08/30/10 - Bloom Box: The Future of Green Energy
The basic idea behind the Bloom Box is to convert fossil fuels or hydrocarbons into electricity not by the means of combustion, but by clean electrochemical processes a lot like everyday batteries. The only difference between the Bloom Box and battery is that the Bloom Box keeps running; oh yeah, it keeps running for up to 10- years, not only that, it could be reloaded with fuel and it could act as a battery anytime in the sense that it could store electricity. At the moment only 100kW versions of the Bloom Box or the Energy Server are available that are mostly sold to big industries. The cost of the 100kW Bloom Box is $750,000 and the average running time of this Bloom Box is 10 years. One of the companies that have become the first customers of Bloom Energy is Google. According to Bloom Energy 1kW versions of the Bloom Box would be released in the near future which would be sufficient for one household. The estimated cost of that Bloom Box would be around $3000. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Gentle Stroll Several Times a Week Boosts Intelligence
New research has shown that walking “at one’s own pace” for 40 minutes, three times a week can improve intelligence. The new study used brain scans to determine whether aerobic activity increased connectivity in the brain’s networks. The researchers measured participants’ brain connectivity and performance on cognitive tasks at the beginning of the study, at six months and after a year of either walking or toning and stretching. At the end of the year, brain network connectivity was significantly improved in the brains of the older walkers, but not among those who did only stretching and toning exercises. The walkers also had increased connectivity in the part of the brain which helps in the performance of complex tasks and they did significantly better on cognitive tests than their toning and stretching peers. Professor Kramer said previous studies have found that aerobic exercise can enhance the function of specific brain structures. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Sun's Fluctuations Caused Partial Collapse of Earth's Atmosphere

