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http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/making-steam-without-boiling-water-thanks-to-nanoparticles/2012/11/19/3d98c4d6-3264-11e2-9cfa-e41bac906cc9_story.html

Making steam without boiling water, thanks to nanoparticles

by
David Brown

It is possible to create steam within seconds by focusing sunlight on nanoparticles mixed into water, according to new research.

That observation, reported Monday by scientists at Rice University in Texas, suggests myriad applications in places that lack electricity or burnable fuels. A sun-powered boiler could desalinate sea water, distill alcohol, sterilize medical equipment and perform other useful tasks.

“We can build a portable, compact steam generator that depends only on sunlight for input. It is something that could really be good in remote or resource-limited locations,” said Naomi J. Halas, an engineer and physicist at Rice who ran the experiment.

Whether the rig she and her colleagues describe would work on an industrial scale is unknown. If it does, it could mark an advance for solar-powered energy more generally.

“We will see how far it can ultimately go. There are certainly places and situations where it would be valuable to generate steam,” said Paul S. Weiss, editor of the American Chemical Society’s journal ACS Nano, which published the paper online in advance of the journal’s December print publication.

The experiment is more evidence that nanoscale devices — in this case, beads one-tenth the diameter of a human hair — behave in ways different from bigger objects.

In the apparatus designed by the Rice team, steam forms in a vessel of water long before the water becomes warm to the touch. It is, in effect, possible to turn a container of water into steam before it gets hot enough to boil.

“There is a disconnect between what happens when we heat a pot of water and what happens when we put nanoparticles in that water,” said Weiss, who is a chemist and director of the California Nanosystems Institute at UCLA.

“This is a novel proposed application of nanoparticles,” said A. Paul Alivisatos, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a nanotechnology expert. “I think it is very interesting and will stimulate a lot of others to think about the heating of water with sunlight.”

In the Rice experiment, the researchers stirred a small amount of nanoparticles into water and put the mixture into a glass vessel. They then focused sunlight on the mixture with a lens.

The nanoparticles — either carbon or gold-coated silicon dioxide beads — have a diameter shorter than the wavelength of visible light. That allows them to absorb most of a wave of light’s energy. If they had been larger, the particles would have scattered much of the light.

In the focused light, a nanoparticle rapidly becomes hot enough to vaporize the layer of water around it. It then becomes enveloped in a bubble of steam. That, in turn, insulates it from the mass of water that, an instant before the steam formed, was bathing and cooling it.

Insulated in that fashion, the particle heats up further and forms more steam. It eventually becomes buoyant enough to rise. As it floats toward the surface, it hits and merges with other bubbles.

At the surface, the nanoparticles-in-bubbles release their steam into the air. They then sink back toward the bottom of the vessel. When they encounter the focused light, the process begins again. All of this occurs within seconds.

In all, about 80 percent of the light energy a nanoparticle absorbs goes into making steam, and only 20 percent is “lost” in heating the water. This is far different from creating steam in a tea kettle. There, all the water must reach boiling temperature before an appreciable number of water molecules fly into the air as steam.

The phenomenon is such that it is possible to put the vessel containing the water-and-nanoparticle soup into an ice bath, focus light on it and make steam.

“It shows you could make steam in an arctic environment,” Halas said. “There might be some interesting applications there.”

The apparatus can also separate mixtures of water and other substances into their components — the process known as distillation — more completely than is usually possible. For example, with normal distillation of a water-and-alcohol mixture, it isn’t possible to get more than 95 percent pure alcohol. Using nanoparticles to create the steam, 99 percent alcohol can be collected.

Halas said the nanoparticles are not expensive to make and, because they act essentially as catalysts, are not used up. A nanoparticle steam generator could be used over and over. And, as James Watt and other 18th-century inventors showed, if you can generate steam easily, you can create an industrial revolution.

The research is being funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the hope it might prove useful to developing countries. Halas and her team recently spent three days in Seattle demonstrating the apparatus.

“Luckily,” she said, “it was sunny.”

Modern Mechanics ( Dec 1932 )

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2036279/Crocus-drug-kill-tumours-treatment-minimal-effects.html

Crocus drug that can kill tumours in one treatment with minimal side effects

by
Fiona Macrae

A drug derived from plant extracts could wipe out tumours in a single treatment with minimal side effects, according to research.

Scientists have turned a chemical found in crocuses into a ‘smart bomb’ that targets cancerous tumours.

Crucially, healthy tissue is unharmed, reducing the odds of debilitating side effects.

And unlike other side effect-free drugs, it is able to kill off more than one type of the disease, including breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer.

Potentially, all solid tumours could be vulnerable to drugs developed this way, meaning it could be used against all but blood cancers.

In some tests of the drug, half of tumours vanished completely after a single injection, the British Science Festival will hear this week.

The drug, based on colchicine, an extract from the autumn crocus, is at an early stage of development, and has so far been tested only on mice.

But the University of Bradford researchers are optimistic about its potential in humans.

The risk of dying from bowel cancer is three times higher in some parts of the UK than others, a study shows.

In Glasgow, where the rate is highest, 31 people per 100,000 die each year from the disease.

This compares with the lowest rate of nine deaths per 100,000 in Rossendale, Lancashire, according to figures compiled by the Beating Bowel Cancer charity.

Professor Laurence Patterson said: ‘What we have designed is effectively a “smart bomb” that can be triggered directly at any solid tumour without appearing to harm healthy tissue.

‘If all goes well, we would hope to see these drugs used as part of a combination of therapies to treat and manage cancer.’

Colchicine has long been known to have anti-cancer properties but has been considered too toxic for use in the human body. To get round this, the researchers attached a chemical ‘tail’ to it, deactivating it until it reaches the cancer.

Once there, the tail is cut off by an enzyme called MMP, which is found in tumours.

Removing the tail activates the drug, which then attacks and breaks down the blood vessels supplying the tumours with oxygen and nourishment.

Cancers use the blood supply to spread around the body and it is hoped that the treatment, called ICT2588, will also combat this.

The first tests on humans could start in as little as 18 months. If successful, the drug could be on the market in six to seven years.

Henry Scowcroft, of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘This is exciting but very early work that hasn’t yet been tested in cancer patients.’

Professor Paul Workman, of the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said the results so far were promising.

He added: ‘If confirmed in more extensive laboratory studies, drugs based on this approach could be very useful as part of combination treatments.’

http://www.theglobalistreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Removal-of-Fluoride-from-Drinking-Water-Using-Modified-Immobilized-Activated-Alumina.pdf

Scientists Discover New Technique to Remove Fluoride from Drinking Water

by
Andrew Puhanic

Around the world, it is estimated that tens of millions of people are affected by both dental and skeletal fluorosis. In many cases, it is the addition of fluoride into drinking water supplies by governments that is the primary cause of both dental and skeletal fluorosis.

Common techniques used for defluoridation are coagulation-precipitation, membrane process and ion exchange.

The problem with these three techniques is that they are either too expensive or they further pollute the water.

Researchers from the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan have discovered an effective method to remove fluoride from drinking water that is less expensive than conventional filtration processes and is safe to use.

The study, published in the Journal of Chemistry, concluded that the removal of fluoride from drinking water using modified immobilized activated alumina (MIAA) resulted in a removal efficiency that was 1.35 times higher than normal immobilized activated alumina.

Modified immobilized activated alumina (MIAA) was added to water that was tainted with fluoride and then analysis was conducted to evaluate the quantity of fluoride that was removed from the water.

Effect of an adsorbent dose on the removal of fluoride at 20 ± 1°C.

It was discovered that MIAA, at 20 +/- degrees Celsius has the capacity to remove more than 95% of fluoride from water. In fact, the adsorption capacity of MIAA was much higher (0.76?mg/g) when compared to the adsorption capacity of activated charcoal (0.47?mg/g) for the same concentration fluoride samples.

The adsorption method that is used by modified immobilized activated alumina (MIAA) is much more cost-effective (Ali, I., & Gupta, V. K. [2007] Advances in water treatment by adsorption technology. Nature Protocols) than the popular Reverse Osmosis Filtration method.

Considering that both MIAA and Reverse Osmosis Filtration remove more than 90% of fluoride, MIAA could be a viable alternative to removing fluoride from drinking water supplies in developing countries.

