My proposal with this fellowship will use the novel method of applying an electric field gradient instead of chemical substitution to induce charge carriers in large gap insulators, and thereby create new superconductors.

UNESCO: 2013 UK and Ireland Fellows

Researchers at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea, have developed a novel method of turning sound into electricity, and the technology could soon be used to charge our mobile phones with nothing more than the power of the human voice, reports the Telegraph.

FORBES: Written by Bryan Nelson

As with any novel fuel production or energy storage method, it is the numbers that matter: efficiency is king.

BBC: Petrol from air: Will it make a difference?

As the Web moguls see it, the Internet has evolved from a method of transmitting information to its own computing platform, as novel as the personal computer was in the late 1970s, or client-server networks were in the '80s.

FORBES: Why Google Loves The Little Guys

Regardless of method, it is possible that none of the teams will find isolated, novel life in the icy depths.

BBC: 'New frontier' of Antarctic lake exploration