DARPA-funded research is developing batteries to power nano-scale machinery. The largest of these batteries will be the size of a grain of sand. UCLA researcher Jane Chang explained:

"We're trying to achieve the same power densities, the same energy densities as traditional lithium ion batteries, but we need to make the footprint much smaller," says Chang.

To reach this goal, Chang is thinking in three dimensions in collaboration with Bruce Dunn other researchers at UCLA. She's coating well-ordered micro-pillars or nano-wires -- fabricated to maximize the surface-to-volume ratio, and thus the potential energy density -- with electrolyte, the conductive material that allows current to flow in a battery.

Using atomic layer deposition -- a slow but precise process that allows layers of material only an atom thick to be sprayed on a surface -- she has successfully applied the solid electrolyte lithium aluminosilicate to these nanomaterials.

http://www.medicaldaily.com/news/20101020/2777/batteries-smaller-than-a-grain-of-salt.htm via GearFuse | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user Anton Fomkin used under Creative Commons license

A man in Jiangsu Province, China, got stuck in a toilet when he dropped his phone inside and tried to get it back:

When rescue workers arrived on the scene in Jiangsu province in eastern China, they found the man crouched over the toilet in a bathroom stall, his entire arm submerged up to the shoulder in the drain.

Workers broke the porcelain bowl with crowbars and hammered the pipes, taking care not to injure the man, CCTV reported.

After 10 minutes of work, the man was able to slowly remove his cut and bruised arm from the bowl and retrieve his waterlogged phone.

Link via Geekologie (where there's a video)

Stewie, a Maine Coon who lives in Reno, Nevada, is the world's longest domesticated cat. He measures 48 and 1/2 inches:

The record was previously held by another Maine Coon that measured 48 inches.

Stewie's owners, Robin Hendrickson and Erik Brandsness, say they decided to try for the record after hearing countless people say they were amazed by Stewie's length.

Hendrickson said Maine Coons are known as "the gentle giants" of the cat world.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/20/AR2010102003836.html via Urlesque | Video | Photo: ABC News/AP

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have conducted tests on a compound that slowed age-related memory loss in mice. An enzyme called 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 generates glucocorticoids, a class of hormones, that enhance memory formation:

The Edinburgh team showed that knocking out either one or both copies of the gene for this enzyme in mice preserved the animals' memory into old age. To determine whether blocking the enzyme could improve memory in already aged animals, researchers then developed a compound designed to cross into the brain and inhibit the enzyme. Just 10 days of treatment in two-year-old mice--the maximum lifespan for a typical lab mouse--was enough to improve the animals' performance on a test of spatial memory.

Link via Glenn Reynolds | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user jepoirrier used under Creative Commons license

The Hövding, developed by Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin, is an inflatable helmet. It's designed to protect a bicyclist's head without mussing his/her hair:

Hövding is a discreet collar that the cyclist is wearing around his neck. The collar contains a folded airbag which is visible only at a collision. The airbag is designed as a hood that in case of an accident will enclose and protect the cyclist’s head. Release mechanism is controlled by sensors that register abnormal movements of the rider in an accident.

At the link, you can watch a video of the helmet inflating during crash tests.

Link via Popular Science | Photo: Hövding

Previously: An Airbag for Equestrians

Los Angeles-based artist Pei-San Ng makes artwork out of matches. "Passion", pictured above, is composed of 2,500 matches and took 24 hours to make. You can view 5 more examples at the link.

Link via DudeCraft | Photo by the artist

Rick L. Ross made a chess set inspired by that owned by the character J.F. Sebastian in the movie Blade Runner. It's crafted in exquisite detail, as you can see from the other 38 pictures at the link.

Link via Nerdcore

(Video Link)

The story circulating about this video is that the man on the motorcycle is a gymnast. Just before he smacked into the side of a truck, he intentionally vaulted over the handlebars. At the end of the video, on his feet and apparently not seriously injured, the man walked back into view.

via Geekosystem

A McDonald's restaurant in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has a sophisticated anti-theft device. It sprays robbers with a fine mist containing artificial DNA that can be seen under ultraviolet light:

The new system involved an employee-activated device that sprays a fine, barely visible mist laced with synthetic DNA to cover anyone in its path, including criminals, and simultaneously alerts the police to a crime in progress.

The mist — visible only under ultraviolet light — carries DNA markers particular to the location, enabling the police to match the burglar with the place burgled. Now, a sign on the front door of the McDonald’s prominently warns potential thieves of the spray’s presence: “You Steal, You’re Marked.”

Link via Ace of Spades HQ | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user Leonid Mamchenkov used under Creative Commons license

According to the connoisseurs at ratebeer.com, Old English 800 is the worst beer in the world. Here's one review:

Bad aftertaste, rancid mouth. Not fit for students, bums or the desperate for a drink. Nothing but horrible taste and booze. I am less of a person for having consumed this.

At the link, you can see a list of the fifty worst beers as determined by these reviewers.

What's the worst commercially available beer that you've tasted?

http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/TheWorstBeers.asp via Ace of Spades HQ | Photo: rockthedub.com

Yo-yo builder Shinobu Konmoto crafted this $5,000 yo-yo. It's made by hand over six months to be mechanically and aesthetically perfect.

Link (Google Translate) and Process Photos via Gizmodo | Photo: Nostalgia

The Antimov Competition derives its name from Asimov's Third Law of Robotics: "A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law." Entrants to the competition strive to build self-destructive robots that fail spectacularly to achieve their tasks:

We want you to build a robot that completes a trivial task in the most inefficient and laborious way possible. Oh yeah, it needs to destroy itself doing so.

At the link, you can watch videos of participating robots.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-10/video-contest-most-spectacular-robot-failures | Official Website

Food artist Vanessa Dualib makes clever sculptures with minimal changes to the objects themselves. You can view many examples at the link, such as the above "Fridge Veggie Walrus."

Link via Geekosystem

Jerry and Kat got married. Their cake was designed to resemble the ship SDF-1 Macross from the old anime series Macross. Or possibly the Americanized version, Robotech. You can view more pictures at the link.

Link

Dutch designer Klaas Kuiken made ceramic roofing tiles that are shaped like birdhouses. He writes:

Nowadays birds are not welcome under rooftiles anymore, so they lost a beautifull nest place. Placing a house on top of a rooftile, now created a nice place for a birdsnest. And also better to spot!

Link (scroll down) via DudeCraft