From The New Scientist: "...there could be many engineering applications... Theoretically the thin conducting skins that could be woven with this material could also have applications in stealth aircraft, as the material would be an ultralight radio-frequency radiation absorber that could foil radar.

Alister's phone is a common standard. it has 3G and wi-fi-x and also acts as ticket device, allowing entry to venues, hotel bookings and car hire. usng biometric software it can only be operated by the owner. stolen devices are sold on for components as they cannot be used by any other person.

Alister used a more modern version of the solar backpack that is made from solar fabric and small batteries that recharge by movement. His electronic devices sich as the App-phone and Sony Notepad can 'proximity recharge by sumply being inside the backpack with no need for any wired connection.

The Voltaic Backpack? is built tough for use as a weekend hike bag or as a large daypack. There are pockets and wire channels for multiple electronic devices and 1,850 cubic inches of storage space.

* Specifications:Fabric: 840D nylon, UV resistant PU, nylon mesh on the back * Note: It is not designed to charge laptops, it will however charge cell phones, sat phones, PDAs, GPSs, iPods, cameras etc.

* # Includes a 2,200mAh Li-Ion battery pack with 3 voltage settings to store solar power

* # Comes with 11 standard adaptors including a car charger socket and USB adaptor so you can always use a standard charger for your device

Detailed views of the new composite plastic that's as strong as steel but lighter and transparent. It's made of layers of clay nanosheets and a water-soluble polymer that shares chemistry with white glue. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Michigan)

The Glasgow to London Train travels through a Plastic steel tunnel for part of its journey.

From the BBC News Website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8452196.stm

The "wet computer" incorporates several recently discovered properties of chemical systems that can be hijacked to engineer computing power.

What distinguishes the current project is that it will make use of stable "cells" featuring a coating that forms spontaneously, similar to the walls of our own cells, and uses chemistry to accomplish the signal processing similar to that of our own neurons. "Every neuron is like a molecular computer; ours is a very crude abstraction of what neurons do," said Dr Zauner.

"Every neuron is like a molecular computer; ours is a very crude abstraction of what neurons do," said Dr Zauner. "But the essence of neurons is the capability to get 'excited'; it can re-form an input signal and has its own energy supply so it can fire out a new signal."

This propagation of a chemical signal - along with the "refractory period" that keeps it contained within a given cell - means the cells can form networks that function like the brain.

Biomedical and materials engineers at the University of Michigan have developed a nanotech coating for brain implants that helps the devices operate longer and could improve treatment for deafness, paralysis, blindness, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.

The new brain implants developed at U-M are coated with nanotubes made of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), a biocompatible and electrically conductive polymer that has been shown to record neural signals better than conventional metal electrodes.