University of California, Berkeley, scientists have shown that ionized plasmas like those in neon lights and plasma TVs not only can sterilize water, but make it antimicrobial – able to kill bacteria – for as long as a week after treatment.

NBC, with help from Microsoft and several other technology companies, is attempting an unprecedented online presentation of the Summer Olympics.

By Jason Hardin, News & Record, Greensboro, N.C. Jul. 23--GREENSBORO -- All students in Guilford County schools will receive e-mail addresses this school year, a move educators say will create more tech-savvy students but that has some parents asking questions.

By Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl, The Sun, Lowell, Mass. Jul. 3--Soaring energy costs are being blamed for a 19 percent rise in National Grid electricity customers who are regularly missing their monthly utility payments and find themselves at least 90 days overdue.

By Angeljean Chiaramida, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass. Jun. 30--When his 84-year-old mother got a $1,000 oil bill after her most recent $4.69-per-gallon tank full of heating oil, Salisbury Public Works Director Don Levesque decided enough was enough.