It’s rude to answer your phone when you’re in the middle of a conversation, so why not let a robotic animal take the call? MIT has filed a patent (www.tinyurl.com/32gavx) on a small, fluffy robot that can be connected to a phone. Using caller ID, the “squirrel, bunny or parrot” robot indicates who is calling by raising its eyebrows, ears or wings in ways you have programmed in, so you can decide whether or not to pick up.
Cheap CD drives can be used to detect drugs and pathogens in samples dropped onto blank CDs. Certain compounds produce unique coloured…