08/30/10 - Black rice is the new cancer-fighting superfood, claim scientists
The cereal is low in sugar but packed with healthy fibre and plant compounds that combat heart disease and cancer, say experts. Scientists from Louisiana State University analysed samples of bran from black rice grown in the southern U.S. They found boosted levels of water-soluble anthocyanin antioxidants. Anthocyanins provide the dark colours of many fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries and red peppers. They are what makes black rice 'black'. Research suggests that the dark plant antioxidants, which mop up harmful molecules, can help protect arteries and prevent the DNA damage that leads to cancer. Food scientist Dr Zhimin Xu said: 'Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar, and more fibre and vitamin E antioxidants. 'If berries are used to boost health, why not black rice and black rice bran? Especially, black rice bran would be a unique and economical material to increase consumption of health-promoting antioxidants.' Centuries ago black rice was known as 'Forbidden Rice' in ancient China because only nobles were allowed to eat it. Today black rice is mainly used in Asia for food decoration, noodles, sushi and desserts. Brown rice is said to be more nutritious because it has higher levels of healthy vitamin E compounds and antioxidants. But according to Dr Xu's team, varieties of rice that are black or purple in colour are healthier still. They added that black rice could also be used to provide healthier, natural colourants. Studies linked some artificial colourants to cancer and behavioural problems in children. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - The 10 Greatest Fictional Inventors of All Time
Some of the most memorable inventors of our time were actually invented themselves. Here are ten fictional innovators near and dear to our hearts. James Bonds' Q / Back to the Futures' Doc Brown / Honey I shrunk the Kids' Wayne Szalinski / Iron Mans' Tony Stark, etc... - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Electric cars 'may be costlier than petrol vehicles'
Motorists considering buying an electric car are being warned that they can be more expensive to run than conventional petrol vehicles. Nissan is due to start taking UK orders for what it says will be the world's first mass-produced electric car. It says running costs for the Nissan Leaf will be as low as 1p a mile. But figures given to the BBC by a rival car firm suggest that over three years, electric cars could be more expensive to run than their petrol equivalents. The figures come from the Japanese car-maker Mitsubishi, which also produces an electric car. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Hydropower generator
[Paul] wanted to have access to renewable energy at his cabin. It’s a relaxing place, nestled in a tall forest that shelters him from the sun and wind. This also means that solar and wind energy aren’t an option. But there is a stream running through the property so he decided to build his own version of a small water-powered generator. He tapped into a reservoir about 200 feet upstream, split the flow into four smaller hoses, and channeled that into a five-gallon bucket. Inside the bucket you’ll find a Pelton wheel he built which turns a low-RPM generator. He manages to generate 56 VDC at 10 A with this setup, more than enough to charge a bank of batteries. He does a great job of explaining his setup in the video after the break. If you’re looking for other ideas of how to cut down on your environmental impact check out this compost-powered water heater. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - College 2.0: Teachers Without Technology Strike Back
Mark James, a visiting lecturer at the University of West Florida, declared his summer course in English literature technology-free—he skipped the PowerPoint slides and YouTube videos he usually shows, and he asked students to silence their cellphones and close their laptops. Banishing the gear improved the course, he argues. "The students seemed more involved in the discussion than when I allowed them to go online," he told me as the summer term wound down. "They were more attentive, and we were able to go into a little more depth." Mr. James is not antitechnology—he said he had some success in his composition courses using an online system that's sold with textbooks. But he is frustrated by professors and administrators who believe that injecting the latest technology into the classroom naturally improves teaching. That belief was highlighted in my College 2.0 column last month, in which some professors likened colleagues who don't teach with tech to doctors who ignore improvements in medicine. Many low-tech professors were extremely distressed by that charge of educational malpractice. (They told me so in dozens of comments on the article and in e-mail messages.) After interviewing a few of them this month, it seems to me the key debate between the tech enthusiasts and tech skeptics is really over broader changes in colleges, and anxieties about the academy being turned into just another business. Teaching is not car assembly, the skeptics say, in that there's no objective checklist to follow. Nor is it brain surgery, because there is no agreed-upon group of vital signs to check. "I see teaching as more of an art, and a relationship thing," said Mr. James. After we talked it out for a while, he settled on the metaphor of a carpenter's workshop to replace that of a doctor's clinic: "Let's say I want to get a really well-made table. I might go to someone who knows the old-style way of making a table, and I'm willing to pay a lot for that," is how he put it. By extension, tech-based learning feels more like IKEA—a lower-price, build-it-yourself option. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - The political chemistry of oil
TED talk by Lisa Margonelli of the New America Foundation Energy Policy Initiative about the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill, political theater and confronting Americans with the real cost of gasoline. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Going Further on the Same Tank
Chrysler hopes to catch up with the MultiAir technology, which it claims will increase fuel economy by 25 percent. In a conventional engine, a camshaft opens and closes the valves that bring air into the engine. These valves all make the same movement all the time, even at low engine speeds, when less air is required. The MultiAir system is different because it electronically determines the most efficient way to open and close the valves, depending on road conditions and necessary power, allowing the car to run more efficiently at all speeds. Here's how it works: A small solenoid, a mechanical device that can act like a switch, opens and closes the valves. This solenoid adjusts the cycle of valves opening and closing so that the engine takes in the best amount of air for the load it's handling at any given moment. Opening the valves for a short period of time at low loads is less work for the engine, increasing its efficiency. And because the system can open the valves longer when more power is needed, it can extract more energy out of the engine. As a result, MultiAir not only increases fuel economy, it also increases the engine's torque by 15 percent, says Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa. "It gives the engine a more efficient breathing pattern whether at idle or 6,000 rpm," Cappa says. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Flying Robotic Hands
A robotic hand attached to a small helicopter can successfully and autonomously grip objects while the helicopter is hovering, as demonstrated by a group at Yale University led by Aaron Dollar, one of this year's TR35s. The helicopter hand, dubbed the Yale Aerial Manipulator, could be used in spots that are difficult for ground robots to get to, such as high or roughly terrained places. It could also be used to pick up bombs or packages, or even as a form of delivery, moving packages in urban environments where trucks would have a hard time, suggests Paul Pounds, first author of the work. The hand helicopter can carry objects that weigh up to two kilograms, at speeds reaching 130 kilometers an hour. The robotic hand, which is made of a flexible plastic, is operated by a single motor that controls four fingers. The simple, lightweight design of the hand also absorbs vibrations when the hand grips an object, letting the helicopter hover stably. / The objects don’t have to be a special size or shape, and it can lift them even if they are not centered. This is thanks to a load-balancing hand (originally developed as a prosthesis) that relies on flexible joints and a tendon-like closing mechanism. As you can see in the video, the light-weight chopper has an on-board camera so that the operator can see what is being picked up. This little guy has no problem lifting objects that are over one kilogram while remaining stable in the air. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Investigation finds filthy spouts on public drinking fountains
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty would be better off drinking from a dog bowl than the water cooler he shares with his colleagues at Queen’s Park, a Toronto Star investigation reveals. The Star collected and analyzed bacteria samples swabbed from spouts of 20 public water fountains and free-standing coolers across the city. We also tested the inner rim of a water bowl for dogs outside a coffee shop. The dirtiest drinking fountain was found inside the main lobby of City Hall where council passed a motion two years ago prohibiting the sale of bottled water in all municipal buildings, leaving fountains the sole water source for staff and visitors. The results reinforce what our mothers always told us. Don’t let your mouth meet the spout. And if you did? “You’re increasing your likelihood of a harmful exposure,” water expert Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech told the Star. Pregnant women, children and people who are sick would be most vulnerable, he said. Harmful pathogens that could live on fountain and cooler spouts include e-coli and legionella, which can cause gastrointestinal problems and pneumonia-like symptoms. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - 16 gadgets that will save you money
Yes, gadgets look impressive in front of your mates and they can also make your life a little easier. But the great thing is they can actually save you money too. So here, I’m going to run through the top gadgets and gizmos that can save you cash and boost your street cred it the process. Energy savers - With the price of energy always on the increase, we all want to do everything we can to save money on our bills. The best way to save money on your energy, is to check that you’re getting the best deal, so have a little look at our energy comparison centre to make sure you’re not paying too much. Convenient cash savers - Along with generating savings on our energy bills, there are also many other gadgets that will help your finances in convenient ways. (click the link for full details) - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Filling Up Prisons Without Fighting Crime
UCLA Professor of Public Affairs Mark Kleiman is "angry about having too much crime and an intolerable number of people behind bars." The United States is home to five percent of the world's population and 25 percent of the world's prisoners, yet, says Kleiman, our high incarceration rate isn't making us safer. In his book, "When Brute Force Fails," Kleiman explains that, when it comes to punishment, there is a trade-off between severity and swiftness. For too long the U.S. has erred heavily on the side of severity, but if we concentrate enforcement and provide immediate consequences for law-breakers, Kleiman says we can both reduce the crime rate and put fewer people in prison. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Walmart rewards green ideas with shelf space
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer is looking for creative ideas and inventions in the energy-saving sector. The four-month exercise, which attracted students from 51 colleges and 29 high schools in 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, brought in a total of 663 proposals on waste emissions and recycling, energy-saving production and sustainable product packaging and design. A total of 100 creative ideas and 100 energy-saving inventions received awards. "We are looking for innovative ideas and products that not only can be sold to our customers, but also can be used in our daily operations, for example in our own buildings and logistics. We are always testing new ideas that can reduce our costs or the environmental footprint," said Matt Kistler, senior vice-president for sustainability at the company commonly known as Walmart. The company also said it hoped that it would be working actively with the winners and Walmart's suppliers to further apply these ideas into its supply chain. Walmart China has launched a sustainability value network in China to bring new and creative ideas into practical application, helping to improve its supply chain and logistics processes. "In our view, the benefit that we see in sustainable activities will also benefit our suppliers," Kistler said. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Raytheon Heat-beam Weapon: Inhuman Or Not?
The ACLU in their letter to the Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy D. Baca,cited the development and use of the rude weapon which emits a small ball like “unbearable heat ray” - contrary to the Eighth Amendment’s protection against “cruel and unusual punishment.” In answer to this allegation ,Commander Bob Osborne of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has cited the new heat-emitting weapon ,a very mild form of defense as compared to the current array of batons, Tasers, pepper spray, tear gas or firing rubber bullets being used. According to him, this directed-energy invention is not at all harmful or lethal as it passes through only 1/64th of an inch of the skin causing very little pain and no injury. Once the rays are stopped, there are no lasting effects one can recognize or feel due to the heat passes by. The bandwidth is also too short ,being a mere 85 feet as compared to the 800 feet for the Active Denial System used for crowd control. “There are people who distrust anything government does and think police are vicious and want to hurt people,” said Osborne, adding that he has himself been through heat beam experience which feels nothing more than opening a hot oven. “We don’t want to hurt people. This is much more humane than the alternatives.” The device is only a control measure and does not intend to give rise to any losses, financial or physical. Osborne, who has for over 2 years, handled the technology department for the county sheriff says “Law enforcement doesn’t have research and development. We look to other organizations, like the military, for improvements to solve the problems we have.” However, the ACLU stills questions it’s use in their letter to the County Sheriff, giving instances of few mishaps caused by to the use of this directed energy weapon in the military, leading to serious burn injuries. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Cyborg Fly steers Robot
In this video, a fruit fly steers a small robot through an obstacle course. The researchers at ETH Zurich's Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems glued a fly down in front of an array of LEDs and flashed patterns that tricked it into thinking it was flying. Data from a computer vision system trained on the fly's wings was then translated into commands for the mobile robot in the obstacle course. The robot was outfitted with sensors that triggered the appropriate light patterns on the LEDs. The whole shebang is called The Cyborg Fly. "As autonomous robots get smaller, their size and speed approach that of the biological counterparts from which they are often inspired," they write in the paper, adding that their technique could "be relevant to the tracking of micro and nano robots, where high relative velocities make them hard to folow and where robust visual position feedback is crucial for sensing and control..." The Cyborg Fly is not the only "flight simulator" for bugs, and other research groups have used insects to control robots. But still, the ETH project stands out because of its high-speed vision component. This system could be useful not only for biology research, to study insect flight and track fast movements of appendages or the body, but also for industrial applications -- for monitoring a production line or controlling fast manipulators, for example. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Over 200 Genes influenced by Vitamin D
Vitamin D found to influence the function of over 200 of your genes, deficiency increase your risk for numerous diseases. New research from the University of Oxford shows the extent to which vitamin D interacts with your DNA. They used new DNA sequencing technology to create a map of vitamin D receptor binding across the genome. The vitamin D receptor is a protein activated by vitamin D, which attaches itself to DNA and thus influences what proteins are made from your genetic code. The extent to which vitamin D deficiency may increase susceptibility to a wide range of diseases is dramatically highlighted in this new research. Scientists have mapped the points at which vitamin D interacts with our DNA – and identified over two hundred genes that it directly influences. It is estimated that one billion people worldwide do not have sufficient vitamin D. This deficiency is thought to be largely due to insufficient exposure to the sun and in some cases to poor diet. Vitamin D deficiency increase your susceptibility to autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes, as well as certain cancers, rickets and even dementia. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Full-Body Scanners Deployed In Street-Roving Vans
"Forbes reports that the same technology used at airport check points, capable of seeing through clothes and walls, has also been rolling out on US streets where law enforcement agencies have deployed the vans to search for vehicle-based bombs. 'It's no surprise that governments and vendors are very enthusiastic about [the vans],' says Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. 'But from a privacy perspective, it's one of the most intrusive technologies conceivable.' Rotenberg adds that the scans, like those in the airport, potentially violate the fourth amendment. 'Without a warrant, the government doesn't have a right to peer beneath your clothes without probable cause,' Rotenberg says. 'If the scans can only be used in exceptional cases in airports, the idea that they can be used routinely on city streets is a very hard argument to make.'" - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Pentagon Selects Companies To Build Flying Humvees
"The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected two companies to proceed with the next stage of its Transformer, known as TX — a fully automated four-person vehicle that can drive like a car and then take off and fly like an aircraft to avoid roadside bombs. Lockheed Martin and AAI Corp., a unit of Textron Systems, are currently in negotiations with DARPA for the first stage of the Transformer project, several industry sources told Popular Mechanics at a robotics conference here in Denver." - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Just Where Is The Lincoln Memorial, Anyhow?
"Searching Google Maps for the Lincoln Memorial is returning the location of the FDR Memorial instead. Conservative bloggers smell a conspiracy since Glenn Beck is holding his 'Restoring Honor' gathering at the Lincoln Memorial tomorrow (August 28). Notes for the map listing on Google state 'This place has unverified edits'; so, did someone claim the listing and edit the location?" (this date is past and is now showing the Lincoln Memorial) / How many people showed up for that Glenn Beck prayer party? * CBS News: Glenn Beck Rally Attracts Estimated 87,000 * Michelle Bachmann: One million - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Cartoon that got an Ohio high school student in trouble