Unfortunately, there are some limitations to the use of MIAA in removing fluoride from drinking water. The greatest challenge in the use of MIAA for removing fluoride from drinking water is filtering MIAA once all fluoride has been absorbed.

Real water samples with initial fluoride concentration and final concentration

However, considering that the granules produced by MIAA varied from 3 to 6?mm, all that was required during the study to remove the MIAA granules from the water was basic water filtration.

Ultimately, the primary challenge faced when trying to removing fluoride from drinking water is cost.

The use of modified immobilized activated alumina (MIAA) to remove fluoride from drinking water could become a viable option that would enable communities in both developed and developing nations to remove fluoride from drinking water.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/disease/lemons.asp#4e5V3y7hbIqflTYQ.99

Lemon Zinger
Claim:   Lemons can help ward off and cure cancer.

by
Barbara and David P. Mikkelson

Lemon (Citrus) is a miraculous product that kills cancer cells. It is 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy.

Why do we not know about that? Because there are laboratories interested in making a synthetic version that will bring them huge profits. You can now help a friend in need by letting him/her know that lemon juice is beneficial in preventing the disease. Its taste is pleasant and it does not produce the horrific effects of chemotherapy. How many people will die while this closely guarded secret is kept, so as not to jeopardize the beneficial multimillionaires large corporations? As you know, the lemon tree is known for its varieties of lemons and limes. You can eat the fruit in different ways: you can eat the pulp, juice press, prepare drinks, sorbets, pastries, etc... It is credited with many virtues, but the most interesting is the effect it produces on cysts and tumors. This plant is a proven remedy against cancers of all types. Some say it is very useful in all variants of cancer. It is considered also as an anti microbial spectrum against bacterial infections and fungi, effective against internal parasites and worms, it regulates blood pressure which is too high and an antidepressant, combats stress and nervous disorders.

The source of this information is fascinating: it comes from one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world, says that after more than 20 laboratory tests since 1970, the extracts revealed that: It destroys the malignant cells in 12 cancers, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreas ... The compounds of this tree showed 10,000 times better than the product Adriamycin, a drug normally used chemotherapeutic in the world, slowing the growth of cancer cells. And what is even more astonishing: this type of therapy with lemon extract only destroys malignant cancer cells and it does not affect healthy cells.

Origins:   Authorship of the e-mail has been denied by Newmarket Health, which is located at 819 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD, 21201 and whose subsidiary is the Health Sciences Institute.

Certainly lemons (and citrus fruits in general) provide a number of useful nutritional and health benefits, as described in the Encyclopedia of Healing Foods:

The fruit juice contains mainly sugars and fruit acids, which are made mainly of citric acid. Lemon peel consists of two layers: the outermost layer ("zest"), which contains essential oils (6 percent) that are composed mostly of limonene (90 percent) and citral (5 percent), plus a small amount of cintronellal, alphaterpineol, linayl, and geranyl acetate. The inner layer contains no essential oil but instead houses a variety of bitter flavone glycosides and coumarin derivatives.

Lemons are an excellent source of vitamin C. In addition, they are a good source of vitamin B6, potassium, folic acid, flavonoids, and the important phytochemical limonene. A 3½-ounce (100 gram) serving is about 2 medium lemons and provides 29 calories, 1.1 grams of protein, 0.3 grams of fat, and 9.3 grams of carbohydrate, with 2.8 grams of fiber and 2.5 grams of natural sugars.

The phytochemical limonene, which is extracted from lemons, is currently being used in clinical trials to dissolve gallstones and is showing extremely promising anticancer activities.
Several academic papers published in the last decade have suggested that lemons, as well as other citrus fruits, might possess some substantial anti-cancer properties. For example, a 2002 report on the medicinal use of citrus issued by the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences noted that:

Recent research has focused on the biological activity of compounds found in citrus species, including compounds called flavanoids, carotenoids and limonoids, especially in terms of their effects on citrus palatability and anti-cancer activity. Citrus flavonoids have potential antioxidant (prevents aging), anti-cancer, antiviral, anti-inflammatory activities, effects on capillarity, and cholesterol-lowering ability. The principal carotenoids in pink grapefruit are lycopene and beta-carotene. Lycopene-containing fruits and vegetables have been shown to contribute to a significant reduction in prostate and mammary cancer risk.

Recent studies have further shown that limonoids inhibit the development of cancer in laboratory animals and in human breast cancer cells as well as reducing cholesterol. Researchers have also suggested that, if ingested, limonoids may not be absorbed in the large intestine, and therefore could be distributed throughout the body, with beneficial effects.

Likewise, a 2000 paper from University of California Davis on "The Potential of Citrus Limonoids as Anticancer Agents" observed that:

Vitamin C and flavonoids are antioxidants, substances that neutralize active oxygen species which can damage body cells and contribute to chronic diseases including cancer. Carotenoids, colored pigments in fruits and vegetables such as beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein, also provide some antioxidant protection, but have other beneficial actions involving cell growth and vision. Folate is a B vitamin that is needed for the synthesis of DNA, and therefore is important for the integrity of genetic material in cells and the healthy growth of tissues. Recent information indicates that mild folate deficiency alters the structure of DNA in a way that may decrease the expression of tumor suppressor proteins. A survey of food folate sources showed that orange juice is the largest contributor to the food folate intake in the U.S. population. Recent research suggests that U.S. consumers may be getting another health benefit from orange juice and other citrus products — phytochemicals called limonoids — which appear to possess substantial anticancer activity.

And a 2004 ScienceDaily article reported on similar research from Texas A&M University's Kingsville Citrus Center:

Research by Texas Agriculture Experiment Station scientists has shown that citrus compounds called limonoids targeted and stopped neuroblastoma cells in the lab. They now hope to learn the reasons for the stop-action behavior and eventually try the citrus concoction in humans.

Neuroblastomas account for about 10 percent of all cancer in children, Harris said, and is usually a solid tumor in the neck, chest, spinal cord or adrenal gland. The finding in citrus is promising not only for its potential to arrest cancer, but because limonoids induce no side affects, according to Dr. Ed Harris, Experiment Station biochemist who collaborated on the study with Dr. Bhimu Patil, a plant physiologist at the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Citrus Center in Weslaco.

"Limonoids are naturally occurring compounds," Harris said. "Unlike other anti-cancer drugs that are toxic, limonoids apparently do not hurt a person. That's the beautiful potential."

Patil calls citrus fruit "a vast reservoir of anti-carcinogens." As a plant physiologist, he has succeeded in isolating and purifying a number of limonoids from citrus so that the biochemists could evaluate and compare their anti-cancer abilities at the molecular level.

"Limonoids are unique to citrus," Patil said. "They are not present in any other fruits or vegetables. My goal is to find the direct benefits of citrus on human health."

However, the best that can be said at this point is that citrus fruits may potentially harbor anti-cancer properties that could help ward off cancer. No reputable scientific or medical studies have reported that lemons have been found to be a "proven remedy against cancers of all types," nor has any of the (conveniently unnamed) "world's largest drug manufacturers" reported discovering that lemons are "10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy" and that their ingestion can "destroy malignant [cancer] cells." All of those claims are hyperbole and exaggeration not supported by facts.

Sources:

    Carper, Jean.   The Food Pharmacy.
        New York: Bantam Books, 1988.   ISBN 0-5533-4524-9   (p. 222-223).

   Ferguson, J.J. and Timothy M. Spann.   "Medicinal Use of Citrus."
       University of Florida.   October 2002.

   Jacob, Robert, et al.   "The Potential of Citrus Limonoids as Anticancer Agents."
       Perishables Handling Quarterly.   May 2000.

    Murray, Michael.   The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods.
        New York: Atria Books, 2005.   ISBN 0-7434-8052-X   (pp. 286-287).

   ScienceDaily.   "Citrus Shows Promise for Certain Childhood Cancer."
       1 December 2004.

www.sciencedaily.com

Scientists Produce Hydrogen for Fuel Cells Using an Inexpensive Catalyst Under Real-World Conditions

ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2012) — Scientists at the University of Cambridge have produced hydrogen, H2, a renewable energy source, from water using an inexpensive catalyst under industrially relevant conditions (using pH neutral water, surrounded by atmospheric oxygen, O2, and at room temperature).

