Sure it’s been the lead story on CNN and a big story on Gawker, but there just wasn’t enough DIY mechanics or mobile-related mayhem for us to pounce on this little gem. As a dad, I don’t like seeing shit like this, but knowing there’s a happy ending made it a bit easier to view. Oops, did I give too much away? [Gawker]

Hairband balladeers from the roaring ’80s will be disappointed to learn that holes in the heart previously only able to be filled by some girl who is already dating some other guy can now be filled by a patch made of stem cells. As for the rest of us, we naturally assumed that if stem cells could give Christopher “Butthole” Reeve real Superman strength and build replica’s of Shakey’s Pizza, well, of course they can patch heart holes. [PopSci]

By March of next year, many British police officers will be handed a smartphone in order to maintain communication while increasing time in the field. It may work, assuming they block like a million distractions. Frankly, the only reason I wanted to even mention this in Remainders was to remind the world of that stroke of British police genius, Hot Fuzz, through Photoshop. It was that or an image of the gmilfy Prime Suspect herself, Helen Mirren. Did I choose wrong? [BBC via Engadget]

Science produces explanations great and small, and finally got around to one we’ve been waiting for since Heinrich “Coca” Cola invented the fizzy beverage: Why do we love the carbonation? Everyone used to think it was the exploding carbonation bubbles, but sure enough, it’s the carbon dioxide itself—you listening, Al Gore???—that sends a message to open up the sour taste buds, delivering a genuine flavour change. Sure, it’s not gadget news, but now, when you head out to the bars, you can order beer in the name of science. [Daily Mail UK]

The scrubber takes in air and binds the CO2 to sodium hydroxide. The heavier concoction is then sent through a few more chemical intermediaries, eventually resulting in a batch of separated CO2 that can be piped away, while the hydroxide gets fed back into the machine.

According to the university, the scrubbers can capture around a ton of carbon dioxide for less than 100 kwh of electricity, about ten times as much CO2 as was released to keep it running. Unfortunately, that’s not quite enough to keep it from being prohibitively expensive. The cheapest way to keep CO2 emissions out of the air is still not generating it in the first place. [Popsci]

The Spremberg plant is tiny by most standards, pumping out just 30 megawatts while many plants can pull off 10 times that output. Even so, compressing and chilling the CO2 can be a real energy drain in and of itself, so the efficiency of the plant is seriously compromised by the green initiative.

Still it is worth tweaking the basic system for enhanced efficiency, as Vattenfall says that the system can theoretically gather up to 98% of the CO2 produced by the plant, making it nearly pollutant free.

Critics say that this is just a diversion from investing resources in truly non-polluting technologies. While I tend to lean with those critics, I am a fan of clean coal because the US uses so much coal to produce electricity for cities. Still, I’m not 100% clear on the whole pumping-greenhouse-gases-into-the-earth thing. I know it gets sealed away in places that previously contained massive amounts of natural gas, but still, isn’t anyone concerned that this is just set up for massive CO2 geysers in decades or centuries to come? There, I said it—science nerds, please feel free to bludgeon me with the Stick of Enlightenment. [Technology Review; Vattenfall]