Artificial letters added to the four natural DNA bases

Two artificial DNA “letters” that are accurately and efficiently replicated by a natural enzyme have been created by US researchers. Adding the two artificial building blocks to the four that naturally comprise DNA could allow wildly different kinds of genetic engineering, they say. This combines with the previous articles about using DNA to assemble millions …

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Progress to artificial gecko like wall climbing for people

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an adhesive that is the first to master the easy attach and easy release of the reptile’s padded feet. The material could prove useful for a range of products, from climbing equipment to medical devices. One of my predictions from 2006 was that there would be …

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Bakken and Torquay Formations – A Saudi Arabia of oil under Saskatchewan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Manitoba

MORE NEWS There is a separate North Dakota study of the Bakken and a link to where the state publishes online reports of completed wells and wells with reported production. A bunch of wells were reported on April 28, 2008. BREAKING NEWS Well my guess was far to optimistic. The USGS 2008 figure was 3.65 …

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Nanothin polymer films hide drug delivery from immune system for months

Nanoscale polymer films, about four nanometers per layer, were used to build a sort of matrix or platform to hold and slowly release an anti-inflammatory drug. The films are orders of magnitude thinner than conventional drug deliver coatings, said Genhong Cheng, a researcher at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and one of the study’s authors. …

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Natural gas discovery and waste

Many places online have been discussing the 168 trillion to 516 trillion cubic feet of natural gas discovered within the north Appalachian Plateau of the USA. alfin : Peak Oil: Meet Marcellus Black Shale Roland Piquepaille’s Technology Trends : Giant gas field found in the Appalachia The yearly consumption of natural gas worldwide is slightly …

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China’s climate change and nuclear plans

A report that I had missed before. The Yomiuri newspaper reported (May, 2007) that China plans to boost its nuclear power generation capacity to between 15 and 20 times its current level by the end of 2030. Yomiuri Shimbun. The National Development and Reform Commission, which administers China’s energy policy, plans to increase nuclear power …

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Boron nanotubes

The New Scientist reports onboron nanotubes that will have many superior properties over carbon nanotubes According to Xiaobao Yang, Yi Ding and Jun Ni from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, the best configuration for boron is to take the unstable hexagon lattice and add an extra atom to the centre of some of the hexagons …

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80% efficient solar power from nanoantennas

From nanowerk, a new approach for solar power, which garnered two 2007 Nano50 awards, uses a special manufacturing process to stamp tiny square spirals of conducting metal onto a sheet of plastic. Each interlocking spiral “nanoantenna” is as wide as 1/25 the diameter of a human hair. Update: Al fin has an excellent article that …

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Research and Development in China

Christopher Thomas is Intel’s deputy general manager for China and is based in Beijing and has written an article for Forbes that describe China’s efforts and plans to develop innovation and inventions locally. The Chinese government’s goals are sweeping: to develop, influence or downright own the core intellectual property of the next generation of technologies …

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Superconductivity without phonons

The idea of superconductivity without the mediating role of lattice vibrations (phonons) has a long history. According to researchers Pines, Monthoux and Lonzarich, electron attraction leading to superconductivity can occur without phonons in materials that are on the verge of exhibiting magnetic order—in which electrons align themselves in a regular pattern of alternating spins. Pines, …

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