Plan to Bring GM Eucalyptus to US Pinelands

Two US companies are planning to transform plantation forests of the southeastern United States by replacing native pine with genetically engineered eucalyptus.

New York Times - again:

The companies’ push into genetically modified trees, led by their joint biotech venture, ArborGen LLC, looks to overcome several hurdles for the first time. Most prominently, they are banking on a controversial gene splice that restricts trees’ ability to reproduce, meant to allay fears of bioengineered eucalyptus turning invasive and overtaking native forests.

Polymer nanofibres smash energy record

Nanogenerators that can scavenge energy from movement are a step closer, after researchers described the most efficient examples of such devices ever made.

RSC Chemistry World: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2010/January/29011002.asp

Smart Dust? Not Quite, but We’re Getting There

“Smart dust” — tiny digital sensors worldwide that gather all sorts of information and communicate it to powerful computer networks that monitor, measure and understand the physical world in new ways. Some ambitious sensor research projects provide a glimpse of where things are headed.

New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/business/31unboxed.html