Inflatable Tower Could Reach the Edge of Space

Researchers say that a giant inflatable tower could carry people to the edge of space without the need for a rocket, and could be completed much sooner than a cable-based space elevator.
Inflatable pneumatic modules already used in some spacecraft could be assembled into a 15-kilometre-high tower, say Brendan Quine, Raj Seth and George Zhu at York University in Toronto, Canada.
If built from a suitable mountain top it could reach an altitude of around 20 KM, where it could be used for atmospheric research, tourism, telecoms or launching spacecraft.
The tower does a similar job as the proposed space elevator. But while the elevator envisages using ribbons woven from superstrong nanotubes - a material that is as yet non-existent - the tower would use materials that are already available.

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Controlling Heat in Large Data Centers

At the Georgia Institute of Technology, researchers are using a 1,100-square-foot simulated data center to optimize cooling strategies and develop new heat transfer models that can be used by the designers of future facilities and equipment.
The researchers believe that there exists the potential to reduce data center energy consumption by as much as 15 percent by adopting more efficient cooling techniques being developed by their lab.

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The Convertible Motorcycle-Aircraft

Samson Motorworks has developed an aircraft/motorcycle multi mode vehicle. Two dual-use Multi Mode Vehicles models are in development - the Skybike, which uses a patent pending telescoping wing design, and the Switchblade, which uses a scissor wing design to retract the wings when you swap the airway for the freeway.
The MMVs feature a canard layout, with the main wing at the back and the tailplane at the front. This design keeps the center of weight low and to the rear, reducing the potential for overturning while traveling on the ground and placing most of the lift where the majority of the weight is located, resulting in greater stability while airborne. Additionally, the canard design is also stall resistant, providing an extra level of safety. The company aims to have its designs classified as motorbikes for ground based travel.

Ferrari Testa Rossa

The Testarossa name, which, in Italian means "red head", comes from the red-painted cylinder heads on the flat-12 engine. The engine was technically a 180° V engine, since it shared flat-plane crankshaft pins with opposing cylinders. Output was 390 hp (291 kW), and the car won many comparison tests and admirers - it was featured on the cover of Road & Track magazine nine times in just five years. Almost 10,000 Testarossas, 512TRs, and 512Ms were produced, making it one of the most common Ferrari models, despite its high price and exotic design. In 1985, the Testarossa retailed for about $94,000 ($176,032 in 2006 dollars) in the United States. This included a $2,700 (i.e., $5,100) "gas-guzzler" tax.
Although successful on the road, the Testarossa did not appear on race tracks, unlike the 512BBi, which had done so with minor success.The original Testarossa was thoroughly re-engineered for 1991 and released as the 512TR, effectively a completely new car. It increased the output of the 4.9 L engine to 428 hp (319 kW).

The 512TR's engine was modified in many ways. Nikasil liners were added, along with a new air intake system, Bosch engine management system, 10.1:1 compression ratio with new pistons, larger intake valves, and a revised exhaust system. In addition to the extra power, the modifications delivered a flatter torque curve for better acceleration.

Google Wave Aims to Reinvent Email

This week Google introduced Google Wave, which one of its developers claims is "what email would look like if it were invented today."
Google Wave draws together email, instant messaging, web chatting and project management software. Users can swap a range of files from videos to documents among friends in real time. There's also the option to instant message those within a conversation window or "wave" in real time - that's to say, you see what your friends are typing as they type, rather than waiting for them to finish a sentence and post it to online.

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Electric-Powered Superbike

TTX Grand Prix founder Azhar Hussein has built a demonstrator electric superbike based around a Suzuki GSX 750 and dubbed it the TTX01. It's the first prototype of what he hopes will become a production motorcycle within a year or three.

The first green-powered Grand Prix bike has been built by the people behind the TTXGP, the world's first clean emission motorcycle race due to be held on June 12 on the Isle of Man as part of the annual TT races.

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Stem-Cell Contact Lenses Restore Sight in One Month

Researchers have restored sight in patients suffering corneal damage using a groundbreaking technique where contact lenses are cultured with stem cells.
Stem cells from the cornea stick to contact lenses - employing three patients who were blind in one eye, the researchers obtained stem cells from their healthy eyes and cultured them in extended wear contact lenses for ten days. The surfaces of the patients’ corneas were cleaned and the contact lenses inserted. Within 10 to 14 days the stem cells began to recolonize and repair the cornea.
Of the three patients, two were legally blind but can now read the big letters on an eye chart, while the third, who could previously read the top few rows of the chart, is now able to pass the vision test for a driver’s license.
The research team has applied for funds to continue the project.