Moldable Solar Cells

In the new technology frontiers, a company in California is claiming a new pour-able solar cell. They're called Innovalight, and while their website is very light on the details, they claim to have just secured $28 million for development, so someone's buying into their research.

Basically, the actual solar cell is made up of a "silicon nanocrystalline ink" in a solvent which can be poured into any shape or form required, dried of the solvent, and used just as any conventional solar panel.

Even beyond that, they're projecting costs of 50% less than conventional solar panels, and efficiencies approaching, or surpassing, current thin film technology.

There doesn't seem to be much more than that out there at this point, but if it works out as well as reported, the

(NIAID/Handout/Reuters)


This amazing image is crystallographic data of the AIDS virus actually attacking an immune cell, and they hope that the data will help them create an anti-AIDS vaccine. In studying the data the scientists believe that they may have found a spot on the outside of the disease which may be vulnerable to antibodies that would block it from even attacking human cells to begin with. While there are a couple of vaccines currently in human trials, the researchers believe that this might be their best hope at making a vaccine that would work for everyone.

An international online survey of the paranormal is getting a huge response just six weeks in. So far over 2,000 people have participated, with 96% of them claiming to have had at least one paranormal experience in their lifetimes. While the data may be skewed by the fact that people who've never had a paranormal experience are probably less likely to participate, a gallup poll also concluded that three quarters of Americans believe in at least one "paranormal" subject.

This survey is trying to put some numbers and statistics onto paranormal experiences such as premonitions, out-of-body and near-death episodes, telepathy and apparitions. If you'd like to participate you can do so by filling out the survey at this link.

Some really sad news today. PEAR, the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research laboratory, is shutting down. PEAR has done a lot of really great research, illuminated quite a few strange occurrences, and really published some terrific papers. Their research will really be missed in the paranormal/parascience realm.