There's a huge market in Asia for mobile phone squelchers - in Hong Kong for example, people don't think twice about making and receiving calls in the cinema and theatre.

Of course, mobile phone jamming is illegal in the UK because it can cause interference outside of the building it's covering.

Used to line a room or building, the ferrite powder-sandwiched-inside two strips of wood stops anyone inside from making or receiving or call. And not a nasty. interfering phone jammer in sight. The Morioka team reckons the product can be made cheaply enough to be viable. And leader Hideo Oka hopes "that it will soon be possible to buy the novel wood panelling by the metre at your local hardware store", The New Scientist reports.

According to the magazine, magnetic wood could be a "major plank in the battle against noisy cellphone users". There's more detail here. ®

Related story

Mobile Phone Squelchers - Register readers weigh in