When it comes to high-speed rail, the US lags behind many other nations ? but that?s set to change, as the government just gave Amtrak a $2.45 billion loan to launch a new generation of high-speed trains within the next five years. Magnetic levitation technology is often associated with trains, but one engineer came up with a wild concept for a self-driving mag-lev vehicle that doubles as a living room. In other transportation news, a technology group 3D printed a cutting-edge bicycle from scratch, and a group of Gaza students built a sun-powered car to battle the region?s fuel crisis.

Renewable energy is surging in the States ? and Iowa just officially approved the largest wind project in the country, which will produce enough electricity to power 800,000 homes. Meanwhile, MIT developed a new solar cell that is more efficient and less expensive than existing technologies. We also explored how…