SCIENCE - Major advance in using sunlight to produce steam without boiling water

Scientists have developed a revolutionary new way to use sunlight to produce steam and other vapors without heating an entire container of fluid to the boiling point. The advance has potential applications, especially in the poverty-stricken areas of the developing world, that include inexpensive, compact devices for purification of drinking water, sterilization of medical instruments and sanitizing sewage.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121119104835.htm

Researchers create solar steam using nanoparticles at Rice University 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ved0K5CtmsU