Nintendo 3DS is hacked less than 24 hours after Japanese launch

Thousands of Japanese gamers queued for hours to be among the first to own Nintendo's breakthrough 3D hand-held console.

But just hours after the console went on saleon Saturday hackers had already found a way to stretch the capabilities of the machine.

A YouTube video posted by the R4i group showed hackers who have managed to get the 3DS to run older, pirated DS games using a third-party flash memory cartridge.

Satisfied: Toyohisa Ishihara was the first person to purchase Nintendo's revolutionary new hand-held console

Revolution: Japanese gamers queued for hours to be the first to get their hands on the new Nintendo 3DS, which was hacked within a day of its release

Shops could run out of PlayStation 3s after thousands are seized by customs over patent row

Customs officials have been ordered to seize all British PlayStation 3 shipments following a row over the use of Blu-Ray technology within the consoles.

Electronic giants Sony and LG are locked in battle over patents forcing officials to confiscate thousands of machines in Holland.

The ban on imports is currently set to last ten days, but could be extended if Sony does not overturn a court injunction won by LG at a civil court in The Hague.

The Japanese company is currently appealing the decision to the European Patent Office - but LG can also apply to extend the ban.

Seized: Custom officials are stopping PlayStation 3 consoles from entering the country after LG won an injunction regarding patents

Row: LG has accused Sony of using its Blu-ray playback technology in its PlayStation 3 console

HP unveils the TouchPad as battle to become a worthy iPad rival heats up

The clever cubes tiny enough to hold in your hand that could create a cell phone network that actually WORKS

Ugly mobile phone masts which blight the landscape could soon disappear forever, replaced by tiny cubes which you can hold in your hand.

The pioneering technology could also create a seamless wireless network and eliminate internet 'black spots'.

Designers at Bell Labs, New Jersey have developed a tiny antenna which transmits signals without the need for huge unsightly towers.

A thing of the past? Unsightly mobile phone masts could be replaced by tiny cubes to create smaller networks

Hand-held revolution: Wim Sweldens, president of Alcatel-Lucent's wireless division, demonstrates the lightRadio cube, a tiny mobile phone antenna which could replace unsightly masts

The prosthetic arm that amputees control with their MIND

Most modern prosthetic limbs can be considered high tech.

But Jesse Sullivan has a particularly clever prosthetic arm - it doesn't work using a motor, but is controlled by his mind.

Scientists have found a way to make the thought controlled limb by connecting the nerves from Mr Sullivan's stump to muscles in his chest.

It also gives him a wider range of movements than previously possible.

Breakthough: Wires are connected from the bionic arm to muscles in the chest

Advanced: The new technology has enabled patients to have wider movement then previously possible

Research: Scientists based their work on the principle that nerves remain healthy for some time after amputation

Soft car bonnet that folds inwards on impact could save thousands of lives

* Pioneering design reduces head trauma 'by 60 per cent'

A 'soft' car bonnet which folds inwards on impact could save thousands of lives every year on Britain's roads, it was claimed today.

Scientists are developing an 'aluminium mechanical energy absorber' within a sheet of metal which collapses inwards.

The new technology is expected to substantially reduce the number of cyclists and pedestrians killed or seriously injured in road collisions.

Launch of spy satellite blazes spectacular rocket trail over Californian coast

The long, thin, beam of light rising up over the Californian coast looks like something from another world.

The spectacular light show, bearing a resemblance to the lightsabers wielded by Jedi knights in Star Wars, took place after the launch of a rocket on a secret mission.

The Minotaur 1 rocket is carrying a spy satellite which will improve the ability of the U.S. to collect data in space.

Trailblazing: The Minotaur 1 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 4.26am

The Minotaur 1 rocket is carrying a spy satellite which will improve the ability of the U.S. to collect data in space. But officials would give no precise details or the cost of the mission.The spectacular light show bore a resemblance to the lightsabers wielded by Jedi knights in Star Wars. Here, Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Alec Guinness, prepares for combat with his lightsaber

Scientists develop glow-in-the-dark liquid that helps doctors see your nerves during surgery

Scientists are developing a fluorescent liquid to inject into patients and make their hard-to-see nerves ‘glow’.

The peptide would enable surgeons to see even the most sensitive nerves instead of relying on their experience and electronic monitoring.

Avoiding these during surgery is important as accidental damage can lead to severe pain or paralysis.

Breakthrough: Scientists are developing a fluorescent liquid to inject into patients and make their hard-to-see nerves 'glow' (file picture)

BloodHound the 1000mph rocket car.

