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Model of graphene structure

Image: CORE-Materials

Issue no. 29, 2011 Published: Sep 02, 2011
Graphene finding could lead to super-fast internet
Portable ammonia factories could fuel clean cars
Portable microscope detects bacteria using holograms
Heat sensor provides fast, cheap TB detection method
Coral could hold key to sunscreen pill
Automation in the air dulls pilot skill
Laser beams create rain
Innovation prize set to reward African inventors
Dumping friends on Facebook helps make you secure

Graphene finding could lead to super-fast internet
Scientists from the Universities of Manchester and Cambridge have devised a way of using graphene, the thinnest material in the world, to capture and convert more light than previously, paving the way for advances in high-speed internet and other optical communications. The team found that by combining graphene with metallic nanostructures, there was a 20-fold enhancement in the amount of light the graphene could harvest and convert into electrical power. Previous research has shown that electrical power can be generated by putting two closely-spaced metallic wires on top of graphene and shining light on the whole structure, effectively making a simple solar cell. Due to the particularly high mobility and velocity of the electrons in graphene, such graphene cell devices can be incredibly fast - tens or potentially hundreds of times faster than communication rates in the fastest internet cables currently in use. The main stumbling block to practical applications has so far been the cell devices' low efficiency. The problem is that graphene absorbs little light - only around 3% - with the rest going through without contributing to the electrical power. The team solved this problem by combining graphene with tiny metallic structures known as plasmonic nanostructures, which are specially arranged on top of graphene. By using the plasmonic enhancement, the light-harvesting performance of graphene was boosted by 20 times without sacrificing any of its speed, they wrote in their study.
Reuters / Nature Communication Aug 30, 2011	back to top

Portable ammonia factories could fuel clean cars
Forget hydrogen: ammonia could be the answer to developing an emissions-free fuel for cars. Ammonia produces just nitrogen and water vapour when burned and, unlike hydrogen, it is relatively easy to store in liquid form. That means transporting ammonia will not require costly new infrastructure, according to researchers at Texas Tech University. The team are developing a system to produce ammonia that can be installed in filling stations. It first produces hydrogen from water using electrolysis, then combines it with nitrogen from the air to produce ammonia. To achieve this, the researchers have adapted the Haber-Bosch process used to make ammonia industrially. Their version works on a small scale and can make ammonia fairly cheaply. Apiston rapidly compresses hydrogen and nitrogen, heating the gases to 400 °C. The mixture is fed into a chamber containing an iron oxide catalyst, which sparks a reaction that further heats the gases and generates ammonia. In a third chamber, the mixture decompresses and cools down to room temperature. As it does so, it pushes against another piston, from which mechanical energy is recovered and fed back to the compressor, significantly cutting the process's power consumption. Finally, a heat pump cools the mixture down to around -75 °C, liquefying the ammonia for collection.
New Scientist Sep 01, 2011	back to top

Portable microscope detects bacteria using holograms
A cheap holographic microscope capable of detecting bacteria has been developed by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The handheld device uses a laser instead of lenses to identify bugs in water, food or blood, and costs less than USD 100 to build. Images can be uploaded to remote computers for further analysis. Scientists hope the technology will improve healthcare in areas that lack sophisticated diagnostic equipment. The device has two modes of operation: a 'transmission' mode which can analyse liquids such as blood and water, and a 'reflection' mode which produces holographic images of denser surfaces. In reflection mode, the microscope uses holography to create a 3D image of the sample being studied. A key advantage of the design is that it employs cheap electrical components instead of heavy and expensive lenses. Instead, the microscope uses digital photo sensors, which can cost less than USD 15 each to produce. The researchers claim that the microscope can help to monitor outbreaks of difficult-to-detect bacteria such as E. coli. The device captures raw data, but its simple design means that processing needs to be done on an external device with more computing power. A user in the field can forward the image data to their mobile phone, a laptop PC, or even upload it to an internet server. The team believe the microscope could prove invaluable for medics working in developing countries.
BBC News / Biomedical Optics Express Sep 01, 2011	back to top

Heat sensor provides fast, cheap TB detection method
A potentially cheaper and faster method for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) has been developed by researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland, who hope to test it in Tanzania. The lack of a cheap, quick and accurate test makes it hard to control the TB epidemic, which claims millions of lives every year in developing countries. Culture-based methods are the gold standard for TB tests in the developing world, but these can take nearly 60 days to give a result. Molecular tests, such as GeneXpert, unlike culture-based methods, are fast, accurate and can detect drug-resistant strains. But the high costs and need for laboratories make access an issue for developing countries. The new method uses a microcalorimeter to detect heat produced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, on a growth medium. The study showed that detection takes 4-5 days but more sensitive microcalorimeters could detect tuberculosis in 24 hours. The team are working with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute to test the method at the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania. They hope1 the test will be ready for use within two years although it might take longer for the World Health Organization to endorse it.
SciDev / Applied Microbiology Aug 30, 2011	back to top

