Urine could be used to switch on credit-card-sized diagnostic chips of the future. Ki Bang Lee at Singapore’s Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology has developed the pee-activated battery, which could be used in chips to test for kidney disorders, urinary tract infections and diabetes. The battery comprises a layer of paper steeped in copper chloride and sandwiched between strips of magnesium and copper, and activates when wet. (Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, vol 15, p 2104).
Computer gamers could be swinging and swaying if an idea from NTT’s laboratories in Kanagawa, Japan, takes off. Researchers placed electrodes on the…
