Monkey Brains and Virtual Photons

In a new demonstration of the plasticity of the human brain, researchers have now shown that monkeys can quickly learn to redirect their brain activity to drive paralyzed muscles through a brain-computer interface. Cool stuff. Apparently you can do quite a bit with a single brain cell.
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/oct08/6908
I also just learned the theory behind the stiction effect in microdevices. Apparently virtual photons are constantly being formed everywhere, but they can only form in spaces larger than their wavelength. So when two surfaces are very close together, fewer photons are able to form, and this results in a "negative pressure" of photons in the gap, and the surfaces get sucked together. This sounds like a good premise for a nerdy party game.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/oct08/6799

Solar Smarts

I just read about a new solar power plant in Spain. They can run steam turbines through the night using stored energy in huge tanks of molten salts. This allows them to over-collect during the day (more energy than they can sell at a time) and then basically make tens of millions of dollars more each year by extending their operating hours. Nice.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/oct08/6851
One thing that jumped out at me was the difference in policy between Europe and the US. There seem to be much more consistent incentives in Europe to develop facilities that will truly meet people's needs. Rather than minimizing up-front investment, they are willing to build big if that is what will actually work the best. In the US, solar facilities with storage aren't as common. Mistake?