Tech Universe: Friday 22 October

A round-up of the latest technology news from around the globe.

SCROLL UP: The Israeli Antiquities Authority and Google are scanning the Dead Sea Scrolls using multi-spectral imaging and putting the scans online in a searchable database complemented by translation and other scholarly tools. This will allow anyone to view the texts without exposing the scrolls to further degradation. Well, at least there shouldn't be any copyright problems. More at DiscoveryNews.

BANG GO THE DOTS: A new handheld scanner can detect the explosives used in shoe bombs. A small digital camera records the pattern from 16 dots of pigment on an inert plastic film. Each pigment changes colour in response to the explosive Triacetone triperoxide. Won't those false positives be fun! More at ScienceDaily.

TWEETIE CAR: Safety in cars is so last-year. Now it's all about connecting: to wireless, to the phone network, to iPods. Car manufacturers are including touchscreens and connections right in the dashboard. Call up a Google Map or send an SMS or tweet to your buddies all while you keep your hands on the wheel. So who needs to pay attention while driving anyway? More at CNN.

PHONES: 9; INTERNET: 3: A UN report says 33% of the world's population will be online by the end of 2010, while more than 90% of the world's population already has access to a mobile phone network. Little things make huge changes possible. More at the BBC.

HEAT AND LIGHT: A new technique allows microscale electronic devices to harvest their own wasted energy. One side of a piezoelectric cantilever is coated with a carbon nanotube film that absorbs light or heat. Absorption bends the cantilever which then generates power. This power could drive low-power units, since they could absorb the heat they produce as they operate. That's almost scarily efficient. More at ScienceDaily.

- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz