Using Virtual Walls To Quarantine Oil Spills

Researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered a method to create oil-repellent surfaces that can use used to aid uncontrollable oil spills.  Oil and other oily compounds are known to have a low-surface tension which allows them to easy spread from surface to surface with little additional tension force required to break the surface tension layer.   These researchers use micro/electromechanical methods to create these "virtual walls" which block spreading of low-surface tension liquids at their boundary line. However, these walls are not designed to capture the oils, but to only attempt to control the oil's pathway, making it controllable. This research will hopefully be used in the industrial application, as well as oil loading and transportation.






University of Missouri-Columbia (2013, December 4). Virtual wall could stop spread of oil and help build invisible barrier for oil spills. ScienceDaily. 

Does Chocolate Really Cause Acne?

'"Chocolate per se will not make you break out," says Dr. Shamban, lead dermatologist at Los Angeles School of Dermatology. "In fact, there is little evidence that chocolate or any specific fatty foods will cause acne, but we do know that a high-sugar/high-fat diet can increase sebum production and promote inflammatory responses in the body, which can lead to acne."'

Shamban again disproves the chocolatey myth by explaining potential benefits to the skin from the consumption of dark chocolate.  According to Shamban, dark chocolate contains high amounts of two flavonoids, catechin, and procyanidin, which are chemicals that act as antioxidants within the body. Antioxidants protect the body's cells against free radicals such as sebum production (skin oil), and other inflammatory and infecting agents. 

Perhaps this chocolate myth originated from human behavior under stress.  High stress behavior increases hormonal response and typically increases sebum production.  When under stress, most humans indulge, perhaps over-indulge in high fat foods, such as chocolate.  Perhaps we misinterpret the effects of stress for the effects of chocolate.


Reference:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/05/does-chocolate-cause-acne_n_1566076.html

Kepler: The Hunt For Another Earth

As Earth's population peaks above 7 billion, the search for habitable plants becomes a topic of interest.  Could the human race actually sustain on a foreign planets millions of light years away?  Using light variation detection, The Kepler space telescope has discovered over 3500 confirmed planets with 167 promising sustainable Earth-like candidates.  A habitable prerequisite: the promising candidates must be located in an area called the habitable zone, which is a specific region around the parent star, or sun.  The habitable zone is distance from the parent star where water is likely to exist.  For Earth, this zone is 1 AU (astronomical unit,  149,597,870,700 m) from our Sun.

The Kepler mission has 2 high priority planets, Kepler 62e and Kepler 62f.  Not only are these planets located in the habitable zone of their suns, but their masses, gravitational pull, and orbit periods are extremely similar to Earth's. In fact, Kepler 62e's location from its Sun allow for cloud formation.   Researchers predict 62e has natural storms, similar to hurricanes and typhoons.  Natural storms suggest wind development, indicating a stable atmosphere. 

Unfortunately, these plants are located thousands of light years away and human travel is nearly impossible with today's technology.  But the discovery of a sustainable planet will lead to questions about other lifeforms and habitats and eventually, communication with other lifeforms.  Perhaps when the need for additional resources have become to great, planetary travel will become a reality.


For more information, visit http://kepler.nasa.gov/

Electric Vehicle Reduces CO2 Emissions By A Factor Of 2

After nearly 24,000 kilometers of travel, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology can officially state that the RheinMobil electric vehicle produces half the CO2 emissions of a comparable gasoline powered vehicle. RheinMobil uses a newly developed "superbattery" that is recharged by a flywheel located on the modified braking mechanism of the vehicle.  This research as well as the new battery designs will be presented to Calty Design Research, the designer partner for Toyota Motor Corporation, in early December.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. "24,000 kilometers driven electrically: Two tons of CO₂emissions less." ScienceDaily, 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.

Mathematical Models Help Industrial Companies Reduce Energy Consumption

Statisticians from the National University of Singapore and the University of Texas have designed a pattern-recognition algorithm that records the energy consumed by Industrial equipment.  The algorithm based framework gathers raw data from various components and identifies abnormal energy patterns.  Company engineers can use this data to analyze machine defects, and hopefully reduce the irregular energy patterns through data filtering and machine tweaking.

The model uses recorded machine energy states to organize the data.  Sensors implemented within the machines collect the energy consumption data and and feed the data to the mathematical model (the programmers call the model a "finite-state machine," or FSM). The FSM ultimately creates power consumption profiles for each individual machine.

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). "Real-time energy audit reduces power consumption." ScienceDaily, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131024114117.htm

Baby Math

Duke University. "Baby's innate number sense predicts future math skill." ScienceDaily, 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131022170828.htm

Through a series of studies, researchers at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences have concluded that exposing an infant to an inborn number sense, can help predict the child's mathematical future. Inborn number senses include concepts such as large or small, tall or short, and black and white. The studies examined "48 6-month-old infants to see whether they could recognize numerical changes" (Duke University). A projected image displayed 2 quantities, one large and one small.  A child who concentrated on the larger image was said to be able to comprehend the differences in quantities, theoretically being able to achieve higher future math skills.

Three and a half years later, the same 48 children were examined again.  The infants who were able to distinguish the difference in quantities from the first experiment, were indeed ranked at a higher math level than the children who could not.  According to this research, the results of this experiment can predict how the infants will do on their ACTs and SATs.

Ingredients in Wine Could Lead to Better Biodiesels

Basque Research. "First steps towards achieving better and cheaper biodiesel." ScienceDaily, 23 Sep. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

 Acetals (a chemical compound found in wine and other fermented goods) could be a key ingredient to more efficient biodiesel.  When compared to petroleum based diesel, the acetal (organic) biodiesel has a 2% greater combustion ratio and produces less emissions due to higher engine performance.  Unfortunately, producing organic biodiesel on an industrial scale would be extremely difficult.  Organic diesel would require thousands of acres of land in order to produce "plant farms" that would be used to produce fermentation plants that contain the acetals. The current efficiency of plant material to organic acetal is only 50 - 60%.  However "using a resin as a solid catalyst instead of sulfuric acid, and glycerol and butyraldehyde or acetaldehyde as the starting point, they have obtained outputs of 100%" (Basque Research).  Outputs of 100% have only been obtained in a laboratory setting.  But, all manufacturing breakthroughs started under strenuous laboratory research.

Even though acetal based biodiesel cannot be currently produced on a mass scale, acetal research has opened a new door for future calculations and manipulations of present biodiesel.  

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130923101950.htm