Carbon bubble will plunge the world into another financial crisis – report | Environment Global stock markets are betting on countries failing to adhere to legally binding carbon emission targets. Photograph: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images The world could be heading for a major economic crisis as stock markets inflate an investment bubble in fossil fuels to the tune of trillions of dollars, according to leading economists. "The financial crisis has shown what happens when risks accumulate unnoticed," said Lord (Nicholas) Stern, a professor at the London School of Economics. The so-called "carbon bubble" is the result of an over-valuation of oil, coal and gas reserves held by fossil fuel companies. The stark report is by Stern and the thinktank Carbon Tracker. Stern said that far from reducing efforts to develop fossil fuels, the top 200 companies spent $674bn (£441bn) in 2012 to find and exploit even more new resources, a sum equivalent to 1% of global GDP, which could end up as "stranded" or valueless assets. Pension funds are also concerned.
Hamburg Unveils World's First Algae-Powered Building | Wired Design The BIQ building’s algae panels generate power. Photo credit: Arup The world’s first building powered by algae has been unveiled at the International Building Exhibition in Hamburg by engineering firm Arup. [partner id="wireduk"]The “bioreactor façade” has been mounted as a kind of “second skin” onto the sun-facing sides of the BIQ building. The panels — which are more like tanks — contain algae that grows in the direct sunlight. The algae feeds on carbon dioxide and nutrients that are supplied via a water pump, and further energy is also harvested by solar panels, with energy stored for later use in 80m deep boreholes filled with brine. The whole building is intended to be completely self-sufficient. The building was completed on March 22, but won’t be put into full operation until April 25. “Using bio-chemical processes in the façade of a building to create shade and energy is a really innovative concept.” says Arup’s research lead for Europe, Jan Wurm.
Printed sensor can sense cracks in bridges New technology using low-cost wireless sensors could make it easier to monitor highway bridges and other structures for strain, stress, and early formation of cracks. “For many engineering structures, one of the most dangerous problems is the initiation of stress concentration and cracking, which is caused by overloading or inadequate design and can lead to collapse—as in the case of the I-35W bridge failure in Minneapolis in 2007,” says Yang Wang, assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology. The new sensor designs can be inkjet-printed on various substrates, using methods that optimize them for operation at radio frequency. Full story at Futurity. More research news from top universities. Photo credit: Gary Meek/Georgia Tech
Nanoscale MRI being developed (Phys.org)—Two independent groups of scientists in the U.S. and Germany have reduced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) down to the nanoscale, which may enable them in the future to non-destructively detect and image small molecules such as proteins at room temperature and pressure. Previously, nanoscale imaging was only possible at extremely low temperatures and pressures. MRI works through detecting weak electromagnetic fields produced by the nuclei of atoms such as hydrogen within the molecules being studied, and the collective resonance of these fields. It is able to image structures without destroying them, which makes it useful for scanning bodies, but its relatively low sensitivity has up to now restricted its use on the small scale to chemicals with volumes measured in micrometers at best. Two papers published in the journal Science describe the research done by the two separate groups, which both used dark spots, or nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defects, on the surface of diamonds. 2.
Bringing people back from the dead A doctor says people can be revived several hours after they have seemingly died. Should this change the way we think about death? Carol Brothers can't recall the exact moment she died. "I know it must have been a Friday around lunchtime, because we'd got back from shopping," the 63-year old says. Her husband David has much clearer memories of that day three months ago. Carol had had a cardiac arrest - her heart had stopped beating. Paramedics soon took over, and at a point between 30 and 45 minutes after her collapse - no-one noted the exact time - Carol's heart started beating again. "While 45 minutes is absolutely remarkable and a lot of people would have written her off, we now know there are people who have been brought back, three, four, five hours after they've died and have led remarkably good quality lives," says Dr Sam Parnia, the director of resuscitation research at Stony Brook University in New York. Most people regard cardiac arrest as synonymous with death, he says.
Jessa Gamble – Life without sleep Work, friendships, exercise, parenting, eating, reading — there just aren’t enough hours in the day. To live fully, many of us carve those extra hours out of our sleep time. Then we pay for it the next day. As with most human behaviours, it’s hard to tease out our biological need for sleep from the cultural practices that interpret it. Different species also seem to vary widely in their sleeping behaviours. Our internal clock is based on a chemical oscillation, a feedback loop on the cellular level that takes 24 hours to complete and is overseen by a clump of brain cells behind our eyes (near the meeting point of our optic nerves). Human sleep comprises several 90-minute cycles of brain activity. One of the most valuable outcomes of work on sleep deprivation is the emergence of clear individual differences — groups of people who reliably perform better after sleepless nights, as well as those who suffer disproportionately. 10 April 2013 Comments
New LED streetlight design curbs light pollution Streetlights illuminate the night, shining upon roadways and sidewalks across the world, but these ubiquitous elements of the urban environment are notoriously inefficient and major contributors to light pollution that washes out the night sky. Recent innovations in light emitting diodes (LEDs) have improved the energy efficiency of streetlights, but, until now, their glow still wastefully radiated beyond the intended area. A team of researchers from Taiwan and Mexico has developed a new lighting system design that harnesses high-efficiency LEDs and ensures they shine only where they're needed, sparing surrounding homes and the evening sky from unwanted illumination. A unique feature of the new LED system is its adaptability to different street lamp layouts, "to all kinds of streets and roads, providing a uniform illumination with high energy efficiency," says co-author Ching-Cherng Sun of National Central University in Taiwan.
Sun-powered plane completes California test flight MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — A solar-powered plane that has wowed aviation fans in Europe took to the skies Friday over the San Francisco Bay area in a successful test flight. Considered the world's most advanced sun-powered plane, the Solar Impulse took off from Moffett Field in Mountain View at first light for a two-hour practice run in advance of a planned multi-city, cross-country tour. "That's a mythical step in aviation," André Borschberg, one of the plane's pilots and creators, said about flying cross-country. He said a flight around the world could occur in two years. The Solar Impulse is powered by about 12,000 photovoltaic cells that cover massive wings and charge its batteries, allowing it to fly day and night without jet fuel. Its creators say the Solar Impulse is designed to showcase the potential of solar power and will never replace fuel-powered commercial flights. "We like nice weather. Stops are planned in Phoenix, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and New York.
This 16-Year-Old Has a Bionic Hand Almost as Good as Luke Skywalker’s In Star Wars, Episode V, Luke Skywalker gets his hand cut off and replaced with a totally convincing bionic replica. While Patric Kane didn’t have his hand sliced of by a lightsaber, he’s got a bionic replacement that’s one step closer to Skywalker’s eerily lifelike robot paw. Kane lost his hand when he was a baby, but in 2010, after living most of his life without a prosthetic, he saw a video of a prosthetic made by Touch Bionics and tracked them down to ask for one. The mobile control application, which is compatible with the latest Apple products, including the iPhone, will allow Patrick, 16, to type, hold papers and use a computer mouse via a single screen tap.He will also be able to cut up his own food and tie his shoelaces for the first time using his new hand, which has already featured in a music video by will.i.am and Britney Spears. Here’s what the hand looks like in use: For Kane, however, the hand is already a hit with his peers. More from Smithsonian.com: