Monday, December 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
NASA says it has found proof of existence of dark matter
NASA says it has found proof of existence of dark matter
By Jean-Louis Santini
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 07:14am (Mla time) 05/16/2007
WASHINGTON -- US astronomers on Tuesday presented the most solid proof yet of the existence of dark matter, a mysterious substance believed to make up more than a quarter of the universe.
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope spotted a ring of dark matter in a galaxy cluster some five billion light-years away from Earth, which measured some 2.6 million light-years across.
"This is the first time we have detected dark matter as having a unique structure that is different from the gas and galaxies in the cluster," said James Jee, a member of NASA's team of astronomers.
Astronomers have long suspected there must be some substance holding galaxy clusters together, otherwise galaxies would only have the gravity from their visible stars, which would not be enough to keep them from flying apart.
Though invisible, astronomers have inferred dark matter exists by observing how its gravity bends the light of more distant background galaxies.
"Although the invisible matter has been found before in other galaxy clusters, it has never been detected to be so largely separated from the hot gas and the galaxies that make up galaxy clusters," said Jee, who works at the Johns Hopkins University.
"By seeing a dark matter structure that is not traced by galaxies and hot gas, we can study how it behaves differently from normal matter," he said.
US astronomers said they made the discovery accidentally while mapping the distribution of dark matter within the ZwC10024+1652 cluster in August 2006.
As they studied their data the astronomers noticed a ripple in the dark matter, similar to ripples created when a stone is plopped into a pond.
Jee said that at first he was upset when he found the ring because he thought there was a flaw in the team's data reduction.
He then found research published in 2002 suggesting that the cluster under observation had collided with another cluster one to two billion years ago.
The collision occurred along Earth's line of sight, and from this perspective the dark-matter structure looks like a ring.
In a computer simulation of a galaxy clusters collision, dark matter first falls to the center of the combined cluster, then moves outward but begins to slow under the pull of gravity.
NASA described the phenomenon in a statement as being "like cars bunched up on a highway."
"Nature is doing an experiment for us that we can't do in a lab, and it agrees with our theoretical models," said team member Holland Ford, also of Johns Hopkins University.
The galaxy cluster collision "created a ripple of dark matter which left distinct footprints in the shapes of the background galaxies," said Jee.
"It's like looking at the pebbles on the bottom of a pond with ripples on the surface. The pebbles' shapes appear to change as the ripples pass over them," Jee said.
"So, too, the background galaxies behind the ring show coherent changes in their shapes due to the presence of the dense ring."
By Jean-Louis Santini
Agence France-Presse
Last updated 07:14am (Mla time) 05/16/2007
WASHINGTON -- US astronomers on Tuesday presented the most solid proof yet of the existence of dark matter, a mysterious substance believed to make up more than a quarter of the universe.
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope spotted a ring of dark matter in a galaxy cluster some five billion light-years away from Earth, which measured some 2.6 million light-years across.
"This is the first time we have detected dark matter as having a unique structure that is different from the gas and galaxies in the cluster," said James Jee, a member of NASA's team of astronomers.
Astronomers have long suspected there must be some substance holding galaxy clusters together, otherwise galaxies would only have the gravity from their visible stars, which would not be enough to keep them from flying apart.
Though invisible, astronomers have inferred dark matter exists by observing how its gravity bends the light of more distant background galaxies.
"Although the invisible matter has been found before in other galaxy clusters, it has never been detected to be so largely separated from the hot gas and the galaxies that make up galaxy clusters," said Jee, who works at the Johns Hopkins University.
"By seeing a dark matter structure that is not traced by galaxies and hot gas, we can study how it behaves differently from normal matter," he said.
US astronomers said they made the discovery accidentally while mapping the distribution of dark matter within the ZwC10024+1652 cluster in August 2006.
As they studied their data the astronomers noticed a ripple in the dark matter, similar to ripples created when a stone is plopped into a pond.
Jee said that at first he was upset when he found the ring because he thought there was a flaw in the team's data reduction.
He then found research published in 2002 suggesting that the cluster under observation had collided with another cluster one to two billion years ago.
The collision occurred along Earth's line of sight, and from this perspective the dark-matter structure looks like a ring.
In a computer simulation of a galaxy clusters collision, dark matter first falls to the center of the combined cluster, then moves outward but begins to slow under the pull of gravity.
NASA described the phenomenon in a statement as being "like cars bunched up on a highway."
"Nature is doing an experiment for us that we can't do in a lab, and it agrees with our theoretical models," said team member Holland Ford, also of Johns Hopkins University.
The galaxy cluster collision "created a ripple of dark matter which left distinct footprints in the shapes of the background galaxies," said Jee.
"It's like looking at the pebbles on the bottom of a pond with ripples on the surface. The pebbles' shapes appear to change as the ripples pass over them," Jee said.
"So, too, the background galaxies behind the ring show coherent changes in their shapes due to the presence of the dense ring."
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Watching the planet Jupiter in Cebu City
Watching the planet Jupiter in Cebu City
INSIDE CEBU By Bobit S. Avila
The Philippine Star 05/29/2006
Source: http://philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200605299908.htm
Here’s something of great interest to those who believe in the capability of the Filipino as a world-class achiever. Last Feb. 24, a relatively unknown Cebuano planetary imager, amateur astronomer and member of the Astronomical League of the Philippines Inc. (ALP) named Christopher Go was peering into the dark skies from his home at Ma. Luisa Estate Park and looking at the great planet Jupiter with its famous Red Spot, when suddenly, he noticed that an area near the Red Spot was changing color from white to red and lo and behold, he found what US astronomers now call "Red Spot Jr.," south of the Red Spot. It was a discovery made with Go’s backyard telescope right here in Cebu City.
Last April, two teams of astronomers were given permission to use the famous Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to observe Red Spot Jr., which is an "Earth-sized storm" also called "Oval BA." Nope, BA doesn’t stand for Bobit Avila. Chris Go’s discovery made waves in the worldwide astronomical community and his feat was featured in The Freeman a month ago and in all astronomical magazines and websites around the world. He is the first Filipino I know to have used the Hubble Space Telescope.
I’m writing about Chris Go today because tonight, he is my guest on my talkshow Straight from the Sky. After seven years of doing the show, finally I got a guest who peers into the sky! It is only now that I realized that the Philippines and more notably Cebu is very conducive to stargazing.
Last Saturday evening, Chris invited me to his home in Ma. Luisa and there I met his fellow planetary imager, Tomio Akutsu, who is also well-known in astronomical circles worldwide and has a business at the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ). Akutsu lives in Cebu because he knows he can get a good resolution if he does his stargazing here. Chris uses a Celestron C-11 Schmidt Cassegrain telescope mounted on an AP-900 equatorial mount and a DMK21BF04 monochrome camera to get images of Jupiter.
Indeed, Jupiter was a sight to behold! I was glad that I brought my family along so they themselves could see what few Cebuanos have ever seen right in their own backyard. Unfortunately, we were only given a 30-minute opening in the clouds… but it was well worth it!
However, for our readers who are into stargazing, you can check the website of ALP www.astroleaguephils.org or look at the photos taken by Chris Go in his website http://astro.christone.net/. If you go to Google and type his name, Christopher Go, you will get to see all the photos of the planets, including Jupiter and Saturn, the Moon and yes, the Sun with its spots and solar flares. All the time I thought you need to go to high-tech observatories like Mt. Palomar Observatory to take photos of solar flares, but now we know you can also do it right here in Cebu City. But you need special filters to do that, which are quite expensive.
It was a pleasant surprise when Chris Go told me that as a planetary imager, he found out that the resolution of photos taken in Cebu City often matches or is even better than that of images taken in the great observatories like those in Hawaii or high up in the mountains of Chile. He showed me his photos and compared them to those of other astronomers in places like Chile, Japan or even Barbados! That means Mayor Tomas Osmeña can now add astronomy to the growing list of the advantages of living in Cebu City.
Another surprise that Chris Go told me was that one of his idols was a Cebuano scientist named Dr. Casimiro "Miroy" V. del Rosario, who just happened to be the father-in-law of my eldest brother, Rene, who married Del Rosario’s oldest daughter Nanette. I have met "Noy Miroy" many times in the past and have always known him to be an astronomer… but I never realized that he was a National Scientist until now. I just learned from my sister-in-law that Miroy del Rosario was the Dean of Filipino Physicists!
I recalled one time that he asked me to visit him in his home so I could watch the planet Saturn on his homemade telescope and true enough, I saw Saturn in a size smaller than my shirt’s button! But wow… I saw that from his house (not far from Chris Go’s) on a telescope he made himself! Yes, during his retirement, he made telescopes as a hobby.
Dr. Miroy del Rosario hailed from Bantayan Island. He was the dean of the Department of Physics at UP Diliman and director of the weather bureau (now PAGASA) and restored the Manila Observatory, which was destroyed during the war. He was also elected as an officer of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). He was even the roommate of Ernest O. Lawrence, a Ph.D. who won the Nobel Prize in 1938. One of his legacies was the establishment of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS), which produces the brightest Filipino students. He died on Sept. 15, 1982.
Last Saturday evening was an unforgettable experience for me looking at Jupiter on a high-tech telescope. Knowing that we have amateur astronomers like Chris Go right here in Cebu City gives us hope that surely the dreams of Dr. Del Rosario (he certainly was ahead of our time, knowing that Cebu was a great place for stargazing) continue with our youth, especially now that Chris Go has a group of amateur astronomers at the University of San Carlos (USC) and he also dreams that someday, they would build a planetarium and observatory. When this happens, Cebuanos can join and play a major role in world astronomy right here in their own backyard.
INSIDE CEBU By Bobit S. Avila
The Philippine Star 05/29/2006
Source: http://philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200605299908.htm
Here’s something of great interest to those who believe in the capability of the Filipino as a world-class achiever. Last Feb. 24, a relatively unknown Cebuano planetary imager, amateur astronomer and member of the Astronomical League of the Philippines Inc. (ALP) named Christopher Go was peering into the dark skies from his home at Ma. Luisa Estate Park and looking at the great planet Jupiter with its famous Red Spot, when suddenly, he noticed that an area near the Red Spot was changing color from white to red and lo and behold, he found what US astronomers now call "Red Spot Jr.," south of the Red Spot. It was a discovery made with Go’s backyard telescope right here in Cebu City.
Last April, two teams of astronomers were given permission to use the famous Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to observe Red Spot Jr., which is an "Earth-sized storm" also called "Oval BA." Nope, BA doesn’t stand for Bobit Avila. Chris Go’s discovery made waves in the worldwide astronomical community and his feat was featured in The Freeman a month ago and in all astronomical magazines and websites around the world. He is the first Filipino I know to have used the Hubble Space Telescope.
I’m writing about Chris Go today because tonight, he is my guest on my talkshow Straight from the Sky. After seven years of doing the show, finally I got a guest who peers into the sky! It is only now that I realized that the Philippines and more notably Cebu is very conducive to stargazing.
Last Saturday evening, Chris invited me to his home in Ma. Luisa and there I met his fellow planetary imager, Tomio Akutsu, who is also well-known in astronomical circles worldwide and has a business at the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ). Akutsu lives in Cebu because he knows he can get a good resolution if he does his stargazing here. Chris uses a Celestron C-11 Schmidt Cassegrain telescope mounted on an AP-900 equatorial mount and a DMK21BF04 monochrome camera to get images of Jupiter.
Indeed, Jupiter was a sight to behold! I was glad that I brought my family along so they themselves could see what few Cebuanos have ever seen right in their own backyard. Unfortunately, we were only given a 30-minute opening in the clouds… but it was well worth it!
However, for our readers who are into stargazing, you can check the website of ALP www.astroleaguephils.org or look at the photos taken by Chris Go in his website http://astro.christone.net/. If you go to Google and type his name, Christopher Go, you will get to see all the photos of the planets, including Jupiter and Saturn, the Moon and yes, the Sun with its spots and solar flares. All the time I thought you need to go to high-tech observatories like Mt. Palomar Observatory to take photos of solar flares, but now we know you can also do it right here in Cebu City. But you need special filters to do that, which are quite expensive.
It was a pleasant surprise when Chris Go told me that as a planetary imager, he found out that the resolution of photos taken in Cebu City often matches or is even better than that of images taken in the great observatories like those in Hawaii or high up in the mountains of Chile. He showed me his photos and compared them to those of other astronomers in places like Chile, Japan or even Barbados! That means Mayor Tomas Osmeña can now add astronomy to the growing list of the advantages of living in Cebu City.
Another surprise that Chris Go told me was that one of his idols was a Cebuano scientist named Dr. Casimiro "Miroy" V. del Rosario, who just happened to be the father-in-law of my eldest brother, Rene, who married Del Rosario’s oldest daughter Nanette. I have met "Noy Miroy" many times in the past and have always known him to be an astronomer… but I never realized that he was a National Scientist until now. I just learned from my sister-in-law that Miroy del Rosario was the Dean of Filipino Physicists!
I recalled one time that he asked me to visit him in his home so I could watch the planet Saturn on his homemade telescope and true enough, I saw Saturn in a size smaller than my shirt’s button! But wow… I saw that from his house (not far from Chris Go’s) on a telescope he made himself! Yes, during his retirement, he made telescopes as a hobby.
Dr. Miroy del Rosario hailed from Bantayan Island. He was the dean of the Department of Physics at UP Diliman and director of the weather bureau (now PAGASA) and restored the Manila Observatory, which was destroyed during the war. He was also elected as an officer of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). He was even the roommate of Ernest O. Lawrence, a Ph.D. who won the Nobel Prize in 1938. One of his legacies was the establishment of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS), which produces the brightest Filipino students. He died on Sept. 15, 1982.
Last Saturday evening was an unforgettable experience for me looking at Jupiter on a high-tech telescope. Knowing that we have amateur astronomers like Chris Go right here in Cebu City gives us hope that surely the dreams of Dr. Del Rosario (he certainly was ahead of our time, knowing that Cebu was a great place for stargazing) continue with our youth, especially now that Chris Go has a group of amateur astronomers at the University of San Carlos (USC) and he also dreams that someday, they would build a planetarium and observatory. When this happens, Cebuanos can join and play a major role in world astronomy right here in their own backyard.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Developing Alternatives to Fossil Fuels
A lithium-coated fullerene, also known as a C60 cluster, as a potential material for hydrogen storage. Yellow represents lithium atoms, and black represents carbon atoms. Credit: Qiang Sun, Ph.D., and Puru Jena, Ph.D./VCU
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have developed a new storage system to hold large quantities of hydrogen fuel that may one day power cars in a more cost-effective and consumer-friendly way.
This theoretical research moves scientists another step closer in the exploration of alternative fuel sources and methods to store hydrogen fuel.
“We are going to face an energy crisis at some point in the future. It’s not a question of if, but when. There is a high demand on oil, particularly due to a growing global population,” said lead author Puru Jena, Ph.D., a professor of physics at VCU.
“We need an energy source that is abundant, cost effective and renewable, burns clean and does not pollute,” he said. “Today, approximately 75 percent of the oil currently available is used for transportation alone. Any solution to the energy crisis has to take into account the amount of energy we spend on transportation.”
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and considered an ideal energy carrier. When hydrogen burns, it produces only water and thus, does not pollute the atmosphere. For this reason, it is considered an ideal alternative when discussing theoretical alternatives to fossil fuels.
In the Journal of the American Chemical Society, published online July 6, Jena and his team describe the theoretical composition of a material – a lithium-coated buckyball – that may have the potential to serve as a storage vessel for hydrogen atoms. A buckyball is a soccer ball-shaped nanoparticle containing 60 carbon atoms. Essentially, the lithium buckyballs absorb the hydrogen, which means that one lithium atom can store five hydrogen molecules. According to Jena, the theoretical buckyball, which was designed using computer modeling, has 12 lithium atoms and can store 60 hydrogen molecules.
“The biggest hurdle in a hydrogen economy is to find materials to store hydrogen,” Jena said. “The storage materials in question need to have the ability to store hydrogen and allow us to take it out, which means the system must be reversible and operate under moderate temperatures and pressures.”
Theoretical and experimental work by other researchers has proposed using titanium-coated buckyballs for hydrogen storage. However, those researchers observed that the titanium atoms had a tendency to react with each other and form clusters on the surface of the buckyball. Once clustering takes place, the properties of the buckyball are no longer effective for storing hydrogen in large quantities.
Industry standards require materials that store hydrogen to have a high gravimetric density of 9 weight percent, and high volumetric density of 70 grams/liter.
“The material that we have designed is capable of storing hydrogen at a gravimetric density of 13 weight percent – so it exceeds the industry target. Also, the volumetric density is approximately twice that of liquid hydrogen. This theoretical work has promise, provided one can make it in large enough quantities,” said Jena.
This research is part of the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, which was set in motion by the U.S. government in 2003 to address the limited supply of fossil fuels and its rising demand and costs. Fossil fuels are known to have an adverse environmental effect in the form of CO2 emissions. Global warming has been the result of CO2 emissions – the effects of which are observed world wide.
Jena is currently collaborating with scientists who will conduct experiments to prove that hydrogen can be stored in the lithium buckyballs. Furthermore, these investigators will determine the necessary temperature and pressure conditions for storage and removal of hydrogen from the lithium buckyballs, and how to produce these materials in large quantities.
This research was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. These findings will also appear in the August 2 print version of the journal.
Source: Virginia Commonwealth University
This news is brought to you by PhysOrg.com.
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have developed a new storage system to hold large quantities of hydrogen fuel that may one day power cars in a more cost-effective and consumer-friendly way.
This theoretical research moves scientists another step closer in the exploration of alternative fuel sources and methods to store hydrogen fuel.
“We are going to face an energy crisis at some point in the future. It’s not a question of if, but when. There is a high demand on oil, particularly due to a growing global population,” said lead author Puru Jena, Ph.D., a professor of physics at VCU.
“We need an energy source that is abundant, cost effective and renewable, burns clean and does not pollute,” he said. “Today, approximately 75 percent of the oil currently available is used for transportation alone. Any solution to the energy crisis has to take into account the amount of energy we spend on transportation.”
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and considered an ideal energy carrier. When hydrogen burns, it produces only water and thus, does not pollute the atmosphere. For this reason, it is considered an ideal alternative when discussing theoretical alternatives to fossil fuels.
In the Journal of the American Chemical Society, published online July 6, Jena and his team describe the theoretical composition of a material – a lithium-coated buckyball – that may have the potential to serve as a storage vessel for hydrogen atoms. A buckyball is a soccer ball-shaped nanoparticle containing 60 carbon atoms. Essentially, the lithium buckyballs absorb the hydrogen, which means that one lithium atom can store five hydrogen molecules. According to Jena, the theoretical buckyball, which was designed using computer modeling, has 12 lithium atoms and can store 60 hydrogen molecules.
“The biggest hurdle in a hydrogen economy is to find materials to store hydrogen,” Jena said. “The storage materials in question need to have the ability to store hydrogen and allow us to take it out, which means the system must be reversible and operate under moderate temperatures and pressures.”
Theoretical and experimental work by other researchers has proposed using titanium-coated buckyballs for hydrogen storage. However, those researchers observed that the titanium atoms had a tendency to react with each other and form clusters on the surface of the buckyball. Once clustering takes place, the properties of the buckyball are no longer effective for storing hydrogen in large quantities.
Industry standards require materials that store hydrogen to have a high gravimetric density of 9 weight percent, and high volumetric density of 70 grams/liter.
“The material that we have designed is capable of storing hydrogen at a gravimetric density of 13 weight percent – so it exceeds the industry target. Also, the volumetric density is approximately twice that of liquid hydrogen. This theoretical work has promise, provided one can make it in large enough quantities,” said Jena.
This research is part of the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, which was set in motion by the U.S. government in 2003 to address the limited supply of fossil fuels and its rising demand and costs. Fossil fuels are known to have an adverse environmental effect in the form of CO2 emissions. Global warming has been the result of CO2 emissions – the effects of which are observed world wide.
Jena is currently collaborating with scientists who will conduct experiments to prove that hydrogen can be stored in the lithium buckyballs. Furthermore, these investigators will determine the necessary temperature and pressure conditions for storage and removal of hydrogen from the lithium buckyballs, and how to produce these materials in large quantities.
This research was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. These findings will also appear in the August 2 print version of the journal.
Source: Virginia Commonwealth University
This news is brought to you by PhysOrg.com.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Honda Uses Ice-Making Plant to Cool Workers
Honda Uses Ice-Making Plant to Cool Workers
July 18, 2006 � By James Hannah, Associated Press
RAYMOND, Ohio � Keeping Honda Motor Co.'s facility in this western Ohio village cool during a heat wave without breaking the bank is as simple as freezing water.
The Japanese automaker makes ice at night and then melts it during the day to cool the 1 million-square-foot complex of buildings, where vehicles are designed.
Honda says the ice-chiller system saves on electricity costs by reducing power use during peak hours, while requiring less water than its old system.
Ice-chiller systems have been used in the past, but primarily by big operations such as convention centers, hospitals and universities rather than factories.
"They got extremely popular in the early to mid-'90s. Manufacturers haven't really gotten aboard with it so much," said Bob Smith, vice president of the Baltimore-based RMF Engineering Inc., which designs the systems.
Vikki Michalski, spokeswoman for American Electric Power Co. of Columbus, Ohio, said ice-chiller systems are unusual among the utility's manufacturing customers in Ohio. It can take businesses a long time to recover the costs of buying such a system and they take a lot of space, she said.
Honda's ice pit, which sits under the floor of the power plant that serves the complex, is 20 yards long, about 9 yards wide and about 8 feet deep.
A spider's web of white pipes snake through the spotlessly clean power plant, and the only sound is the metallic hum of a condenser. Despite the ice-making system in its bowels, the plant is a comfortable 72 degrees.
The ice-making begins about midnight, when two 450-ton chillers -- giant metal tanks that look like massive drug capsules -- kick on.
The chillers cool a salt water solution in the ice pit down to 22 degrees and circulate it through a series of coils. The water begins freezing on the coils and then at the surface. When the process is complete, about eight hours later, a 1-inch-thick sheet of ice has formed on the top of the pit.
When workers arrive in the morning at the plant, located about 35 miles northwest of Columbus, the icy solution is used to chill the air that circulates through the buildings, cooling workers and heat-generating computer systems.
John Dirrig, an engineer who works at the facility, said he didn't notice any difference when Honda switched to the system a year ago.
"You would never know from a user standpoint," he said.
Honda officials declined to say how much the system cost.
Allen Bickel, senior facilities engineer, said that while it costs more than conventional systems, he expects it to pay for itself in three years and last as many as 30 years.
Bickel said the idea came from a Honda research facility in Japan that was using a similar system.
"It's a large pit, and it looks like a snowcone," Bickel said.
Honda was honored Thursday by the United States Green Building Council, a group that advocates for energy efficient, environmentally friendly buildings. The award came in part because of the ice-chilling system.
"What's cool about it is that it's using ice as the coolant as opposed to any sort of Freon," said Elaine Barnes, executive director of the Cleveland Green Building Coalition, referring to the ozone-depleting gas often used in conventional air-conditioning systems. "It is a very clean and environmentally friendly source of air. It's a very efficient system."
Source: Associated Press
July 18, 2006 � By James Hannah, Associated Press
RAYMOND, Ohio � Keeping Honda Motor Co.'s facility in this western Ohio village cool during a heat wave without breaking the bank is as simple as freezing water.
The Japanese automaker makes ice at night and then melts it during the day to cool the 1 million-square-foot complex of buildings, where vehicles are designed.
Honda says the ice-chiller system saves on electricity costs by reducing power use during peak hours, while requiring less water than its old system.
Ice-chiller systems have been used in the past, but primarily by big operations such as convention centers, hospitals and universities rather than factories.
"They got extremely popular in the early to mid-'90s. Manufacturers haven't really gotten aboard with it so much," said Bob Smith, vice president of the Baltimore-based RMF Engineering Inc., which designs the systems.
Vikki Michalski, spokeswoman for American Electric Power Co. of Columbus, Ohio, said ice-chiller systems are unusual among the utility's manufacturing customers in Ohio. It can take businesses a long time to recover the costs of buying such a system and they take a lot of space, she said.
Honda's ice pit, which sits under the floor of the power plant that serves the complex, is 20 yards long, about 9 yards wide and about 8 feet deep.
A spider's web of white pipes snake through the spotlessly clean power plant, and the only sound is the metallic hum of a condenser. Despite the ice-making system in its bowels, the plant is a comfortable 72 degrees.
The ice-making begins about midnight, when two 450-ton chillers -- giant metal tanks that look like massive drug capsules -- kick on.
The chillers cool a salt water solution in the ice pit down to 22 degrees and circulate it through a series of coils. The water begins freezing on the coils and then at the surface. When the process is complete, about eight hours later, a 1-inch-thick sheet of ice has formed on the top of the pit.
When workers arrive in the morning at the plant, located about 35 miles northwest of Columbus, the icy solution is used to chill the air that circulates through the buildings, cooling workers and heat-generating computer systems.
John Dirrig, an engineer who works at the facility, said he didn't notice any difference when Honda switched to the system a year ago.
"You would never know from a user standpoint," he said.
Honda officials declined to say how much the system cost.
Allen Bickel, senior facilities engineer, said that while it costs more than conventional systems, he expects it to pay for itself in three years and last as many as 30 years.
Bickel said the idea came from a Honda research facility in Japan that was using a similar system.
"It's a large pit, and it looks like a snowcone," Bickel said.
Honda was honored Thursday by the United States Green Building Council, a group that advocates for energy efficient, environmentally friendly buildings. The award came in part because of the ice-chilling system.
"What's cool about it is that it's using ice as the coolant as opposed to any sort of Freon," said Elaine Barnes, executive director of the Cleveland Green Building Coalition, referring to the ozone-depleting gas often used in conventional air-conditioning systems. "It is a very clean and environmentally friendly source of air. It's a very efficient system."
Source: Associated Press
Toxic rice harvested in southwestern Bangladesh
Toxic rice harvested in southwestern Bangladesh
http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2975&language=1
Planting rice in Bangladesh
Mustak Hossain
13 July 2006
Source: SciDev.Net
[DHAKA] Eating rice grown in southwestern Bangladesh could be as dangerous as drinking arsenic-contaminated water, according to research published last week (7 July).
The study, published online by Environmental Science & Technology, was the first detailed look at arsenic levels in food typically eaten in Bangladesh.
Lead researcher Andy Meharg of the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, says that health experts are underestimating arsenic intake and misjudging cancer rates by not considering people's dietary exposure from rice.
Many of the country's water supplies have exceptionally high levels of the toxic metal, which is linked to widespread health problems including skin diseases and cancer.
But as contaminated groundwater is also used to irrigate rice fields, Bangladesh's main subsistence food is making a significant contribution to dietary exposure to the toxin say the researchers.
The team measured arsenic levels in various vegetables, pulses and two types of rice grown in 25 districts. In only one district did rice contain, on average, less than 0.08 micrograms of arsenic per gram.
A typical daily intake of rice containing this much arsenic is the equivalent of drinking water with the maximum level of arsenic deemed safe by the World Health Organization, say the researchers.
But in most of the districts sampled, rice contained much more arsenic, rising to 0.51 micrograms per gram in Faridpur district.
"The situation is worst for subsistence farmers in the high arsenic regions as they both drink high levels of arsenic in the water and ingest it from rice," Meharg told SciDev.Net, adding that between 25 and 50 per cent of the country is affected.
"Even if drinking water were cleaned up tomorrow, the rice would still be contaminated for many years to come," he says. "It would be very difficult to find alternative sources of irrigation water for [rice fields] and, therefore, arsenic levels in rice will increase year on year."
Ainun Nishat of the National Arsenic Expert Committee says local research institutions should try to confirm the findings independently as they could have major implications for Bangladesh's water policy.
He notes that 70 per cent of all irrigation is through shallow tube wells that tap groundwater, much of which is contaminated with arsenic.
Mahmudur Rahman of the Dhaka Community Hospital Trust, who is also on the committee, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization should set safe limits of arsenic contamination in food, especially rice.
http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2975&language=1
Planting rice in Bangladesh
Mustak Hossain
13 July 2006
Source: SciDev.Net
[DHAKA] Eating rice grown in southwestern Bangladesh could be as dangerous as drinking arsenic-contaminated water, according to research published last week (7 July).
The study, published online by Environmental Science & Technology, was the first detailed look at arsenic levels in food typically eaten in Bangladesh.
Lead researcher Andy Meharg of the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, says that health experts are underestimating arsenic intake and misjudging cancer rates by not considering people's dietary exposure from rice.
Many of the country's water supplies have exceptionally high levels of the toxic metal, which is linked to widespread health problems including skin diseases and cancer.
But as contaminated groundwater is also used to irrigate rice fields, Bangladesh's main subsistence food is making a significant contribution to dietary exposure to the toxin say the researchers.
