Grid-Inspecting Robots

As demands for power and communication increased during the westward expansion of America, the necessity of a well developed power grid became much greater. The planning and construction of the power grid was grueling, tedious work that took several years to complete throughout the country. However, as proven is recent years, the maintenence and repair of the power grid can be even more dangerous and risky. Currently, breaks in the power lines are repaired during manned helicopter inspections. According to The Daily Beast, this is the eleventh most dangerous job in America (about 30 fatalities and 3 injuries per 100,000 workers). Andrew Phillips, director of power transmission at the Electric Power Research Institute, beleives he has the solution.



Phillips, along with other researchers at the institute, has developed a 140-pound, six-foot-long prototype of a robot that will be able to slide along power lines for inspection. The robot can even maneuver past towers along the lines using cables that are either built on to or retrofitted to the tower. Using high definition cameras and sensors, the robot will be able to provide clear digital images to various inspection locations via satellite. The robot can detect a problem by recording an image at millions of points on the line. If the image is altered at the same exact point during the next inspection, a problem will be reported. This is highly important for reporting possible risks such as overgrown trees, which are the numer one cause of line breaks. The robot will move at about 3mph and make about two 80 mile trips during the span of one year. The solar panel design of the robot was originally constructed for the robot to run off the sun's energy. However, researchers found it more efficient to use solar energy as backup power, and have the robot run on the energy it absorbs from the wires through electromagnetic induction.

This new robot has sparked the interest of various power companies in America. For instance, George Juhn, director of investment planning and asset management at Ontario transmission giant Hydro One, stated that "[The new robot] would definitely be of interest to us." Field testing for the robot will begin in 2014.



http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/25502/

Solar Fuel

The sun is the ultimate source of all energy. Throughout the years, scientists have been studying and developing methods in which the power of the sun can be used to power houses, cars, and even entire cities. However, the sun has never been used to create fuel. Noubar Afeyan, CEO of Flagship Ventures and founder of Joule Biotechnologies, believes he has created a form of solar fuel that could effectively compete with fossil fuels.

Joule, using gene manipulation and design, has created photosynthetic mociroorganisms that use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into ethanol or diesel. According to Joule, such organisms have never been created before. Their method is considered more effective than biomass approaches because Joule’s photobioreacters in which the microbes grow are significantly smaller and require no fresh water. Afeyan has also created a genetic switch for the microbes that will be used in order to limit their growth. This will allow for the energy of the process to be used toward fuel production rather than the organisms’ growth. According to Afeyan ,the process will yield 100 times as much fuel per hectare as fermenting corn to produce ethanol, and 10 times as much as making it from sources such as agricultural waste.

While the development seems immensely promising, Afeyan and other supporters are fully aware of possible setbacks and difficulties. For instance, the International Energy Agency estimates that by 2050, biofuels will only account for 26% of the world’s demand for transportation fuel. Also, Afeyan understands the huge financial risk of bringing biofuel production to a massive scale. However, he will carry out his plan on a smaller scale by running an outdoor pilot plant, which is currently under construction, in Leander, Texas. Afeyan sees a great promise in Joule’s current project and urges the company to stay innovative. Regarding his solar fuel development, Afeyan maintains, “We have the elements of a potentially transformative technology.”

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,790669,00.html

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/25077/page2/

TR10: Mobile 3-D

The new Samsung B710 phone is just like any typical smart phone, except for one amazing feature. Once you turn the phone from vertical to horizontal mode the images on the screen jump from 2-D to 3-D imaging. The founder of this amazing feature to be used on a smart phone is Julien Flack, CTO of Dynamic Digital Depth, who spent more that a decade trying to perfect the software to convert 2-D images to 3-D. The truly amazing part about this form of 3-D imaging is the fact that you dont need special 3-D glasses to see the images, this is just an amazing part of the new smart phone. The way the software works is by synthesizing 3-D secnes from existing 2-D video by estimating the depth of the objects using cues. This form of technology will be used in televisons to be announced in Janurary but these televisons require glasses to see the 3-D images. Mobile 3-D is far better than on televisons because of the fact that only one person at a time uses a phone while televisons are seen by multiple people so projecting the 3-D images is harder of t.v than mobile phone. Flack's software has led to Dynamic Digital Depths leading role in the 3-D imaging world. The Samsung B710, released in south korea in 2007, has liscensed 3-D content generated by Dynamic Digital Depth for its latest 3-D phone. The most interesting thing to me is that they will be able to project video games on the phone. This new form of smart phone is amazing and will be soon in the united states so look out for this one because its simply amazing.

technologyreview.com/communications/25081/

The Future...Will Humans be able to Read Minds?

