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Issue no. 43, 2006 Published: Dec 08, 2006
Solar cell revolution boosts efficiency to 40 per cent
A better biofuel?
UN warns on password 'explosion'
Microsoft sponsors Mideast, Africa IT projects
Spam back with a vengeance, filters lose efficacy
Researchers develop portable DNA analyser
Israel developing anti-militant 'bionic hornet'
Invention: Wing-mirror cameras

Solar cell revolution boosts efficiency to 40 per cent
A subsidiary of aerospace giant Boeing has developed a solar cell that can operate at over 40% efficiency, smashing the previous record for sunlight to power conversion. The new cells use a specially developed semiconductor material that improves efficiency and simplifies design. The company is now examining how to bring production costs down and ramp up manufacturing. The terrestrial cell uses the same technology base as Boeing's space-based cells and once qualified, they can be manufactured in very high volumes with minimal impact to production flow, according to Boeing. The US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has verified the cell's efficiency. A 33-kilowatt test system is already up and running in the Australian desert and more large-scale trials are planned soon. The cells will also be used on the next generation of satellites.
VNUnet UK Dec 07, 2006	back to top

A better biofuel?
A diverse mix of native grassland perennials produces biofuels more efficiently than corn and soybeans, even when grown on sub-par soil, according to a new study by ecologists at the University of Minnesota. To see if native grassland species could provide a better alternative to corn and soybeans as alternative fuel sources, the team grew 18 different species of prairie plants in 152 test plots, beginning in 1994. The researchers varied the species composition on no longer productive agricultural lands in northern Minnesota. They then compared the biofuel energy yield when the plants were grown alone or in those different combinations. The most diverse plots produced 238% more bioenergy yield than the average plot containing a single species. Although the yield of biofuels from prairie grasses was about 33% lower per hectare than from cultured crops such as corn, the inputs required to grow them are much lower. So the net energy output from native grasses is actually about five-fold compared to 1.25-fold for corn and 1.93-fold for soybeans. As a bonus, 75% of the prairie grasses' mass is in their root structure, allowing the plants to store a net 4.4 metric tons of carbon per hectare every year, a relatively large amount in the fight against climate change.
ScienceNow / Science Dec 07, 2006	back to top

UN warns on password 'explosion'
Growing use of the web is stripping people of their personal privacy, warns a UN agency report. The number of passwords and logins web users need makes it inevitable they will re-use phrases, warned the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Re-using these identifiers puts people at serious risk of falling victim to identity theft. ITU called on regulators and businesses to find better ways for people to identify themselves to websites. Net trends towards personalisation and efforts by websites to track users are leading users to maintain a growing list of the logins and passwords. But this comes with risks, warns the ITU report. As well as being dangerous, being forced to generate so many login names and passwords wasted time and was very unwieldy, said the report. The UN agency urged net firms, businesses and government bodies to create better or more unified ways for people to use websites that would help to safeguard their identity online. The growing problem of ID theft could stunt the growth of net commerce as users become wary of spending money online, warned the ITU.
BBC News Dec 04, 2006	back to top

Microsoft sponsors Mideast, Africa IT projects
Microsoft will provide scholarships and educational programs worth USD 4.6m for students in the Middle East and North Africa. Microsoft corporate vice-president Gerri Elliott made the announcement on the sidelines of a two-day conference to explore trends and progress in communications and information technology in Jordan and the region. The scheme would reach 3 million people in three years across the Middle East and Africa, according to Microsoft. Microsoft will allocate USD 2.1m in cash grants for scholarships while the rest will go toward software, curricula, and other services as part of a program dubbed 'Unlimited Potential'. The program covers 30 projects and is aimed at developing information technology skills and addressing the digital divide in cooperation with regional nongovernmental organizations.
Middle East Times / AFP Dec 07, 2006	back to top

Spam back with a vengeance, filters lose efficacy
Most internet users already know it: spam is on the rise again as its senders find new ways to circumvent filtering systems. A study released last month by the security firm Postini found that unwanted messages now account for 91% of all e-mail, and over the past 12 months the daily volume of spam rose by 120%. A separate report by IronPort Systems concluded that worldwide spam volumes increased from 31bn messages daily in October 2005 to 61bn messages per day in October 2006. Security experts cite two key reasons for the surge, which has come after a brief respite in which spam appeared to be stabilising. First, spammers are using massive networks of hijacked computers called 'bot-nets' to send the e-mails. Postini said that more than 1m infected computers are being used for spam and virus attacks each day, with 50,000 or more active at any instant. Secondly, spammers are using more sophisticated techniques to get around filters, notably the use of 'image spam'. Image spam reached a new high of 25% of total spam volume in October 2006, an increase of 421% in a year, according to IronPort.
Middle East Times / AFP Dec 07, 2006	back to top

Researchers develop portable DNA analyser
A handheld DNA analyser the size of a portable DVD player could soon allow emergency medical personnel to identify diseases instantly. The inventors believe that the device could help doctors quickly identify the best course of treatment based on a patient's genetic make up. Similar devices have been proposed for anti-terrorism and forensics. A prototype of the DNA analyser has been built and tested successfully by researchers at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). The device works by shining a semiconductor laser onto a sample, such as a tiny drop of blood, and measuring the light emitted. A small amount of fluorescent liquid is then added to the sample to mark DNA molecules. The sample flows through a microchannel in the surface of a biochip, where an electrical field spreads out molecules of different sizes making them easy to identify. The basic analysis of a sample takes approximately two minutes. All the key components can be mounted on the same chip. The compact size of the device, which combines the laser and sensor in the same unit, will make it much easier to deploy, according to the inventors.
VNUnet UK Dec 04, 2006	back to top

Israel developing anti-militant 'bionic hornet'
Israel is using nanotechnology to try to create a robot no bigger than a hornet that would be able to chase, photograph and kill its targets. The flying robot, nicknamed the 'bionic hornet', would be able to navigate its way down narrow alleyways to target otherwise unreachable enemies such as rocket launchers. It is one of several weapons being developed by scientists to combat militants. Others include super gloves that would give the user the strength of a 'bionic man' and miniature sensors to detect suicide bombers. The research integrates nanotechnology into Israel's security department and will find creative solutions to problems the army has been unable to address, said Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres. 'The war in Lebanon proved that we need smaller weaponry. It's illogical to send a plane worth USD 100m against a suicidal terrorist. So we are building futuristic weapons,' Peres said. The 34-day war in Lebanon ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire in mid-August. The war killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
ABC News / Reuters / Yedioth Ahronoth Nov 17, 2006	back to top

Invention: Wing-mirror cameras
Car giant Honda is patenting a scheme that would let drivers see traffic conditions on the road ahead with their own eyes. It could even let them see how full a car park is, before leaving their house in the morning. The idea is to build tiny cameras into its cars' wing mirrors. These 'car cams' would look at the road both ahead and behind and use cellphone connections to send real time video back to a central server. Each car would also transmit its GPS location and speed, allowing the central server to build a collection of road views and traffic information, integrated into a digital map of the area. Honda envisages a free access scheme, allowing any participating driver to use a home computer or an in-car navigation device to click on a map and view real-time road conditions and details of car speeds. Fixed cameras by the roadside could supplement the data. For privacy, Honda suggests that all video footage would be supplied anonymously, and that all cameras would automatically switch off whenever the GPS device detects that it is close to the driver's home or office.
New Scientist Dec 04, 2006	back to top