Biological battery powers up

Scientists in the US have created a rechargeable ‘lithium ion’ battery with the help of a genetically programmed virus that acts as a scaffold for highly conductive electrodes. The battery is as powerful as other leading lithium-ion batteries, but is cheaper and far less toxic to produce.

Lithium-ion batteries are among the most popular rechargeable batteries and are used in a variety of consumer electronics from laptops to mobile phones. They work through the flow of lithium ions between two electrodes – an anode and a cathode – in an electrolyte. When the batteries are powering a circuit, positive lithium ions generate a current by flowing from within the anode, through the electrolyte and into the cathode. When the batteries are being charged, however, the polarity of the electrodes is switched and the lithium ions are forced to flow back to where they came.

In real devices the anode tends to be a simple material such as graphite, whereas the cathode can be one of several more complex compounds, such as lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4). The best electrodes allow lithium ions to migrate easily so that the batteries have a greater capacity and discharge rate, and for this reason many researchers have tried creating electrodes based upon nanoparticles for a less restrictive structure. But, despite improvements in synthesis techniques, they have not yet managed to make the nanoparticles small enough for this to work.

Angela Belcher and colleagues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, however, have found that electrodes based on viruses are a feasible alternative. They have manipulated the genes of the simple ‘M13′ virus so that it is equipped with certain short polymers known as peptides. On one end of the virus the peptides can bind with carbon nanotubes, while on the rest of the virus the peptides can help instigate the growth of amorphous iron phosphate (a-FePO4). Although a-FePO4 is not usually a good conductor, the nanotubes work together to enhance conductivity across the entire virus.

In tests using the virus-based structure as a cathode in a simple lithium-ion battery circuit, the MIT group found that they could achieve a discharge capacity of 130mAh/g, which is comparable with the state-of-the-art LiFePO4 electrode material. Moreover, they could retain a good capacity for at least 50 one-Coulomb cycles of charging and discharging.

‘What we are excited about is that our battery materials get better and better as we genetically engineer them,’ says Belcher. ‘We are now using this same approach to try to increase the power more in other types of materials that are not commercially available, to make even higher-power materials.’

via Biological battery powers up.

Ananova – Hen lays green eggs

Stipa Gregacevic was astonished when his prize hen Fata began laying coloured eggs at the family farm in Forkusevci.

“I can’t really explain why it happens,” said Stipa. “Some say it might be because we put red pepper in the hen food.”

And Stipa says customers are happy to shell out twice the going rate for normal eggs to buy a carton of his coloured specials.

“We’re an organic farm and we’re always being told to be more Green but I don’t think this is what the scientists have in mind,” he added.

via Ananova – Hen lays green eggs.

That’s a very uniform green. Hoax?

Original Beatles digitally remastered

The original Beatles catalog has been digitally remastered for the first time and will go on sale in CD format on September 9, the band’s record label and company announced Tuesday.

The release will coincide with the launch of “The Beatles: Rock Band” video game, the British quartet’s first major leap into the world of digital music.

The catalog will not be available online for the foreseeable future, although the digital remastering is widely seen as bringing that process one step closer.

“Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalog will continue,” a statement issued on behalf of record label EMI and Beatles company Apple Corps Ltd said.

“There is no further information available at this time.”

Fans of arguably the world’s most successful pop band, with album sales of more than 600 million worldwide, are eager for the Beatles to release the catalog online.

The group is one of the few big acts left whose music is not available on Apple Inc’s iTunes, but the settlement of a trademark dispute between Apple Inc and Apple Corps Ltd in 2007 was seen as finally clearing the way.

The new collection comprises 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in Britain, and “Magical Mystery Tour,” which became part of the Beatles’ core catalog when the CDs were released in 1987.

via Original Beatles digitally remastered | Reuters.

It’s Not a Flying Car It’s a Driveable Airplane

A Boston startup is confounding naysayers with a plane that combines the ease of driving with the thrill of flying, and it could shake up the industry by ushering in a new wave of recreational aviation.

Terrafugia’s unusual aircraft just made a 30-second test flight as historic as it was brief, proving that flying cars aren’t as outlandish as you might think. But as much as people might want to call the Transition a flying car, Terrafugia insists it’s actually an airplane you can drive.

