The Orange "Dance Charge" – power your mobile through motion

The Orange Dance Charge is a motion-powered kinetic charger full of magnets and weights, designed to keep your phone juiced-up simply from the movement of your arms. How many words do you think we’ll get into this update before resorting to crude references to masturbation?

We’re not particularly excited about what’s clearly a novelty item designed to generate a bit of publicity during the UK’s festival season and help Orange make a token effort to look like it’s a “green” company, but you sort of have to use awesome promotional photographs like this:

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It weighs a teeny 180grams…

MONKEY uses its BRAIN to control a ROBOTIC ARM

More news from the world of mad scientists PLAYING GOD – this time they’ve managed to thoroughly confuse a poor monkey by hooking its brain up to robotic arm.

The serious research angle behind the monkey/robot/brain fun is something to do with it eventually being used to help humans control prosthetic limbs. So far, the boffins at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have managed to teach a monkey to pick up a marshmallow and put it in its mouth. Here is the dramatic moment in pictures:

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This development in marshmallow consumption alone…

European manned spaceship shown off in Berlin – Patrick Moore still in with a chance before he dies

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It’s only a prototype, but the new EADS Astrium design here is based on the existing unmanned Jules Verne pod already flying about up there, so it could easily take scientists and paying billionaires up into the ionosphere with a bit of tweaking.

Very handy if you’ve recently applied to be an astronaut or are just generally excited about space things…

Cops wasting time playing video games in the name of "training"

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Police could be taught the differences between good (don’t shoot!) and evil (shoot!) thanks to a new video game created by boffins at Abertay University. The game have been given the superbly functional and utilitarian name of Shoot/No Shoot.

It uses your standard video game light gun. Cops “playing” the experience approach a man who’s fiddling about in his car boot. He then turns to face the camera and… what do you do? Shoot first? Incapacitate him with a bullet to the knee? Go for a safe takedown shot into his chest cavity? Headshot, like in Halo…

Cosplaying as Ripley out of Aliens? The Sarcos exoskeleton may come in handy

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Right then, Mr Alien. Just you try and get your stinking, slimy, acid-filled fingers on poor little Newt NOW!

The robotic exoskeleton dream has just STOMPED one foot further toward reality, with the arrival of this – the Sarcos Inc. full-body robotic suit.

Sensing then almost instantaneously amplifying the movements of the wearer, Sarcos reckons this unit can strengthen the average US soldier by up to 20 times. The prototype unit exists, works, and the US Army is apparently planning on starting field tests as early as next year, when the robosuit…

European Space Agency looking for astronauts! Sign up today! The dream lives on!

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If you fancy being, say, THE FIRST MAN ON MARS, you really ought to head down to the Science Museum today, where the European Space Agency is launching its recruiting programme for the next generation of astronauts.

Anyone can apply, although, ideally, you’ll have a degree in science or medicine, be between 27 and 37 and in some sort of decent physical condition. An ability to speak Russian is also an advantage. And we’d imagine smokers are frowned upon…

First Korean astronaut proud to be endorsed by the Samsung NV series

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Lucky old Yi So-yeon has just popped up into space today making her the first South Korean to hit escape velocity, courtesy of the latest Russian Soyuz mission to the International Space Station.

She’s been sponsored by the proud company of her homeland, with Samsung kitting her out with a couple of cameras for the journey. So she gets space AND free camera. If she comes round here the lucky cow will be greeted by a stony, jealous silence…

"Energy Saving Day was worth the effort" says the man who came up with the idea of Energy Saving Day

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Matt Prescott, who’s Energy Saving Day actually saw a rise in energy consumption at the end of it, said it was still worth his effort as it helped raise awareness of the causes and led to energy companies simplifying their home insulation schemes. Awesome.

Even though E-Day clearly raised zero awareness with consumers, as everyone happily boiled more water than strictly necessary and left the oven on to keep the kitchen warm…