Dec

31

A Clue From Medical Research to Break Into Algae?

December 31, 2008 | 3 Comments

Vincent A. Fischetti, head of the Laboratory of Bacterial Pathogenesis and Immunology at Rockefeller University and his colleague Assaf Raz a graduate student in the lab, have used a new technique to look specifically at a well-known enzyme called sortase A and its distribution inside the cell. Bacteria are close cousins to algae both with [...]

Dec

30

Save Almost All the Energy With Passive Heated Homes

December 30, 2008 | 3 Comments

In 1991 Wolfgang Feist (German Wikipedia Link) a physicist from Darmstadt Germany built the first passive heated home. Now the estimate is that 15,000 homes across Germany and Scandinavia have been built with the innovations Feist pioneered. What’s different in a passive homes is ultrathick insulation very sophisticated doors and windows in an airtight design. [...]

Dec

29

A Puzzling Question Gets an Innovative Answer

December 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Ali Vanderveld, a post-doctoral cosmologist at the Jet Propulsion Lab and her colleagues recently published a paper in the journal Physical Review looking at how giant holes in our “Swiss-cheese-like” universe might make space look as if it’s accelerating when it’s really not. Whew, I have been waiting for something to make more sense than [...]

Dec

26

A Reason To Hope For US Auto Manufacturers

December 26, 2008 | 8 Comments

The Argonne National Laboratory, a Chicago-based developer of new battery technologies announced that it has formed an alliance with fourteen U.S. companies to manufacture lithium ion batteries for automobiles. Developing the capability to mass manufacture advanced battery cells is expected to require investment of one to two billion dollars over the coming five years, it [...]

Dec

25

Some Deep Thinking for Christmas Day

December 25, 2008 | 2 Comments

Back in 1995 Charles Munger, friend, attorney and partner of Warren Buffet spoke to an audience at Harvard Law School. While Buffet is often seen as the “Oracle Of Omaha” and other folksy labels by no means has Mr. Buffet succeeded alone. Mr. Munger is a very long term friend, partner and has experienced much [...]

Dec

24

When the Love Wanted Doesn’t Match the Love Given

December 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Love between people is mostly about the acts between us. Within our minds what we give and what we want are the measures for how we perceive the love we feel. Ok, its completely off the site topic, yet tomorrow is Christmas Day, the main holiday to express our love to everyone we care about. [...]

Dec

23

A New Laser Device Discovery

December 23, 2008 | 1 Comment

Princeton University researcher Claire Gmachl, the director of the Mid-Infrared Technologies for Health and the Environment Center the study leader, announced discovery of an entirely new mechanism for making common electronic materials emit laser beams. The new device could lead to lasers that operate more efficiently and at higher temperatures than existing devices. The Princeton [...]

Dec

22

The Algae Problems

December 22, 2008 | 16 Comments

Lots of email comes commenting on a shortage of algae news. One prime reason is that most research is privately done so making whatever information that could be disclosed -limited and if escaped, subject to liability. We will only get what companies want out for quite some time to come. Next is the field is [...]

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