Researchers at the University of Melbourne's Bionic Vision Australia project believe that diamonds are the best material to use in constructing a bionic eye.

According to a report from ABC.net.au, eye implants are currently made from metals such as platinum or iridium. But physicist Kumar Ganesan explains that even the hardest metals deteriorate after 5 to 10 years of being implanted, which is why the scientists have turned their gaze (so to speak) on the hardest substance in the world – diamonds.

As it happens, medicine has already made use of diamonds in optical devices, but the whole idea of a working bionic eye is still in development. Ganesan notes that the bionic eye he and his colleagues are working on would measure only 3 by 3 by one millimeters.

The device – which could be in clinical studies by the end of 2011 – would fit into the eye. The wearer would sport "a very tiny camera, like the people in spy movies," Ganesan says.

After Bionic Vision Australia presented their project at 2008's 2020 summit and asked for funding help, the federal government invested some AUS$51 million in the project. Researchers hope to have a final prototype bionic diamond eye ready by 2014, and say that their device could perform the save service for sight-impaired people as cochlear implants do for the deaf.

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This past year has seen blinged-out shoes, smartphones, tablet computers, and cookware. Now, the fad for sprucing up utilitarian objects with precious metals and gemstones – including diamonds – has hit the ski slopes.

Ski manufacturers are happily responding to demands from upmarket clients – often wealthy Russians – for bejeweled haute couture ski equipment. Boheme, a boutique manufacturer, offers skis crafted from African ebony that customers can have embellished to their own taste. The group produces only about 600 pairs of skis a year for its clients, who want "perfection," as marketing director Arnaud Benoist explains. Benoist hastened to add that while his clientele had money to spend and was looking to distinguish itself, they were above all "passionate about skiing."

Lacroix, known for flashy couture fashion design, has also ventured into the outdoor market. Lacroix makes the Ultime brand gold and diamond skis, which sell for $46,000. Lacroix Group Director Bertrand Roy said that the Ultime ski brand has been founded to establish the group's luxury image and that even though "bling-bling," as he put it, might not be the height of fashion the company had already sold a number of pairs.

As upscale skiers bundle up against the cold, Lacroix sees a chance to bundle its products, offering in addition to the skis themselves a $20,000 leather trunk designed to carry skis, poles, and goggles. It comes with free maintenance and a season pass to France's exclusive Courchevel ski  resort.

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