Pee-powered Battery Smaller Than a Credit Card. Physicists in Singapore have developed a battery that harnesses the chemical power of urine. Small enough to fit in a wallet, the battery has the potential to power medical test kits for diseases such as diabetes, and maybe even charge a cell phone in an emergency. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7850

Vanishing Point. An online project illustrates the cartography of our world as seen through the G7 countries' primary news sources. The interactive map provides viewers with a visual representation of each country's media visibility, or invisibility, over the past 50 days along with country-specific information and a graph that tallies each country's frequency in the news. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003306.html

Mammal: Star-Nosed Mole. The star-nosed mole is a fabulous burrower with a 22-pronged schnoz six times more sensitive to touch than the human hand. Scientists compare the mole's use of its fleshy, pointy extremity to the "visual tracking of an animal eyeball." This would explain why the largely blind animal has a brain cortex seemingly conducive to vision. These tactile and visual capabilities defy not only the concept of mole, but the concept of nose as well, making the species an apt subject for this literary critique. http://www.believermag.com/nonbookreviews/mammal_starnosed.php

IN OTHER NEWS:

Hunter S. Thompson to blast off on Saturday. The late king of gonzo journalism gets a final send-off when his ashes are dispersed in a fireworks display above his estate in Woody Creek, Colo. http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4011107,00.html
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