Remember: "POLITICIANS & DIAPERS BOTH NEED TO BE CHANGED OFTEN, AND FOR THE SAME REASON" - Thanks Ken for the Graphic

08/30/10 - MIT Unveils Oil-Skimming Robot Swarm Prototype
"Today MIT reveals a swarm of autonomous floating robots that can digest an oil spill. The 16-foot robots drag a nanowire mesh that acts like a conveyor belt to soak up surface oil 'like paper towels soak up water,' absorbing 20 times its weight and then harmlessly 'digesting' the oil by burning it off. Powered by 21.5 square feet of solar panels, the 'Seaswarm' robots run on the power of a lightbulb, and with just 100 watts 'could potentially clean continuously for weeks' without human intervention, MIT announced. The swarm uses GPS data and communicates wirelessly to move as a coordinated group to 'corral, absorb and process' oil spills, and MIT researchers estimate that a fleet of 5,000 could clean up a gulf-sized spill within one month." - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - Hotel room door lock picking
Here’s further proof that you should never leave anything of value in your hotel room. We’re not worried about someone getting in while the room is occupied. But these methods of defeating the chain lock and opening the door without a keycard (YouTube login required) do show how easy it is for the bad guys to steal your stuff. - Full Article Source

08/30/10 - China Plans To Mine the Yellow Sea Floor
"Details are limited but state media is reporting on $75 million being put into a new research facility in Qingdao, Shandong Province that will conduct research into mining the sea floor. From the article: 'Scientists believe sea beds at a depth of 4,000 to 6,000 meters hold abundant deposits of rare metals and methane hydrate, a solidified form of natural gas bound into ice that can serve as a new energy source.' The research center's first goal is to do surveying and exploration with a new submersible named 'Jiaolong' (a mythical aquatic Chinese dragon). Hopefully these quests yield energy resources to meet growing demand for resources like liquefied coal in China." - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Personal energy systems now practical
200-fold boost in fuel cell efficiency can bring practical personalized energy systems say researchers. Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers say they have a major new breakthrough that will make personal energy systems practical. Soon, say researchers, you will be able to make all of your own energy for heating, cooling and powering your vehicles. The breakthrough is the discovery of a powerful new catalyst, 200 times more efficient than existing catalysts, which will let solar energy production systems turn daytime production into hydrogen to provide power at night. 'Our goal is to make each home its own power station,' said study leader Daniel Nocera, Ph.D. 'We're working toward development of personalized energy units that can be manufactured, distributed and installed inexpensively.' - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Scientists work to harness lightning for electricity
A group of chemists from the University of Campinas in Brazil presented research on Wednesday claiming they've figured out how electricity is formed and released in the atmosphere. Based on this knowledge, the team said it believes a device could be developed for extracting electrical charges from the atmosphere and using it for electricity. They found that silica becomes more negatively charged when high levels of water vapor are present in the air, in other words during high humidity. They also found that aluminum phosphate becomes more positively charged in high humidity. "This was clear evidence that water in the atmosphere can accumulate electrical charges and transfer them to other materials it comes into contact with. We are calling this 'hygroelectricity,' meaning 'humidity electricity,'" Galembeck said in a statement. But the discovery, if true, goes against the commonly held theory among scientists such as the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, that water is electroneutral--that it cannot store a charge. Galembeck, who is a member of the IUPAC, told New Scientist that he does not dispute the principle of electroneutrality in theory, but that he believes real-life substances like water have ion imbalances that can allow it to produce a charge. The hygroelectricity discovery could lead to the invention of a device that is able to tap into all that energy. Akin to a solar panel, a hygroelectrical panel on a roof would capture atmospheric electricity that could then be transferred for a building's energy use, according to the University of Capinas team. In addition to capturing electricity, such a device could also be used to drain the area around a building of its electrical charge, preventing the atmospheric discharge of electricity during storms--aka lightning. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Reader urges citizens to stand tall

EDITOR: Fear can destroy justice, common sense, brotherhood and faith. How can so many decent people in the USA sit back and let the current administration in Washington, D.C., second-guess, mock and dismantle the U.S. Constitution and all the basic values and principles that keep this great nation together?

