A network of snail brain cells has been cultivated on a silicon chip, an advance that its creators claim is a big step towards microchip implants that can control artificial limbs, restore sight and revive memory function.

A prototype fuel cell has been developed that uses microbes to generate electricity while cleaning wastewater.

An experimental generator that turns sunflower oil into hydrogen has been developed that can safely and efficiently produce fuel for everything from automobiles to homes.

Fossil fuel may not require fossils, as the pressure of deep Earth has been found capable of creating hydrocarbons from inorganic matter. The findings, by an American team of researchers, suggest that hydrocarbons, the main constituents of fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, could be extracted from a virtually endless source.