China Electronics Wholesaler

Trends & Innovations - Tuesday

Investor's Business Daily Tue Oct 23, 7:00 PM ET

U.K. spy agency recruiting gamers ADVERTISEMENT

British intelligence agency is recruiting video gamers for real-life spy missions. GCHQ, the surveillance arm of British intelligence, is placing ads on virtual billboards that appear in scenes in games such as "Splinter Cell" and "Need for Speed Carbon" played on Microsoft Xbox consoles and PCs in Britain. Other U.K. spy agencies are trying new tactics as well. The foreign intelligence service MI6 has begun recruiting through a new Web site. Its domestic counterpart, MI5, is placing ads on buses and inside women's gyms in a bid to attract diverse job candidates.

Body armor woven into clothing

A new carbon fiber is showing promise to be included in the next generation of super body armor for police and military use. Researchers at the Univ. of Cambridge said fiber made from carbon nanotubes can be woven into body armor. Carbon nanotubes are hollow cylinders just one atom thick. The new fiber is said to be stronger than Kevlar, lightweight and good at absorbing energy in the form of fragments traveling at high velocity.

More women who have cancer in only one breast are getting surgery to remove both breasts, with the number of double mastectomies surging 150% in just six years, a Univ. of Minnesota study found. While the elective procedure reduces the chance the patient will suffer a recurrence of breast cancer, doesn't eliminate it. Young women were the most likely to choose the optional preemptive procedure.

Smelling scents may be a job for computers soon, according to Cal Tech researchers. The scientists created an electronic nose that can identify, classify and quantify an odor. They said applications could include a remote sensing device for oil and gas exploration, generators, electrical generators and any type of manufacturing setting where an odor or vapor may be the first signal of a malfunction. A new "electronic paper," or thin electronic screen designed to mimic ink on paper, was demonstrated by tire-maker Bridgestone. The paper, which is just 0.29 mm thick and measures 11.7 inches-by-16.5 inches, can be folded and crumpled like regular paper.