UNU-MERIT: I&T Weekly

	Search \| Sitemap \| Intranet \| PhD Intranet

Subscribe to I&T Weekly A free e-zine about Innovation & Technology developments

text html Please type the above code:
	RSS feed

Previous Issues I&T Weekly

>> back to archive

Previous issues of I&T Weekly:

2013: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

2012: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37]

2011: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44]

2010: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42]

2009: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42]

2008: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]

2007: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

2006: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44]

2005: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

2004: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43]

2003: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47]

2002: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47]

2001: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

Issue no. 8, 2011 Published: Feb 25, 2011
Green economies for growth, urges UN
Cellphone calls alter brain activity
New nanomembranes that filter bacteria
Wi-fi and sat-nav study on Greenland iceberg formation
10 percent global rise in biotech crops
Telescope team plans to track the whole sky
Illusion 'cloak' makes you see what's not there
Shuttle launches humanoid robot into space

Green economies for growth, urges UN
Investing USD 1.3 trillion each year in green sectors would deliver long-term stability in the global economy, a UN report has suggested. Spending about 2% of global GDP in 10 key areas would kick-start a 'low carbon, resource efficient green economy', the authors observed. They also recommended following policies that decoupled economic growth from intensive consumption. UNEP defined a 'green economy' as one that resulted in 'improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities'. The report, produced by experts from developed and developing nations, suggests that the green economy model would deliver higher annual growth rates within 5-10 years than a business-as-usual scenario. In order to unlock the level of investment required, it added that it was necessary to reform existing national and international policies. The findings were published at UNEP's Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environmental Forum, which was held in Kenya this week.
BBC News Feb 21, 2011	back to top

Cellphone calls alter brain activity
Spending 50 minutes with a cellphone plastered to your ear is enough to change brain cell activity in the part of the brain closest to the antenna. But whether that causes any harm is not clear, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health, who added that the study will likely not settle recurring concerns of a link between cellphones and brain cancer. Use of the devices has increased dramatically since they were introduced in the early-to-mid 1980s, with about 5 billion mobile phones now in use worldwide. Some studies have linked cellphone exposure to an increased risk of brain cancers, but a large study by the World Health Organization was inconclusive. The team studied 47 people who had brain scans while a cellphone was turned on for 50 minutes and another while the phone was turned off. While there was no overall change in brain metabolism, they found a 7% increase in brain metabolism in the region closest to the cellphone antenna when the phone was on. The findings suggest the need for more study to see if cellphones have a negative effect on brain cells, the researcher say.
Reuters Feb 23, 2011	back to top

New nanomembranes that filter bacteria
New nanomaterials research from the University at Buffalo could lead to new solutions for an age-old public health problem: how to separate bacteria from drinking water. To the naked eye, both water molecules and germs are invisible. But at the microscopic level, the two actually differ greatly in size. A single water molecule is less than a nanometre wide, while some of the most diminutive bacteria are a couple hundred. Working with a special kind of polymer called a block copolymer, the team has synthesized a new kind of nanomembrane containing pores about 55 nanometres in diameter - large enough for water to slip through easily, but too small for bacteria. The pore size is the largest anyone has achieved to date using block copolymers, which possess special properties that ensure pores will be evenly spaced. The new nanomembrane owes its special qualities to the polymers that scientists used to create it. Block copolymers are made up of two polymers that repel one another but are 'stitched' together at one end to form the single copolymer. When many block copolymers are mixed together, their mutual repulsion leads them to assemble in a regular, alternating pattern. The result of that process, called self-assembly, is a solid nanomembrane comprising two different kinds of polymers. To create evenly spaced pores in the material, the team simply removed one of the polymers. The pores' relatively large size was due to the unique architecture of the original block copolymers, which were made from bottle-brush molecules that resemble round hair brushes, with molecular 'bristles' protruding all the way around a molecular backbone.
PhysOrg / Nano Letters Feb 21, 2011	back to top

