BBC NEWS | Health | Longer legs 'really are a draw'

BBC NEWS | Health | Longer legs 'really are a draw': "People with slightly longer legs really are more attractive to the opposite sex, a study suggests."

Weight Gain Of U.S. Drivers Has Increased Nation's Fuel Consumption

Weight Gain Of U.S. Drivers Has Increased Nation's Fuel Consumption: "Americans are now pumping 938 million gallons of fuel more annually than they were in 1960 as a result of extra weight in vehicles. And when gas prices average $3 a gallon, the tab for overweight people in a vehicle amounts to $7.7 million a day, or $2.8 billion a year."

Time's up for petrol cars, says GM chief - Environment - smh.com.au

Time's up for petrol cars, says GM chief - Environment - smh.com.au: "THE world's biggest car maker, General Motors, believes global oil supply has peaked and a switch to electric cars is inevitable.

In a stunning announcement at the opening of the Detroit motor show, Rick Wagoner, GM's chairman and chief executive, also said ethanol was an 'important interim solution' to the world's demand for oil, until battery technology improved to give electric cars the same driving range as petrol-powered cars."

Green Car Congress: Volvo To Show Flex-Fuel Plug-In Hybrid Concept at Frankfurt

Green Car Congress: Volvo To Show Flex-Fuel Plug-In Hybrid Concept at Frankfurt: "Volvo Cars will introduce the Volvo ReCharge Concept, a plug-in series hybrid with a grid-rechargeable 12 kWh lithium-polymer battery pack and individual electric wheel motors, at the Frankfurt Motor Show."

Stanford's nanowire battery holds 10 times the charge of existing ones

Stanford's nanowire battery holds 10 times the charge of existing ones: "Stanford researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to reinvent the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power laptops, iPods, video cameras, cell phones, and countless other devices.

The new version, developed through research led by Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, produces 10 times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion, known as Li-ion, batteries. A laptop that now runs on battery for two hours could operate for 20 hours, a boon to ocean-hopping business travelers.

'It's not a small improvement,' Cui said. 'It's a revolutionary development.'"

Move over corncobs, these guys run on air - International Herald Tribune

Move over corncobs, these guys run on air - International Herald Tribune: "In the push to free the auto industry from its dependence on oil, all kinds of alternatives are being tried. Consider now the refreshing concept of cars that run on air. The idea sounds simple: compress air and release it to operate a piston engine. But the execution is difficult, and in one form or another it has occupied engineers since the 19th century. One of the latest is Guy N�gre, a Frenchman who founded Motor Development International, now MDI Enterprises, in Carros, France, in 1991. He produced his first compressed-air engine five years later. 'We've developed 14 vehicles and have three running prototype cars,' N�gre said."

Hydrogen fuel comes a step closer - Telegraph

Hydrogen fuel comes a step closer - Telegraph: "The dream of using hydrogen, the most plentiful element in the universe, as a green fuel to cut climate change moves a step closer today with the announcement that it can be made with the help of bacteria."