Harnessing Solar Power is a constantly evolving business. From requiring a full building top to be covered in solar cells to produce enough electricity to power a heater, to having a hand held solar cell that can power your remote controlled car, there’s been a constant shift in how scientists are harnessing the energy of the sun.

Now the scientists at RIKEN and the University of Tokyo  have come up with a new type of solar cell which can work even when drenched. The ultra-thin photovoltaic device is coated on both sides with stretchable and waterproof films. This allows the solar cell to keep providing electricity even when it is wet, stretched or compressed.

They are working on a way to make solar cells wearable on clothing so that they may be able to power health monitoring sensors. These could become early warning devices for patients who are prone to a specific type of ailment. So far it was not possible to have a cell that was robust enough to survive in both wet and dry conditions.

Now these energy efficient solar cells made of a material called PNTz4T, are likely to provide a solution to this problem. The commercial applications of this science project are many and varied.

Asteroids are minor celestial bodies floating through the solar system. They are made up of rocks and have been termed planetoids or miniature planets. The rock content of different asteroids may differ drastically, however everyone of them is rich in minerals. Being able to mine these untapped resources will have a revolutionary effect on Earth.

Right now there is a huge knowledge gap in what will be required to complete the mining process. Scientists will need to figure out an accurate way to identify exactly what minerals a particular asteroid contained. The next step would be to figure out what all equipment would be required to conduct a successful mining operation on the asteroid.

Would it be feasible to get all that equipment out into space and on to the asteroid with accuracy. How many people would be required to maintain the operation, both onsite as well as back on Earth to direct the mining operations. Then there would be a cost analysis to see if the amount of mineral mined would be worth the price of mining it.

Only if the entire science project was economically feasible would a business consider going through the entire process. Currently it may seem like science fiction, but we have seen stranger things come true in this decade alone.

Recently the Curiosity rover on planet Mars was able to discover boron at the Murray Buttes in Gale Crater. The presence of boron, which was found in light-toned calcium sulfate veins, has excited the scientific community considerably. That’s not just because we have more clues about what’s on the surface of Mars, but also because Borates play an important part in building life blocks.

Patrick Gasda, a postdoctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory says that Borates are one possible bridge from simple organic molecules to RNA (ribonucleic acid). Without RNA, you have no life. The presence of boron tells us that, if organics were present on Mars, these chemical reactions could have occurred.

Since the boron was discovered in a mineral vein, that means that it was present in groundwater. This would allow microscopic life as we know it to be possible under the given conditions. Basically it comes down to the fact that life may have existed on Mars, even if it was simple celled. This in turn bodes well for those of us belonging to the multi-celled species, especially those working on a science project to go live on Mars in the future.

Ever since Google first rolled out it’s autonomous cars, the world has been watching their progress. The safe cars, free of human error are expected to revolutionize the way automobiles are used. Some studies expect them to become the norm in under a decade in cities in the US.

The town of Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom test drove the cars for a public transport system that will travel between the town’s train station, commercial, and business districts. The cars are likely to have place to seat two passengers comfortably with their shopping bags and even has place for a baby stroller.

The cars in Milton Keynes will use a special lane and move at just 12 mph. However they are the precursor for things to come. Soon towns all over the world will have similar systems set up to enhance public transportation.

Self driven or autonomous cars pose a serious challenge to law makers around the world. Should this vehicle which is essentially a machine that operates itself, be involved in an accident, who is to be liable for the damages that it causes?

These are the problems that will keep law makers busy for a while. Even as the different science projects on autonomous cars make progress across the world, these legal issues continue to muddy the waters.

For most people who imagine the flying car of the future, it seems that cars would be given wings that are akin to air crafts. That may not be the most popular theory in the scientific community. In fact Massachusetts Institute of Technology based researchers are of the opinion that a Quadcopter which is essentially a drone may be the flying car’s most optimum future.

All that needs to be done is to add four wheels to the drone that allow it to be driven around when it is on the ground. Of course you will be speaking in terms of developing a much larger drone which can seat a pilot and a passenger comfortably.  The scale of which would have to be worked out.

Having a vehicle that can drive and fly is able to allow people to get to areas with obstacles much faster and easier. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology a science project has set up 8 sample quadcopters which can double up as cars. Tests have had them flying and driving over parking lots, driving through no-fly areas and landing on streets.

Although the combined drain of having to fly and drive reduced the quadcopters range and ability, it could still cover about 300 feet. The loss in performance efficiency is just one of the failures that the researchers will have to work through in order to create a car that can truly fly and drive through any terrain.

Being operated to remove a cancerous tumor is the sort of experience you would not wish on anyone. What makes it worse is the fact that sometimes the surgeon may miss removing the entire tissue and some may be left behind inside the body. This will eventually lead to a return of cancer as the cells of the contaminated tissue begin to multiply.

Now a new pen like device which has been nick named the MasSpec Pen may prevent this from happening to cancer patients. The small tool draws up molecules from the tissue of the patient during surgery to identify cancerous cells. This is done by identifying specific molecules known as metabolites.

The device is linked to a monitor which allows the surgeon to see if the tissue being tested is normal or cancerous. This ability to detect cancerous tissue in seconds allows the surgeon to remove all the affected portion along with the tumor. Naturally reducing the chance of the patient having a relapse at a later date.

The MasSpec Pen designed by University of Texas researchers has been able to help 253 patients with an accuracy of 96%. It’s ability to detect cancer cells is about a hundred and fifty times faster than existing technology. This is one science project that will have a huge impact on cancer health care.