemeier  | April 20, 2012 | 30

Materials Inspired by Mother Nature: One-Pound Boat That Could Float 1,000 Pounds

Materials Inspired by Mother Nature: One-Pound Boat That Could Float 1,000 Pounds  ScienceDaily (Mar. 25, 2012) — Combining the secrets that enable water striders to walk on water and give wood its lightness and great strength has yielded an amazing new material so buoyant that, in everyday terms, a boat made from 1 pound of the substance could carry five kitchen refrigerators, about 1,000 pounds.

Fossil Free: Microbe Helps Convert Solar Power to Liquid Fuel: Scientific American

Fossil Free: Microbe Helps Convert Solar Power to Liquid Fuel: Scientific American  A new "bioreactor" could store electricity as liquid fuel with the help of a genetically engineered microbe and copious carbon dioxide.