TIME:
From a genetic testing service to an invisibility cloak to an ingenious public bike system to the world’s first moving skyscraper – TIME’s picks for the top innovations of 2008.
The Global Seed Vault
Superman had it right: if you want to keep something safe, build a mountain fortress above the Arctic Circle. That’s the thinking – more or less – behind the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Almost every nation keeps collections of native seeds so local crops can be replanted in case of an agricultural disaster. The Global Seed Vault, opened this year on the far-northern Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, is a backup for the backups. It’s badly needed – as many as half the seed banks in developing countries are at risk from natural disasters or general instability. The vault can hold up to 4.5 million samples, which will be kept dry at about 0°F (-18°C). Even if the facility loses power, the Arctic climate should keep the seeds viable for thousands of years. Let’s just hope we still like corn then.
The Short Refinance
This new term describes a rare but growing option for homeowners struggling to make payments on a house now worth less than when they bought it: another new lender agrees to rewrite the loan tied to a fresh appraisal. The tricky part is getting the current mortgage company to take less than what it’s owed – but given banks’ woes, it’s more likely than it once was.Smog-Eating Cement
Take ordinary cement. Mix in an agent called a photo-catalyzer (titanium dioxide, if you really want to know), which speeds up the natural process that breaks down smog into its component parts. Now start paving things with the stuff. That’s what they’re doing in Segrate, an Italian town near Milan. The smog-eating cement is called TX Active, and the Italian firm Italcementi spent 10 years developing it. Now there’s a busy street in Segrate that’s covered with it, and Italcementi claims it has reduced nitric oxides in the area by as much as 60%. Bonus: buildings made with TX Active stay cleaner too.Photo by Infinite Wilderness.