A solution to the difficult issue of harvesting algae for use as a biofuel has been developed using microbubble technology pioneered at the University of Sheffield. The technique builds on previous research in which microbubbles were used to improve the way algae is cultivated. Algae produce an oil which can be processed to create a …
Damaged human heart muscle cannot be regenerated. Scar tissue grows in place of the damaged muscle cells. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim are seeking to restore complete cardiac function with the help of artificial cardiac tissue. They have succeeded in loading cardiac muscle cells onto a …
Science Daily – Physicists at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics have measured the propagation velocity of quantum signals in a many-body system. A quantum computer based on quantum particles instead of classical bits, can in principle outperform any classical computer. However, it still remains an open question, how fast and how efficient quantum …
China Briefing – 2011 Provincial GDP figures Wikipedia GDP per capita by province in China. Jiangsu Province’s GDP grew 9.2 percent to RMB4.8 trillion (US$759 billion) in 2011, according to the provincial government’s report. Jiangsu’s GDP per capita reached US$9,500. In 2012, Jiangsu (80 million), Zhejiang (56 million), Inner Mongolia (25 million) should be over …
DARPA’s Power Efficiency Revolution for Embedded Computing Technologies (PERFECT) program seeks to improve power efficiency for embedded computer systems, providing more computing per watt of electrical power. To increase awareness of this program and attract potential researchers, DARPA has scheduled a Proposers’ Day workshop Feb. 15 in Arlington, Virginia. The goal of 75 GFLOPS/watt would …
Argus Media – California’s Monterey formation, which the EIA estimates holds 15.4 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil, cannot even attract new investment from the oil major in its home state, Chevron. Other than Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum (Oxy), no major or large independent is earmarking drilling capital for the Monterey. The reticence to invest …
There is a seven page transcript about Newt Gingrich talking about his passion for space and colonizing the moon. We did a movie called A City upon a Hill and we had Buzz Aldrin in the movie, and he is so convincing, and he said you have to realize the only person who had gone …
New Scientist – Spider silk has a big future in technologies from artificial corneas to brain implants. Weight for weight, a typical spider silk is 20 times as strong as steel and four times as tough as Kevlar. It is also extremely flexible, stretching up to 50 per cent of its length without breaking. And …
The cost estimates for phase one of California High Speed rail increased to between $98.1 billion and $117.6 billion—of which approximately $12.5 billion has been secured. Although the Authority identifies the federal government as its largest potential funding source, the plan provides few details about how it expects to secure this money. The cost estimates …
Eurekalert – A new finding at the University of Manchester gives graphene’s potential a most surprising dimension – graphene can also be used for distilling alcohol. A team led by Professor Sir Andre Geim shows that graphene-based membranes are impermeable to all gases and liquids (vacuum-tight). However, water evaporates through them as quickly as if …
There are many supposed “space experts” who say that Newt Gingrich’s proposal for a permanent manned base on the moon by 2020 cannot be done. They claim that the technology is there but not the money to do it. Washington Post – Newt has said that he’d use 10 percent of the NASA budget — …