Sony Ericsson makes Xperia Play official in Super Bowl commercial

Eerie female robot learns to 'sing' by copying human singer

Lady Gaga will not be losing any sleep.

But this eerie humanoid robot has been taught to sing just like a real pop star.

The life-sized robot, known as HRP-4 , has a realistic face and movable features that are able to mimic the expressions of a human singer.

But she is now able to 'sing' using a synthesized voice technology that sounds and breathes like a human too.



Robot HRP-4 is able to sing using synthesised sounds and move just like a human singer

After 14 years of digging, breakthrough nears for the world's longest tunnel stretching 35.4 miles under the Alps

The drilling of the longest railway tunnel in the world will be completed today, 14 years after it began.

The last few yards of rock will shortly be removed, opening the 35.4-mile Gotthard Base link through the Swiss Alps which will allow trains to transport goods and passengers to and from Italy - and shave an hour off journey times.

The £624m tunnel through the Gotthard massif, including the 8,200ft Piz Vatgira, is part of a larger project to remove heavy goods vehicles from roads in a bid to preserve Switzerland's pristine Alpine landscape.

Nearing completion: The Gotthard Base Tunnel will be opened at both ends when crews break through the last section on Friday, making it the world's longest tunnel at more than 35 miles long

A graphic from the original plans which shows how the different sections of the mountain were tunnelled through

Virgin New Spacecraft SpaceShipTwo succesful test fight over desert

Virgin Galactic's space tourism rocket SpaceShipTwo achieved its first solo glide flight yesterday, marking another step in the company's eventual plans to fly paying passengers.

SpaceShipTwo was carried aloft by its mothership to an altitude of 45,000ft and released over the Mojave Desert.

After the separation, SpaceShipTwo, manned by two pilots, flew freely for 11 minutes before landing at an airport runway followed by the mothership.


* Six-passenger aircraft glides smoothly to Earth after disconnection from mothership at 45,000ft
* Virgin Galactic boss delighted with 25-minute 'flight'

Success: Manned by two pilots, the craft flew freely for 11 minutes before landing at an airport runway followed by the mothership.

First solo glide flight: Virgin Galactic's space tourism rocket SpaceShipTwo was released over the Mojave Desert in California yesterday

Moment of truth: SpaceShipTwo detaches from the wing of its special jet-powered mothership, dubbed WhiteKnightTwo

Backyard inventors go head-to-head in Google's £20million competition to fly to the moon

It was once a pursuit reserved for astronauts and top-secret government officials.

But now backyard inventors are hoping to land their own weird and wonderful spacecrafts on the moon after Google launched a £20million competition.

Nasa had previously estimated that such voyages would cost more than £1billion - with some skeptics suggesting that it is almost impossible to even fly to the moon.

But since the Isle of Man government has lifted tax restrictions of space exploration a flurry of do-it-yourself voyages throughout the cosmos are expected.

Internet search giant Google became one of the first to take advantage of the tax break when it announced the Lunar X prize in September 2007.

Twenty two teams who have worked tirelessly on their strange machines will meet in the Isle of Man tomorrow to thrash out the final details of the missions.

Representing Britain in the competition is the crew behind Astrobotic, a four-wheeled silver machine that resembles a moving road sign.

Julian Ranger, the UK financier who is raising cash for Astrobotic, said: 'We believe we can get the cost [of reaching the moon] down to $50m, a price tag that will transform lunar exploration and make the moon a target for for all sorts of commercial operations.

'Part of our business plan will be to get our rover to move round the site and take a 3D high-definition film of it.

'If nothing else, it should prove to the doubters that the Apollo missions really took place.

'We hope to use SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to get to the moon.The cost would normally be around $100m, but we hope we can negotiate a special deal for this high-profile project.'

Other hopefuls in the competition include Team Italia whose craft is a green dome supported by six spider-like legs.

America's entry, Jurban, looks like a large worm designed to negotiate the moon's rough terrain of craters with several small capsules joined together in the same way as a train.

Flying spider: Italy's entry into Google's $20million Lunar X competition is a green ball supported by six spider-like legs

Out of this world: The British Astrobotic is one of 22 teams hoping to win Google's $20million prize for the first ship to land on the moon and drive 500 metres

Russian firm announces plans for space hotel

Tourists could soon be eating food designed by celebrity chefs while orbiting the earth in a space hotel if plans by a Russian firm go ahead.

Moscow-based Orbital Technologies yesterday said it hoped to fill the vacuum in the space tourism market by stationing an orbiting hotel in the cosmos.

