Acting as a lens, the rig's large water-filled orb concentrates diffused daylight or moonlight onto a solar cell with the help of optical tracking to harvest electricity.

ENGADGET: Spherical glass lens concentrates sunlight by up to 10,000 times, boosts solar cell efficiency

"The polarizing organic photovoltaic cell demonstrated by Professor Yang's research group can potentially harvest 75 percent of the wasted photons from LCD backlight and turn them back into electricity, " said Youssry Boutros, program director for the Intel Labs Academic Research Office, which supported the research.

ENGADGET: Photovoltaic polarizers could make self-charging smartphone dreams come true

Other groups, such as anti-abortion activists, consider stem cell research the taking of a human life because embryos must be destroyed to harvest the stem cells.

CNN: Bush to allow limited stem cell funding

In another exciting development, researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a self-charging power cell that's able to directly convert mechanical energy into chemical energy, making it possible to harvest up to five times more energy from footsteps.

ENGADGET: Inhabitat's Week in Green: go-kart made of Lego bricks, TOTO toilet bike and the launch of 'Willow Glass'