It's a nation of hope and opportunity that our fathers, their fathers, and distant fathers fought, sacrificed, worked and died for. How can we ignore or downplay what our fathers and their families believed in, dreamed of, and gave all for, knowing they were protected and encouraged by a country of laws and spirit?

Our people and leaders have made terrible mistakes in the past. But through reason, courage, conviction, good will and fairness, we have prevailed and overcome.

We citizens are now faced with disheartening and deceiving government leaders who don't respect us, or our country's unparalleled and glorious past. We are faced with an untried leader who won't take the time and energy to truly understand our love for this wonderful country.

We citizens have in our midst a government of manipulation, darkness and divide; a government with a negative attitude and posture toward business, prosperity, competitiveness and invention. We have a government and leadership that believes the distribution of wealth, unbridled spending, and the suppression of desire, a pseudo formula that in any real economic environment fails and fails greatly.

We, the citizens of the United States of America, are directly faced with an honorable task our forefathers faced and defeated. These strong Americans before us became victors, through the power of right on their side.

All we have to do is remember who we are, what our country is worth to the rest of the world, and act - not with hatred or violence, but with valor, ballots, honesty and bravery.

Remember, fear means nothing when it is exposed by the light of freedom, fairness and liberty for all. Citizens, fear will never defeat truth. Again, gallantly stand up - your country needs you. - James Pickens - Prescott - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Boffins build lie detector for crooked CEOs
The system was developed by researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business by analyzing the conference-call transcripts of companies that went on to report a significant restatement to financial earnings that involved a change in net income, the disclosure of a material weakness, a change of auditor, or a late filing. The linguistic classification models performed “significantly better than a random classifier by 4% - 6% with the overall accuracy of 50% - 65%,” the researchers reported. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - First Time in Modern History Number of Americans Paying for TV Falls
Television is dead. Long live television. For the first time in modern history, the number of Americans paying for television subscriptions has fallen, as a new generation of technology and the recession takes hold. Research from industry specialist SNL Kagan shows that the entire US paid television industry lost 216,000 customers in the three months to June, having gained 378,000 customers in the same period last year. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Aliens could operate through thinking robots, astronomer says
The quest to find alien life so far has generally followed standard rules of biochemistry, working on the assumption that detectable extraterrestrial beings would be biologically “alive”. But Dr Shostak said astronomers may be overlooking the existence of “sentient machines” from outerspace. Writing in Acta Astronautica, the astronomer argued that while evolution can take a large amount of time to produce beings capable of inter-planetary communication, technology could advance fast enough to move beyond the species that created it. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Geoengineering 'not a solution' to sea-level rise
Even the most extreme geoengineering approaches will not stop sea levels from rising due to climate change, a study suggests. New research proposes that as many as 150 million people could be affected as ocean levels increases by 30cm to 70cm by the end of this century. This could result in flooding of low-lying coastal areas, including some of the world's largest cities. The team published the study in the journal PNAS. Scientists led by John Moore from Beijing Normal University, China, write that to combat global warming, people need to concentrate on sharply curbing greenhouse gas emissions and not rely too much on proposed geoengineering methods. "Substituting geoengineering for greenhouse emission control would be to burden future generations with enormous risk," said Svetlana Jevrejeva of the UK's National Oceanography Centre, a co-author of the study. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Doctors' Religious Beliefs Strongly Influence End-of-Life Decisions
Atheist or agnostic doctors are almost twice as willing to take decisions that they think will hasten the end of a very sick patient's life as doctors who are deeply religious, suggests research published online in the Journal of Medical Ethics. The findings are based on a postal survey of more than 8500 UK doctors, spanning a wide range of specialties, which was designed to see what influence religious belief -- or lack of it -- had on end of life care. The specialties included those in which end of life decisions would be particularly likely to arise, such as neurology, elderly care, palliative care, intensive care and hospital specialties, and general practice. The doctors were asked about the care of their last patient who died, if relevant -- including whether they had provided continuous deep sedation until death and whether they had discussed decisions judged likely to shorten life with the patient -- their own religious beliefs, ethnicity, and their views on assisted dying/euthanasia. Nearly 4000 doctors responded (42% of the total surveyed), and almost 3000 reported on the care of a patient who had died. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - God isn't keeping track of our sins…..but a Homeland Security satellite is
I hear it every day from nearly everyone I speak to or correspond with; the overwhelming sense that we, as a nation, are under attack. The attack is not coming from unidentifiable enemies, nor is it coming from half crazed Mid-easterner’s who “hate us for our freedoms”. The attack is coming from our own government; it is our own government who hates us not only for our freedoms, but also for our refusal to go quietly into the intended one world government where we have neither rights, nor the right to continue to exist. This did not start under the Obama Administration, as most of the framework for all that has passed in the last eighteen months was laid during the previous Bush regimes. Obama and the Democrats are just putting the finishing touches on what Bush and the Republicans put into motion. As it turns out, it isn’t God who is keeping a list of our sins: It’s a Homeland Security satellite logging any and all information it can find and transmitting it to HSD, NSA, FBI, CIA, and your local fusion center along with twenty other spy agencies all of whom stalk the net in order to find out who is naughty and who is nice. But you are supposed to think it is some “terrorist” from the other side of the world intent on brainwashing you via the net and who will one day “interrupt your service!” These are just three of the assaults we currently face. In addition, are the regular entries to the federal register by various private government corporations, who write “laws” at will. These “laws” or changes to rules and regulations of these corporations, bypass congress and even the president. These agencies are little mini dictatorships that have been unlawfully empowered to harass and terrorize the public while claiming they only want to keep us safe! The overwhelming sense of the public that an attack is taking place is quickly followed by an expression of grief. Every day, from every possible venue, another piece of legislation is rolled out that limits our rights, obliterates our Constitution, and which is sold to us as something for our own good and as the only way government can keep us safe; as if not passing it would cause another 9/11 style attack. The quiet threat of leaving us exposed unless we forfeit our freedom and our rights is ever present. The attack on the US is real; it just isn’t coming from some unknown, from some place way “over there”. This attack is coming from people we know…..we voted for them. (Read the entire article, it will make you cringe. Thanks Ken for the headsup! - JWD) - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Scientific Journal Veers Into Demonology, Issues Retraction
It must get tedious sometimes, running a scientific journal--all that dull data, all those pesky p-values. Wouldn't it be cool if science journals had accounts of Biblical miracles, and speculation on events thousands of years in the past? That seems to be what the editors of Virology Journal were thinking, when they decided to publish a speculative analysis of a Biblical miracle by Ellis Hon et al., of Hong Kong. Even from the very first sentence of the abstract, which mentions a woman with a fever cured "by our Lord Jesus Christ," it ought to have been clear to the article's reviewers that it was not written to the highest objective scientific standards. The authors go on to present evidence that the woman likely had the flu: "The brief duration, high fever, and abrupt cessation of fever makes influenza disease probable. A bacterial illness, the authors suggest, is out of the question. But they are willing to take up the possibility of "whether the illness was inflicted by a demon or devil," as reported elsewhere in the Bible (and they cite 10 instances in the Gospel, chapter and verse). But in this particular case, "demonic influence is not stated"--yup, so it must be the flu. The paper is surreal in its apparent view that natural and supernatural explanations are equally valid in a modern scientific journal. The article caused such outrage that it was formally retracted. It's still online, though, and you can read it here: Analysis of a case of high fever that happened 2000 years ago in Biblical time. The authors are all from China. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Expatistan