Coral could hold key to sunscreen pill
Scientists hope to harness coral's natural defence against the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays to make a sunscreen pill for humans. The King's College London team visited Australia's Great Barrier Reef to uncover the genetic and biochemical processes behind coral's innate gift. By studying a few samples of the endangered Acropora coral they believe they can synthetically replicate in the lab the key compounds responsible. Tests on human skin could begin soon. The team plan to test a lotion containing the same compounds as those found in coral. To do this, they will copy the genetic code the coral uses to make the compounds and put it into bacteria in the lab that can rapidly replicate to produce large quantities of it. Scientists have known for some time that coral and some algae can protect themselves from the harsh UV rays in tropical climates by producing their own sunscreens but, until now, they didn't know how. The work could ultimately mean that people might be able to get inbuilt sun protection for their skin and eyes by taking a tablet containing the compounds. But for now, the team are focusing their efforts on a lotion. Another long-term goal of the study is to look at whether the processes could also be used for developing sustainable agriculture in the Third World. The natural sunscreen compounds found in coral could be used to produce UV-tolerant crop plants capable of withstanding harsh tropical UV light.
BBC News Aug 30, 2011	back to top

Automation in the air dulls pilot skill
Automated flight systems and auto-pilot features on commercial aircraft are causing 'automation addiction' among today's airline pilots and weakening their response time to mechanical failures and emergencies, according to a new study by safety officials. This dangerous trend has cost the lives of hundreds of passengers in some 51 'loss of control' accidents over the past five years, the report found. The technology behind the auto-pilot on commercial aircrafts only requires pilots to do approximately three minutes of flying - during take-off and landing - which has contributed heavily to the number of 'loss of control' accidents. The new study by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found that in two thirds of such accidents, pilots had trouble manually flying the plane, or made mistakes with automated flight controls. The FAA study says that pilots often 'abdicate too much responsibility to automated systems'. Airlines and regulators discourage or even prohibit pilots from turning off the autopilot and flying planes themselves, according to the FAA committee. The situation is even worse on commuter flights, where pilots only manually operate the plane for 80 seconds out of a typical two-hour flight. The FAA's report recommends that pilots take control of the airplane more often in order to keep their skills sharp - so they are prepared to react when the computers cannot.
ABC News / AP Aug 31, 2011	back to top

Laser beams create rain
Researchers from the University of Geneva used lasers to create water droplets in the air, in a development which could eventually lead to man-made weather systems. Although the technique, known as laser-assisted water condensation, does not work in dry air scientists were able to generate the droplets in very humid conditions over the Rhône river in Switzerland. The drops created - just thousandths of a millimetre across - were not heavy enough to fall as rain but the experts hope that by making them hundreds of times larger they will be able to create or prevent rainfall in the right conditions. The method works by firing laser beams into the air, creating nitric acid particles which draw water molecules together and stop them from evaporating. If the process is repeated in air currents that are blowing towards mountains, the researchers hope the air will cool enough that the droplets grow large enough to fall as rain.
Daily Telegraph / Nature Communications Aug 31, 2011	back to top

Innovation prize set to reward African inventors
African innovators and inventors who design products with the potential to drive the continent's economic transformation may benefit from a new awards scheme. The Innovation Prize for Africa, worth USD 100,000, will be given for the first time in February 2012 to the best innovators in three areas: ICT, green technologies, and health and food security. The runner-up will receive USD 50,000. The prize was announced last month by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) based in Switzerland. The aim of the prize is to support sustainable development by tapping into the ingenuity of Africans to solve their own challenges. A technical advisory committee will set different thematic areas for the prize each year. The closing date for the first prize is 30 September. The AIF hopes the prize will lead to increased commercialisation of research and development, the adoption of emerging technologies, and accelerated growth of the private sector in Africa.
SciDev Aug 31, 2011	back to top

Dumping friends on Facebook helps make you secure
Worried about loose-tongued friends sharing your private details with the world? Culling the least discreet members of your social network will help you feel more secure, but it's not a perfect solution. What if your best friend is an offender? Pritam Gundecha at Arizona State University in Tempe has a technique for working out which friends are most likely to leak private information so you can remove them, if you choose. Gundecha examined the relative importance of data 2 million Facebook users elect to share with the world and calculated the privacy risks friends pose to each other. For example, around 80% of users are happy to disclose their gender, but less than 1% share their home address. That suggests people publicising their address aren't particularly privacy-conscious and you might want to avoid them. Using these statistics, the researchers gave each user a vulnerability score and worked out which friends will cause your vulnerability score to go down should you unfriend them. It turns out that unfriending the least discreet friend increases your security by an average of more than 5% - worth it for a casual acquaintance, but perhaps not so easy if your best buddy is a blabbermouth. 'There are some friends you cannot remove, irrespective of their vulnerability,' admits Gundecha. While the existing technique doesn't take this kind of social importance into account, he is now working on a version that does.
New Scientist Aug 30, 2011	back to top