With no brakes, screws, bolts, metal, plastic or rubber, the SplinterBike is believed to be the world's first rideable wooden bicycle. Oh yes, the bike has one gear!

1. The axles are made of the hardwood ekki
2. The cogs, wheels and frame are made from birch ply
3. Oily ironwood has been used in place of metal bearings where moving parts met
4. The pedals and handlebars are made from an old broom handle salvaged from someone’s shed.

Yes yes, we know what you're thinking! This might not be the most practical of inventions but it stands as an engineering marvel nonetheless. Well, it all began as a £1 bet last year between two British friends Michael Thompson and James Tully. Michael had always claimed he could make anything from wood, and James called his bluff in a big way. We all know what followed! And now that the cycle is ready, the duo intend to set a land speed record with it.

And lighting my house!
Energy is all around us. Taking this statement to its logical conclusion, researchers have found a way to convert the mechanical energy of falling raindrops into electricity. It is a promising line, especially for areas where it rains a lot and hence are unsuitable for exploitation of solar energy. A team of the Atomic Energy Commission (Gronoble, France) observed that the size of a raindrop was instrumental in determining the resulting impact energy produced. Where a small drizzle drop was reported to produce 2 microjoules, a downpour-size drop produced 1 milijoule of the same energy. One system, developed by scientists from CEA/Leti-Minatec (an R&D institute in Grenoble, France), recovers vibration energy generated by the impact of falling raindrops on a piezoelectric surface – a surface which converts the pressure applied to it into electrical energy. While this technology won't make up a big portion of the energy pie-chart, it can contribute towards the development of remote sensors which can tell us how hard it is raining or, say, sensors which automatically close windows or warn us in case of a storm.

The Cheetah is all set to make a comeback in the Indian jungles. The spotted cat, the fastest in the world, commonly present in wide areas of the country had been hunted to extinction in the early part of the century. Many cheetahs were actually used by royalty and kings as hunting companions, especially while hunting deer. As part of the reintroduction efforts, the Indian government proposed a plan to clone the cheetah, which did not fructify. The latest plan is to import the animal from countries in the continent of Africa like South Africa and Tanzania and introduce them in wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as well as establishing a breeding ground. Hopefully, the kids in India would someday get to see the Cheetah in flesh and blood and not only on TV!

A RESTAURANT FOR VULTURES. YES, REALLY!

You are bound to know about the dwindling number of vultures in India. But did you know about the opening of 'vulture restaurants' to prevent their extinction? Over the past 20 years, there has been an escalation in vulture deaths due to the ingestion of Diclofenac, a painkiller used to treat sick farm animals. Vultures feed on the carcasses of dead humans and animals and end up consuming the dreaded chemical. These special restaurants buy diclofenac-free carcasses from the villages and put them on bricked platforms for the vultures to feed on them. They also act as safe places for them to nest and breed. Even though diclofenac was banned by the Indian Government in 2006, farmers continue to use it.