Frogs, foam and fuel: Solar energy converted to sugars

ScienceDaily (2010-03-17) -- In natural photosynthesis, plants take in solar energy and carbon dioxide and then convert it to oxygen and sugars. The oxygen is released to the air and the sugars are dispersed throughout the plant -- like that sweet corn we look for in the summer. Unfortunately, the allocation of light energy into products we use is not as efficient as we would like. Now engineering researchers are doing something about that.

Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, sort of like the Moses of chemistry

ScienceDaily (2010-03-18) -- Chemists have developed the most potent homogeneous catalyst known for water oxidation, considered a crucial component for generating clean hydrogen fuel using only water and sunlight.

Primary care doctors - an endangered species

An excellent interview with a geriatric doctor regarding the problems of the current primary care model and how changes can make it not only financially viable but also beneficial for the patient's health and wellness.

HEALTH

Delivering Better Primary Care

By PAULINE W. CHEN, M.D.

Published: May 13, 2010

Can a patient-centered medical practice help ease the crisis in primary care?

Laser-ignited nanoparticles, oh the possibilites

ScienceDaily (2010-03-19)
-By hitting carbon nanoparticles with a relatively weak laser, University of Florida engineers could release their stored energy causing light, heat, or burning depending on the conditions.

-Potential uses:

1. Identification and specific-killing of cancer cells without damaging normal cells.
2. Ignition of powerful explosives used by mining, tunneling, or demolition crews instead of time-consuming and expensive electrical lines currently used.
3. Replacing traditional sparkplugs for more efficient gasoline burning in cars.
4. More than a dozen other potential applications.

'Glow-in-the-dark' sperm

ScienceDaily (2010-03-19) -- By genetically altering fruit flies so that the heads of their sperm were fluorescent green or red, biologists were able to observe in striking detail what happens to live sperm inside the female. The findings may have huge implications for the fields of reproductive biology, sexual selection and speciation.

Frozen boobies

ScienceDaily (2010-03-20)
-Once again, an article that hits close to home since my mom was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer over 2 years ago.
-Women (and some men) diagnosed with breast cancer have many treatment options which usually involve invasive surgery to remove the tumor(s) and chemotherapy to ensure the death of any remaning cancerous cells.
-Unfortunately, these treatments can be expensive, uncomfortable, and long-lasting as well as resulting in drastic physical changes after a mastectomy (breast removal) most often leading to further plastic surgery.
-A new technique called 'image-guided multiprobe cryotherapy' solves most/all of those complications.
-Needles small enough to be inserted into the body through a small skin nick instead of a surgical operation are guided to the tumor site using ultrasound, CT, or MR imaging before releasing "ice balls" which selectively destroy tumor cells.

What's wrong with my heart doc? Too much fat

ScienceDaily (2010-03-20)
-This article is particularly relevant to me because some of the research my lab is doing involves studying adipose(fat) tissue in mice and the immune/inflammatory cells associated with different fat pads.
-By measuring the layer of fat around the heart with CT scanning or MRI, doctors are able to better predict ischemia, diminished blood flow in the heart.
-One hypothesis for this correlation is that the fat cells release certain inflammatory molecules/chemicals which results in the build-up of 'atherosclerotic plaques', specifically non-calcified plaques, believed by cardiologists to carry increased risks of heart problems.

How to handle climate change, before it's too late

After the crash - a new direction for climate policy

-Interesting article written by Mike Hulme, professor of climate change at the University of East Anglia, which summarizes the main arguments of 'The Hartwell Paper: A new direction for climate policy after the crash of 2009'.
-3 over-arching goals: (1) Access to energy for all, (2) Sustainability of viable environments, and (3) Resilience to the risks and dangers due to climate.

Magnesium: Alternative Power Source

PhysOrg.com) -- There is enough magnesium to meet the world's energy needs for the next 300,000 years, says Dr. Takashi Yabe of the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Harnessing Sunlight to Convert Carbon Dioxide to Liquid Fuel

(PhysOrg.com) -- A startup company, Joule Biotechnologies, Inc., has developed an alternative solution of producing liquid fuel by harnessing sunlight to directly convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into liquid energy (SolarFuel).

Bring out the brooms San Antonio, I think a little desert sand blew in

Worst soccer flop ever?

Off-season activities begin for Portland & Dallas

World's Most Useful Tree

• ~1 billion people worldwide drink untreated surface water
• 2 million of this population (mostly children <5 yrs old) die from disease caused by contaminated water.

