Inhabitat's Week in Green: madder root batteries, sun-powered plane and the world's first fiber-optic solar cell

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

Inhabitat's Week in Green TKTKTK

This week held some truly unexpected breakthroughs as scientists in China figured out a way to create brain cells from human urine, and researchers at Rice University and CUNY developed batteries that are fueled by the dye from madder roots. Over in Germany, researchers unveiled a technique that harnesses the power of lightning to break up concrete into usable building materials and scientists at MIT built a tiny, caterpillar-size robot that can transform into almost any shape.

We've been hearing a lot of bad news about the environment such as climate change throwing natural systems out of balance, but things could be looking up slightly. Last week at the Doha climate conference, 200 nations agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol to 2020 and back in the US, a report showed that Americans installed a record-breaking 3.2 gigawatts of rooftop photovoltaic panels in 2012. And if all else fails, Harvard professor David Keith, proposes geo-engineering as a way to combat global warming with his plan to refreeze the Arctic.

Continue reading Inhabitat's Week in Green: madder root batteries, sun-powered plane and the world's first fiber-optic solar cell

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/7Wh-gZAnnEY/

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Mitoza is a fun, freaky Web toy with an artistic look

mitoza
While not a game per se, I found Mitoza intriguing enough to spend quite some time with it. You start off with a seed, and are then presented with two choices: you can either click a flower pot, or click a cute little birdie.

If you click the flower pot, a flower pot appears and the seed is planted inside. You're then presented with two further choices -- a water can or a bottle of fertilizer. Each choice you make causes your creation to morph, and presents you with two other choices.

There's no winning or losing, really. Each "game" usually lasts around four or five choices, at which point the plant/animal dies in some creative (but not too gruesome) way. At this point you instantly start over with a new seed.

The graphics are captivating; the whole thing has a cinematic feel to it, with a bit of artificial camera shake added for style.

All in all, it's a fun, peaceful way to spend a few minutes, and it might even make you think a little bit while you're at it.

Mitoza is a fun, freaky Web toy with an artistic look originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/28/mitoza-is-a-fun-freaky-web-toy-with-an-artistic-look/

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FBI Takes 10 Alleged Botnet Operators Offline

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested 10 individuals from around the world, including the United States, which it alleges are part of an international cybercrime ring linked to the Yahos malware. Yahos is associated with the notorious Butterfly botnet, which compromised more than 11 million computer systems and resulted in an estimated $850 million in losses.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/2694fc7f/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C768540Bhtml/story01.htm

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Tarzan Ball is a tricky hook-and-pull physics game

tarzanball
So, you're a ball. A Tarzan Ball, to be precise. You've earned the nickname thanks to your astonishing ability to shoot out a lengthy 'vine' (I hope it's a vine) at objects, and then pull yourself towards those objects.

That's a handy ability to have, especially since you've got no legs, no arms, and no other means of transportation. In Tarzan Ball, the rope is everything. But you don't just swing around the screen aimlessly - that wouldn't be much of a game now, would it?

Instead, your goal in life is to collect "targets". Each level has one of these "targets" hidden away somewhere on the screen, usually behind some kind of barrier. Once you navigate close enough to the target, you can shoot your rope at it and just reel it in. That's when you pass the level.

You can't die in this game, but it can still be very frustrating. It's actually one of the tougher games I've posted recently. Still, if you enjoy physics games, this one is quite nicely made.

[This is actually the sequel to IQ Ball, which we covered last year! -Ed]

Tarzan Ball is a tricky hook-and-pull physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/21/tarzan-ball-is-a-tricky-hook-and-pull-physics-game/

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Windows 8 App Store images leaked?

windows 8 app store
Windows 8 images continue to leak onto the Internet, despite Microsoft's wallpaper-based pleas to those with access to the early releases. Today's installment courtesy CNBeta shows the upcoming Windows App Store, which will likely feature prominently in Windows 8.

We've got our doubts about the authenticity of the image. In addition to showing several of the built-in games which already ship with Windows, Opera is listed -- and a competing browser seems like an odd inclusion this early on. Of course, with the browser ballot still in place in the EU for quite some time, Microsoft would probably need to include rivals like Opera and Firefox to stay out of trouble. We're also not sure why Clickgamer is shown beneath Angry Birds instead of Rovio -- the game's actual publisher.

It's still early, of course, so it's entirely possible that the Windows App Store image is genuine but merely using placeholder images and text for now. Anyone else thinking Windows Marketplace might be a more logical name? You know, to keep things consistent with Windows Phone and keep Apple's legal eagles at bay.

Windows 8 App Store images leaked? originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/windows-8-app-store-images-leaked/

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Wrap your head in these new headphones from NuForce

After offering very good ? and very affordable ? earphones, NuForce has entered the hugely competitive headphone market with the just released the HP-800, their first over-ear design. Nuforce has targeted the user looking for a monitor-class headphone that pushes accuracy over a certain sound preference. Breathable memory-foam ear cups are covered in soft leatherette, [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/15/wrap-your-head-in-these-new-headphones-from-nuforce/

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BattlePaint is an addictive geometric shooter game

battlepaint
In BattlePaint, you play a cube. In fact, you're not even a cube -- just a square. But boy, are you fast! And you can shoot in all directions. That's important, because there are baddies coming in from all over the place.

The "baddies" are swarms of other squares, in all sorts of pretty colors. They track you all over the screen, and you run around very quickly and just shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. If that doesn't sound very emotionally deep, it's because it isn't. But it's fun!

After you shoot a baddy, it splashes paint as it disappears. You need to skate across this blob of paint and "eat it up" to get points. This game is fast. It clocked in at around 60-70 FPS on my system, and was loads of fun to play. It does tend to insult you when you die, though, but don't be offended -- I don't think it's personal.

BattlePaint is an addictive geometric shooter game originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/09/battlepaint-is-an-addictive-geometric-shooter-game/

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Mozilla looks back at 2012, finds many of us choosing Do Not Track

Footprints in the sand

It's been a time of reflection for search engine teams, so why not for web browsers? Mozilla has taken its own trip back through 2012 and found that a surprising number of us have embraced Do Not Track. About 8 percent of desktop users, and 19 percent of Android users, have adopted the feature as of the end of year -- that's a clear sign of interest in keeping web habits private, Mozilla claims. While we don't have similar statistics for other browsers to add context, the company still sees a lot of sunshine with the rapid development of Firefox OS and recent additions like its Social API. If Mozilla's introspection proves intriguing, many more details await at the source.

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Source: Mozilla

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/15/mozilla-looks-back-at-2012-finds-many-of-us-choosing-do-not-track/

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Scanadu Scout ? or is it a Tricorder?

“By golly, Jim… I’m beginning to think I can cure a rainy day!” — Doctor Leonard  ”Bones” McCoy (The Devil in the Dark) Science fiction or science fact? We might have thought that the tricorder from Star Trek was just fiction, however Scanadu is a company that’s working towards making it it a reality. The SCOUT [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/16/scanadu-scout-or-is-it-a-tricorder/

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