The DNA fog tagging system can mark an intruder without their knowledge, making it easier for police to identify them later. DNA marking has already been in use by law enforcement agencies, with the most common use being to mark persons of interest at riots. The new system will be a bit more general, and will be meant to help stop and identify an intruder. Called DNA Fog, the device will fill a room with smoke and DNA-loaded droplets when triggered by a break-in. More than just...

Why not develop a way to harvest the energy generated during photosynthesis to create a greener form of energy and a new generation of solar panels? During photosynthesis, light is turned into chemical energy by the splitting of water atoms into hydrogen and oxygen. The electrons are then used to create sugars to feed the plant. The idea is to find a way to collect those electrons before they are turned to sugars. The technique will involve interrupting the paths along which...

The idea is to develop a new microfluidic device able to quickly perform a blood screening for up to fifty biomarkers at once. The chip will be larger and will have more channels than conventional microfluidic devices. Still small enough to be carried in a pocket, the V-chip (volumetric bar-chart chip) will consist of a pair of thin sheets of glass sandwiching wells for: hydrogen peroxide; up to 50 different antibodies to specific proteins, DNA or RNA fragments, or lipids of...

The Wave Glider robot smartphone app will let armchair divers check on the location of the nearest Great White Shark from the safety of their living room. The wave- and solar-powered Wave Glider is an autonomous robot with exceptional endurance, able to find and follow tagged sharks, as well as other sea life. It is developed to track tagged fish and animals through a Wi-Fi network. The current methods used to track marine life--tagging and catching or satellite relays--both lack...

The idea is to create artificial red blood cells capable of transporting oxygen. The blood cells will be made using human stem cells. They will be natural and manufactured safely in large numbers. The artificial blood could eliminate the need to transport and store blood supplies, and could lower the chances of the transmission of blood borne diseases.

The idea is to launch floating islands in lakes in an effort to improve water conditions and restore natural habitats. The islands will be made up of non-toxic recycled plastics injected with an inert polyurethane foam for buoyancy, and will act as floating treatment wetlands. The islands will mimic a concentrated wetland, eliminating algae blooms and problematic nutrients while encouraging bird and insect populations.

Why not use the single celled algae to experiment with extracting lipids from it and using the lipids to make biodiesel. Because algae grows very quickly and does not require much land, it can provide a more continuous source of material at a lesser cost than conventional plants.

Why not create bomb sniffing plants? They will be able to screen the air and provide a warning system for dangerous substances such as explosives. Plant proteins will react to airborne pollutants or trace chemicals from explosives with visible responses, such as blanching white.

It was found that transplanting a mother's stem cells into her fetus could be a treatment for genetic blood diseases before birth. Stem cell transplants could prepare the fetus for a bone-marrow transplant from a tissue matched donor after birth. Standard bone-marrow transplants usually require the recipient to take immunosuppressive drugs for the rest of their life, but a dose of maternal tissue matched donor cells could prime the developing fetus's immature immune system for...

The DNA of E.coli bacteria was found to be a great data storage. Data compressed into chunks can be placed in different cells and easily located later. This new method enables one gram of E. coli to store the same amount of data as 450 two-terabyte hard drives, and can even be used to store images, music, and videos.