What is Expatistan? The number of relatively young, educated people voluntarily moving from country to country is growing. Their motivation is a combination of career related issues and a desire to experience a new culture. These people are commonly referred to as 'expats' and they have become a regular fixture in urban environments around the world. Expats are faced with a number of specific problems, which locals do not face in terms of finding services and fulfilling needs, especially if they are not proficient in the local language. Expats' difficulties begin even before they make the decision to move to a new city. Expats want answers to questions like, "how much money will I need in .....?" and "Will the salary that I have been offered in ..... allow me to maintain my current standard of living?" and they are generally not willing to pay large sums of money for answers. Expatistan.com is dedicated to expats around the world. It's designed to be a down-to-earth, realistic index that is free and easy to use. Expatistan.com is a collaborative effort - created by people for people around the world. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Scientists create 'dry water'
The substance resembles powdered sugar and could revolutionise the way chemicals are used. Each particle of dry water contains a water droplet surrounded by a sandy silica coating. In fact, 95 per cent of dry water is ''wet'' water. Tests show that it is more than three times better at absorbing carbon dioxide than ordinary water. Dry water may also prove useful for storing methane and expanding the energy source potential of the natural gas. Dr Ben Carter, from the University of Liverpool, presented his research on dry water at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston. He said: ''There's nothing else quite like it. Hopefully, we may see dry water making waves in the future.'' Another application demonstrated by Dr Carter's team was using dry water as a catalyst to speed up reactions between hydrogen and maleic acid. This produces succinic acid, a key raw material widely used to make drugs, food ingredients, and consumer products. Usually hydrogen and maleic acid have to be stirred together to make succinic acid. But this is not necessary when using dry water particles containing maleic acid, making the process greener and more energy efficient. ''If you can remove the need to stir your reactions, then potentially you're making considerable energy savings,'' said Dr Carter. The technology could be adapted to create ''dry'' powder emulsions, mixtures of two or more unblendable liquids such as oil and water, the researchers believe. Dry emulsions could make it safer and easier to store and transport potentially harmful liquids. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - See-Saw Rocks Dead Back to Life (Jul, 1934)
PERSONS apparently drowned can be “rocked” back to life by a new artificial resuscitation apparatus being installed in hospitals all over England. The machine produces 10 to 15 see-saw motions a minute to induce an exact imitation of natural breathing. It work automatically once the patient is balanced on the light metal frame. Photo caption; "Patient apparently drowned is rocked by hand until four straps which tie him to light metal frame of apparatus are adjusted. See-saw process then continues automatically till patient is 'rocked' back to life." - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Chinese likely to leave us far behind
China just passed Japan to become the world’s second largest economy. With that news, American assumptions about China need to be reconsidered. I traveled to China earlier this summer as a humble tourist. What I saw there was not the Third World-scape I had expected. In three major cities I visited, Shanghai, Beijing and Xian, the public parks and museums were world-class; people were well-dressed; cars, buses and trucks on the road were mostly late-models; airports were modern and efficient. China’s tremendous energy was evident everywhere, and so was evidence of its growing wealth. A simple anecdote will illustrate America’s failure to understand China’s momentum and set our own solid economic trajectory. An American inventor was exhibiting a geo-thermal device for the Chinese at their World Expo, in desperation at failing to generate interest in America. The Chinese aggressively embraced his innovative technology and quickly moved to manufacture his invention. It seems that the U.S. is not just slow to make decisions; we have stalled out. China has set up management schools in its universities and invites mid- to upper-level managers and government officials from resource-rich Africa and South America to attend. This should be of concern to Americans. Following World War II, the United States was the first choice for advanced and graduate studies. We attracted and welcomed the best global students. The net effect was a vast expansion of the brain trust of America and building of key relationships with the emerging business and government leadership around the world. America’s commitment to its own educational reform (increasing standards and promoting student success) needs to be balanced by a reinvigorated welcoming of students from around the world. We can’t compete economically with China if we accept a failed educational system in our own country. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Invention to ‘absorb’ carbon emission
Scientists under Sundara Ramaprabhu, head of the Alternative Energy and Nano Technology Group at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has come up with a material they claim can absorb carbon dioxide emission from the atmosphere. Three years of painstaking research under the guidance of Prof. Ramaprabhu came to a conclusion last Wednesday at the Alternative Energy and Nano Materials Laboratory in the IIT campus. “The nano composite material developed by us absorbed all carbon dioxide emitted under pressure. We confirmed the capability of the new material a dozen times and now I can say with authority that we have a material capable of absorbing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” Prof. Ramaprabhu told this newspaper. Prof. Ramaprabhu declined to give the name of the new nano composite material developed in his laboratory. “I’ll reveal the name of the material after filing the patent application. This invention is for entire humanity and we want the benefit of this technology to reach the common man at the earliest,” he said. The unique feature of Prof. Ramaprabhu’s innovation is that the carbon dioxide absorbed by the nano material could be reused in the food processing industry. “Food processing industry needs lot of carbon dioxide for preservation-related works. The carbon dioxide absorbed by the new nano material could be effectively used by this sector and there is no need to bother about what we will do with it,” he said. Prof. Ramaprabhu also disclosed that the technology was quite affordable. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Microbes may be to thank for BP oil spill cleanup
One of the giant oil plumes that formed due to the oil spill has been degraded at a much more significant rate than first anticipated. The change is attributed to a previously undiscovered species believed to normally reside at the bottom of deep ocean waters, but catalyzed to multiply by the ocean's pollution. "Our findings show that the influx of oil profoundly altered the microbial community by significantly stimulating deep-sea psychrophilic (cold temperature) gamma-proteobacteria that are closely related to known petroleum-degrading microbes," said Terry Hazen, a microbial ecologist who is leader of the Ecology Department and Center for Environmental Biotechnology at Berkeley Lab's Earth Sciences Division and the principal investigator with the Energy Biosciences Institute. "This enrichment of psychrophilic petroleum degraders with their rapid oil biodegradation rates appears to be one of the major mechanisms behind the rapid decline of the deepwater dispersed oil plume that has been observed," Hazen said. The study included the analysis of 200 ocean samples collected from 17 deepwater sites between May 25 and June 2. Hazen and his team used the award-winning Berkeley Lab PhyloChip, a DNA-based microarray the size of a credit card, to analyze the ocean samples. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Robotics -MIT Intros Oil-Eating Robots
A recent CNN post highlighted the development and deployment of autonomous, oil-scrubbing robots. What’s really fascinating about this invention is that these robots can find the oil on their own, without relying on human intervention. When the robots find the oil, they contact all of their robot friends and invite them to the feast. The robots work together to figure out how best to clean up the mess. This latest innovation is a development by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was presented by the school this week. The focus of the presentation was on the prototypical robot dubbed Seaswarm. Priced at a mere $20,000 each, the robots are set to be unveiled to the public on Saturday and are slated to be available to actually get to work in about a year.According to CNN, the robots resemble a treadmill conveyor belt attacked to an ice cooler. The conveyor belt part of the system floats on the surface of the water. As the system turns, the belt then propels the robot forward and lifts the oil off the water. It gets a little help from nanomaterial that is designed to attract oil and repel water. MIT (News - Alert) refers to the material on the robot’s conveyor belt as the paper towel for oil spills. It is said to be able to absorb up to 20 times its weight in oil. Once this oil is absorbed from the ocean’s surface, the robot either burns it off on the spot with a heater or it bags the oil to leave in on the surface of the water for pickup at a later time. The oil could then be reused or recycled. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - New Battery Is Most Powerful Ever
We're used to Nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium-Nickel (Li-Ni) batteries, and Lithium-Iron (Li-Ion), as you'd find in cars such as the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt. Now meet the Xenon difluoride (XeF2) battery, made of a material normally used to etch silicon conductors. Xenon difluoride molecules are usually kept relatively far apart, but to make the battery they are squeezed together at pressures of one million atmospheres--similar to those you'd find half way to the Earth's core--between two diamond anvils. Under such massive pressures the molecules go from their normal state to a two-dimensional semiconductor, but then begin to form three-dimentional metallic network structures. This forces the mechanical energy of the compression process to be stored as chemical energy, just like you'd find in a regular battery. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Inside a Nevada family's underwater fort
