Weird Tech: Operating room lit by mobiles

It's been a cracker of a week in terms of the weird and wonderful in the world of tech. First up, who needs the Jesus Phone? Even your average mobile can save lives it seems.

Argentinean surgeons completed an emergency operation using the light from mobile phone screens during a city-wide blackout last Saturday. When the hospital generator failed to kick in, the surgeons continued in darkness until a family member entered the room with a collection of mobiles from people waiting in the hallway.

The tales of life-saving mobiles don't stop there. A team of scientists in Austria have invented a new mobile phone that can distinguish between poisonous fungi and edible mushrooms. It's hoped the phone will help reduce the number of people poisoned and killed each year after eating poisonous fungi.

That was the good news.

Sadly not everyone benefited from their technology this week. A 20-year-old student died in Shanghai after being electrocuted by his PC on Monday. According to reports, the man removed the external case while sweating. He received a deadly shock when his legs came into contact with the computer's wiring.

And if you've ever thought going to the office is bad for your health, you might well be right. Apparently laser printer particles can be as dangerous as cigarette smoke .

In terms of bizarre gadgets, as usual there were a couple that caught our eye. The rather fetching Angel Kitty USB Keyboard Bra was our favourite, although it's unlikely to catch on. The glowing egg-shaped shoe dehydrator probably won't take off either. But there's something strangely loveable about the Missy Broome Howdy range of iPod protectors. And we liked the LED alarm clock as well.

In brief

While all eyes have been on UK broadband providers this week, it turns out it's Kazakhstan , home of Borat, that's the worst place in the world for the internet. Computers got a sense of humour , while scary child-like robots hit the floors in Osaka. And a building being demolished from the ground-up actually looks better than its proposed replacement will.

And finally...

One man may have found the solution to global warming: massive, man-made tornados. Unconventional, yes, but Michaud's environmentally-friendly Atmospheric Vortex Engine concept has been gathering momentum again. Scientists reckon it might be possible to harness enough energy from the 20km-tall tornados to power a small city. We can just imagine what the neighbours'll say...