According to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, based on their new research, technological advances are being made that bring us closer to better understanding how the brain works and how people think. Though we are rather limited in our abilities , we are now quite a few steps further than people ever imagined regarding our abilities to read people’s minds. Scientists report that they have developed the ability to reliably predict which noun ( from a group of 60) that a person is thinking of, based entirely on brain activity patterns. The researchers discovered that the brain identifies objects by what they can do for us, in terms of their relationship to humans and not through encoding or representation of physical properties. The nouns that they were able to identify were all simple concrete nouns ( generally tangible objects). It was concluded that human brains analyze objects by determining whether a person could take shelter in it; how a person could hold or manipulate it; and what it would be like to eat it. This experiment was the first time humans were able to identify thought patterns using concepts and ideas and not images. These developments would provide tremendous aid in advancing research and understanding of many psychological disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Magnetoencephalography (MEG), is the technology that is used to study brain function. This is a new and upcoming field of experiemental research that could truly lead to ground breaking changes.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_661844.html

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/25430/?a=f

Dual Action Antibodies

Genentech, a pharmaceutical company based in San Francisco has recently made huge pushes towards the development of dual action antibodies. Dual Action antibodies combine the action of multiple antibodies so that a greater benefit can be obtained, financially, physically, and mentally. Two of Genentech’s primarily produced drugs include Herceptin, a monoclonal antibody that shuts down HER2, a growth accelerator in about 20 percent of breast tumors and Avastin, an antibody that blocks a protein that stimulates the formation of tumor- feeding blood vessels. The starting cost for each of these drug treatments is at 43,000 dollars. Scientist Germaine Fuh and his team created a modified version of the Herceptin antibody that not only shut down the HER2 receptor in mice but also locked onto VEGF, Avastin's target. This is incredibly relevant in man kind’s strides to develop better cures for cancer. Designing such "dual-specific" antibodies could help solve a major problem with chemotherapy drugs: cancer cells can become resistant to them, mutating in ways that allow them to dodge the medication's action. It is not uncommon for doctors to mix various chemotherapy drugs to try and kill cancers before they can exploit this escape mechanism (resistance); which is why having a single drug that can hit the cancer from multiple directions would simplify treatment. Having a dual action antibody would be beneficial to patients affected with cancer because of its superior performance but also from a business/ financial standpoint. It would lower manufacturing costs for companies and also create a more affordable and accessible treatment for cancer patients. Tests are still being conducted regarding the effectiveness of using dual action antibodies , but due to financial concerns, are progressing somewhat slowly
At the tip of each branch the antibody is an active site, which grabs a specific molecule on an invading microbe or cancer cell. Many of the antibodies have the ability to weakly bind to a second antigen. By exploiting this ability and making the bonds tight and functional Fuh’s team was able to create a dual action antibody that was somewhat successful. Their experiments t have fueled interest in the overall potential of such drugs and their effects can be phenomenal. If the concept proves successful, antibodies that stick to two targets might be used to treat infectious diseases as well as cancer--offering the promise of drugs that work better and cost less.

http://technologyreview.com/biomedicine/25087/

http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/vnl.cfm?id=4672

The Future for Fusion

Today, when chemistry classes teach nuclear chemistry, students learn that fusion reactions release more energy than fission reactions, are inexpensive, and produce non-radioactive products. Yet, fission reactions which hold environmental concern, such as where to dispose its radioactive waste, are currently used. The major setback with fusion is the high temperatures needed which cannot be contained.

However, emerging technology has not only begun the creation of fusion reactors but is now trying to build a new fusion reactor that can achieve ignition, “the point where a fusion reaction becomes self-sustaining instead of requiring a constant input of energy.”MIT physics professor, Bruno Coppi, is the principal investigator for Ignitor; a tokamak reactor. Italy and Russia are in agreement with building this new reactor which will be constructed outside Moscow.

This new reactor uses “powerful magnetic fields to produce fusion by squeezing superheated plasma of hydrogen isotopes”. The plasma is heated to extreme temperatures when an electric current and high-frequency radio waves pass through the plasma. However, the heat is confined by electromagnetic fields through high pressure. Both the pressure and the heat will than cause hydrogen nuclei to fuse and form helium. This process is what will release the enormous amount of heat that will then be used to power an electricity-generating turbine.

Unlike the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a reactor being built in France which had hoped to reach ignition, Ignitor might be able to be used “within a few years”. Yet most scientists in the field agree that practical fusion power is at least two decades away which is unfortunate because it would be free of greenhouse-gas emissions – a big concern for environmentalists. However, all is not in vain; “the whole point of Ignitor is to find out how a burning plasma behaves, and there could be pleasant or unpleasant results coming from it. Whatever is learned is a gain. Nobody knows exactly how it will perform, that is the point of the experiment." The future for fusion, although not as close as some may wish, is still bright.

