Juiced in 30 Seconds

A battery that can charge in under 30 seconds has been shown off at a technology conference in Tel Aviv. Israeli start-up StoreDot displayed the device - made of biological structures - at Microsoft's Think Next Conference. A Samsung S4 smartphone went from a dead battery to full power in 26 seconds in the demonstration. The battery is currently only a prototype and the firm predicts it will take three years to become a commercially viable product. This really is an impressive product, but not as impressive as if somebody at the very least finds the black box on Flight 370. Speaking of which, the crew of a Royal Navy ship have been diverted from gathering data on its way from Oman to the Seychelles to help in the search. HMS Echo is helping to scour the southern Indian Ocean after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished with 239 people on board on 8 March. Sonar "pings" were detected last week by search teams - but no new signals have been confirmed since last Tuesday. The ship, whose specialist equipment has been adapted to pick up signals from the plane's black box flight recorders, arrived in the search area on Thursday. But those involved in the search believe time could be running out because the battery life of a black box usually lasts for only a month - and that window has passed, but if the battery could recharge in 30 seconds, then there could still be hope for its discovery.