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  • 30/05/2006

3d mouse: Scientists in the US have developed a fast, high-resolution, 3D mouse embryo visualisation technique that may revolutionise the way birth defects and cancer genes are studied in animal models. The new tool, called Virtual Histology, has already boosted the researchers' ability to study the mouse embryo and more rapidly focus on abnormalities of development, including childhood cancers.

clever car: European scientists have made the prototype of a vehicle just a metre wide, specially designed for cities. The vehicle combines the safety of a micro-car and the manoeuvrability of a motorbike, while being more fuel-efficient and less polluting than other vehicles.

Called the Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport, or CLEVER, the three-wheeled vehicle was the result of the joint effort of nine European partners, including the University of Bath. It has seats for the driver and a passenger, a top speed of about 100 kph and an acceleration of 0-60 kph in seven seconds. Its fuel consumption is 2.6 litres per 100 km.

artificial eye: A team of bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, has created a series of artificial compound eyes modelled on the eyes of insects such as dragonflies and houseflies.

These eyes can eventually be used as cameras or sensory detectors to capture visual or chemical information from a wider field of vision than previously possible, even with the best fish-eye lens, said Luke P Lee, the team's principal investigator. Potential applications include high-speed motion detection; environmental sensing; endoscopies and treatments that can be controlled by implanted light delivery devices.

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