THE BEST INVENTIONS OF 2009

Time.com revealed the Top 10 Best Inventions for the year 2009. Not your ordinary Top 10 because each one of them represents the breakthrough and gadgets that will help human int he future. Talking about green car, AIDS vaccine and electric eye - this is the future of mankind.

So just like last year's edition for Top Innovation of 2008, here I present the top for this year (not in top order or so but a relatively in the Top 10).

NISSAN LEAF

Like the green-leavy name suggests; Nissan Leaf, launched back in August this year is the first fully electric vehicle built for mass production for the global market. Nissan will make 50,000 units each year at its Oppama plant in Japan starting fall of 2010 while also assemblying 30 partnerships worldwide to develop an infrastructure of battery-recharging stations to keep the cars running on the road. Nissan Leaf can go up to 90 mph and over 100 miles on a full charge.

TELESCOPE FOR THE INVISIBLE STARS

Many objects in the huge space are so dim that it is so hard to be seen through our conventional telescope. However, Herschel Space Observatory has these invisible celestial bodies exposed. Launched in May by the European Space Agency, the telescope will scan the skies in the infrared spectrum but was placed at 930,000 miles from us, a point where gravity hangs on balance between the Earth and sun. Herschel is equipped with a mirror 11.5 ft. (3.5 m) in diameter, the largest ever built for use in space. The spacecraft itself is nearly 25 ft. (7.5 m) tall.

TELEPORTATION

So teleportation is now a possible reality in a future. But before that dreams go wild, let me assure you that the scientists at the University of Maryland's Joint Quantum Institute has successfully teleported data from one atom to another in a container a meter away. Well, human teleportation is still not there yet but this experiment can be a landmark for creating a super secure, ultra-fast computers in the future.

$10 MILLION LIGHTBULB

First you wonder why we need an expensive lightbulbs for. Back in September, Philips Electronics became the first to enter the US Department of Energy's L Prize competition to seeks an LED alternative to the current commonly used 60-watt bulb (accounting for 50% of the domestic incandescent market). So, if Philips wins the L Prize, it will claim a cash award and federal purchase agreements worth about $10 million. Philips' LED bulb emits the same amount of light as the 60-watt bulb but consume less than 10 watts and lasts for 25,000 hours.

$20 KNEE

Jaipur Foot is the optimum choices for a leg prosthesis for amputees in the devloping countries would wear because there are cheap. But patient who lose a knee joint would have to pay a titanium replacement of up to $10,000. Now, a team of Stanford engineering students has designed a cheap $20 knee that can mimic the natural joint's movement as well. Developed with the Jaipur Foot group, the JaipurKnee is made of self-lubricating, oil-filled nylon and is both flexible and stable, even on irregular terrain.

AIDS VACCINE

More than 2 decades after AIDS emerged due to the spread of HIV Virus, researches has devised the world's first immunization to protect people against HIV. 6 years after trial, the vaccine that contains of 2 shots, may have failed to protect against HIV but modestly effective to reduce the infection by 31%. Still pondering on how the vaccine decreases the infection risk, the vaccine may provide the first leaping stone for fight against HIV.

MICROBE THAT PRODUCE ELECTRIC

Bacteria are mostly bad while some in your packs of yoghurt are certainly good for you. Here is another one that can be listed under the good. Geobacter, a bacteria with tiny hairlike projections called pili has beenused to generate electricity from mud and wastewater. Professor Derek Lovley and his team at University of Massachusetts has developed a strain of Geobacter that produces electricity. Next, we need a Geobacter-based fuel cells for cleaner electricity.

ELECTRIC EYE

Now the blind can regain partial eyesight, thanks to those researchers at MIT. No complete restoration of eyesight but it helps a blind to recognize faces and navigate a room without assistance. The electric-powered eye with chip encased in titanium to prevent water damage is implanted onto a patient's eyeball. Then, the patient need to wear a pair of eyeglasses with a tiny camera that send images to the chip and then to the brain for processing. Robocop vision incoming!!

SOLAR SHINGLE

The Dow Chemical Co. has developed a new roof shingles that can generate electricity like any other solar panel. Incoorporated into the conventional asphalt shingles, it has a thin film cells of copper indium gallium diselenide that costs only 10% to 15% less than traditional solar panels. It is cheap and easier to install, now go get the Powerhouse Solar Shingle for greener power use.

VERTICAL FARMING

Growing population and food supply will be relatively inbalance if the current trend of farming is not modified. Now we can look forward for vertical farming, a concept developed by El Paso-based Valcent, the first company to pioneer a hydroponic-farming system that grows plants in rotating rows, one on top of another. The concept allows plants to receive ample amount of lights and nutrients while cutting the amount of water usage. Now we can expand food supplies without using more land.