“We’re excited by the reality of what we’re doing here, but this is not the start of the flying car,” company CEO Carl Dietrich told Wired.com. “This is a light sport plane that can be driven home after a day of flying and parked in the garage. It’s designed for pilots. That’s our target market.”

Inventors, engineers and crackpots have been promising promising flying cars since the 1920s. The Aerocar is perhaps the most famous and successful attempt, but it is hardly the only one. All of the Big Three automakers have considered them at one time or another. Boeing toyed with them. And everyone from the Naval Air Warfare Weapons Division to guys in their garages have pitched ideas for flying machines we can drive to the airport.

They’ve all been beaten to the punch by Terrafugia, which has already received 49 orders for a $194,000 plane it won’t start delivering until 2011.

via It’s Not a Flying Car It’s a Driveable Airplane | Autopia from Wired.com.

Solving the Mystery of the Vanishing Bees: Scientific American

Millions of beehives worldwide have emptied out as honeybees mysteriously disappear, putting at risk nearly 100 crops that require pollination.

Research is pointing to a complex disease in which combinations of factors, including farming practices, make bees vulnerable to viruses.

… The bee loss has raised alarms because one third of the world’s agricultural production depends on the European honeybee, Apis mellifera the kind universally adopted by beekeepers in Western countries. Large, monoculture farms require intense pollination activity for short periods of the year, a role that other pollinators such as wild bees and bats cannot fill. Only A. melliferacan deploy armies of pollinators at almost any time of the year, wherever the weather is mild enough and there are flowers to visit.

Our collaboration has ruled out many potential causes for CCD and found many possible contributing factors. But no single culprit has been identified. Bees suffering from CCD tend to be infested with multiple pathogens, including a newly discovered virus, but these infections seem secondary or opportunistic much the way pneumonia kills a patient with AIDS. The picture now emerging is of a complex condition that can be triggered by different combinations of causes. There may be no easy remedy to CCD. It may require taking better care of the environment and making long-term changes to our beekeeping and agricultural practices.

Even before colony collapse, honeybees had suffered from a number of ailments that reduced their populations. The number of managed honeybee colonies in 2006 was about 2.4 million, less than half what it was in 1949. But beekeepers could not recall seeing such dramatic winter losses as occurred in 2007 and 2008. Although CCD probably will not cause honeybees to go extinct, it could push many beekeepers out of business. If beekeepers’ skills and know-how become a rarity as a result, then even if CCD is eventually overcome, nearly 100 of our crops could be left without pollinators and large-scale production of certain crops could become impossible. We would still have corn, wheat, potatoes and rice. But many fruits and vegetables we consume routinely today such as apples, blueberries, broccoli and almonds could become the food of kings.

via Solving the Mystery of the Vanishing Bees: Scientific American.

Are you eating the food of kings?

Study claims ‘highly engineered explosive’ found in WTC rubble

The Open Chemical Physics Journal published a peer reviewed study by retired professor Steven E. Jones, doctor Niels Harrit and other scientists who scientifically proved that traces of  “a highly engineered explosive” had been found in the rubble and dust collected after the falls of WTC 1, 2 and 7. – javno

A team of scientists claim to have unearthed startling data from dust and debris gathered in the days and weeks after the World Trade Center towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001.

In a study published by the Open Chemical Physics Journal — a peer-reviewed, scientific publication — Steven E. Jones and Niels Harrit level a stark allegation: that within the dust and rubble of the World Trade Center towers lays evidence of “a highly engineered explosive,” contrary to all federal studies of the collapses.

“We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in all the samples we have studied of the dust produced by the destruction of the World Trade Center,” reads the paper’s abstract. “One sample was collected by a Manhattan resident about ten minutes after the collapse of the second WTC Tower, two the next day, and a fourth about a week later. The properties of these chips were analyzed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).”

The study, however, shows that the dust was collected from four different sites, three of which were not in the immediate area surrounding the fallen towers. Most of the samples are collections of dust taken from blocks away.