Jordan Needham, dropped us a line via Submitterator to show off the dome-shaped, oxygen-filled underwater fort—nicknamed The Bubble Room—that he and his family built at the bottom of a Nevada mountain lake. Made from an air-filled vinyl bladder, held in place by an intricate system of cabling connected to an octagonal frame of metal pipe, this amazing hideaway had me at, "Blurple burblup." I had to know more. Luckily, Jordan was kind enough to answer a few questions about how his family built The Bubble Room, the rules they follow to keep it safe and their plans for selling a commercial version. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Gut bacteria for better health and longer life
Engineering a reshaping of your gut microbiome could soon become a path to better health and longer life. Scientists from University Hospital Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (Barcelona, Spain), the University of Colorado (Boulder, CO), and Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain) have analyzed the long-term effects of gut bacterial transplantation in rats, revealing crucial insight that can aid efforts to maintain good health. A healthy human body contains at least tenfold more bacteria cells than human cells. The most abundant and diverse microbial community resides in the intestine, and unhealthy changes to the gut microbiota have been linked to numerous diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. By sequencing and analyzing microbial DNA present in the feces of recipient rats, the group could identify bacteria present and monitor changes in microbial diversity induced by the donor microbiota. Surprisingly, they found that not only could gut microbial diversity be successfully reshaped to resemble that of the donor, but that these changes are long-term, persisting three months after transplantation - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - 18 Signs That America Is Rotting Right In Front Of Our Eyes
The truth is that millions of Americans can watch America rotting right in front of their eyes by stepping out on their front porches. Record numbers of homes have been foreclosed on and in some of the most run down cities as many as a third of all houses have been abandoned. Unemployment remains at depressingly high levels and the number of Americans on food stamps continues to set new records month after month. Due to severe budget cuts, class sizes are exploding and school programs are being eliminated. In some areas of the U.S. schools are even going to four day weeks. With little to no funding available, bridges are crumbling and street lights are being turned off in many communities. In some areas, asphalt roads are actually being ground up and turned back into gravel roads because they are less expensive to maintain. There aren't even as many police available to patrol America's decaying cities because budget problems have forced local communities across the U.S. to lay off tens of thousands of officers. Once upon a time, the American people worked feverishly to construct beautiful, shining communities from coast to coast. But now we get to watch those communities literally crumble and decay in slow motion. Nothing lasts forever, but for those of us who truly love America it is an incredibly sad thing to witness what is now happening to the great nation that our forefathers built. The following are 18 signs that America is rotting right in front of our eyes.... - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Printing wings for microrobotic flying insects
Researchers from Cornell University are using 3D printers, which squirt out physical objects layer by layer, to develop wings for tiny flying micro-robots. Their latest robot, built from polyester stretched over a carbon fiber frame, weighs just 3.89 grams and can hover for almost 90 seconds. From New Scientist: What's so special about 3D printers? They make it possible to create complex structures, such as wings that are warped to improve performance, like the manually curved wings of a paper aeroplane, says Richter. Their printer is capable of producing features just 40 micrometres wide, and thin films just 16 micrometres thick. The other advantage of printing is speed, says Lipson. Once they have arrived at a new wing design, printing a set takes under an hour. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Toyota Adds External Speakers To Warn Pedestrians
"When I was a kid, playing with my matchbox cars, I used to say 'VROOOM VROOOM' to pretend my toy cars had big engines in them. Well it seems that Toyota has decided to do the same thing with the Prius by optionally installing, in Japan, external speakers to alert pedestrians of oncoming Priuses." - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Rustock Botnet Responsible For 40% of Spam
"More than 40 percent of the world's spam is coming from a single network of computers that computer security experts continue to battle, according to new statistics from Symantec's MessageLabs' division. The Rustock botnet has shrunk since April, when about 2.5 million computers were infected with its malicious software that sent about 43 billion spam e-mails per day. Much of it is pharmaceutical spam." - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - NJ Fights Landfill Odors Using Fragrant Spray Trucks
Not to be outdone by the Chinese and their deodorant guns, Middlesex County, New Jersey has unveiled their secret weapon against landfill stink, a perfume spraying truck. The flatbed truck equipped with special nozzles now drives around the 200-plus acre landfill spraying hundreds of gallons of a soapy, slightly citrus-scented liquid. From the article: "'It has a pleasant, showery smell,' said Richard Fitamant, executive director of the Middlesex County Utilities Authority, which runs the landfill. 'It's not offensive and it's not overpowering. It's a light scent.' Faced with a competing mandate to handle the loads of trash while curbing the stench, officials have turned to the roving, over-sized air freshener to control the smells wafting from the 200-plus acre landfill." - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Viruses Tapped To Create Spray-On Batteries
"Two different viruses have been used to create the cathode and anode for a lithium-ion battery. If research pans out, the parts could be grown in and harvested from tobacco plants and then woven into or sprayed onto clothing to power a wide range of electronic devices." - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Grad Student Invents Cheap Laser Cutter
"Peter Jansen, a PhD student and member of the RepRap community, has constructed a working prototype of an inexpensive table-top laser cutter built out of old CD/DVD drives as an offshoot of his efforts to design an under $200 open-source Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printer. Where traditional laser cutters use powerful, fixed-focus beams, this new technique dynamically adjusts the focal point of the laser using a reciprocating motion similar to a reciprocating saw, allowing a far less powerful and inexpensive laser diode to be used. The technique is currently limited to cutting black materials to a depth of only a few millimeters, but should still be useful and enabling for Makers and other crafters. The end-goal is to create a hybrid inexpensive 3D printer that can be easily reconfigured for 2D laser cutting, providing powerful making tools to the desktop." - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Follow Up On Solar Neutrinos and Radioactive Decay
"A few days ago, Slashdot carried a story that was making the rounds: a team of physicists claimed to have detected a strange variation in radioactive decay rates, which they attributed to the mysterious influence of solar neutrinos. The findings attracted immediate attention because they seemed to upend two tenets of physics: that radioactive decay is constant, and that neutrinos very, very rarely interact with matter (trillions of the particles are zinging through your body right now). So Discover Magazine's news blog 80beats followed up on the initial burst of news and interviewed several physicists who work on neutrinos. They are decidedly skeptical." - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Fire and Explosion At Hydrogen Station Near Rochester Airport
"There was a hydrogen fire and explosion at a renewable fuel station used by government vehicles near Rochester's airport. The nearby freeway and airport were closed resulting in diverted flights. This may the first major incident at a hydrogen vehicle refueling station. GM has their major fuel cell development center nearby, in the town of Honeoye Falls. The fire occurred when the 18-wheeler tractor truck was transferring hydrogen to the station. The airport press conference reported that airport firefighters responded first and initially waited on the scene deciding how to respond. No news yet if the hard to see flames of hydrogen combustion contributed to this delay. The fueling station is also adjacent to a NY State Trooper station, and a firefighting training facility is a few blocks away." RossR also provides a Police/FD Radio transcript. Luckily, no one was killed, and only two injured, including the driver. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - The racism con job
Jackie Mason sees skin color used as distraction for in-the-tank economy. - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Sit Longer, Die Sooner
"Bad news for most of us here — The Chicago Tribune is reporting that even if you get plenty of exercize, sitting down all day reduces your lifespan. From the article: 'Even after adjusting for body mass index (BMI) and smoking, the researchers found that women who sit more than 6 hours a day were 37 percent more likely to die than those who sit less than 3 hours; for men, long-sitters were 17 percent more likely to die. People who exercise regularly had a lower risk, but still significant, risk of dying. Those who sat a lot and moved less than three and a half hours per day are the most likely to die early: researchers found a 94 percent increased risk for women and 48 percent increase for men, they announced recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology.'" - Full Article Source

