So welcome to Fast Friday Farrago, (synonym: mishmash) where we bring you a summary of the latest news from the wonderful world of science for this week. And what a week!

So far we’ve discovered that a constant sugar-diet can have quite severe effects on your memory, and can affect your ability to control your emotions. So put away that chocolate, darl!

Researchers think that the next step to a rollout of the bionic eye could be in the incorporation of tiny solar cells in order to power the camera and synthetic retina needed to produce an image. The photosynthetic pixels are similar to those found on the roofs of homes around the world.

On solar panels, recently an Australian researcher in collaboration with German colleagues has managed a ‘photochemical upconversion’, which utilises energy normally lost in solar panels and turns it into usable electricity. This may boost solar panel efficiency to around 40%!

 

7 new types of ferocious, meat-eating dinosaurs have been found in Australia, including a down-under killer, similar to Tyrannosaurus rex. All individuals found were Therapods (bird-like) and lived between 105-120 million years ago.

And finally, Harry Potter has inspired a group of scientists at Monash University to develop a blood test that rapidly spells out a patient’s blood type on bioactive paper. This means that the next time you’re in hospital and the doctors need to know your blood type, you might find out when the piece of paper that the doctors test you with writes it out itself, a la Tom Riddle’s diary from Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.

For more news in science, make sure to read in next week!