They claim their analysis has uncovered “active thermitic material”: a combination of elemental aluminum and iron oxide in a form of thermite known as “nanostructured super-thermite.”

Thermite, used in steel welding, fireworks shows, hand grenades and demolition, can produce a chemical reaction known for extremely high temperatures focused in a very small area for a short period of time.

According to the Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research, super-thermite “is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services.”

“This finding really goes beyond anything that has previously been shown,” said Jones in a media advisory. “We had to use sophisticated tools to analyze the dust because this isn’t just a typical explosive, RDX or CD4 or something — this is a highly engineered material not readily available to just anyone.”

“The cost and production rate of super-thermite composites has limited the use of these materials in DoD applications,” claims the Navy’s SBIR.

Dr. Steven E. Jones, a former physicist at Brigham Young University and a founding member of Scholars for 9/11 Truth & Justice, presented a paper in 2005 discussing alternatives to the government’s theory that massive structural damage combined with burning jet fuel to weaken the towers’ support infrastructure, causing a rapid “pancake” collapse.

via The Raw Story | Study claims ‘highly engineered explosive’ found in WTC rubble.

More from Washington’s Blog:

In fact, two previous scientific papers have also found evidence contradicting the official story about 9/11:

• Fourteen Points of Agreement with Official Government Reports on the World Trade Center Destruction, The Open Civil Engineering Journal, pp.35-40, Vol 2 Link
• Environmental anomalies at the World Trade Center: evidence for energetic materials, The Environmentalist, August, 2008 Link

Indeed, numerous world-class scientists have found evidence contradicting the official story.

If you don’t buy the scientists’ arguments, that’s fine. You can instead look at what the following highly-credible experts say about 9/11:

• The 9/11 Commission
• Intelligence Professionals
• Military leaders
• Legal scholars
• And other credible sources

And the non-conspiracy explanation for this physical evidence would be … what?

OS: MYLOW’s Magnetic Motor based on Howard Johnson’s Design

YouTube user “MYLOW121363″ (hereafter “Mylow”) of Chicago has apparently successfully replicated the late Howard Johnson’s all-magnet motor, Stonehenge model, that Johnson worked on in the early 1980s to demonstrate to the U.S. Patent Office (patents now expired). Mylow purposely kept his replication as close as possible to Johnson’s design — per the photos, not the patent.

Mylow claims it has run ~26 hours continuous in one setting. His replica begins to turn once the single stator horseshoe (U-shaped) magnet comes close to the rotor magnets on the perimeter of the rotor.

The rotor spins up to a certain speed and does not go any faster. The speed limit could be due to an eddy current interaction between the stator magnet and the rotating aluminum rotor.

Mylow says he has seen some deceleration over time. One possibility is that the energy supporting continued rotation is a function of the magnet gradually giving up its magnetism, like a battery. He had the stator magnet remagnetized, and the motor worked again.

The rotor consists of sets channel alnico magnets attached to an aluminum disc with crazy glue. There is a gap between each set. The aluminum disc rides on a high-precision ball bearing that was machined at his brother’s workshop. The single stator magnet (also U-shaped) is glued to the bottom of an aluminum bar that is mounted on top of two wooden stands.

Mylow has conveyed essentially all the info needed to replicated this device. In addition to the compilation here at this site, a consice version of those is available for sale from http://MylowPlans.com

On April 2 and 3, 2009, Mylow was visited by someone from the NSA who confiscated his motor and papers, then returned them, warning him to post no more videos and to not pursue this technology. [1]

Open Source Caveat

In open sourcing this design, we only request that if you go commercial with it (selling plans, kits, or finished units in volumes of 5 or more), that you include a 3% royalty to be split three ways between Mylow, Howard Johnson’s heirs or assigns, and PES Network, Inc. (which is coordinating this project here). There is no patent, and Howard Johnson’s patents are expired, and there is no copyright on the contents of these PESWiki pages, so this request is one that is not enforceable. But out of an appeal to ethics, we expect that you honor the request. The royalty percentage is purposely low so that you will not be placed under an unreasonable burden in competing with those who will not honor this request. Contact PES Network, Inc. to work out reasonable licensing arrangements. See OS:MYLOW:Legal.

via OS: MYLOW’s Magnetic Motor based on Howard Johnson’s Design – PESWiki.