08/27/10 - Woman throws cat into wheelie bin
This is a great example of the almost total loss of privacy we have in our lives today. Yes, it was totally wrong of this woman to do that to a cat or any animal, but it was wrong that she was videotaped without her knowledge or permission. Seems like no matter where we go, we are being watched by someone using video recording systems. The standard argument seems to be, 'don't do anything wrong and you'll have nothing to worry about'. To me, it's a matter of privacy. You don't want that attitude applied to all your personal and private information. Sometimes you want to do something outrageous just for the fun of it and as long as it doesn't hurt anyone or damage anything, you shouldn't have to worry about being taped or monitored. Time for a scrambler to blank out any video cameras near enough to record our activities. - JWD - Full Article Source

08/24/10 - Man invents machine that turns plastic back into oil
High temperature produces gas from plastic which condenses to oil through water chamber. 1kg of plastic yields 1 liter of oil. - Full Article Source

08/24/10 - Swimming in self-sufficiency: The Garden Pool
Instead of a traditional fix-up, a Mesa, Ariz., family opts to turn a down-and-out backyard swimming pool into a thriving urban garden complete with organic veggies and herbs, chicken coop and tilapia pond. Check out Gardenpool.org, a website the chronicles a Mesa, Ariz., family of four’s transformation of "an old backyard swimming pool into a self-sufficient garden in a desert city.” In October 2009, the family in question purchased a foreclosed home in Mesa that came complete with a large, run-down backyard pool. Weary of repairing the pool only to be responsible for the massive amounts of water, energy, and cleaning chemicals needed to maintain it, the family created a one-of-a-kind Garden Pool — think of it as a DIY in-ground urban greenhouse — using materials like chicken wire, lava rock, irrigation tubing, buckets, and a whole lot of imagination in only two days. The total cost of materials? About $1,500. The family’s goal was to become self-sufficient by 2012. Self-sufficiency was reached prematurely thanks to a unique combination of solar power, water conservation, hydroponic gardening, organic horticulture, and biofiltration. Among the fresh veggies, fruits, and herbs grown in and around the pool are grapes, berries, peppers, rosemary, duckweed, cilantro, eggplant, and two varieties of tomatoes. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Garden Pool is the aquaculture set-up: using plastic kiddie pools, the family installed a tilapia pond within the pool that yields unlimited fish. And where there’s fish there’s also fowl: the Garden Pool also houses a chicken coop. - Full Article Source

08/24/10 - Don't Get Taken By This Invention Scam
He thought he had an invention that would make him rich... but ended up calling KUSI's Michael Turko with a real problem. Turko says the man spent big bucks trying to turn his dream into reality, but ended up with next to nothing to show for it. - Full Article Source

08/24/10 - Laminar water jet explained
[Dave] has put together this laminar water jet, mainly from PVC and drinking straws. There isn’t a project page, but he does go into a little depth explaining how it works. The water enters at the bottom and is slowed down by a series of sponges, then forced through a column of drinking straws. It then pools at the top before being forced through a perfectly smooth and sharp nozzle. We did manage to find this other video, making one for $15 that has a ton of information and links. How long before we see a submission of a complete music synchronized fountain in one of our readers yard? - Full Article Source

08/24/10 - A different take on electric motor cars
[Craig Carmichael] has been hard at work on his electric hub motor for cars. Unlike typical electrical vehicles the plan is to bypass the transmission, differential, and everything else all together by connecting directly to the hub of the wheel. The goal of giving greater thrust and still allowing the use of a gas engine if need be. There’s really too much detail for us to even begin to try to explain the entire project in a short recap, but [Craig] builds the entire motor (from magnets to coil windings) and wires his own controller (from schematic to finished PCB), all while documenting the process thoroughly for those wishing to make their own. - Full Article Source

