[New Solar Product Captures Up to 95 Percent of Light Energy](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110516181339.htm)

> Efficiency is a problem with today's solar panels; they only collect about 20 percent of available light. Now, a University of Missouri engineer has developed a flexible solar sheet that captures more than 90 percent of available light, and he plans to make prototypes available to consumers within the next five years.

[Atmosphere Above Japan Heated Rapidly Before M9 Earthquake](http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/26773/)

> Infrared emissions above the epicenter increased dramatically in the days before the devastating earthquake in Japan, say scientists.

[Japanese researchers develop EV motor not reliant on rare earth metals](http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-japanese-ev-motor-reliant-rare.html)

> Japanese researchers working out of Tokyo University of Science, have built what they describe as a motor for electric cars that does not require so-called rare earth metals; a move that could drive down the costs for such vehicles.

[Scientists report first solar cell producing more electrons in photocurrent than solar photons entering cell](http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-scientists-solar-cell-electrons-photocurrent.html)

> Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have reported the first solar cell that produces a photocurrent that has an external quantum efficiency greater than 100 percent when photoexcited with photons from the high energy region of the solar spectrum.

[Ionized Plasmas as Cheap Sterilizers for Developing World](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111115180309.htm)

> University of California, Berkeley, scientists have shown that ionized plasmas like those in neon lights and plasma TVs not only can sterilize water, but make it antimicrobial -- able to kill bacteria -- for as long as a week after treatment.

[Plastic-eating fungus could help deal with landfill](http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/61260-plastic-eating-fungus-could-help-deal-with-landfill)

> A team from Yale University has discovered a fungus deep in the South American rainforest that can live entirely on plastic - offering hope for new methods of waste disposal.

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