Sources:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100512145348.htm

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/25379/?a=f

Green Concrete

Walk up to a friend and ask them what the effects the production of concrete has on the environment. Most people would probably not be aware. However, now is the time to educate ourselves. The fact is that in 2009, the production of concrete contributed to five percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. As the effects of pollution and human population continue to take a toll in our world, it is vital to recognize and encourage emerging green technologies.

Nikolaos Vlasopoulos of Novacem, discovered a way to create concrete without its harmful effects. While working as a grad student in Imperial College, he experimented adding magnesium oxides to a Portland cement mix. Vlasopoulos realized that the Portland cement mix was not needed and that with the addition of water he could “still make a solid-setting cement that didn't rely on carbon-rich limestone”. This green concrete is an improvement from the cement currently used in several ways.

First, the green concrete actually absorbs carbon dioxide. Although it does produce carbon dioxide, it absorbs more than it created during setting. In comparison of Portland cement which creates 700kg per tone of carbon dioxide and absorbs 100-500kg per tone, the green concrete creates 200-400kg per tone of carbon dioxide and absorbs about 2.5 times more than Portland cement.

Another benefit of this new technology is that it is possible to be recycled if a building is torn down. It can be mixed with waste material such as glass or plastic. Portland cement cannot do this. Lastly, Novacem will use the same processes as Portland cement. This means that construction firms will not need to change the way they operate, thereby making a transition to green concrete much smoother.

Unfortunately, the green concrete is not in the market. Vlasopoulos states he should be done refining the product “within a year”. Some problems that this green cement is facing is the necessity to produce in industrial levels and match the price of other cements like Portland. However, with large industrial partners such as Laing O’Rourke, WSP Group, and Rio Tino, Novacem hopes to prevail forward. This green concrete will certainly be a step towards creating a healthier earth.

Sources:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6255962.ece

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/25085/

Renewable Fuel

The CEO of Flagship Ventures in Cambridge, MA, Noubar Afeyan set out to invent the first ideal renewable fuel. "What we wanted to know is [if we] could engineer a system that could convert carbon dioxide directly into any fuel that we wanted" says Afeyan. According to Joule Biotechnologies, they say yes. For the first time ever, they have created photosynthetic microorganisms that use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into ethanol or diesel, quickly and efficiently. Each microorganism is equipped with their own genetic switch that will limit their growth. The switches allow scientists to multiply the microorganisms for a few days, and with a flip of a switch change the organism’s growth into fuel production. Both the Startup Synthetic Genomics and an academic group at the BioTechnology Institute at the University of Minnesota are looking to make fuels directly from carbon dioxide as well. If Afeyan is right in his experiments and studies, biofuels could become an alternative to petroleum and meet at least 26% of the worlds demand for transportation fuel. “I'm not saying it's easy or around the corner, because I've done this for a long time," Afeyan says. Afeyan is confident and believes that Joule is onto something big. They could create renewable fuel that could compete with fossil fuels on both cost and scale. He says, "We have the elements of a potentially transformative technology."

http://technologyreview.com/energy/25077/#afteradbody
http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site/eon/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100421006860&newsLang=en

Mimicking human disease; Stem Cells

James ­Thomson's, director of regenerative biology at the Morgridge Institute at the University of Wisconsin, first isolated human embryonic stem cells in 1998. Isolating these cells, which are capable of maturing into any other type of cell, marked a landmark in biology. Although it was a landmark, it caused much controversy because the process destroys a human embryo. Then, in 2008 another milestone was reached. Thomson and Junying Yu developed a way to make stem cells from adult cells by adding four genes that are normally active only in embryos. iPS cells, or induced pluripotent stem cells may contain the function of replacing damaged or diseased tissue. Thomson thinks their most important contribution will be to provide an unprecedented window on human development and disease. Also, iPS cells may revolutionize toxicity testing for drugs. If their studies succeed, researchers hope to use iPS cells to study other disorders and develop drugs to treat them. These disorders include ALS, Down syndrome, spinal muscular atrophy and more. iPS cells also have the ability to become the go-to source of stem cells for modeling diseases more realistically, testing drugs and designing future therapies derived from cell lines matched to a patient’s immune system. Recently, Thomson and his team reached a milestone, they created iPS cells without using c-myc, a gene that promotes cancer. Of 26 mice in Yamanaka’s study derived from iPS cells, none died of cancer after 100 days, compared with six of 37 generated with c-myc.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=potent-alternative
http://technologyreview.com/energy/25082/