The team measured arsenic levels in various vegetables, pulses and two types of rice grown in 25 districts. In only one district did rice contain, on average, less than 0.08 micrograms of arsenic per gram.
A typical daily intake of rice containing this much arsenic is the equivalent of drinking water with the maximum level of arsenic deemed safe by the World Health Organization, say the researchers.
But in most of the districts sampled, rice contained much more arsenic, rising to 0.51 micrograms per gram in Faridpur district.
"The situation is worst for subsistence farmers in the high arsenic regions as they both drink high levels of arsenic in the water and ingest it from rice," Meharg told SciDev.Net, adding that between 25 and 50 per cent of the country is affected.
"Even if drinking water were cleaned up tomorrow, the rice would still be contaminated for many years to come," he says. "It would be very difficult to find alternative sources of irrigation water for [rice fields] and, therefore, arsenic levels in rice will increase year on year."
Ainun Nishat of the National Arsenic Expert Committee says local research institutions should try to confirm the findings independently as they could have major implications for Bangladesh's water policy.
He notes that 70 per cent of all irrigation is through shallow tube wells that tap groundwater, much of which is contaminated with arsenic.
Mahmudur Rahman of the Dhaka Community Hospital Trust, who is also on the committee, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization should set safe limits of arsenic contamination in food, especially rice.
Brazil will share expertise in agriculture with Africa
Brazil will share expertise in agriculture with Africa
http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2981&language=1
Carla Almeida
14 July 2006
Source: SciDev.Net
[RIO DE JANEIRO] African nations are set to benefit from Brazilian expertise in tropical agriculture thanks to an agreement between Brazil and Ghana.
Under the agreement signed this week (10 July), Ghana will host the first African branch of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa).
The branch will act as a regional base for sharing Brazil's agricultural knowledge with the whole continent, and will be located at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in Accra.
Two staff will identify local research needs, plan studies that can be undertaken in Brazil, and seek international partners to cooperate in the agency's initiatives.
Research will be carried out in Brazil by Embrapa's 38 research units, which will send their findings back to Ghana.
Sotto Pacheco Costa, Embrapa's supervisor of bilateral cooperation, says the branch will also "train local technicians, in Brazil and in Africa, and offer technical assistance [on agricultural problems]".
The branch was decided upon after an increasing number of demands coming from Africa for Brazilian agricultural technology. The move comes as part of Brazil's commitment to South-South cooperation.
"This is a fascinating experience and a challenge to work with African countries", says Costa. "We are hoping to help resolve the problems in the agricultural sector and become closer partners."
http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2981&language=1
Carla Almeida
14 July 2006
Source: SciDev.Net
[RIO DE JANEIRO] African nations are set to benefit from Brazilian expertise in tropical agriculture thanks to an agreement between Brazil and Ghana.
Under the agreement signed this week (10 July), Ghana will host the first African branch of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa).
The branch will act as a regional base for sharing Brazil's agricultural knowledge with the whole continent, and will be located at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in Accra.
Two staff will identify local research needs, plan studies that can be undertaken in Brazil, and seek international partners to cooperate in the agency's initiatives.
Research will be carried out in Brazil by Embrapa's 38 research units, which will send their findings back to Ghana.
Sotto Pacheco Costa, Embrapa's supervisor of bilateral cooperation, says the branch will also "train local technicians, in Brazil and in Africa, and offer technical assistance [on agricultural problems]".
The branch was decided upon after an increasing number of demands coming from Africa for Brazilian agricultural technology. The move comes as part of Brazil's commitment to South-South cooperation.
"This is a fascinating experience and a challenge to work with African countries", says Costa. "We are hoping to help resolve the problems in the agricultural sector and become closer partners."
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Flapper plane made aviation history
Flapper plane flew for 14 seconds last July 8, 2006 making it to aviation history as the first of such bird-like flying vehicle. See description below.Or·ni·thop·ter /ôrn-thptr/
Source: http://www.ornithopter.ca
noun An aircraft that derives all of its thrust and nearly all of its lift from flapping wings. In addition, an ornithopter retains 'bird like' characteristics such as its main wing in front and its stabilizing surfaces aft.
The purpose of this project is to achieve humanity's oldest aeronautical dream: flight with mechanical flapping wings. Many early aircraft concepts assumed that such imitation of birds and bats was the proper design direction. However, the challenge of achieving both efficient lift and thrust with flapping wings was far greater than simply using the wings for lift and providing thrust with a separate propulsor. This notion, first articulated by Sir George Cayley in 1799, provided the template for successful mechanical flight from the Wright Brothers to this day.
The notion of ornithopter flight became marginalized, although it continued to fascinate inventors and researchers as described in the History section. One of the reasons for this is that successful full-scale piloted ornithopter flight is one of the last great aeronautical records. Despite all of the amazing aerospace achievements since the Wright Brothers, such as hypersonic flight, voyages to the moon, and travelling around the world without refueling, this ancient quest remains to be accomplished.
