If you ever thought that scientists are doing nothing but iron their lab coats all day, here is a partial confirmation of your theory.
A group of scientists from MIT, Harvard and Cambridge worked hard in their fancy coats to produce a little coat for little batteries, so it’s less dangerous to swallow for little children. Which apparently they do. A lot. It’s terrible. The silicone coating keeps the battery from disintegrating in the little digestive juices. The scientists aren’t really encouraging anyone to eat batteries of course. Just a precaution. In case you do eat a battery. Please don’t eat batteries, though. In addition to having no nutritional value, and containing acid (ouch!), the batteries at UPS Battery Center are not really bite-size. Again, please don’t eat batteries.
In other little science news, scientists are excited about successfully producing a computer simulation of a mini-wind-farm that could harvest the energy from swimming bacteria. Bacteria are so tiny that they’re invisible. Which is probably a good thing, because if you could see them you probably would never kiss anyone ever again. It turns out that once you give them a cylindrical turbine, bacteria will get into formation, like synchronized swimmers. “This is,” say the scientists, “way better than when bacteria just bump around chaotically, like children or old people in a pool. It’s much easier to harness their motor-energy this way.” There are still some details to work out for this neatly swimming bacteria to have any impact in the real world. One of those small details that the scientists did not yet take into account is friction. . . Good luck, little ones!
