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Issue no. 2, 2008 Published: Jan 11, 2008
Super-hairy plants could battle global warming
Grass biofuels 'cut CO2 by 94%'
Researcher boosts solar cell size 100-fold
Researchers make nano-scale DNA research tool
Imitating plant evolution proves fruitful
South Africa gets nanotech underway
Invention: Personal food analyser

Super-hairy plants could battle global warming
Planting extra-reflective crops that bounce sunshine back into space is the latest proposal to help cool our warming world. The notion of modifying Earth's climate with sunshades or a blanket of reflective aerosols to counteract global warming - known as geoengineering - has been around for years. But climate models suggest that this would significantly reduce rainfall. Now researchers at the University of California think they can get around that problem. Models show that geoengineering near the equator hits rainfall hardest, but focusing on latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees would produce a much smaller drop in rainfall. Planting crops bred or genetically modified to be more reflective could cool these regions by an average of 1 °C. The key is to deploy leaves that sport a thick layer of hairs, which reflect near-infrared wavelengths back out into space. Super-hairy strains of soya have already been bred, and these reflect 3 to 5% more sunlight. This would be enough - if planted in huge amounts - to generate the cooling effect, according to the researchers.
New Scientist Jan 09, 2008	back to top

Grass biofuels 'cut CO2 by 94%'
Producing biofuels from a fast-growing grass delivers vast savings of CO2 emissions compared with petrol, a large-scale study has suggested. The research also found that switchgrass-derived ethanol produced 540% more energy than was required to manufacture the fuel. On average 0.4 hectare of the grassland could deliver 1211 litres of bioethanol. The five-year study, involving 10 farms ranging in size from three to nine hectares, was described as the largest study of its kind by the paper's authors of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Switchgrass can produce much higher energy yields than food crops such as wheat or corn because the whole plant is utilised rather than just the seeds. The team also calculated that the production and consumption of switchgrass-derived ethanol cut CO2 emissions by about 94% when compared with an equivalent volume of petrol. Burning biofuels releases carbon dioxide, but growing the plants absorbs a comparable amount of the gas from the atmosphere. However, the energy inputs used during the growing and processing of the crops means the fuel is rarely 'carbon neutral'. A number of organisations, including the UN, have expressed concern that biofuels could do more harm than good. The criticisms of the technology include taking large areas of arable land out of food production, inflating crop prices and limited carbon emission savings.
BBC News / Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jan 08, 2008	back to top

Researcher boosts solar cell size 100-fold
A researcher at Israel's Bar-Ilan University has created a solar cell 100 times bigger than previous designs using nano-based methods. Professor Arie Zaban, head of the university's Nanotechnology Institute, had already developed a method of using metallic wires mounted on conductive glass to form the basis of solar cells. This method produces electricity with an efficiency similar to that of conventional silicon-based cells, but which are much cheaper to produce. Professor Zaban has now expanded this concept by developing a solar cell measuring 10cm x 10cm, which is 100 times bigger than the original 1cm x 1cm cells. The scientist reckons that this dramatic increase in surface area will significantly boost the cells' usefulness in technologies that seek to produce commercial amounts of solar power. The research has also found a way reducing the cost of solar panels by economising on the use of platinum, a highly reactive metal which is embedded on the glass cell's surface and forms an important part of its operation. By using a new technique to produce platinum nanodots the amount of platinum needed was reduced by a factor of 40.
VNUnet UK Jan 08, 2008	back to top

Researchers make nano-scale DNA research tool
Researchers at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute have made a nano-sized research tool that may one day help scientists probe the activity of genes and proteins in a single cell, opening the door to a new realm of genetic research. The tool is designed to do the work of current gene chip systems used to examine thousands of genes at the same time for mutations or to uncover clues to disease. Current gene chips analyse entire batches of cells. This technology would allow for much more refined analysis that could detect genetic changes from one cell to another, for instance. The work draws on a type of nanotechnology known as DNA origami, a method of folding a single long strand of DNA into a complex structure that is bound by short synthetic staples. The nano probes assemble themselves in a water soluble solution. On the surface of each DNA probe is a dangling single strand of DNA that can bind to the target ribonucleic acid or RNA, the chemical messengers of genes. The new system is one of the first practical applications of structural DNA nanotechnology, which uses the properties of DNA to create different nanostructures.
Information Week / Reuters Jan 10, 2008	back to top

Imitating plant evolution proves fruitful
By mimicking plant evolution, researchers at the University of Illinois have improved upon nature's design to build a leafy energy-producing powerhouse - or at least a virtual one on a supercomputer. At its core, the study consisted of a series of linked differential equations that essentially mimicked each reaction within photosynthesis. The team determined the starting amounts of each protein from prior studies, and after linking up the equations, kept testing and tweaking the model until it successfully predicted the outcome of experiments performed on living leaves. The team used an evolutionary algorithm that selected a reaction at random and either increased or decreased the relevant protein by 10%. Adjusting the amount of an enzyme effectively changes the rate of its corresponding reaction. Because the reactions were all linked, a relatively minor alteration could impact the entire pathway. After every round of adjustments, the supercomputer determined whether the virtual plant could fix more or less carbon dioxide per unit of light. The computer repeated the process for 1,500 generations, always hunting for the best possible solution. In the end the virtual plant's photosynthesis pathway was 76% more efficient than anything found within natural greenery.
MSNBC / Plant Physiology Jan 09, 2008	back to top

South Africa gets nanotech underway
South African scientists are using nanotechnology to develop new healthcare tools, advanced materials and energy technologies. Research is underway at South Africa's first two Nanotechnology Innovation Centres based at Mintek - the country's national mineral research organisation and at the National Centre for Nano-structured Materials at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Mintek says it is already producing large quantities of metal nanoparticles for industrial purposes. Nanotechnology is being used to develop simple and cheap point-of-care tests for diagnosing diseases like malaria, or confirming pregnancy. The CSIR is focusing on the design and modelling of novel nano-structured materials, for the aerospace industry for example. CSIR says its scientists are already working on projects in advanced materials manufacturing and energy - looking at the development of plastics, solar cells and batteries as well as biodegradable materials. Both centres were opened in November last year, and are being coordinated by the Department of Science and Technology through its National Nanotechnology Strategy. More nanotechnology research centres are planned in the next three years as part of a ten-year plan to address social and economic challenges in the country.
SciDev Jan 10, 2008	back to top

Invention: Personal food analyser
Ever wondered whether what you are eating is exactly what is described on the menu? Or whether the alcohol content of the brew at your local bar is higher or lower than stated? Today there is no easy way to tell, but one day you may own a gadget not unlike a Star Trek tricorder that can find out. Analysing food has always been a complex business. One of the most common methods is spectroscopy, in which the sample is zapped with light and the reflected wavelengths measured and compared with a database of records from known foods and liquids. But this is an expensive process, largely because of the high-quality optical equipment required and so only larger food companies have been able to afford to carry out these kinds of tests regularly. But Dutch consumer electronics company Philips says that lab-on-a-chip technology in which the components are shrunk to fit on a single chip should soon make this equipment much cheaper. The company has come up with a design for a tiny analyser that small foods companies could afford and suggests that personal analysers that consumers could carry with them to bars and restaurants may not be far off.
New Scientist Jan 08, 2008	back to top