Lead author of the research, Dr Erwin Reisner, an EPSRC research fellow and head of the Christian Doppler Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, said: "A H2 evolution catalyst which is active under elevated O2 levels is crucial if we are to develop an industrial water splitting process -- a chemical reaction that separates the two elements which make up water. A real-world device will be exposed to atmospheric O2 and also produce O2 in situ as a result of water splitting."

Although H2 cannot be used as a 'direct' substitute for gasoline or ethanol, it can be used as a fuel in combination with fuel cells, which are already available in cars and buses. H2 is currently produced from fossil fuels and it produces the greenhouse gas CO2 as a by-product; it is therefore neither renewable nor clean. A green process such as sunlight-driven water splitting is therefore required to produce 'green and sustainable H2'.

One of the many problems that scientists face is finding an efficient and inexpensive catalyst that can function under real-world conditions: in water, under air and at room temperature. Currently, highly efficient catalysts such as the noble metal platinum are too expensive and cheaper alternatives are typically inefficient. Very little progress was made so far with homogeneous catalyst systems that work in water and atmospheric O2.

However, Cambridge researchers found that a simple catalyst containing cobalt, a relatively inexpensive and abundant metal, operates as an active catalyst in pH neutral water and under atmospheric O2.

Dr Reisner said: "Until now, no inexpensive molecular catalyst was known to evolve H2 efficiently in water and under aerobic conditions. However, such conditions are essential for use in developing green hydrogen as a future energy source under industrially relevant conditions.

"Our research has shown that inexpensive materials such as cobalt are suitable to fulfil this challenging requirement. Of course, many hurdles such as the rather poor stability of the catalyst remain to be addressed, but our finding provides a first step to produce 'green hydrogen' under relevant conditions."

The results show that the catalyst works under air and the researchers are now working on a solar water splitting device, where a fuel H2 and the by-product O2 are produced simultaneously.

Fezile Lakadamyali and Masaru Kato, co-authors of the study, add: "We are excited about our results and we are optimistic that we will successfully assemble a sunlight-driven water splitting system soon."

The research was funded by EPSRC, the Christian Doppler Research Association and the OMV Group. Their research was published 23 August, online in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

http://endthelie.com/2012/05/13/scientists-remotely-activate-and-deactivate-genes-with-radio-waves/#axzz1uopMC1L7

Scientists remotely activate and deactivate genes with radio waves

By
Madison Ruppert

Geneticists at Rockefeller University in New York have demonstrated the ability to remotely activate and deactivate specially engineered insulin production genes in mice through the use of radio waves.

As unbelievable as it sounds, this could represent a radically new understanding of how genes work as well as the ability to create an entirely new field of medical treatments.

Like many cutting edge technologies such as mind-controlled robots, new lifelike humanoid robots and microchips allowing mobile devices to see through walls and other objects, I see this breakthrough as having either radically beneficial or unimaginably detrimental uses in the future.

Unfortunately it has become quite clear that the pharmaceutical industry and the agencies that supposedly regulate them, like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are far from trustworthy.

This latest advance could give scientists the ability to remotely modify the activity of genes without any surgery or even traditional drugs.

However, while they bill the treatment as completely non-invasive, that is not entirely accurate. The researchers did, in fact, have to inject nanoparticles into the mice being studied in order to affect the genes.

Currently the lead author of the study, Jeffrey Friedman, says that this will be applied to research, allowing scientists to manipulate cells in a non-invasive manner.

Yet Friedman, a molecular geneticist, says that if this technique is continuously refined it could also have clinical applications.

This study, called “Radio-Wave Heating of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Can Regulate Plasma Glucose in Mice” was published in Science earlier this month.

The process which Friedman and his colleagues used involved coated iron oxide nanoparticles with antibodies which then would bind to a modified version of an ion channel on the surface of cells.

The target was a modified version of the temperature-sensitive ion channel known as TRPV1 and the researchers injected the particles into tumors growing under the skin of the mice being studied.

The researchers then utilized a magnetic field created by a piece of hardware somewhat like a downsized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device to heat the nanoparticles.

Low-frequency radio waves targeted the nanoparticles and heated them to 42 degrees Celsius, at which point the ion channel was activated, allowing calcium to flow into the cells and trigger secondary signals, which then went on to activate an engineered calcium-sensitive gene which produced insulin.

After a mere 30 minutes of being exposed to the low-frequency radio waves, the insulin levels in the mice increased and their blood sugar levels dropped as well.

However, Friedman emphasizes that this is not being done in order to create a new treatment for diabetes. Instead, it was just used because it provides an easily measured physiological variable to monitor the activity of the remotely controlled genes.

“There are many good treatments for diabetes that are much simpler,” Friedman said, while recognizing that it could potentially be used to activate other proteins to treat other conditions as well.

Using these low-frequency waves seems to be one of the most key components to this research.

“The great thing about this system is that radio-wave heating can penetrate deep tissue, and TRPV1 can focus that stimulus very locally to just where you have the nanoparticles,” said David Julius, a physiologist who studies TRPV1 at the University of California, San Francisco, according to Nature.

This research is just in its fledgling stages at the moment and this study is more of a proof of concept than anything else.

That being said, if this is developed and applied to some of our hardest to tackle illnesses, I believe this could be a major breakthrough for human health.

Yet at the same time, I could see this being used for less-than-admirable purposes as well, including actually making people sick.

Hopefully such a thing would never occur, but unfortunately the pharmaceutical industry has proven that they are interest in profits, not health, so it wouldn’t be all too surprising, in my humble opinion.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/336/6081/604

Radio-Wave Heating of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Can Regulate Plasma Glucose in Mice

Sarah A. Stanley, et al.

Abstract

Medical applications of nanotechnology typically focus on drug delivery and biosensors. Here, we combine nanotechnology and bioengineering to demonstrate that nanoparticles can be used to remotely regulate protein production in vivo. We decorated a modified temperature-sensitive channel, TRPV1, with antibody-coated iron oxide nanoparticles that are heated in a low-frequency magnetic field. When local temperature rises, TRPV1 gates calcium to stimulate synthesis and release of bioengineered insulin driven by a Ca2+-sensitive promoter. Studying tumor xenografts expressing the bioengineered insulin gene, we show that exposure to radio waves stimulates insulin release from the tumors and lowers blood glucose in mice. We further show that cells can be engineered to synthesize genetically encoded ferritin nanoparticles and inducibly release insulin. These approaches provide a platform for using nanotechnology to activate cells.

http://stke.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sigtrans;5/223/ec132
Sci Signal 8 May 2012: ec132.
Vol. 5, Issue 223, p. ec132

Gene Expression by Remote Control

Paula A. Kiberstis

Techniques that allow remote, noninvasive activation of specific genes in specific tissues could one day be applied to regulate expression of therapeutic proteins in a clinical setting. In a proof-of-concept study, Stanley et al. showed that heating of iron oxide nanoparticles by radio waves can remotely activate insulin gene expression in cultured cells and in a mouse model. Heating of membrane-targeted nanoparticles induced opening of a temperature-sensitive membrane channel in the cells and triggered calcium entry. The intracellular calcium signal in turn stimulated expression of an engineered insulin gene, leading to the synthesis and release of insulin. In experiments with mice bearing tumors that expressed the engineered insulin gene, exposure to radio waves promoted secretion of insulin from the tumors and lowered blood glucose levels in the animals.

S. A. Stanley, J. E. Gagner, S. Damanpour, M. Yoshida, J. S. Dordick, J. M. Friedman, Radio-wave heating of iron oxide nanoparticles can regulate plasma glucose in mice. Science 336, 604–608 (2012). [Abstract] [Full Text]

Citation: P. A. Kiberstis, Gene Expression by Remote Control. Sci. Signal. 5, ec132 (2012).

http://pesn.com/2012/07/28/9602147_Water_Powered_Car_Hits_Mainstream_in_Pakistan/
July 28, 2012

Water Powered Car Hits Mainstream in Pakistan

by
Robert Lee

Today, the Times of India reported: "Members of Pakistani parliament, scientists, and students alike watched in awe as Waqar Ahmad, a Pakistani engineer, successfully demonstrated a working water powered car in Islamabad." Earlier videos show him apparently running a motorcycle.

