news lite
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advanced technology: sensors cuts nitrate pollution
New technology employing advanced sensoring and much more
is being announced every week.
We may have large problems to meet, but the answer is usually
in advancing technology not mindless ludditism.
Waste is at least as great a problem for modern societies as over-
consumption.
“ A sensor that calculates exactly how much nitrogen a crop needs is
slashing fertiliser use in field trials. The system will not only save
farmers money but also reduce fertiliser run-off, and so reduce nitrate
pollution of water courses.”
—
“ Often, too much fertiliser is used. Every summer the run-off of nitrates
into the Mississippi river causes a "dead zone" of oxygen-depleted water,
which can cover more than 18,000 square kilometres in the Gulf of Mexico.”
the web address for the article above
is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0408.php#nitrate |
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water mining in asia threatens food supplies
Sloppy report, scan recommended.
“Asian farmers drilling millions of pump-operated wells in an ever-deeper
search for water are threatening to suck the continent's underground
reserves dry, a science magazine warned.
“ "This little-heralded crisis is repeating itself across Asia and could
cause widespread famine in the decades to come," London-based New
Scientist said in a report on scientists' findings at a recent water
conference in Sweden.”
the web address for the article above
is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0408.php#water_mining |
advanced space age building techniques look to come down to earth
“ The design that engineers and designers came up with is a sphere-like
structure - one of the most stable self-sustained shapes. As it stands on
legs it is isolated from any movements underneath it as it basically
glides on top of the Earth. In its current design the SpaceHouse can
withstand vibrations from earthquakes of up to 7 on the Richter scale,
wind speeds of up to 220 km/h and up to 3 metres of flooding -
specifications that came out of discussions with the insurance industry
for a typical European location.
“The house is designed to be autonomous. It uses energy-efficient solar
power as well as advanced systems for recycling and cleaning water.
Another idea, now on the drawing board, is to include a system to remove
pathogenic particles in the sub-micron range from the air”
—
“The fact that space habitats have to support life in hostile environments
by relying on leading-edge technology means that the latter can also be a
valuable source of innovation for the building sector back on Earth.”
pic gallery.
the web address for the article above
is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0408.php#spacehouse
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claim that forgery much more difficult using holographic detection
“ Professor Schirripa Spagnolo said: "Using image processing and virtual
reality makes it easy to detect the presence of bumps at cross-over
points. Finding these bumps allows experts to easily determine the
sequence of strokes in a piece of handwriting and the tell tale signs of a
forgery or original. Another benefit of this technique is that it doesn’t
damage the sample."
“The Rome team used their technique, known as “3D Micro-Profilometry” to
analyse hundreds of different handwriting samples made using a variety of
different paper types and pens. They have also applied their technique to
wills and cheques and successfully detected forgeries in both.”
the web address for the article above
is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0408.php#forgery |
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"gains or losses of large segments of DNA in healthy people"
“ Early information from the Human Genome Project indicated that the DNA in
the genome of any two individuals is 99.9 per cent identical with the 0.1
per cent variation arising primarily from some three million single
nucleotide changes scattered amongst the chromosomes. The new data from
the Sick Kids and Harvard groups revealed 255 regions (comprising more
than 0.1 per cent) of the genome where large chunks of DNA are present in
different copy numbers between individuals. Over 50 per cent of these
alterations lead to changes in gene numbers and at least 14 regions
overlapped with known sites associated with human disease.
“Because these newly discovered variants exist in the genomes of healthy
individuals, their presence could lead to subtle differences affecting
physical or behavioural traits by influencing the expression of specific
genes, but they could also predispose to future disease," said BWH's Dr.
Charles Lee, co-principal investigator and assistant professor at HMS.
"For example, the most common LCV involves amylase genes. Our study shows
that some people may have 10 copies of this gene while others may have as
much as 24 copies of this same gene....”
the web address for the article above
is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0408.php#dna_segments |
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