Wear Clothing That Cleans the Air

neat I’ve never been one for fashion, but I think that has just changed with the introduction of clothing that eats smogs and kills bacteria. Olivia Ong, a design student at Cornell, came up with the idea of making a jacket that protects the wearer from bad things. It uses nano-materials (pictured) to do its thing, which makes the material itself very very expensive. Just imagine a world in which clothing actually makes the world better.

Ong’s dress and jacket, part of her original fashion line called “Glitterati,” look innocently hip. But closer inspection — with a microscope, that is — shows an army of electrostatically charged nanoparticles creating a protective shield around the cotton fibers in the top part of the dress, and the sleeves, hood and pockets of the jacket.

U.S. stops breeding chimps for research

Good news for those who like animals! The U.S. National Institutes of Health has decided to stop breeding chimpanzees for biomedical research. Chimps that are already being used for research remain as test animals, but the fact that more chimps won’t be used in this way is a step in the right direction for the ethical treatment of animals.

“This decision is a huge step towards a day when chimpanzees are no longer used in invasive biomedical research and testing,” Kathleen Conlee of the Humane Society said in a statement.

A Patently Good Idea

Over at Slashdot there is an interesting discussion about a not for profits wanting comapnies to give them access to the companies unused patents. Even state governments (in the USA) support this.

I think this is a great idea because having patents just sitting around stifles the economy and creative development; all the patent holders get out of this is a lack of competition.

Countless patents — including the one used to start up Kotecha’s company, Yokit — sit unused when companies decide not to develop them into products. Now, not-for-profit groups and state governments are asking companies to donate dormant patents so they can be passed to local entrepreneurs who try to build businesses out of them.

Roundabouts Save Fuel

Some research in the USA that examined intersections that switched from stoplights to a roundabout proves that roundabouts are greener.

Intersections with roundabouts generated between 55% and 61% less carbon dioxide, depending on the time of day. Emissions of hydrocarbons, also greenhouse gases, dropped by between 62% and 68%. His paper, which is admittedly a bit of tough read, is here.

Good news for the lonely…

If you need a good laugh here’s a piece of news to warm your heart, especially in the Valentines season… These are the funniest personal ads you’ll ever see and they’re posting in an English newspaper. Let me give you a sample:

Shy, ugly man, fond of extended periods of self-pity, middle aged, flatulent and overweight, seeks the impossible.

Eager-to-please woman, 36, seeks domineering man to take advantage of her flagging confidence. Tell me I’m pretty, then watch me cling.