Members of the Pakistani parliament, scientists, and students alike watched in awe as Waqar Ahmad, a Pakistani engineer, successfully demonstrated a working water powered car in Islamabad. With just one liter of water, Ahmad claims a 1000 cc car could cover a distance of 40 km, or a motorbike could travel 150 km.

Ahmad's 'Water Fuel Kit Project' utilizes a hydrogen bonding technique with distilled water, creating hydrogen to power the vehicle. If realized on a massive scale, Ahmad's invention could seriously challenge the current energy paradigm, and could usher in a new way of thinking about energy in general.

First reported today by the Times of India, the promising exhibition took place on Thursday, as a Pakistani cabinet subcommittee member praised the technology. A stunned audience sat in astonishment when Religious Affairs minister, Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah, proclaimed Ahmad's water car was "this years' Independence Day gift to the nation."

This is not the first time a water powered car has been proven to work. Nearly a year ago, on July 31st, 2011, Presscore.ca broke a story on Genepax, a Japanese company that unveiled a car that can run on river, rain or sea water, and even Japanese tea. A subsequent article goes on to state, "The key to the Genepax system is its membrane electrode assembly (or MEA), which contains a material that’s capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen."

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-28/science/32906478_1_hydrogen-cng-cc-car
PTI Jul 28, 2012, 06.15AM IST

Dream come true? A car that can run on water

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani engineer has successfully developed a unique technology that uses water as fuel in vehicles instead of petrol or CNG, a feat once considered a farfetched dream. Waqar Ahmad drove his car using water as fuel on Thursday during a demonstration for Pakistani parliamentarians, scientists and students.

He claimed that on one litre of water a 1000 CC car can cover a distance of 40 km and a motorbike can run up to 150 km using this technology.

Ahmad said cars could be driven by a system fueled by water instead of petrol or CNG. The onlookers were taken aback when they saw the dream car and a cabinet subcommittee lauded Ahmad's 'Water Fuel Kit Project'. Religious affairs minister Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah, panel panel, said Ahmad would have their full support, calling it "this years's Independence Day gift to the nation".

The water fueling system is a technology in which 'hydrogen bonding' with distilled water produces hydrogen gas to run the car.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/world/asia/boast-of-water-run-car-thrills-pakistan.html?_r=1

Pakistan Revels in Boast of Water-Run Car

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — In a nation thirsting for energy, he loomed like a messiah: a small-town engineer who claimed he could run a car on water.

The assertion — based on the premise that he had discovered a way to easily split the oxygen and hydrogen atoms in water molecules with almost no energy — would, if proven, represent a stunning breakthrough for physics and a near-magical solution to Pakistan’s desperate power crisis.

“By the grace of Allah, I have managed to make a formula that converts less voltage into more energy,” the professed inventor, Agha Waqar Ahmad, said in a telephone interview. “This invention will solve our country’s energy crisis and provide jobs to hundreds of thousands of people.”

Established scientists have debunked his spectacular claims, first made one month ago, saying they violate ironclad laws of physics.

But across Pakistan, where crippling electricity cuts have left millions drenched in the sweat of a powerless summer, and where there is hunger for tales of homegrown glory, the shimmering mirage of a “water car” received a broad and serious embrace...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2206681/The-magnet-cure-migraine-Can-device-mean-end-excruciating-pain-Britain-s-million-sufferers.html21 September 2012

The magnet to cure a migraine: Can this device mean the end of excruciating pain for Britain’s eight million sufferers?

by
Tamara Cohen

For many of Britain’s eight million sufferers, there has been no respite from the dreaded migraines.

But now scientists believe that a new, sci-fi-style treatment involving a magnetic beam could be the answer.

They have developed a handheld device which - at the touch of a button - delivers a brief magnetic pulse to the back of the head.

Although it might sound more like a star-trek weapon than a medical instrument, the developers say it can alleviate symptoms for up to two hours.

Three months of treatment was found to relieve or reduce the excruciating pains in 73 per cent of patients treated in UK clinics.

Other symptoms of migraine, such as nausea, vertigo, memory problems and hyper-sensitivity to light and noise improved for 63 per cent of those tested.

More than half found the number of headache days they had, which for some sufferers can be chronic, had declined to some extent.

Migraines - debilitating headaches which occur when the brain is over-sensitive to normal triggers - have been desribed as an ‘electrical storm’.

But the £500 device -known as the Spring Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation system - seems to short-circuit this activity.

These results from trial on 60 sufferers were revealed today at the European Headache and Migraine Trust International Congress in London.

The device, made by California-based eNeura Technology is being prescribed by headache specialists in London, Hull, Bath, Exeter, Liverpool and Aberdeen.

One British patient who took part in the trials, Andy Bloor, said: ‘I suffer from chronic migraines. Put simply, for me the TMS device worked.

‘The key for me was using the device quickly - as soon as the migraine started. When I did, often on first use and always on subsequent uses, it stopped the migraine in its tracks.

‘The plus of the device is it reduces my reliance on strong drugs like cocodamol.’

'New optimism': Researchers say the new treatment could provide sufferers with an alternative to drug treatments

None of the patients experienced intolerance or side effects.

Another participant, Yasmin Bibi, said: ‘I have suffered migraine for nine years, tried a lot of medicines and saw different consultants to no avail.

‘I could be completely debilitated for a whole week, needed time off work and was at my wit’s end. Now the device helps me to cope.’

Earlier this week the National Institute for Clinical Excellence warned that up to a million people in Britain suffer from severe headaches through taking too many painkillers.

Migraines are the most common neurological condition in Britain and are thought to run in families. Drug treatments are available but do not work for many patients and can cause severe side effects.

The magnetic beam – which painlessly penetrates the skull so the patient just feels a vibrating effect – works differently.

It induces a very mild electrical current in the brain for a fraction of a second. This makers say this seems to interrupt the abnormal electrical activity associated with migraines.

Dr Fayyaz Ahmed, a Hull-based neurologist who chairs the British Association for the Study of Headache, said: ‘We think neurostimulation is the future in treating headache disorders, particularly if it is non-invasive.

‘A significant proportion of migraine sufferers either do not respond or are unable to tolerate available oral treatments.

‘Now TMS will provide them with an alternative to deal with their disabling migraines and be able to continue with their activities of daily living.’

Professor Peter Goadsby, the congress joint chair and a neurologist, said: ‘For the many migraine sufferers whose medicines just do not do the job, it is exciting to see such an innovative, novel approach to treatment that provides new optimism.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2197389/Ditch-minty-toothpaste-try-coconut-oil-instead-Fruit-kill-bug-tooth-decay.html
Tuesday, Sep 04 2012

Coconut Oil vs Tooth Decay

Ditch the minty toothpaste and try coconut oil instead: Fruit can kill bug behind tooth decay

Research paves way for toothpastes and mouthwashes containing coconut as an ingredient

By Fiona Macrae Science Correspondent

2 September 2012

One too many Bounty chocolate bars could leave you in need of a trip to the dreaded dentist.

But scientists have found that coconut could help fight the main bug behind tooth decay.

Scientists tested coconut oil against Streptococcus mutans – a sugar-loving bacterium that clings to teeth and produces acid causing them to rot.

Benefit: Coconut could help fight the main bug behind tooth decay, scientists in Ireland have found

When the oil was treated with digestive enzymes it became a powerful killer of the bug.

It paves the way for toothpastes and mouthwashes containing coconut as an active ingredient.

Lead researcher Dr Damien Brady, of the Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland, said: ‘Dental caries is a commonly overlooked health problem affecting 60 to 90 per cent of children and the majority of adults in industrialised countries.

‘Incorporating enzyme-modified coconut oil into dental hygiene products would be an attractive alternative to chemical additives, particularly as it works at relatively low concentrations.’

He added that his findings could prove to be important considering the problem of bugs’ increasing resistance to many existing antibiotic treatments.

Dr Brady’s experiments were inspired by previous research showing that partially digested milk made S. mutans less likely to stick to tooth enamel.

He said: ‘Our data suggests that products of human digestion show antimicrobial activity.

‘This could have implications for how bacteria colonise the cells lining the digestive tract and for overall gut health.’

He now plans to check if the enzyme-treated coconut oil has any other killer qualities.

