Headlines in both the mainstream and technology media have been buzzing with reports of a 12-year-oldâ''s science project that describes a 3D solar cell made from carbon nanotubes that can absorb both visible and UV light.

Headlines like â''A 12-Year-Old's Solar Cell May Revolutionize the Energy Industryâ'' litter the press, but despite reading a number of the stories I canâ''t ascertain if the wunderkind, who goes by the name of William Yuan, has actually created some kind of prototype or merely describes the technology.

Advice is coming thick and fast to patent the technology and start licensing.

Now I donâ''t want rain on anyoneâ''s parade, especially a 12-year-oldâ''s, but there is something eerily similar to this technology and a 3D solar cell made out of nanotubes by Georgia Tech researchers.

Odd that this GTRI announcement didnâ''t garner the same â''revolutionize the energy industryâ'' headlines. I guess the researchers were just 20 years too old to make it news.