• Moringa oleifera is a vegetable tree commonly grown in the developing world.
• "One of the world's most useful trees"
• Drought resistant
• Provides oil for cooking & lighting
• Soil fertilizer
• Pods, leaves, seeds, & flowers are edible and highly nutritious
• *Simple, low-cost, natural water treatment uses seeds from the tree*
• Reduces water-borne bacteria by 90-99%
• Reduces water turbidity (cloudiness due to suspended debris) by 80-99.5%
• The most significant part of this is not the purification technique itself, but the public access granted by the researchers at Clearinghouse. http://www.currentprotocols.com/protocol/mc01g02

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100303082804.htm

ASU's solution for the world's looming energy crisis, bacteria

• Bacteria normally make energy-rich fatty acids (Oil) for their own use.
• Specialized microbes called cyanobacteria use photosynthesis to convert sunlight into energy, just like plants.
• Researchers at The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University (who said ASU was just a party school?) found a way to utilize this process as a source of renewable energy.
• How'd they do it? Genetic modifications permitting the bacteria to significantly increase their lipid (stored energy) production and secretion (so we can collect & use them) without dying in the process.
• Big-time pros:
• Oil produced and processed in 1 step.
• Only energy input required is sunlight.
• No need to use/maintain cropland (e.g. for plant-based sources)
• Questions I have:
• How much processing after collecting the bacterial oil would be needed in order to use it?
• What other resources are needed for the bacteria to survive & how much do they cost?
• Cost-effective for large-scale energy production?

Microbes ooze oil for renewable energy from Biodesign Institute on Vimeo.


http://www.biodesign.asu.edu/news/microbes-reprogrammed-to-ooze-oil-for-renewable-biofuel

The Ultimate Protection - No not Trojan, Spray-on glass

• Liquid glass spray a.k.a. "SiO2 ultra-thin layering" is transparent, non-toxic, and offers protection from water, UV radiation, acid, dirt, heat, and bacteria.
• Silicon dioxide (silica, main compound in glass) added with water/ethanol depending on surface to be coated, no additives.
• Works by forming a water-resistant coating ~100 nanometers thick.
• Nanoscale thickness makes the glass highly flexible and breathable (potential biological usage).
• Non-toxic, environmentally safe, easy-to-clean with water & wiping.
• Potential Usage:
• Sterilizing equipment & surfaces (food/medical industry, around the house = bye bye unnecessary cleaning products).
• Protection of monuments & buildings from weathering and graffiti.
• Coating seeds & plants to increase resistance to fungal/bacterial diseases.
• Stain-resistant clothing.
• Available in DIY (Do-it-yourself) stores in Britain soon, prices starting ~£5 (US$8).

http://www.physorg.com/news184310039.html
http://www.nanopool.eu/couk/index.htm

Solar Cell Efficiency...Almost There

• IBM Researchers have developed a new type of solar cell which more efficiently converts sunlight into electricity (9.6% vs 6.7%).
• Semiconductor made of the elements copper, zinc, tin, and sulfur (abundant & cheap) as well as selenium (rare yet relatively cheap).
• Pros:
• Uses cheaper materials than other "thin film" solar cells.
• Ink-based manufacturing process solves many quality issues previously encountered with solar cells.
• Cons:
• The ultimate hurdle preventing mass-production of efficient solar cells is high cost and inadequate supply of the rare semiconductor components (e.g. selenium, indium, gallium).
• Future Research:
• If most/all of these elements could be replaced with a more common element such as sulfur without dampening semiconductor efficiency, the commercial success of solar cell technology would be soon-to-come.

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/24521/?nlid=2741

Look out for the Tiger Shark!

Thanks to Braden for sending this to me. Gave me a good laugh.

Why'd the chicken cross the road? Cause it saw the light was green

• Color receptor organization in the retina chickens exceeds that of mammals and most other retinas observed in nature.
• But why is that? One explanation:
• Millions of years ago, during the evolution of birds and mammals, our ancestors were primarily nocturnal, adapting night-vision receptors called rods for survival from the threat of larger predators.
• Birds on the other hand, widely believed to be descendants of dinosaurs, were able to survive during the daytime and further develop their light-sensing receptors called cones.
• Humans have retina cones sensitive only to red, blue, and green wavelengths.
• Birds share these and have other receptors to detect violet and ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, and another specialized receptor believed to detect motion.
• Relevance:
• Could lead to new understandings of inherent problems in human eyes and ideas on how to fix them.

http://www.physorg.com/news185539169.html

Want to get smarter? Then take a nap

• A midday nap could refresh the mind and actually make you smarter.
• A simple experiment showed that young adults who took a nap in the early afternoon after a rigorous study session improved their learning capacity in the early evening during another study sesh compared to those who didn’t nap and got worse at learning.
• "It's as though the e-mail inbox in your hippocampus is full and, until you sleep and clear out those fact emails, you're not going to receive any more mail. It's just going to bounce until you sleep and move it into another folder," said Matthew Walker, assistant professor of psychology and lead investigator at UC Berkeley.
• Many would argue that napping for such a short period of time doesn’t actually help because you never enter REM sleep.
• However, this study backs the notion that Stage 2 non-REM sleep, which occurs after deep sleep (non-REM) but before the dream state (REM), is vital for memory capacity.
• After all, we spend 50% of the night in this Stage 2 transition stage so it makes perfect sense that it plays a crucial role in a healthy mindset.

http://www.physorg.com/news185948338.html