Darren Quick

Following widespread criticism of its environmental record from groups including Greenpeace, Apple has made efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its products and facilities in recent years. As part of these ongoing efforts, the company has revealed plans to build the United States' largest end user-owned, onsite solar array at its Maiden, North Carolina iDataCenter. Read More

A recently published patent application indicates that Sony may be working on a Kinect-like 3D depth-sensing device for PlayStation. If Sony follows through with development of such a device, it will no doubt be looking to make up some ground lost to Microsoft, whose release of the Kinect in November 2010, overshadowed the release of Sony’s PlayStation Move just a month earlier. Read More

Although the existence of hepatitis C had been postulated in the 1970s, it wasn’t until 1989 that a team led by Michael Houghton identified the virus. Often being asymptomatic, it is estimated between 130 – 170 million people worldwide are infected with the virus that can lead to scarring of the liver and cirrhosis. Although treatment with medication is available, it isn’t effective in all cases and between 20 to 30 percent of those infected with hepatitis C develop some form of liver disease. Now Houghton and a team at the University of Alberta have developed a vaccine from a single strain that is effective against all known strains of the disease. Read More

Although we’re social creatures, everyone needs a bit of privacy every now and then. This is particularly true in the bedroom, but whether it’s sharing with siblings growing up or co-habitation with roommates at college, unfortunately not all have us can enjoy the luxury of our own sleeping space. While not quite in the same league as your own four walls, the Privacy Pop will provide some protection from prying eyes - but you’ll still want to keep the noise down - you know, when reading. Read More

With the 82nd Geneva Motor Show just weeks away, the world's automakers are gearing up to display their wares. As usual, many companies have already teased us with previews of what they'll have on display, including new small cars from the likes of Peugeot, Skoda and GM, plus concepts from Rinspeed, Nissan, Bertone, Ssanyong and Mini. With the number of teasers multiplying by the minute, it's time for a quick round up of some of the other notable vehicles headed for the floor of the Geneva Palexpo convention center. Read More

We've seen various experimental approaches that aim to increase the efficacy of chemotherapy while also reducing its damaging side effects by specifically targeting cancer cells. The latest encouraging development comes from Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering where researchers have created a barrel-like robotic device made from DNA that could carry molecular instructions into specific cells and tell them to self-destruct. Because the DNA-based device could be programmed to target a variety of cells, it could be used to treat a range of diseases in addition to providing hope in the fight against cancer. Read More

Resale value is one of the many factors to consider when buying a car. But for some serious return on automotive investment it's hard to beat the Ferrari 250 GTO. In what is believed to be the largest single car transaction in the U.K., one of these rare beauties has sold for over GBP20 million (approx. US$31.7 million). Read More

Last year we looked at Adzookie (now Brainiacs From Mars), which will turn a house into a (house-shaped) billboard and pay the mortgage for a three-month period. As part of the "House Prototype" Design Competition for Baanlaesaun Fair 2011, Bangkok, Thailand-based design firm Apostrophy S (or 'S) has come up with a similar - yet different - advertising-centered housing option. Instead of turning a house into a billboard, this proposal turns a billboard into a house. Read More

While cop shows have shown us that it’s easy for service providers to track a person’s location via their mobile phone, researchers at the University of Minnesota have revealed it’s also an easy task for hackers. Using a cheap phone and open source software, the researchers were able to track the location of mobile phone users without their knowledge on the GSM network, which is estimated to serve 80 percent of the global mobile market. Read More