This website (http://www.ornithopter.ca) will describe ornithopter research, design, and testing by a team based at the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies. Included will be the project's history as well as current results.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Nature paper shows that cell division is reversible
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-04/omrf-rpn041006.php
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Rewind, please: Nature paper shows that cell division is reversible
Discovery could open doors for treatment of cancer, birth defects Oklahoma City–Gary J. Gorbsky, Ph.D., a scientist with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, has found a way to reverse the process of cell division.
The discovery could have important implications for the treatment of cancer, birth defects and numerous other diseases and disorders. Gorbsky's findings appear in the April 13 issue of the journal Nature.
"No one has gotten the cell cycle to go backwards before now," said Gorbsky, who holds the W.H. and Betty Phelps Chair in Developmental Biology at OMRF. "This shows that certain events in the cell cycle that have long been assumed irreversible may, in fact, be reversible."
Cell division occurs millions of times each day in the human body and is essential to life itself. In the lab, Gorbsky and his OMRF colleagues were able to control the protein responsible for the division process, interrupt and reverse the event, sending duplicate chromosomes back to the center of the original cell, an event once thought impossible.
"Our studies indicate that the factors pointing cells toward division can be turned and even reversed," Gorbsky said. "If we wait too long, however, it doesn't work, so we know that there are multiple regulators in the cell division cycle. Now we will begin to study the triggers that set these events in motion."
The findings may prove important to controlling the development and metastasis of certain cancers. It also holds promise for the prevention and treatment of birth defects and a wide variety of other conditions.
"Dr. Gorbsky's results provide elegant proof that the cell cycle must be precisely controlled," said Dr. Rodger McEver, OMRF vice president of research. "Now he and his lab can work toward developing innovative methods to probe and better understand the complex process of cell division."
Gorbsky heads the Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology Research Program at OMRF and holds both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in biology from Princeton University. He is also adjunct professor of Cell Biology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and a member of the OU Cancer Institute. His research focuses on mitosis and cytokinesis, the processes involved in cell division, and he has earned international recognition for his work in the area of chromosomal movement and cell cycle control.
###
The current research project, done in collaboration with scientists from the University of Virginia Medical School, was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society.
High-resolution digital images of the cell division process, as well as of Gorbsky, are available upon request.
About OMRF:
Celebrating its 60th birthday in 2006, OMRF (www.omrf.org) is a nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and curing human disease. Its scientists focus on such critical research areas as Alzheimer's disease, cancer, lupus and cardiovascular disease. It is home to Oklahoma's only member of the National Academy of Sciences.
-----------
Rewind, please: Nature paper shows that cell division is reversible
Discovery could open doors for treatment of cancer, birth defects Oklahoma City–Gary J. Gorbsky, Ph.D., a scientist with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, has found a way to reverse the process of cell division.
The discovery could have important implications for the treatment of cancer, birth defects and numerous other diseases and disorders. Gorbsky's findings appear in the April 13 issue of the journal Nature.
"No one has gotten the cell cycle to go backwards before now," said Gorbsky, who holds the W.H. and Betty Phelps Chair in Developmental Biology at OMRF. "This shows that certain events in the cell cycle that have long been assumed irreversible may, in fact, be reversible."
Cell division occurs millions of times each day in the human body and is essential to life itself. In the lab, Gorbsky and his OMRF colleagues were able to control the protein responsible for the division process, interrupt and reverse the event, sending duplicate chromosomes back to the center of the original cell, an event once thought impossible.
"Our studies indicate that the factors pointing cells toward division can be turned and even reversed," Gorbsky said. "If we wait too long, however, it doesn't work, so we know that there are multiple regulators in the cell division cycle. Now we will begin to study the triggers that set these events in motion."
The findings may prove important to controlling the development and metastasis of certain cancers. It also holds promise for the prevention and treatment of birth defects and a wide variety of other conditions.
"Dr. Gorbsky's results provide elegant proof that the cell cycle must be precisely controlled," said Dr. Rodger McEver, OMRF vice president of research. "Now he and his lab can work toward developing innovative methods to probe and better understand the complex process of cell division."
Gorbsky heads the Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology Research Program at OMRF and holds both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in biology from Princeton University. He is also adjunct professor of Cell Biology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and a member of the OU Cancer Institute. His research focuses on mitosis and cytokinesis, the processes involved in cell division, and he has earned international recognition for his work in the area of chromosomal movement and cell cycle control.
###
The current research project, done in collaboration with scientists from the University of Virginia Medical School, was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society.
High-resolution digital images of the cell division process, as well as of Gorbsky, are available upon request.
About OMRF:
Celebrating its 60th birthday in 2006, OMRF (www.omrf.org) is a nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and curing human disease. Its scientists focus on such critical research areas as Alzheimer's disease, cancer, lupus and cardiovascular disease. It is home to Oklahoma's only member of the National Academy of Sciences.
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