This holiday season no one is exempt from the responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint – even Santa. Accordingly, GE has called on their scientists and engineers to re-design Santa’s sleigh so that the jolly fellow brings nothing more than Christmas cheer to the environment. Features include self-powered OLED lighting, energy-storing sodium batteries, a wireless medical sensor and more. Check it out here, and have a wonderful holiday!

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Tags: Environmental, Green Technology, Green Transportation, Transportation

Ever wondered how NASCAR drivers can walk away from fiery crashes relatively unharmed? Why race cars drive so close together? Are you interested in learning about fireproof underwear?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you should definitely have a look at The National Science Foundation’s special report on the physics behind race car driving, The Science of Speed. Videos after jump.

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Tags: Cars, Mechanical, Transportation

Next time your parents tell you to stop playing XBox, just tell them you’re practicing to become a brain surgeon. Iowa State engineers have created a way for doctors to plan a surgery or teach anatomy using an accurate, 3-D view of the inside of a patient’s body. Video after the jump.

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Tags: Biomedical, Computer

Perhaps you’ve read Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Roald Dahl’s sequel to his beloved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (if not, then you definitely should!). In the story, Charlie and Willy Wonka find themselves in a glass elevator orbiting the earth, where they end up fighting hostile aliens.

We mention this because, believe it or not, plans are afoot to create an actual elevator that ascends all the way into space, suspended by a paper-thin ribbon made of carbon nanotubes. [video after jump]

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Tags: Aerospace

Everyone take out your cardboard glasses, because these days more and more movies seem to be reaching into the next dimension. 3D movies have been around since the Great Depression and even enjoyed a brief surge of popularity in the 1950s, but recently this immersive format has returned with a vengeance.

This week Fox will release the 3D animated sci-fi movie Avatar, directed by James Cameron (who’s other projects include Terminator I and II, Alien).

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Filed under: Computer, e-News | 6 Comments »

Tags: 3D, Art, Computer, Technology