Being sick sucks. And while we can't always cure what ails us, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have figured out where that general feeling of lousiness we get when we're stick actually comes from, and they think they can make it go away.

Those greedy scientists, they just can't learn to share. Instead of going out and getting two little glass spheres, they're trying to use a trick of quantum mechanics to take one little glass sphere and make it exist in two places at the same time.

A superlens is something that focuses audio into much smaller regions than their soundwaves normally allow. Essentially, "the cans act as resonators, directing the volume of the sound to peak in a space just a few centimetres wide, and this heightened precision could improve acoustic-actuator systems." And wouldn't you know it, but soda cans are perfect for the job.

There are two ways that we've been able to get mammals to live longer: genetic engineering, and calorie restriction. Neither of those things sounds like much fun, but scientists may have just stumbled onto a drug that can extend your lifespan too, by up to 20%.