Tests already suggest it combats Candida albicans, which causes thrush, the Society for General Microbiology’s autumn conference heard.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/07/18/aerographite_discovery/
18 July 2012

New lightest-ever material: Ideal power for electric car

By
Brid-Aine Parnell

Pitch-black Aerographite could juice batteries of the future

A light-absorbing midnight-black substance dubbed Aerographite has stolen the crown for the lightest material in the world, weighing just 0.2mg per cubic centimetre. And because of its special properties, it's a serious contender to build lithium-ion batteries small and light enough to power the electronic bikes and cars of the future.

Boffins in Germany constructed the new material by weaving together a network of porous carbon tubes at nano and micro level to create the stuff that is 75 times lighter than Styrofoam.

"Think of the Aerographite as an ivy-web, which winds itself around a tree. And then take away the tree," said Prof Rainer Adelung of Kiel Uni.

The previous record-holder for lightest-ever stuff was also made of nanotubes – but those weren't porous, and were made of nickel rather than carbon, which made the material heavier. “The hitherto lightest material of the world, a nickel material that was presented to the public about six months ago, is also constructed of tiny tubes. Only, nickel has a higher atomic mass than carbon. Also, we are able to produce tubes with porous walls. That makes them extremely light," said co-author Arnim Schuchard, a PhD student at Kiel University.

Adelung and other researchers from Kiel Uni and the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) worked together to make the substance using a powdered zinc oxide.

The boffins heated the zinc oxide up to 900°C to transform it into a crystalline structure. From that stuff, the scientists made a kind of pill, inside which the zinc oxide had formed micro and nano structures called tetrapods... so the "pill" is actually porous.

The pill was then stuffed into a reactor for chemical vapour deposition and cooked up to 760°C to lay on a few coats of graphite.

"In a streaming gas atmosphere that is enriched with carbon, the zinc oxide is being equipped with a graphite coating of only a few atomic layers," Schuchard explained, "This forms the tangled-web structures of the Aerographite. Simultaneously, hydrogen is introduced. It reacts with the oxygen in the zinc oxide and results in the emission of steam and zinc gas.

"The faster we get the zinc out, the more porous the tube's walls get and the lighter the material. There is considerable scope."

The stuff the boffins end up absorbs light rays almost completely so it is jet-black, it stays stable and is conductive and ductile. The aerographite is also resilient, withstanding both compression and tension.

The researchers reckon that these characteristics mean the new material could fit into the electrodes of lithium-ion batteries, which could in turn be used in electronic cars or bikes.

Aerographite also has potential for use in aviation and satellite construction because materials used need to be able to put up with a lot of vibration. The stuff could even be used in water purification, where it may act as an absorbent for pollutants. ®

Rainer ADELUNG patents

METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A NANOSTRUCTURE BY MEANS OF SPINODAL DECROSSLINKING
AT552614

ELASTIC MATERIAL WITH A PORE SPACE BRIDGED AT THE PARTICLE LEVEL BY NANOBRIDGES BETWEEN PARTICLES
WO2011116751

Method for Generating Oxidic Nanoparticles from a Material Forming Oxide Particles
US2010285229
EC: B82Y30/00 C01G1/02

Method for Producing Nanostructures on a Substrate
US7914850

Method for Producing a Plurality of Regularly Arranged Nanoconnections on a Substrate
US2010112493 (A1)

Method For Producing Submicron Structures
US7718349

Manufacture method of manometer thick wire or network, or cluster on substrate surface for opto-electronic components
DE19852585

http://www.greenshieldsproject.com/

http://www.midwestenergynews.com/2012/08/16/illinois-teens-invention-helps-school-buses-run-more-efficiently/

Illinois teen’s invention helps school buses run more efficiently
by
Julia Pyper

Jonny Cohen, 17, designed a $30 plastic device that makes school buses run more efficiently.

Fuel economy is hardly the most popular subject among teenagers, but it’s a passion for 17-year-old Jonny Cohen, who’s found a way to save schools money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing school bus fuel efficiency.

The idea popped into his head on a walk home from school when he was 12. The then-seventh-grader was taking summer classes on aerodynamics at Northwestern University, and it dawned on him there must be a way to streamline the bulky, boxy shape of school buses.

“I like to see things that are efficient. Things that are inefficient use more energy and are polluting,” said Jonny, who lives in Highland Park, Illinois. “I also understood that reducing carbon emissions from a school bus could reduce global warming.”

With the help of friends and his sister Azza Cohen, a more formal effort took shape in 2008. They called it the Greenshields Project.

Azza, 19, said Jonny has always been an inventor. He blew things up, made his own intercom system and crafted a device to put cheese on a hamburger. But when Jonny ran into her room saying he could revolutionize school buses, Azza didn’t think much of it at first.

“He’d had a lot of crazy ideas before, and I’d never really believed them,” she said. “You’re less inclined to believe a 12-year-old when they say they have a solution to a really pressing problem.”

School bus emissions are a pressing issue. According to U.S. EPA, diesel exhaust from school buses contains pollutants that contribute to ozone formation, acid rain and global climate change. In addition, the fine particulate matter from diesel engines can cause lung damage, especially in children, and contributes to haze.

EPA created a national idling reduction campaign to cut down on air pollution from buses. But, to date, no product or program exists that would reduce emissions quite like the GreenShield.

Putting a fuel hog on a diet

An idea to put a sloping windscreen on the front of the bus evolved into an aerodynamic feature on top, after wind tunnel testing. (Photo courtesy of the GreenShields Project)

Jonny’s original idea was to attach a streamlined, transparent Plexiglas cover over a school bus windshield to reduce drag and allow the vehicle to use less fuel.

The fourth-generation GreenShield, produced with help from Northwestern University’s Segal Design Institute, looks radically different. Instead of a shield, it’s more like a ski-jump-shaped hat installed on the roof of a bus, which reduces material and installation costs. Research shows the efficiency benefits are about the same.

Virtual, on-road and wind tunnel tests on school buses donated by the bus company Cook-Illinois Corp. found the GreenShield improves fuel economy 10 to 20 percent.

John Benish Jr., president of family-owned Cook-Illinois, said joining with GreenShields was a “perfect fit” for the company, which already runs most of its school buses on biodiesel.

“We’re always looking for that next thing to make school buses a little greener, a little better and more efficient,” he said.

Buses are the safest way to get children to school, but they’re also fuel hogs that get only 4 to 6 miles per gallon. Studies show that one bus takes an average of 36 cars off the road, but GreenShields calculated that school buses in the United States still spew 9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.

With schools spending about $6,500 on diesel fuel per school bus per year, and about 480,000 school buses in operation across the country, the group calculated that busing students to their classes costs more than $3 billion per year. An installed GreenShield could save $600 in annual gas expenses per bus.

“If they use a GreenShield, school bus companies can charge less for their services, and so less money will have to be spent on school buses, which is less money spent on gas and hopefully more on education,” Jonny said.

Benish said if his company can run a bus for less than what a school is currently paying, “we pass on savings to them.”

Pepsi gives it some fizz

The GreenShields Project really took off in 2010 when the team won a $25,000 award through the Pepsi Refresh Project. Last month, the GreenShields team picked up more support with the $5,000 audience choice award from the Ashoka Youth Venture and Consumer Bankers Association Foundation’s “Banking on Youth” program.

GreenShields has also been featured on “Good Morning America,” the White House blog and an MTV commercial. Last year, Jonny was named one of Forbes magazine’s top 30 under 30 in the energy division.

But after nearly five years of testing and waves of publicity, making the idea a reality still has its challenges.

“Frankly, it’s difficult. It’s really hard to keep the momentum going,” said Azza, who recently returned from spending a year in India.

“The way we keep it going is by sending our name out there, we keep pitching to the media, keep emailing our senators and calling the EPA,” she said. “Basically, you never can stop, because if we stop then nobody will listen to us.”

Government approval from EPA or the Department of Transportation, but preferably both, is the biggest remaining barrier to getting GreenShields on everyday buses. The patent pending on the GreenShield expires in February, and the group is hoping to see some legislative action before then.

