Important Innovations Collection

US Scientists Enable Jellyfish to Swim 3-times Faster Source:  Caltech New Invention with Big Potential to Monitor Health of Oceans Scientists at Stanford University and Caltech have created a pacemaker-like device that enables natural jellyfish to swim three times their normal speed.  The microelectronic, pulsing, tiny, prosthetic device generates electric jolts that make the fish triple their speed while using just twice as much energy.  The scientists and engineers involved in the project says the device causes no additional stress to the sea creatures.  They say the potential for this system is as vast as the ocean itself. Network of Live Ocean Monitors The scientific team says the combination of speed and energy efficiency from this device opens the possibility of using jellyfish to gather data from across the world's oceans. They envision equipping the jellyfish with sensors to track ocean temperatures, salinity and oxygen levels.  They say th...

 Breathe London Project - Kids' Backpacks Monitoring Air Pollution Source:  Breathe London Project  State of the Art Sensors in Backpacks Dyson engineers along with King's College London have created state of the art sensors to monitor air pollution from student backpacks, along with a lot more data.  The backpacks with sensors are for 250 London school children and function as normal to carry their books, water and food.  With one addition - the lightweight sensors are measuring air pollution that the students are exposed to in London during their daily routines. That will alert the city of London of air pollution danger areas for children and everyone. King's Scientists The Breathe London Project is led by a team of King's scientists.  The backpack sensors monitor both particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide levels.  The sensors are lightweight and show what the students are exposed to in terms of air pollution and specifically where and ...