It’s a car that’s propelled by compressed air. Scheduled for U.S. release in early 2010, it’s estimated that the car will reach over 90 mph with a range of over 800 miles and get in excess of 100 mpg. It can be “refueled” in a matter of minutes at gas stations equipped with customized air compressor units at a cost of as little as $2. A video of how the engine works is included below.
The parent company, MDI, plans to introduce a 6-seat, 4-door family-size version of the compressed air …

Why it’s Breakthrough: It’s the light bulb that we hoped to get to: incredibly efficient, without mercury, totally dimmable and it gives off the most accurate color and tones that light’s supposed to give.

The Story: Vu1 is continuing development of its revolutionary Electron Stimulated Luminescence (ESL)™ technology in order to bring consumers a highly energy-efficient light bulb, without the environmental hazards of mercury, limited features, price concerns and poor light quality associated with other lighting sources such as Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) or Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). More than 30 …

Why it’s Breakthrough: It’s a way to take a two-dimensional crime scene photo and reconstruct it into three-dimensions, therefore making it a more effective tool for investigators.

The Story: Two researchers from the University of Salamanca in Spain have developed a procedure to enable forensic police to extract metric data from crime scenes using just a single photograph. Their proposal, published this month in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, makes it possible to reconstruct a crime scene in 3D.

“We have studied an unprecedented and original line of research in the field of …

Why it’s Innovative: It’s a course and an entire musical ensemble at The University of Michigan putting on a concert using just their smartphones.

The Story: These students, whose professor is both a computer scientist and a musician have decided to not turn their phones off in a concert hall. Because if they did, the free concert that they’ll be performing on December 9, wouldn’t happen.

Building a mobile phone ensemble, believed to be the first such course in the world, is taught by Georg Essl, a computer scientist and musician who has been …

Why it’s Breakthrough: This discovery could lead to a male “pill,” giving men the same control over their fertility women have had since the 60s. Plus, it could lead to breakthroughs for those with low sperm counts.

The Story: A new research report published in the December 2009 print issue of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB Journal) could one day give men similar type of control over their fertility that women have had for the last 50 years. That’s because scientists have found how and where androgenic hormones …

Why it’s Breakthrough: It’s a a high-pressure foam that can be sprayed into an injured body cavity, adhering to tissue and rapidly stopping bleeding as it expands.

The Story: Remedium’s hemostatic (blood-clotting) foam is a new product for the company, which is also developing a patent-pending, Velcro-like sponge and a spray, both of which stop hemorrhaging. Pre-clinical testing is underway for both products.

“Our new product is similar to a can of shaving cream — you spray it into a wound, it becomes an expandable foam, fills the space, and stops the …