Inspirational economics

Once the product is approved, Benish said he’s committed to testing it and rolling it out across his fleet if the fuel savings prove accurate. A handmade GreenShield will cost him $200, but if 1,000 or more units are ordered, plastics manufacturers will make a mold and the price will drop to $30. Cook-Illinois runs 2,300 school buses daily.

Jonny returned to Illinois last week after completing an intensive summer program at Texas Tech University, where he worked on making cleaner transportation fuels. Eventually, he wants to be a mechanical engineer and use that knowledge to build a business. But for now, he and Azza are revving up GreenShields.

“It’s never really over until all school buses become super-efficient,” Jonny said. “So I think until then, there’s always work to be done.”

But the driving force behind GreenShields is also greater than making a product for school buses.

“It’s also about inspiring other kids so that they can make change, because you can’t have change if you keep thinking other people are going to do it,” Jonny said. “I’m inspired to be a change-maker so that hopefully more people can be change-makers, too, so that we can have a better world.”

Some Megalomanic Technocrats' Weather Modification / ChemTrail / Geoengineering Patents

6412416 - Propellant-based aerosol generation devices and method
6569393 - Method and device for cleaning the atmosphere
6056203 - Method and apparatus for modifying supercooled clouds
6315213 - Method of modifying weather
6025402 - Chemical composition for effectuating a reduction of visibility obscuration
5984239 - Weather modification by artificial satellite
5762298 - Use of artificial satellites in earth orbits adaptively to modify... earth's weather
5912396 - System and method for remediation of selected atmospheric conditions
5556029 - Method of hydrometeor dissipation (clouds)
5628455 - Method and apparatus for modification of supercooled fog
5639441 - Methods for fine particle formation
5425413 - Method to hinder the formation and to break-up overhead atmospheric inversions
5441200 - Tropical cyclone disruption
5286979 - Process for absorbing ultraviolet radiation using dispersed melanin
5357865 - Method of cloud seeding
5360162 - Method? and composition for precipitation of atmospheric water
5110502 - Method of suppressing formation of contrails and solution therefor
5174498 - Cloud Seeding

www.sciencedaily.com

Nanoparticles and Magnetic Current Used to Damage Cancerous Cells in Mice

ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2012) — Using nanoparticles and alternating magnetic fields, University of Georgia scientists have found that head and neck cancerous tumor cells in mice can be killed in half an hour without harming healthy cells.

The findings, published recently in the journal Theranostics, mark the first time to the researchers' knowledge this cancer type has been treated using magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle-induced hyperthermia, or above-normal body temperatures, in laboratory mice.

"We show that we can use a small concentration of nanoparticles to kill the cancer cells," said Qun Zhao, lead author and assistant professor of physics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Researchers found that the treatment easily destroyed the cells of cancerous tumors that were composed entirely of a type of tissue that covers the surface of a body, which is also known as epithelium.

Several researchers around the globe are exploring the use of heated nanoparticles as a potential cancer treatment. Previous studies also have shown that high temperatures created by combining magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with strong alternating magnetic currents can create enough heat to kill tumor cells. Zhao said he is optimistic about his findings, but explained that future studies will need to include larger animals before a human clinical trial could be considered.

For the experiment, researchers injected a tiny amount -- a tenth of a teaspoon, or 0.5 milliliter -- of nanoparticle solution directly into the tumor site. With the mouse relaxed under anesthesia, they placed the animal in a plastic tube wrapped with a wire coil that generated magnetic fields that alternated directions 100,000 times each second. The magnetic fields produced by the wire coil heated only the concentrated nanoparticles within the cancerous tumor and left the surrounding healthy cells and tissue unharmed.

Zhao said the study paves the way for additional research that might investigate how to use a biodegradable nanoparticle material similar to magnetic iron oxide for other roles in fighting cancer, such as carrying and delivering anti-cancer drugs to the tumor site.

"When the cancer cell is experiencing this heated environment, then it becomes more susceptible to drugs," Zhao said.

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles could be useful in improving the contrast in magnetic resonance imaging at a cancer site, he said. In other words, the nanoparticles could help physicians detect cancer even if the cancer is not visible to the naked eye with an MRI scan.

"The reason I am interested in using these magnetic nanoparticles is because we hope to one day be able to offer diagnosis and therapeutics, or theranostics, using a single agent," Zhao said.

The research was supported by a National Cancer Institute Head and Neck Specialized Program of Research Excellence at Emory University.

Journal Reference:

Qun Zhao, Luning Wang, Rui Cheng, Leidong Mao, Robert D. Arnold, Elizabeth W. Howerth, Zhuo G. Chen, Simon Platt. Magnetic Nanoparticle-Based Hyperthermia for Head & Neck Cancer in Mouse Models. Theranostics, 2012; : 113 DOI: 10.7150/thno.3854

http://www.vijesti.me/vijesti/crnogorski-pronalazaci-konstruisali-agregat-koji-ce-unistiti-epcg-clanak-102608

Presented in Tivat
Montenegrin inventors constructed unit, which will destroy the EPCG?

Autonomic mechanical agent for electricity generation, the name of three Montenegrin inventors patent, which was unveiled yesterday at the promotion held in the cafe "Apollo" in Tivat.

This device has caused great interest of citizens, but also contradictory comments of professionals who did not believe that the three authors of this invention led Milan Bojovic from Zabljak, really succeeded in overcoming the current applicable rules of physics a force of action and reaction, which was founded by Isaac Newton.

"This device is to gain Simply, environmentally clean and energy that can be applied to each site. Unit can be mobile, Detachable or autonomous. The device uses the initial energy - direct current from a battery of 12 volts, which is powered by electricity, in turn, through a special transmission system, which drives a generator via an AC adapter, produces an alternating voltage electricity 230 volts. "

"A small part of the energy generated comes back and charges the battery of 12 volts, and a much larger" surplus "electricity newly ready to supply all customers who operate on a voltage of 220 volts," explained Bojovic adding that the secret of success of their invention that allows the initial energy of the 12-voltog increase the battery several times, "connection system and energy conversion system, but about how you can not talk."

Uvecaj!

"At this point we dimensioned, kontrusati and produce aggregates that work on this principle, and that the power of 1 kW up to 2 MW," said Bojovic adding to their patent allows an independent and stable supply of electricity to households, hotels, public lighting network, irrigation or industrial plants.

Occupation of the three inventors of the patent and showed some Boka businessmen, while part of the presentation, attendees of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, shaking his head with skepticism at the idea that he invented a device that will, if all that's designers as they say, will inevitably lead to the collapse of EPCG and all other similar power companies.

Bojovic and his colleagues are members of the "Association of Balkans Managers", a legal representative of their patent attorney is Tivat Ratko Pantovic.

Bojovix made a presentation of the new unit, which, after startup, electricity fed lighting and other electrical devices in the coffee shop, and two electric tools - drill and grinder are pinned on him.

Uvecaj!

"After a year of testing, the patent has been registered and obtained a certificate from the Institute for the Protection of property intelektuelane Montenegro. The procedure for recognition of their patent extension to the 124-state party to the International Convention for the protection of intellectual property, and after that, my clients are planning to start production of the device, "said the lawyer Ratko Pantovic.

He added that during the search for an investor who would finance the start of production of these aggregates, for starters, the power of 1 kW up to 2 MW.

http://www.wakingtimes.com/2013/01/24/major-advance-in-generating-electricity-from-wastewater/
January 24, 2013

Major Advance in Generating Electricity From Wastewater

by

Aaron Jackson

Engineers at Oregon State University have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater, opening the door to a future in which waste treatment plants not only will power themselves, but will sell excess electricity.

The new technology developed at OSU uses new concepts — reduced anode-cathode spacing, evolved microbes and new separator materials — and can produce more than two kilowatts per cubic meter of liquid reactor volume — 10 to 50 more times the electrical per unit volume than most other approaches using microbial fuel cells, and 100 times more electricity than some.

This technology cleans sewage by a very different approach than the aerobic bacteria used in the past. Bacteria oxidize the organic matter and, in the process, produce electrons that run from the anode to the cathode within the fuel cell, creating an electrical current.

Almost any type of organic waste material can be used to produce electricity — not only wastewater, but also grass straw, animal waste, and byproducts from such operations as the wine, beer or dairy industries.

