Inventor Spot

Giant Magnetoresistance

The two winners of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics -- Albert Fert, of the Université Paris-Sud in Orsay, France, and Peter Grünberg, of the Institute of Solid State Research at the Jülich Research Center in Germany - made their contributions to the computer age as far back as 1988. Now that the smallest commercially available hard drive is an IPod, the inventors that led to its development, and many yet to come, have received the grand prix of awards.

© The Nobel Committee for Physiology Illustration: Annika Röhl

The 2007 Nobel Prize winners in medicine -- Mario R. Capecchi, 70, of the University of Utah; Oliver Smithies, 82, of the University of North Carolina; and Sir Martin J. Evans, 66, of Cardiff University in Wales - worked independently, but their genetics research overlapped greatly. Many other geneticists contributed to the state of the art, but the discoveries of Capecchi, Smithies, and Evans are considered watershed.

In layman's terms, what exactly did these Nobel Prize winners do?

Another great bike has recently made its appearance this year. In Shanghai at the 9th China International Exhibition on Gas Technology, Equipment and Applications the hydrogen prototype bike was introduced.

What if you didn't have to worry about cleaning your dishes? Or finding storage space to put them away? What if you could make your dishes on demand when you needed them (like a party) and then recycled them at home when you were done? An innovative prototype called the DishMaker may make this a possibility in the future.

It's been proven. Schools can be green and fabulous.

A new state-of-the-art school, T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, has won the Green Innovations Award in the Best Institutional Project category at the Virginia Sustainable Building Network's annual meeting.

Earlier this week, on August 23, Sony announced the development of a bio battery prototype that generates electricity from sugar. A bio battery is an electricity generation device that uses energy sources such as carbohydrates (ex: sugar), protein, amino acids and fat by digesting enzymes. The bio battery works by pouring sugar solution into the unit, where enzymes break it down to generate electricity.

Just wanted to remind our readers that Episode 8 (the Season Finale) of the reality television show American Inventor will be showing tomorrow night ( Wednesday, August 1, 2007) at 9 pm est and 8 pm central time on ABC.

Invented anything “green” lately? Good! How about showing the rest of us what your eco-creation can do on Trippin’ The Green Fantastic. Trippin the Green Fantastic is a new environmental TV series coming to the Science Channel in the late fall. The show is a team effort between the Science Channel and Peace Point Entertainment Group. The goal: to find inventors who have made life a little greener with their eco-inventions.

Good evening, all. I'm back after a hiatus last week due to some family issues, but, rest assured, I'm ready to blog tonight. So tonight we have our six finalists and, finally, it's up to America to vote! We've heard what the judged have to say and now we get to give our two cents on who we think deserves the $1,000,000. I don't know about the rest of you, but this is what I've been waiting for all season! Get your dialing fingers ready! Tonight is the night.

Just wanted to remind our readers that Episode 7 of the reality television show American Inventor will be showing tomorrow night ( Wednesday, July 25, 2007) at 9 pm est and 8 pm central time. Seth will be back to cover the all important voting night.

When I first read about the solar energy boat race, Solar Splash, I was immediately intrigued. Though I don't like open waters; therefore, will not get on a boat, the combination of solar energy and cleaner transportation in competition has had me tempted to face my fears and give these solar powered boats a try. I think it's an innovative idea with wonderful educational opportunities and a great start to the building and using of non-polluting, fuel-free vehicles (land, water and air) of the future.

Unfortunately, Seth will not be able to do his live blog posting this week. We will try to have a recap summary of the show for later this evening but will not be able to provide a live blog. We apologize for any inconvenience.

In the meantime, please share your comments on the show.

A California Fitness Center in Hong Kong, a subsidiary of 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide, is using manpower to generate electricity in its gym. In other words, energy burned off by exercisers is diverted and converted to power lighting fixtures, while excess energy is stored in a battery. The program is called Powered By You.

Welcome back to the blog after a rerun week of ABC's American Inventor. Tonight we are back live and, after rousing rounds in Los Angelese, San Francisco, New York and Chicago, we continue tonight's search for the next greatest invention in Houston, Texas and Tampa, Florida.

Just wanted to remind our readers that Episode 5 of the reality television show American Inventor will be showing tomorrow night ( Wednesday, July 11, 2007) at 9 pm est and 8 pm central time.