Can even power a big screen TV without wires ? Inventor says it could be installed in cafes, offices and homes. It could mean the end of the daily hunt for power cables.

• South Korea May Try To Curb Smartphone Use With Mobile Gaming Curfew"
• Human biology inspires "unbreakable" encryption"
• Is the Dart the world's smallest laptop charger?"
• Potential use of Google Glass in surgical settings"

A team of researchers from MIT may have found new evidence to shed light on the cause of the most devastating mass extinction in the history of our planet. The event, estimated to have taken place around 252 million years ago, was responsible for the extinction of roughly 90 percent of all life on Earth.

• High-performing surgical adhesive utilizes nanoparticles"
• US scientists make embryonic stem cells from adult skin"
• Recycling industrial waste water: Scientists discover a new method of producing hydrogen"
• Information storage for the next generation of plastic computers: Efficient conversion from magnetic storage to light is key"

A team of researchers in Japan has developed a solid-state lamp that emits high-energy ultraviolet (UV) light at the shortest wavelengths ever recorded for such a device, from 140 to 220 nanometers. This is within the range of vacuum-UV light—so named because while light of that energy can propagate in a vacuum, it is quickly absorbed by oxygen in the air.

• Vascular self-healing system allows composite materials to repair multiple times"
• The Cesium 133 atomic wristwatch heads to Kickstarter"
• Researcher develops novel wastewater treatment fabric"
• Tiny particles could present a big problem for counterfeiters"

New Zealand study shows soil pH and iron levels predict cadmium bioavailability

• Drought hormones measured"
• Rising demand for herbal medicine can increase cultivation of medicinal trees"
• Disease threatens world's bananas, says UN"
• Seeding success in India turns coconut dust into gold"

Solar panels covered the office roof, wind turbines hummed on the hill, and biogas was brewing in the field behind us. Last week Petra Rösch spoke proudly about how her farm in Proschim village, eastern Germany, had become an energy supplier for the area. It was the perfect image of Germany's claims to be the world leader in renewable energy, and a model for how the industrialised world can tackle climate change.

• UV-radiation data to help ecological research"
• Gut simulator could bring down the costs of drug development"
• China says massive area of its soil polluted"
• Future droughts worse than expected"

The rooftops of automotive manufacturing plants have proven fertile ground for solar arrays with Audi, Ferrari and Renault installing extensive fields of solar panels at their respective facilities. Now Jaguar Land Rover has got on board with the largest rooftop solar panel array in the UK sprouting from its new Engine Manufacturing Centre in South Staffordshire.

• DualWingGenerator mimics flapping wings to harvest energy"
• Floating nuclear plants could prove tsunami-proof"
• Researchers find tin selenide shows promise for efficiently converting waste heat into electrical energy"
• Scientists come up with method of reducing solar panel glare"