According to scientists, advances in nano-technology could lead to the use of our body’s movements to generate enough electricity to charge our iPod, iPhone or other devices without the use of disposable batteries or electrical outlets.

Imagine not ever having to worry that our cell phone is running out of battery! No more “I’ll-call-you-later-cuz-my-phone-is-about-to-die” complaints.

So how can this be? Dr. Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology developed a chip using nano-technology that can use tiny movements such as the pinch of a finger or the beat of a heart to generate power.

Zinc oxide nano-wires, each with thickness less than 1/500 of a human hair, generate electricity when strained or flexed. When amassed into “nano-generators” that are then stacked together, these nano-wires can be powered by the smallest of movements.

Our Apple iPod Nanos or HTC Evos could be charged when we walk if, say, these nano-wires were stitched into the fabric of the latest pair of denim jeans we’re strutting. How cool is that?

What devices do you use that could benefit the most from this technology?

BlackBerries, iPhones, iPads  and other devices are to blame for making women feel more guilty and distressed, a new study of mostly married men and women with children suggests [via CNN.com].

According to University of Toronto Sociology PhD candidate and lead author Paul Glavin, women surveyed felt 40% more distressed than men when family life is frequently interrupted by these electronic devices and other forms of communication. This is so despite having the same amount of work pressure.

The study of over 1000 respondents also showed that when co-workers contacted women at home, they felt guilty twice as often as men when contacted at home. Researchers were surprised by the differences between the emotional response between men and women even when all factors including ability to manage work and home life were held equal.

“We examined the extent that work actually interfered, and our results were focused on controlling for all those factors,” says Glavin. “At the end of the day, the only thing left was guilt, and that’s where the distress came in. We can only speculate about why.”

So why this difference in guilt? There is no definite answer, but Glavin says one theory is that society still holds, perhaps sub-consciously, the belief that women’s priority should still be the home with their children.  In other words, mothers at home who get that work-related call may feel more guilty about handling it because it takes time away from their duties at home.

What do you think?