The company has sky-high hopes that its planned Commercial Space Station can serve as a tourism hub for well-heeled travellers and offer overspill accommodation for the International Space Station and workspace for science projects.

But it's unlikely to come anytime soon - the company wants to launch a seven-room station by 2016 but may increase or decrease that capacity based on customer demand.

Moscow-based Orbital Technologies says it hopes to check the first guests into its space hotel by 2016

Out of this world views: Guests would sleep on pull-out beds and enjoy a window on the world

Kanzi the amazing ape who can 'speak' with humans and understands 450 words makes Oprah appearance

He has had countless articles written about him and has even been the subject of a book.

But now Kanzi the ‘talking’ ape has reached the pinnacle of his packed showbiz career – he has been the subject of a feature on Oprah Winfrey’s talkshow.

A 29-year-old bonobo, Kanzi is able to understand and communicate with humans and is believed to understand around 450 words – 30 to 40 of which he uses on a daily basis.

Kanzi has been a celebrity ape since the late 1980s when his astonishing ability to communicate was first discovered.

He lives at the Great Ape Trust in Iowa where expert Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh has been teaching him to ‘speak’ by pointing at symbols on a computer.

He speaks by pressing a symbol on the computer which then repeats the word out loud. Dr Savage-Rumbaugh says that he is even able to put together two-word sentences and shows remarkable invention when creating new phrases.

Oprah Winfrey correspondent Lisa Ling travelled to meet Kanzi at the Trust. On the show she told Oprah that the symbol for ‘flood’ was not on Kanzi's keyboard .

Kanzi can 'talk' with humans by pointing at symbols on a computer

Lisa Ling traveled to the Great Ape Trust in Iowa to meet the famous bonobo

Spectacular purple potatoes taste the same as white variety

It might seem a challenge to make chips even more popular than they are, but Sainsbury’s is having a go.

From today, it is selling purple potatoes which carry their deep hue to the core.

The colour survives the cooking process to provide purple chips, baked potatoes and even roasties and mash - which all taste the same as the familiar creamy white type.

As a bonus, the spectacular potatoes are packed with healthy anthocyanin, which gives blueberries, blackberries and aubergines their distinctive tints.

Anthocyanin is a powerful antioxidant which protects cells from damage and so may prevent cancer. Consumption of it is also thought to have many other beneficial effects.

In nature there are thousands of varieties of potatoes, many having deep red and purple flesh. The new Purple Majesty has been crossed from these original strains by a team of experts at Colorado University.

Colourful: Chips made with Purple Majesty potatoes are being sold at Sainsbury's from today

Inky: The potatoes even retain their colour when mashed

Using Weather Ballon Father and son capture amazing video footage... using an iPhone and HD camera

It looks like satellite footage taken by a state-of-the-art NASA camera with a telescopic lens.

But this remarkable video was in fact filmed by an innovative father-and-son team equipped with just an iPhone and a high-definition video camera.

Luke Geissbuhler, 40, and his seven-year-old son Max, designed a 'craft' made from a takeaway box attached to a weather balloon and sent it, and the two electronic devices, into space.
Following months of research and testing, the amateur science enthusiasts launched their innovative weather balloon in Newburgh, New York, in August.

During a 102-minute flight it managed to reach an altitude of 19 miles above the ground in the upper stratosphere before the balloon burst and parachuted the craft back down to earth.

Mr Geissbuhler tracked the module, which was caught in a tree, by using the GPS system set up on the iPhone and spotted its flashing LED light.

The cinematographer and director said he got the idea for the project because he is always looking for fun ideas to share with his son.

Amateur footage: During a 102-minute flight, a weather balloon craft assembled by a father-and-son team managed to reach an altitude of 100,000ft

Humble beginnings: The main body of the craft was made from a takeaway food box

Back to basics: Amazingly, Luke Geissbuhler, 40, and his seven-year-old son Max equipped the craft with just an iPhone and a high-definition video camera

Volvo developing electric car that uses its whole body as a rechargeable battery

It is one of the biggest problems facing the manufacturers of hybrid and electric cars: heavy batteries add weight and bulk to the vehicle's design.

But now Volvo is developing a car which deals with the problem using its whole body to act as a rechargeable battery.

The futuristic car would be able to store braking energy while it was being driven and also store energy when it was plugged in overnight to recharge.

Volvo has released this graphic to demonstrate how the new electric car would work

People Through X Rays pregnant having sex etc

X rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation discovered by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen and what Wilhelm didn’t know is that this great invent can be used in art. Because these days everything can be art… Take a look at these interesting, powerful draws!