Unit 1 at the Wolsong nuclear power plant in South Korea has been restarted following the completion of a refurbishment of the pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR). It marks the first time that a Candu-6 reactor has been successfully dismantled, retubed and restarted. The 679 MWe reactor to operate for a further 25 years. It …
WHO estimates that better use of existing preventive measures could reduce the global burden of disease by as much as 70%. Safe births, safe cooking and universal vaccination would save over 10 million lives per year. The means of delivering these three things are with very simple and cheap technology, processes and education. 1. Safe …
A private European organization has a proposal for creating 100-300 kilometer high multipurpose towers. The towers would be composed of moveable lighter-than-air rings stacked upon each other. Modules would be added from the bottom up and filled with a light gas. Shuttles within the shaft could take people and payloads to the top, slowly but …
A new study published July 27 in the journal Nature shows that the neural networks in the brains of the middle-aged and elderly have weaker connections and fire less robustly than in youthful ones. Intriguingly, note the scientists, the research suggests that this condition is reversible. As people age, they tend to forget things, are …
Future trends in global population growth could be significantly affected by improvements in both the quality and quantity of education, particularly female education. Projections of future population trends that do not explicitly include education in their analysis may be flawed, according to research published in the journal Science. The research reinforces earlier findings that the …
An n-type semiconductor on top of a p-type semiconductor creates a vertical electric field (E, green arrow), while diffusion creates a depletion layer near the junction (orange), where the electric field is strongest. Heating one end of the device creates a heat gradient at right angles to the electric field (del T, red arrow). Electrons …
1. Astronomers studying observations taken by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission have discovered the first known “Trojan” asteroid orbiting the sun along with Earth. Trojans are asteroids that share an orbit with a planet near stable points in front of or behind the planet. Because they constantly lead or follow in the same …
Genetically modified human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and derived neurospheres. Using IBN’s BV-RMCE technique, a transgene (EGFP) was inserted into the AAVS1 locus on chromosome 19 in hESCs. Long-term expression of this gene was obtained in both hESCs and derived cell progenies. Cells derived from genetically modified hESCs can be used for transplantation in cell-based …
Siemens researchers have improved on their own record for wireless data transfer using white LED light. (back in 2010) In collaboration with the Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin, they have achieved a data transfer rate of up to 500 megabits per second (Mbit/s), significantly bettering the previous record of 200 Mbit/s. Wireless data transport by …
The Water, Sanitation & Hygiene program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently challenged 22 universities to submit proposals for how to invent a waterless, hygienic toilet that is safe and affordable for people in the developing world and doesn’t have to be connected to a sewer. Eight universities were awarded grants to “reinvent …
A scientist from California Institute of Technology developed solar-powered portable toilets for a self-power wastewater treatment solution to some of the sanitation issues of some developing countries. Sunlight powers an electrochemical reaction with human waste in water that generates microbe-killing oxidants and releases hydrogen gas. Environmental scientist and engineer Michael Hoffmann believes that his “Self-Contained, …