Reuters Science News Summary

Pocket-sized fingerprint scanner could solve healthcare bottleneck

British postgraduate students have devised a pocket-sized fingerprint scanner designed to help patients in the developing world get improved access to healthcare. Toby Norman, Daniel Storisteanu, and Alexandra Grigore hooked up with Toby's brother Tristram to create Simprints, a scanner that gives health workers easy access to the medical records of patients in the developing world.

Real-life Star Trek 'replicator' prepares meal in 30 seconds

It's a revolution in food technology that could deliver your food fantasy to your plate in less than a minute. The Genie, similar in size and appearance to a coffee maker, can produce an unlimited variety of meals using pods, that contain natural dehydrated ingredients. So whether salty or sweet, an appetizer or a dessert, the device can create the food you crave in 30 seconds.

New self-cleaning paint offers stain and damage-free future

A self-cleaning paint that can withstand contact with substances such as oil, even after being scratched or scuffed with sandpaper, has been developed by British and Chinese researchers. The coating was devised by University College London (UCL) researcher Yao Lu and his supervisor, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry Claire Carmalt, and can be applied to clothes, paper, glass and steel. When combined with adhesives, its self-cleaning properties remain, in spite of attempts to scratch or scuff it.