Tech Universe: Wednesday 2 March

NASA's Glory spacecraft is equipped to survey and map aerosols in Earth's atmosphere during a mission marking the return to flight of the Taurus XL rocket. Photo / NASA

GLORY BE: NASA's Glory satellite, to be launched soon, will study how the sun and atmospheric aerosols affect Earth's climate. The octagonal craft will contain enough hydrazine fuel for 3 years. Sensors will measure aerosols, clouds and solar irradiance. Some of that real-time analysis would be helpful. Details and video on NASA.

PURE WATER: The Purist sports bottle incorporates a 20 nanometre silicon dioxide layer inside the polymer. This glass-like layer protects the inside of the bottle from odours, staining, and mould build-up. The bottle's still flexible though, just like a plastic one. And none of that horrible plastic taste. More at SpecializedWaterBottles.

REAL TIME DATA MINER: Having lots of data is fine, but processing and analysing it can take a very long time. That's no good when you're monitoring someone's lifesigns or working with a fast-moving stock market and need realtime information. IBM's Linux-based InfoSphere Streams handles continuous and analyses massive amounts of live data at more than 200 times a second. Input sources can include VoIP, email, audio, video and well as more traditional data. Given it's Election Year, something like this could be an evolutionary step up from The Worm. More at IBM and video on YouTube.

CELL BOOST: University of Washington tested 47 study participants by strapping cellphones to their heads for 50 minutes. One phone was off while the other was muted but receiving a recorded message. Scans showed changes in brain activity on the side with the active phone, suggesting that cell phone radiation boosts brain activity. Did they also test for feeling dorky? More at ScienceNews.

STRETCH THE SUN: A researcher at Stanford University, USA, has created stretchable solar cells. The solar cells can be stretched along 2 axes by 30% without breaking or losing power, then snap back to their original shape. They could be used in clothing or on exteriors of cars, lenses and architectural elements. Why don't we just wrap everything in solar cells? Details at Standford University.

- Miraz Jordan knowit.co.nz