The researchers say this could eventually change the way that wastewater is treated all over the world, replacing the widely used “activated sludge” process that has been in use for almost a century. The new approach would produce significant amounts of electricity while effectively cleaning the wastewater, they suggest.

“If this technology works on a commercial scale, the way we believe it will, the treatment of wastewater could be a huge energy producer, not a huge energy cost,” said Hong Liu, an associate professor in the OSU Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering. “This could have an impact around the world, save a great deal of money, provide better water treatment and promote energy sustainability.”

Experts estimate that about 3 percent of the electrical energy consumed in the United States and other developed countries is used to treat wastewater, and a majority of that electricity is produced by fossil fuels.

The system also works better than an alternative approach to creating electricity from wastewater that is based on anaerobic digestion that produces methane. It treats the wastewater more effectively, and doesn’t have any of the environmental drawbacks of that technology, such as production of unwanted hydrogen sulfide or possible release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, the researchers believe.

The OSU system has now been proven at a substantial scale in the laboratory, Liu said, and the next step would be a pilot study. A good candidate, she said, might initially be a food processing plant, which is a contained system that produces a steady supply of certain types of wastewater that would provide significant amounts of electricity.

Once advances are made to reduce high initial costs, researchers estimate that the capital construction costs of this new technology should be comparable to that of the activated sludge systems now in widespread use today — and even less expensive when future sales of excess electricity are factored in.

The approach may also have special value in developing nations, where access to electricity is limited and sewage treatment at remote sites is difficult or impossible as a result.

The ability of microbes to produce electricity has been known for decades, but only recently have technological advances made their production of electricity high enough to be of commercial use. OSU researchers reported several years ago on the promise of this technology, but at that time the systems in use produced far less electrical power. Continued research should also find even more optimal use of necessary microbes, reduced material costs and improved function of the technology at commercial scales, OSU scientists said.

REFERENCES:

    Yanzhen Fan, Sun-Kee Han, Hong Liu, Improved performance of CEA microbial fuel cells with increased reactor size,Energy & Environmental Science, 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21964F

http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2012/aug/bit.ly/MTEz0t
http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2012/EE/c2ee21964f
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 8273-8280
Issue 8, 2012

Improved performance of CEA microbial fuel cells with increased reactor size

Yanzhen Fan , Sun-Kee Han and Hong Liu

The performance of an over 10 times larger microbial fuel cell (MFC) with double cloth electrode assemblies (CEAs) during 63 days of continuous operation demonstrates that the excellent performance of CEA-MFCs can be further improved during scale-up. With a new separator material and U-shaped current collectors, the larger MFC produced a maximum power density of 4.30 W m-2 at a current density of 16.4 A m-2, corresponding to a volumetric power density of 2.87 kW m-3 at 10.9 kA m-3 for a double CEA-MFC. The high current density led to a high average coulombic efficiency (CE) of 83.5% as well as a high potential COD removal rate of 93.5 kg m-3 d-1. Energy efficiency is estimated in the range of 21–35%, depending on the operating voltage. The low-cost non-woven cloth separator further reduced the anode–cathode spacing and internal resistance, greatly enhancing the power generation. The enhanced self-production of bicarbonate buffer, which can be manipulated by adjusting hydraulic retention time and substrate concentration, also contributed to the improved performance. The results demonstrate the great potential of MFC technology in competing with methanogenic anaerobic digestion for waste-to-electricity and wastewater treatment.

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2012/nov/12/inventors-new-wave-swamp-cooler-breath-fresh-air/

Inventor’s new-wave swamp cooler a breath of fresh air

by
Paul Delos Santos

Sam Morris - Jon Harms and his EcoDitioner cooling system, with a view inside the ceramic matrix cooling core

Jon Harms describes himself as a “mad inventor.”

By day, he works as director of entertainment for the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. At night, he toils away in a lab.

“I’ve always been interested in how to make something more efficient,” said Harms, who has multiple design and product patents.

Harms’ quest for efficiency led him to invent the AerMist system, an air conditioner supercharger. He envisions people using it in homes and
businesses – anywhere air conditioning is needed. He says his system can save people up to 20 percent on heating and cooling costs and has the
ability to be portable.

“It’s stunning,” Harms said of the cold-air system as he put a jacket on in his lab, a former deli between Rainbow Boulevard and Sahara Avenue.
“I’m not saying it’s the next light bulb. I like to say, ‘I’m the first light bulb for improving ACs.’ That’s huge, because everyone has an AC
in this town and in the southwest.”

The system isn’t available commercially yet, but Harms said he is close. The system is being prepped for mass marketing.

One product, the EcoDitioner, can boost the power of a quarter-ton air conditioner to the equivalent of a 2-ton unit. Running the EcoDitioner costs about 7 cents an hour, significantly less than a 2-ton unit, which costs 42 cents an hour. The system also uses less water than traditional evaporative coolers, known as swamp coolers.

“It’s a swamp cooler without the swamp,” Harms said. “It’s so hyperefficient. Every ounce of water is used to cool.”

Harms’ invention works by adding special ducts and ceramic rocks to traditional air conditioners. He invented both the cooling ducts and the rocks.

The rocks trap moisture and cool air from the air conditioner, so when it is shut off, a booster continues to push cold air stored in the rocks into the rooms. That keeps the area cooler for longer periods of time than a traditional air conditioner, which only cools when running. The system also requires less energy than its conventional counterparts because the compressor doesn’t have to fire as frequently.

“Your cycling time is longer,” said Harms, who added that the system works the same way for heating. “The biggest killer on the AC is the big old compressor.”

The cost of the system varies but starts at around $2,000. It can be installed in a single day.

Bart Pearson, a general contractor at Pearson and Pearson Construction in Las Vegas, plans to install the AerMist system in his home and sell the system in future contracts. He calculated his return on investment on the AerMist and found he will recoup his costs faster than with other green options, such as solar panels and generators, which can take decades to pay off.

“It’s a smart investment in Vegas,” Pearson said. “As I move people toward green, (the AerMist system) is another facet on how I can save them money, and it puts them on the green side rather than the wasteful side.”

This isn’t the first time Harms has come up with a solution to improve efficiency.

At the Forum Shops, he suggested switching from Halogen light bulbs to more cost-efficient LED lights. It saved an estimated $200,000.

Harms also is working on a dog cooling unit, called Kool-A-Pet, which uses a similar rock-cooling technology. It was Harms’ work on Kool-A-Pet
25 years ago that sparked the idea for the AerMist system (along with the quest to lower cooling and heating costs).

“A lot of people have a lot of good ideas, but a lot have a lot of bad ideas too,” Harms said. “Having a good concept and product is great, but you have to take the knowledge to create and ego and take a risk. There are so many things involved in making something simple.”

www.keelynet.com
Nexus magazine ( December 2012 - January 2013 )

Taking Borax for Osteoporosis

When you buy Borax, check the country of origin. Do not buy Borax made in China. "We use one heaped teaspoon of borax in one litre of water. The borax is 11.3% boron (88.7% is harmless carrier powder that will drop tot he bottom of the container; we throw it out when it gets down to that level).

Take two spoonfuls in a glass of water first thing in the morning for a week to get used to it, then if okay take another one at night.

If you find it is unpleasant, start with half a spoonful until you get used to it, then increase the dosage.

My wife had osteoarthritis destroying her spine and walked with an aid. Our doctor, an Associate Professor Medicine, said she would be in 'palliative care' within three months and dead in a year.

That was six years ago. She now stands straight and walks unaided.

The arthritis in both my hands and injured back totally went years ago, proven by X-rays and scans. - Cheers, G.M.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/01/19/445729_gold-coast-news.html
January 19th, 2013

Coast invention may save millions

by
Tanya Westthorp

Mathew Concord from Sure Products with the malaria candle. Pic: Richard Gosling

AFRICAN nations are scrambling for a Gold Coast invention that could combat malaria, save millions of lives-- and earn its makers millions.

Gold Coast-run Sure Products have developed a candle product that could help lead impoverished countries out of the darkness of malaria misery.

It is about to fill an order for two million of its SureDuz mosquito candles, to be distributed across 20 African nations, netting the company a $9 million to $10 million pay day.

The candle, a mix of mozzie-repelling ingredients that are released in an invisible plume to protect within a 5m radius, is being backed by the Ugandan government as a solution to a malaria epidemic.