Wi-fi and sat-nav study on Greenland iceberg formation
Scientists from Swansea and Newcastle Universities are to use wi-fi technology to study how Greenland glaciers break up to form icebergs. They plan to drop sat-nav sensors by helicopter onto a heavily-crevassed glacier to track its path and shape. Numbers of low-power wi-fi transceivers would continue passing on the data even if some are lost when the glacier breaks up or 'calves' to form icebergs. Experts say they still have a poor understanding of how icebergs are formed. Glaciers at the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet are thought to be particularly sensitive to changes in air and ocean temperatures, with half of them lost in 'calving' to create icebergs. But it has been difficult to collate detailed measurements because of the hostile nature of the terrain, with deep crevasses making it hard to position instruments that may well be lost when the edge of a glacier crumbles. The project aims to create a network of expendable sat-nav receivers on Helheim Glacier, considered an important calving glacier in south-east Greenland. They would be connected to a network of wi-fi transceivers with a 'self-organising' design to re-route the data signal even when some fall victim to ice falls. The research will take place over the summer of 2012 and 2013.
BBC News Feb 23, 2011	back to top

10 percent global rise in biotech crops
Global plantings of genetically modified crops increased 10% in 2010 compared to the prior year, according to a study which has been released by an organisation that promotes crop biotechnology. Last year, 15.4 million farmers in 29 countries planted genetically modified crops on 148 million hectares, said the report from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). The United States remained the largest biotech crop growing country with nearly 67 million hectares of soybeans, corn and cotton. Brazil was second with 25 million hectares, an increase of 19% over 2009. Developing countries grew 48% of biotech crops last year, the report said, adding that they will surpass industrialised countries by 2015.
Yahoo / AFP Feb 22, 2011	back to top

Telescope team plans to track the whole sky
A European project that will allow astrophysical events to be tracked across the whole sky for the first time has begun and is already recruiting its personnel. The 4 Pi Sky project will use a combination of ground- and space-based telescopes to study rare events such as colliding neutron stars and exploding supernovae. 4 Pi Sky combines three separate terrestrial telescopes systems. One is the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), consisting of some 10,000 dipole antennas across Europe, which will be used to track objects at a frequency range of about 30-240 MHz. The others are the MeerKAT array in South Africa and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) in Western Australia, which will be used to track phenomena at higher frequencies of about 1 GHz. When combined, the telescopes will be able to monitor the whole sky, as scientists will be able to link from telescope to telescope to follow transient phenomena as the Earth rotates. Using this technique, researchers are expected to find and track thousands of new events that would have previously been missed. Researchers will also be able to use the Japanese Space Agency's Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) telescope aboard the International Space Station, which studies events at wavelengths between 0.5 and 30 keV.
PhysicsWorld Feb 24, 2011	back to top

Illusion 'cloak' makes you see what's not there
Radar images might never be the same again, thanks to an illusion device that can change an object's appearance. The technology could ultimately be used to hide military aircraft. Researchers at Southeast University in Nanjing, China, have created a structure that changes the way radio waves interact with a copper cylinder so that it appears to be composed of another material altogether. Copper conducts electricity well and reflects incoming radio waves, giving it a bright radar signature. To alter this behaviour, the team built a device made of 11 concentric rings of circuit boards etched with small metal-lined channels that prevent electromagnetic waves reflecting away. Instead, they guide the waves in a direction that the researchers choose specifically to make the hidden object appear to have different electrical properties. Placed around a copper cylinder, the arrangement created the illusion that the cylinder was made of a dielectric, a class of materials including porcelain and glass that do not conduct electricity and are more transparent to radio waves. The illusion only worked when the cylinder was viewed from the side; what's more, the imaginary object it generated was the same size as the original. Future designs would have to account for all three dimensions, and might produce an illusion quite different from the object they disguise.
New Scientist / Physical Review E Feb 24, 2011	back to top

Shuttle launches humanoid robot into space
The space shuttle Discovery has launched into space on Thursday on its final mission, carrying a crew of six people and one humanoid robot - the first to be sent into orbit. The mission will deliver water, oxygen, and spare parts to the International Space Station. The shuttle and its crew are scheduled to return to Earth after 11 days in space, but will leave a humanoid robot called Robonaut 2 on the space station. After an initial testing period, NASA hopes that Robonaut 2 will become a useful member of the space station crew, carrying out simple tasks such as cleaning to give station crew members more time for other work. It may even be sent outside the station to do inspections or maintenance work. This mission is expected to be Discovery's last. NASA plans to retire the shuttle fleet after two more flights by other shuttles later this year. Discovery launched the Hubble Space Telescope and was the first shuttle to fly after both the Challenger and Columbia accidents. It has made more trips to orbit than any other shuttle in the fleet.
New Scientist Feb 24, 2011	back to top