Here is a video:

From what he has shown, there could easily be a battery and motor hidden in the base. Here is a video that shows the base in more detail. Interesting…

Angry mob turns back Google Street View car

A poor, innocent Google Street View driver was merely doing his duty in the village of Broughton, Buckinghamshire, England. Broughton is a posh village, a little on the snooty side.

But when Paul Jacobs spotted the Googlie snooper rolling down his street, the village became positively snotty. He rushed around to other people’s homes to tell them to come outside and help him thwart the evil eye.

Yes, the Google Street View car was surrounded by the bulging jowls of the bourgeoisie.

“I ran outside to flag the car down and told the driver he was not only invading our privacy but also facilitating crime,” Jacobs told the Daily Mail.

Broughton, you see, has already endured three burglaries in the last six weeks. And residents believe displaying the full contours of their streets to the world can only reveal the weaker parts of their homes’ ramparts.

Jacobs, an executive with a global entertainment company, is a multi-tasker. Not only did he stop the car and get a support group together, but he also found time to call the police. By the time officers arrived, the Street View car had fled the scene.

Unfortunately, a Google representative did not exactly make the situation any more friendly: “Householders are entitled to request their property is removed from the site, but only after the picture has appeared.”

This does sound so sadly like: “We are gods and you may plead your case to us at the appropriate time on knees bent to at least a 90-degree angle.”

Given Street View’s somewhat sketchy record in terms of people-sensitivity, might not Google have issued a somewhat more understanding communique?

via Angry mob turns back Google Street View car | Technically Incorrect – CNET News.

Is there a legal right to privacy in England? I doubt it.

Most detailed map of Universe charts 125,071 galaxies

The results of this ten-year project were presented on April 1, 2009, at the international meeting (Malaysia09) of the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO), which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between March 30 and April 3, 2009.

According to the AAO article “Galaxy survey maps where matter lurks,” this new survey of galaxies “… will reveal not only where the galaxies are but also where they’re heading, how fast, and why.”

AAO astronomer Dr. Heath Jones, the lead scientist for the Six-Degree Field Galaxy Survey (6dFGS), which detailed these galaxies, stated, “It’s like taking a snapshot of wildebeest on the African plain. We can tell which waterholes they’re heading to, and how fast they’re travelling.” [AAO]

The astronomers on this 6dFGS project used the 1.2-meter U.K. Schmidt telescope (UKST) at Siding Spring Observatory (Coonabarabran, Australia) in northern New South Wales to take the images of these galaxies from 2001 to 2006.

The Anglo-Australian Observatory, headquartered near Sydney, Australia, operates the UKST.

The scientists began the planning stage of the Six-Degree Field Galaxy Survey in the late 1990s. On Friday, April 3, 2009, they released their map after all the data had been collected.

Although many of these galaxies can’t be actually “seen” by the radiation (light) they emit, scientists here on Earth can “detect” them by the gravity they contain, which disturbs matter in their vicinity.

via iTWire – Most detailed map of Universe charts 125,071 galaxies.

Any “worries” you might have down here on Earth are smaller than you can imagine.

Research Links Poor Children’s Stress and Brain Impairment

Children raised in poverty suffer many ill effects: They often have health problems and tend to struggle in school, which can create a cycle of poverty across generations.

Now, research is providing what could be crucial clues to explain how childhood poverty translates into dimmer chances of success: Chronic stress from growing up poor appears to have a direct impact on the brain, leaving children with impairment in at least one key area — working memory.

“There’s been lots of evidence that low-income families are under tremendous amounts of stress, and we know that stress has many implications,” said Gary W. Evans, a professor of human ecology at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., who led the research. “What this data raises is the possibility that it’s also related to cognitive development.”

With the economic crisis threatening to plunge more children into poverty, other researchers said the work offers insight into how poverty affects long-term achievement and underscores the potential ramifications of chronic stress early in life.

via Research Links Poor Children’s Stress and Brain Impairment – washingtonpost.com.

Yet some people grow up poor and manage to become quite successful. What is that?