Sure Products distribution manager Mathew Concord said the candle, approved by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority and also in New Zealand and across Africa, was expected to be so effective that the Uganda's National Drug Authority was set to list it as a medical product and planned to subsidise the $4 cost per candle to make it available to impoverished communities.

A letter from the office of the Ugandan Vice President to Sure Products said the Government was "pleased" it was taking concrete steps to import the candles and urged the company to obtain National Drug Authority approval.

Great Nile Health Services, which distributes health products across East Africa, has said "we strongly believe it is ideal and essential for this region".

Company representatives and African distributors will meet in Uganda to begin the rollout process.

"About 300 people die from malaria every day in Uganda and nearly two million people across Africa are affected by it," Mr Concord said.

Sure Products director Earl Richards said poor Africans were fearful of malaria because homes were simple huts without doors or windows.

"If I can save just one life with this candle, it will be worth it," he said.

Mr Richards said eight years had been spent in development and testing.

James Cook University entomologist Dr Scott Ritchie conducted tests and found the candle was 85 per cent effective in repelling mosquitoes, compared with sandalwood sticks (73 per cent), pyrethroid coils (64 per cent) and citronella candles (42 per cent).

World Vision Australia policy expert Garth Luke said insecticide-treated bed nets and early diagnosis of malaria had cut deaths by more than 50 per cent in the past decade, but more help was desperately needed.

AU2005100797
Vapour release mechanism

Description

BACKGROUND ART

Vapour releasing candles are known and these include candles such as citronella candles used as insect repellants. Vapour releasing candles, however, are not known in the insecticide field where volatile agents which actually destroy insects are used. US6849240 B2 (Nakatsu et al) describes a method for improving the delivery of volatiles from a burning candle by providing stabilised laminar gas flow adjacent a volatile containing molten pool, ensuring an enlarged molten pool by close regulation of thermal transfer between a monolithic candle mass and the surrounding atmosphere and minimizing volatile loss through un-regulated thermal gradients.

US6033,212 (Bonnema et al describes a lamp for dispensing volatile substance wherein there is a mantle disposed inside the lamp, in communication with the exit of the fuel source, and wherein as the fuel is ignited and burns, heat generated is conducted through a cover to a replaceable pad containing the volatile substance which is vapourized.

None of these prior art patents describes the present invention which is directed to a candle composed of two substances having different melting points.

OBJECT OF INVENTION

The object of this invention thus to provide an improved vapour dispensing mechanism or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.

In preference, the active ingredient to be released is prallethrin and a synergist, piperonyl butoxide, or any insecticide and/or repellent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention in the form of a candle. Figure 2 shows a side elevation of the candle of figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown plan and side elevation views of a preferred embodiment of the invention in the form of a candle 10. The candle 10 has an inner member 12 of a first flammable or combustible substance having a melting point of between 80 and 90 degrees Celsius and is of a paraffin wax base. The outer casing 14 is also of a paraffin wax based substance with a melting point of between 60 and 70 degrees Celsius.

It will be obvious as the wick 18, which is preferably a cotton wick is lit, the heat generated from the flame 20 will first melt the outer casing 14 forming a pool 22 above the inner member 12. The heat from the molten outer casing substance in contact with the top of the inner member 12a also melts the substance of the inner member. Volatile active ingredients, in this particular example, prallethrin with a synergist, piperonyl butoxide is released from the molten pool as well as through the wick. The candle 10 can be encased in a glass or ceramic container 24 1. A vapour releasing mechanism including in combination,

an inner member of a first flammable or combustible substance having a first melting point, the inner member carrying an active ingredient to be released as a vapour,

an outer casing of a second flammable or combustible substance encasing the inner member, the second substance having a second melting point of a lower temperature than the first melting point,

a wick passing through the inner member and outer casing, wherein in use,

lighting the wick to produce a flame causes the outer casing to melt and molten substance in contact with the inner member, in turn, melts the inner member thereby releasing the active ingredient as a vapour from the molten pool feeding the wick.

Keppe Motor Construction Manual

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Hydrogen Fuel? Thin Films of Nickel and Iron Oxides Yield Efficient Solar Water-Splitting Catalyst

Mar. 20, 2013 — University of Oregon chemists say that ultra-thin films of nickel and iron oxides made through a solution synthesis process are promising catalysts to combine with semiconductors to make devices that capture sunlight and convert water into hydrogen and oxygen gases.

Researchers in the Solar Materials and Electrochemistry Laboratory of Shannon Boettcher, professor of chemistry, studied the catalyst material and also developed a computer model for applying catalyst thin films in solar water-splitting devices as a tool to predict the effectiveness of a wide range of catalyst materials for solar-hydrogen production.

The project has resulted in two recent papers.

The first, detailed last September in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, showed that films of a nickel-iron mixed oxide with an atomic structure similar to naturally occurring minerals show the highest catalytic activity for forming oxygen from water, based on a side-by-side comparison of eight oxide-based materials targeted in various research efforts.

The second paper, just published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, details the performance of the catalyst thin films when combined with semiconductor light absorbers, showing that the nickel-iron oxide catalyst was most effective with a film just 0.4 nanometers thick.

Boettcher's lab, located in the UO's Materials Science Institute, studies fundamental materials chemistry and physical concepts related to the conversion of solar photons (sunlight) into electrons and holes in semiconductors that can then be used to drive chemical processes such as splitting protons off water to make hydrogen and oxygen gases. Multiple labs across the country are seeking effective and economical ways of taking sunlight and directly producing hydrogen gas as an alternative sustainable fuel to replace fossil fuels.

"When you want to pull the protons off a water molecule to make hydrogen gas for fuel, you also have to take the leftover oxygen atoms and make oxygen gas out of them," Boettcher said. "It turns out that the slowest, hardest, most-energy-consuming step in the water-splitting process is actually the oxygen-making step. We've been studying catalysts for making oxygen. Specifically, we're seeking catalysts that reduce the amount of energy it takes in this step and that don't use expensive precious metals."

The iron-nickel oxides, he said, have higher catalytic activity than the precious-metal-based catalytic materials that have been thought to be the best for the job.

"What we found is that when we take nickel oxide films that start out as a crystalline material with the rock-salt structure like table salt, they absorb iron impurities and spontaneously convert into materials with a layered structure during the catalysis process," Boettcher said.

Lena Trotochaud, a doctoral student and lead author on both papers, studied this process and how the films can be combined with semiconductors. "The semiconductors absorb the light, generating electron-hole pairs which move onto the catalyst material and proceed to drive the water-splitting reaction, creating fuel," Boettcher said.

The computer modeling was used to understand how the amount of sunlight that the catalyst blocks from reaching the semiconductor can be minimized while simultaneously speeding up the reaction with water to form oxygen gas. This basic discovery remains a lab accomplishment for now, but it could advance to testing in a prototype device, Boettcher added.

"We're now looking at the fundamental reasons why these materials are good," Trotochaud said. "We are trying to understand how the catalyst works by focusing on the chemistry that is happening, and then also recognizing how that fits into a real system. Our research is fundamentally guiding how you would take these catalysts and incorporate them into something that is useful for everyone in society."

One such place the material could land in a prototype for testing is at the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, an Energy Innovation Hub. The DOE supported Boettcher's research done in the second study through a Basic Sciences Energy grant (DE-FG02-12ER16323).

"This research holds great potential for the development of more efficient, more sustainable solar-fuel generation systems and other kinds of transformative energy technology," said Kimberly Andrews Espy, vice president for research and innovation and dean of the graduate school. "By seeking to advance carbon-neutral energy technology, Dr. Boettcher and his team are helping to establish Oregon as an intellectual and economic leader in fostering a sustainable future for our planet and its people."

Journal References:

Lena Trotochaud, James K. Ranney, Kerisha N. Williams, Shannon W. Boettcher. Solution-Cast Metal Oxide Thin Film Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2012; 134 (41): 17253 DOI: 10.1021/ja307507a

Lena Trotochaud, Thomas J. Mills, Shannon W. Boettcher. An Optocatalytic Model for Semiconductor–Catalyst Water-Splitting Photoelectrodes Based on In Situ Optical Measurements on Operational Catalysts. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2013; 4 (6): 931 DOI: 10.1021/jz4002604