Homely Scientist

Recently scientists found bacteria preserved in an Antarctic glacier (talk about freeze drying!) and were able to get it growing in culture in the lab:
Paul Falkowski of Rutgers University, who led the study, describes the ancient bacteria as small round cells that had been in a “suspended state of animation for 8 million years”. He says the increasingly rapid flow of glaciers into the ocean as a result of global warming could release new organisms into the sea but he does not believe this is cause for concern because marine bacteria and viruses are typically far less harmful to human …read more

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 Here’s a great example of science and engineering looking to nature for new and innovative ways to solve problems.  Look at that robot!  It’s tiny!  It hops!  It finds pollution!
Umberto Scarfogliero, one of the men behind the University of Lucca project, says that the team focused on fleas and frogs in particular when researching the ‘bot. “Robots like these are far more efficient than larger ones in scouring vast areas of land in a shorter time,” he explained. The little critters are now being equipped with sensors that will allow them to locate sources of mercury poisoning. Source: Leaping Lizards: …read more

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The key to many hybrid cars is the battery technology.  Seems that an attempt by Toyota to switch to LiON batteries has caused some problems:
Bob Kanode, the CEO of Valence Technology, which makes lithium-ion batteries for vehicles, recently said one of the big issues for the electric car world was going to be cobalt versus phosphate. And he may be right. Source: Has Toyota delayed new Priuses? Is cobalt to blame? | Tech news blog – CNET News.com
Right now the Prius uses the time-tested Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries, laptops and other power-hungry devices use LiON (Lithium ion).  Of course …read more

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 Now this is what I’m talkin’ about!
Built on just 3 acres of land, (most single-story storage facilities need ten times that amount) Portland City Storage will be the largest solar facility in the Northwest. Excess power will be sold on to Portland General Electric, and there is a rainwater collection area on the roof. Source: Eco: Portland’s Solar-Powered, 22-Story Storage Facility – Gizmodo
Really what we have to do is build this kind of facility in order to satisfy our energy thirst.  Is it easy?  Of course not, but also fears that something like this has to be ugly…well just look …read more

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What do you think of this?
This creature, apparently a half-squid, half-octopus, was found off Hawaii’s Big Island. Possibly a newly-discovered species, it was accidentally sucked up into a deep-sea water pipeline from a depth of 3,000 feet. Researchers at the Natural Energy Laboratory, where the pipeline leads, found the animal trapped in a filter. From the Honolulu Star Bulletin: Source: Boing Boing: Possible “octosquid” discovered
Unfortunately it turned out that it was just a rare squid short two tentacles
Technorati Tags: octosquid

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When I was studying human origins in college (my first Anthro class, btw) we were just beginning to understand the range and depth of our primate cousins.  This is new research sheds some light onto how we managed not to all be eaten by lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!):
A new study supports the theory that chimps can be altruistic just like people. Children as young as 18 months-old also seem to help adults, even strangers, without any immediate benefit to themselves. According to psychologist Felix Warneken of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, altruism goes back as far …read more

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Although this sounds like something out of Star Trek, or a bad horror movie, scientists in Israel have developed a robot small enough to travel through your bloodstream:
Two Israeli scientists may have created the catalyst for a medical revolution with their new project: a tiny, 1-millimeter-diameter robot which is capable of crawling through human veins and arteries. The bot can cling to vessel walls using small, powerful arms which protrude from a hub in its center. Manned control is accomplished by using a magnetic field outside of the body, and the robot is able to swim against the flow …read more

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Last week I talked about how we could be looking at a disaster of Biblical proportions (think Noah) if some of the major ice sheets melted, now comes word that the largest of the world’s ice sheets, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, is safe for the time being:
While studies of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets show they are both at risk from global warming, the East Antarctic ice sheet will “need quite a bit of warming” to be affected, Andrew Mackintosh, a senior lecturer at Victoria University, said Wednesday.
The air over the East Antarctic ice sheet, an ice …read more

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Insulating buildings is one of the most important aspects of the building process.  Insulation not only has to, well, insulate, but it also has to not grow nasty things and last for a long time (who wanted to rip open all their outside walls every few years–if ever).  Insulation, which is typically fiberglass now, does take resources to make and isn’t recyclable (although it is made from recycled glass).  Now, what if you could grow insulation?  Yeah, grow.  Couple smart guys figured out how to make a growing medium for oyster mushroom spores that could become suitable insulation material:
Placed in …read more

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 When I’m ranting and raving about alternative energy and lauding companies like Google, I talk about being able to feed into the system and get credit for it.  Looks like the Province of Ontario is finally getting it:
One of the key elements in the incentive programs is a solar “feed-in” tariff that pays people and organizations with solar panels cash for any electricity they feed into the grid. In the United States, utilities offer credits for solar power; a homeowner or business can reduce their electricity bill with these credits, but at best end up owing nothing to the utility.
With …read more

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