08/24/10 - Dissolving your earthly remains will protect the Earth
With land for burials in short supply and cremation producing around 150 kilograms of carbon dioxide per body – and as much as 200 micrograms of toxic mercury – aquamation is being touted as the greenest method for disposing of your mortal remains. The corpse is placed into a steel container and potassium is added, followed by water heated to 93 °C. The flesh and organs are completely decomposed in 4 hours, leaving bones as the only solid remains. This is similar to what's left after cremation, where the "ashes" are in fact bones hardened in the furnace and then crushed. Low-energy funeral - Aquamation uses only 10 per cent of the energy of a conventional cremation and releases no toxic emissions, says John Humphries, chief executive of Aquamation Industries in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, who developed the technology. The decomposition process, called alkaline hydrolysis, "simply speeds up the natural way that flesh decomposes in soil and water", he says. Similar methods for decomposing corpses have been developed elsewhere, but they decompose corpses at much higher temperatures. For example, Resomation, based in Glasgow, UK, dissolves bodies in sodium hydroxide at 180 °C. By decomposing pig carcasses at different water temperatures, Humphries found that the higher heat was unnecessary and that 93 °C was the most efficient temperature for body decomposition. Life from death - There are recycling possibilities too. Humphries says that aquamation, unlike cremation, will not destroy artificial implants such as hip replacements, allowing them to be reused. And after the body is decomposed, "the water is a fantastic fertiliser", he says. - Full Article Source

08/24/10 - Gulf spill: Is the oil lurking underwater?
At the surface, the oil does appear to be almost gone. But the big question is whether oil droplets are still around below the surface, and if so how long they will linger. Researchers are divided on this. For months, the government and BP burned and skimmed oil off the surface. What's more, hot temperatures boosted evaporation and microbial communities that consume surface oil. Estimating what's going on further down the water column and in sediments along the sea floor – is much more challenging. The federal government's National Incident Command (NIC) looked at all of the oil that had been released since 20 April. It factored out the oil that had been captured directly at the wellhead, oil that had been burned or skimmed, oil that had evaporated, oil that had been dispersed (both naturally and by chemical dispersants) and oil that microbes had broken down. Combined, that added up to 74 per cent of all the oil that escaped the well. In other words, they say, only 26 per cent of what NIC calls "residual" oil remains in a form that we should be worried about. But earlier this week researchers at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Sea Grant challenged that interpretation. Almost 80 per cent of the oil has not been recovered, they say. They took particular issue with the NIC's dismissal of dispersed oil hidden below the surface. "One major misconception is that oil that has dissolved into water is gone and, therefore, harmless," says Charles Hopkinson at the University of Georgia in Athens, director of Georgia Sea Grant. At stake here is the toxicity of dissolved oil in water. According to Hallberg, the Environmental Protection Agency claims that a billion droplets of water contaminated with a droplet of oil is safe to drink. So if, as the NIC suggests, the oil is reaching that point of dilution in the Gulf, we're in the clear. Not so fast, others retort. Even if we can handle some oil in our water, deep-sea animals may not be able to. Unfortunately, it's too early to know how these organisms are faring. - Full Article Source

08/24/10 - How collapsing bubbles could shoot cancer cells dead
JETS of fluid propelled by the collapse of microscopic bubbles could deliver drugs directly into cancer cells, if an idea from a team of engineers pays off. They have made the bubbles project a fine jet that is powerful enough to puncture the cell wall and enter the cell. Applying a pulse of heat or ultrasound to a fluid can produce bubbles that initially expand rapidly, before collapsing suddenly when the pulse ends. Pei Zhong and his team at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, knew that the collapsing bubbles send a pressure wave through the surrounding fluid, and that oscillations at the surface of the bubble can generate a needle-like jet. The problem is predicting where the jet will go, and how powerful it will be. "Previously, there has been little control in jetting direction, and it has been hard to control the strength of the jet," Zhong says. Now the team has shown that when pairs of bubbles collapse in close proximity, they interact in a predictable way. Using successive pulses from two lasers, one with a wavelength of 1064 nanometres and the other radiating at 532 nanometres, the team rapidly heated a sample of fluid containing the dye trypan blue. The first pulse produced a bubble of vapour 50 micrometres across, and the second produced another bubble close to the first. As the bubbles cooled and contracted, their surfaces began to oscillate, creating vortices in the surrounding fluid. The interaction between neighbouring bubbles caused them to collapse, creating a pair of jets shooting out in opposite directions. This should provide the degree of control necessary for a targeted drug delivery system, Zhong says. The size of the bubble is crucial, as it dictates the size of the jet, Zhong says. "We want to produce a tiny jet that can penetrate a cell without killing it," he adds. - Full Article Source

08/24/10 - Hair gives clues to circadian rhythms
Biochemical activity operates to the circadian rhythm, a cycle lasting roughly 24 hours. It coordinates sleep patterns, hormone production, immune responses and tissue repair, and is normally kept fine-tuned by doses of daylight. A disturbed circadian rhythm can lead to sleep deprivation and has been linked to an increased risk of developing certain diseases, including cancer. The rhythms are maintained by a set of genes whose activity can be monitored via their production of messenger RNA molecules. Makoto Akashi of Yamaguchi University in Japan and colleagues found that five head hairs or three beard hairs provided enough cells to monitor mRNA levels and pin down an individual's circadian rhythm. Akashi says that the hair test could provide a simple way to monitor these rhythms and so avoid diseases linked to a disturbed body clock. - Full Article Source

08/24/10 - Create Enormous Bubbles with a Super-Size DIY Bubble Wand
In the video Sterling Johnson, an engineer turned bubble smith, is blowing enormous bubbles at Stinson Beach, CA. He's using a super-size version of the dowel and string bubble wand found here. Don't think you need to be a professional bubble performer to pull those kind of bubbles off, however, the style of bubble wand he is using is very forgiving. Combine it with the right solution, open and close it gently in the wind—cloudy humid days are a bubble's best friend—and you'll be creating gigantic bubbles in no time. / Now you have made your bubble blower, you now have to make your bubble mix. I have found using a dish washing liquid in a 3:1 ratio of water to liquid produces the best bubbles. However if you are willing to go the extra mile for your bubble you can use 1.5 gallons of boiling water dissolved in half a teaspoon of J-lube, a small tube (4.5 ounces) of surgical lube and a 1/4 cup of glycerine (99.5% pure), 16 ounces of dishwasher liquid, 1/2 a cup of manual dishwashing liquid. See its hard, but if you are willing to spend the money on them it should give you self-healing bubbles which means you can blow smaller bubbles inside the big one, and they are stronger. - Full Article Source