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Issue no. 37, 2006 Published: Oct 27, 2006
Energy from deserts could supply Europe
China unveils plans to boost scientific data sharing
Most car brands 'failing on CO2'
Technical breakthrough could aid computer memory research
'Tower of Babel' translator made
Mud battery stops marine rustv
NASA launches mission to study solar flares
Heavy mobile use 'might damage sperm'

Energy from deserts could supply Europe
Deserts in the Middle East and North Africa could generate vast quantities of electricity to sell to Europe, according to two German research reports. The studies found that concentrated solar power plants, occupying less than 0.3 per cent of the desert area in the region, could provide 15 per cent of Europe's electricity needs by 2050. The high transmission losses of 10-15 per cent per 1,000 kilometres of cable used would be offset by the sheer volume of electricity produced, says the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC), a network that helped conduct the studies. Solar thermal power plants use mirrors to concentrate solar energy to create steam and generate electricity, creating the cheapest electricity available - costing less than USD 0.06 per kilowatt-hour. Excess heat from the plants could be used for water desalination, providing much-needed fresh water in desert regions. Initial plans for constructing such plants are already under way and TREC plans to launch pilot projects, including one in Yemen.
SciDev Oct 26, 2006	back to top

China unveils plans to boost scientific data sharing
Over 80 per cent of data relating to China's research into pure science - such as theoretical mathematics, physics and chemistry - will be freely available on the internet, says China's top science official. Xu Guanhua, China's minister of Science and Technology, revealed the country's data-sharing plan this week at the international conference for the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA), an event focused on promoting data sharing worldwide. In order to achieve its goal, China will establish 40 scientific data centres by 2010, covering 300 databases relating to the environment, agriculture, human health, pure science, engineering and regional scientific and technology information. All of them will be openly accessed through a public portal initiated. Meanwhile, 32 national standards - specifications for data processing and storage - are being worked out to support the data-sharing through these data centres. Xu said that the science ministries and departments are currently revising and designing laws and policies to make data sharing compulsory for publicly-funded research.
SciDev Oct 24, 2006	back to top

Most car brands 'failing on CO2'
Three-quarters of Europe's car brands are failing to improve fuel efficiency fast enough to meet a key European emissions target, a study has claimed. The top performer on fuel efficiency was Fiat, while Nissan came bottom of the table. The report is the first to show the progress of individual European car brands on meeting the commitment to cut CO2 emissions. In 1998, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea) pledged to the EU to reduce the average CO2 emissions for new cars to 140 grams per kilometre by 2008. This represents a reduction of 25 per cent over 1995 levels. Japanese and Korean manufacturers, which command a smaller part of the European car market, made similar commitments. According to the report commissioned by Transport and Environment (T&E), Nissan, Suzuki, Mazda, Audi, Volvo, BMW and Volkswagen cut their emissions at less than half the rate needed to meet their commitment. Fiat, Citroen, Renault, Ford and Peugeot are set to meet or exceed their target by 2008. Overall, the car industry is not on track to meet its commitment to the European Union, the report states.
BBC News Oct 25, 2006	back to top

Technical breakthrough could aid computer memory research
A team of scientists has for the first time used a new technique to measure changes in ultrathin materials, which could eventually help develop faster, higher-capacity, more stable electronic memory. Using a technique known as ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy, the international group was able to measure precise conditions under which so-called 'ferroelectric' materials as little as one molecule thick change their state. Leading experts in the field previously thought it impossible to make such measurements. The scientists found ways in which a layer of barium titanate could store a switchable electric field at a range of temperatures, configurations and thicknesses, including one as thin as four-tenths of a nanometre. The scientific understanding of how such nanoscale materials behave under different conditions that the new technique provides could eventually help researchers make faster, higher-capacity and more stable electronic memory. The further development of such memory could lead to the creation of computers that instantly turn on and off without having to wait for software to load or save data.
CBC News / Science Oct 25, 2006	back to top

'Tower of Babel' translator made
A 'Tower of Babel' device that gives the illusion of being bilingual is being developed by US scientists at Carnegie Mellon University. Users simply have to silently mouth a word in their own language for it to be translated and read out in another. The researchers said the effect was like watching a television programme that had been dubbed. Electrodes are attached to the neck and face to detect the movements that occur as the person silently mouths words and phrases. Using this data, a computer can work out the sounds being formed and then build these sounds up into words. The system is then able to translate the words into another language which is read out by a synthetic voice. The team currently has two prototypes: one that can translate Chinese into English and another that can translate English into Spanish or German. If the prototypes used a small vocabulary of about 100-200 words they worked with about 80 per cent accuracy. But a full vocabulary had a much lower level of accuracy. The ultimate goal, the researchers said, was to be in a position where you can just have a conversation.
BBC News Oct 25, 2006	back to top

Mud battery stops marine rustv
Microscopic life destroys steel in the sea - but it might be able to save it too. Ocean-bound steel objects can be protected from rust by plugging them into the seabed, according to a team of Argentinean researchers at the National University of Mar del Plata. The scientists have turned marine mud into a battery that can suppress corrosion by charging up stainless steel. The energy is free, clean and everlasting. Stainless steel is much more resistant to corrosion than is ordinary steel. But in seawater it quickly acquires a layer of microbes and algae. These microbes' electrochemical reactions slowly erode the metal. Supplying the steel surface with electrons, which gives it a negative charge, suppresses this process. At present, these electrons usually come from a sacrificial metal which must be replaced periodically. The researchers realised that microbial batteries made by inserting electrodes into ocean sediments would be an ideal source of electrons. Microbes pull electrons from sulphide mineral particles in the mud, and use them in metabolic reactions that release energy. The electrons are eventually dumped onto an 'electron acceptor' - normally oxygen. But in the microbial battery they are shunted onto an electrode. The resulting electrical current is tiny but sufficient. The system would need minimal maintenance at a very low cost, the researchers say.
Nature Oct 26, 2006	back to top

NASA launches mission to study solar flares
NASA launched two satellites this week as part of a new mission that will observe eruptions from the sun known as solar flares. The spacecraft launched are called STEREO, for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory. The radiation from solar flares can interfere with electrical and communications systems on Earth, can wreak havoc on orbiting satellites and harm astronauts performing walks in space. Scientists said they hope the mission, which will take two years, will shed some light on solar flares, giving them information on their origin, evolution and interplanetary consequences. The solar flares are considered to be the among the most violent explosions in the solar system. Scientists also hope the satellites will give them the first ever three-dimensional views of the sun. Solar flares eject around a billion tonnes of the sun's atmosphere into space, travelling at a speed of 1.6m kilometres an hour. They cause the phenomenon known as the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis.
CBC News Oct 26, 2006	back to top

Heavy mobile use 'might damage sperm'
Heavy use of mobile phones may damage men's fertility, a study has suggested. Researchers found those men who used a phone for four hours or more a day had fewer sperm and those they had moved less well and were of poorer quality. The Ohio study involving 364 men was presented to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in New Orleans. The team from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio tested the sperm of 364 men who were being treated at fertility clinics in Mumbai, India, with their partners. It was found that the heaviest users, those who used their phones for more than four hours a day had the lowest average sperm counts, at 50m per millilitre (ml) and the least healthy sperm. Men who used their phones for between two and four hours a day averaged sperm counts of 69m per ml and had moderately healthy sperm. Those who said they did not use mobile phones at all had the highest average sperm counts, of 86m per ml, and their sperm was of the highest quality seen. The researchers admit the study does not prove mobiles damage fertility, but say it shows more research is warranted.
BBC News Oct 24, 2006	back to top