Grow your own solar cells?

photo: Vasant Dave (www.sxc.hu)
Amazingly clever researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a way to cajole tobacco plants into growing photovoltaic cells which can then be harvested and sprayed onto specially-receptive surfaces. Basically, grow-your-own solar cells!

The thrilling research uses a virus to reprogram the tobacco's cells into creating the tiny structures. Cheaper, biodegradable, and a much better use for the evil weed. Bravo!
read more here

The sustainable design widget's rise to fame

As of 31 December, 2009, four thousand, one hundred and thirty five sustainable graphic design widgets have been downloaded from the Apple website and various other portals' download sections. For example, Icograda provides a link to it to their resources page, AGDA (whose scholarship sponsored it) provide it on their site, and many other design blogs and Australian design universities (such as RMIT) list it in their curriculum as a valuable tool.

It has been exhibited in "Busan Brisbane Design Exchange 2008" in Australia and South Korea, featured in "Queensland Designer issue 5/2008" (pictured), and recently exhibited in "Sustain Me", a contemporary design exhibition at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery in Sydney.

It gives me such a thrill to think that the knowledge summarised within is accessible to that many designers and allied industries all over the world. Download it here if you want to see what all the fuss is about.