Tech universe: Friday 17 February

Just like fingerprints and DNA, our heartbeat patterns are unique. Could that give us a new technique for keeping data private? A team at the National Chung Hsing University in Taichung, Taiwan, used an ECG to extract the unique mathematical features underlying a heartbeat pattern. Then they used the pattern to generate a secret encryption key. One goal is to build an encryption system into hard drives that could be operated by a simple touch. Fingerprints, irises, heartbeats, thought patterns — what's left? New Scientist has more. COAL POWERED CARS: Feeling good about your nice clean electric vehicle that doesn't pollute the air? Wait just one minute. Where did that electricity come from and how much pollution did generating it cause? The University of Tennessee studied electric vehicles in China and found they have a higher impact on pollution than petrol vehicles because of the coal-fired power plants used to generate the power in the first place. Oops. Details at Inhabitat. CLEAN CLEAR WATER: Camelbak's 2012 All Clear Microbiological UV Water Purifier is a refillable water bottle that purifies tap or river water with a 60 second blast of UV light to kill most the bacteria and other nasties like Giardia that could make you sick. A small LCD screen on the lid tells you what to do and handles the 60 second countdown. It treats around 60 litres per water with each battery charge. A USB cable can recharge the battery in around 5 hours. The bulb itself should last for around nine years, treating three bottles per day. Add this to your emergency kit. Camelbak has more, and there's video here. WATER WHEEL COMEBACK: When water flows downhill from a reservoir to a consumer it develops so much speed and pressure that the water company have to slow it down before the user turns on the tap. The methods used create excess heat and pressure. Now Rentricity in the USA has found a way to turn that excess into electricity with a turbine called a Flow-to-Wire. The water turns a wheel connected to a generator, simultaneously reducing flow and pressure and creating electricity. One water treatment plant working with the device has cut their power bill in half. Some inventions are just plain sensible. Discovery has more. OFF THE SCRIPT: If you're in hospital there's a fair chance you may be given the wrong medication because of an unclear prescription or just human error. A study from the University of New South Wales found they could drastically cut such prescription errors by using electronic prescribing technology. There's still the possibility of error though, for example, as a doctor may just choose the wrong drug from a drop-down menu. There's no bypassing the human error factor.