Tomorrow in Brief

"Smart" Turbine Boosts Wind Power

Wind energy may become more-efficient, economical, and reliable thanks to "smart" turbines under development at Purdue University and Sandia National Laboratories. Sensors embedded in the blades monitor the forces exerted on their surface, signaling changes in wind conditions. The blades' built-in flaps—similar to the wings of an airplane—enable the turbines to be adjusted for optimal performance. The system will also send feedback to operators in order to prevent damage from sudden, potentially catastrophic winds, as well as track the blades' conditions—vital for predicting fatigue and enabling engineers to develop more-resilient turbines.

Source: Purdue University, www.purdue.edu .

Soap Sniffer Monitors Hygiene

The same type of sensors that tell the cops you're tipsy could also tattle on you if you fail to wash your hands in the restroom. Hand washing is vital for avoiding the spread of germs and is particularly critical in hospitals, restaurants, and other places with "hands-on" workers. A monitoring device developed at the University of Florida detects sanitizer or soap fumes given off from people's hands, offering real-time monitoring of hygiene compliance. The mere presence of the soap-sniffer could improve compliance by being a compelling reminder to workers to wash their hands.

Source: University of Florida, www.ufl.edu .

WordBuzz: Fewer Dirty Words in Movies

Profanity in teen movies is on a long-term decline, report researchers at Brigham Young University. In fact, teens attending popular G, PG, and PG-13 rated movies now will encounter less than half as many swear words as their parents did 25 years ago.

Films directed to the teen market in the 1980s averaged 35 instances of profanity, compared with 25 in the 1990s and 16 in the 2000s.

The researchers do not offer an explanation for the trend but suggest that the influence of media watchdogs and parent groups may have succeeded in pressuring filmmakers to keep it clean for the kids.

Source: Brigham Young University, www.byu.edu .

Contracts for Family Caregivers

Many older people anticipate that their adult children will eventually provide some sort of care for them, financially or otherwise. But when the time comes, the adult children are often unaware of this expectation and unprepared to fulfill it. Now, more families are turning to caregiver agreements—financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives, according to University of Illinois law professor Richard L. Kaplan. Though many people may bristle at the idea of formalizing family responsibilities, precedents may be seen in such phenomena as prenuptial agreements. As costs rapidly deplete life savings, it is becoming more critical to plan for each generation’s financial and health needs and to resolve potential problems in advance, says Kaplan.

Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, www.illinois.edu .

Eyeglasses as Data Dashboard

An interactive chip on the lens of your eyeglasses will not only display information for you, but also track your eye movements and interpret commands such as “scroll” or “next.” Because the image is actually projected on your retina, it appears to be several feet in front of you, so you won’t go cross-eyed trying to read what’s on the lens. Developed by researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems, the data eyeglasses could offer a lightweight alternative to bulky head-mounted displays and data goggles for hands-free interactivity.