TIZER'S SCIENCE NEWS

[Tizer]

Bodger, an interesting bit of research on the conversion of waste fats to useful chemicals - thanks for posting it. The paper doesn't have publication details so here they are for anyone who wants to know:
Published by American Chemical Society: Sustainable Chem. Eng.
DOI: 10.1021/sc400135y (the DOI is the unique identifier for the published article).
Publication Date (Web): July 18, 2013.
There's a lot of interest now in this sort of work. Earlier it was all geared towards burning fat as biofuel (biodiesel) but now there's a shift to making replacements for petrochemical stocks. The focus of this paper is on using high-energy UV light to modify the fat molecules to yield hydrocarbons. It's at an early stage, using only a few grams in a lab instrument and will need some brain work and experiments to scale it up - anything that uses light has the drawback that it works well at the surface but the effect drops off with depth of liquid. You usually need a continuous flow system with a large surface area to make it work economically - the same problem that holds back attempts to make artificial photosynthesis systems. But it's a good start!

Stanley, the alloy component that surprised me was silicon - I didn't know this non-metal was used but then perhaps I shouldn't be surprised as carbon, another non-metal, is used to modify the property of metals. Here are two web pages that give a lot of information on aluminium alloys. The first is from the Russian Al producer, Rusal, and probably a bit biased to the Russian story but it has a lot of the history nevertheless.
http://www.aluminiumleader.com/en/aroun ... t/aircraft
http://www.solar-city.net/2009/06/alumi ... craft.html

[Stanley]

See this http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/08/ ... gs-a-leak/ for the latest problems at the Fukushima plant in Japan.
It's estimated that they will have to continue pumping cooling water over the reactor core for another ten years. Makes you wonder what they can possibly do with the contaminated water.

[Tizer]

If it can be released slowly enough into the ocean it won't raise the level of radioactivity measurably over the natural background. We tend to forget that radioactive chemicals are constantly leached from Earth's crust into the oceans and atmosphere by natural processes. The danger is when you get a sudden large leak and can't control it. That's where I have concerns, I'm less confident these days that those operating the reactors are competent enough to prevent such hazards.

[Stanley]

Nerve gas and other chemical weapons are in the news. One interesting read which sheds some light on the advent of these lethal chemicals can be found in James Fergusson's book, 'The Vitamin Murders' which re-examines the work of Jack Drummond, his murder and the toxic legacy of chemical research after WW2. It's an interesting but disturbing read.

[Tizer]

Young Kenyan Woman Named Recipient of 2013 Borlaug Field Award for Scientific Biological Breakthroughs Combating Deadly Grain Mold
(Sep 5, 2013)

Des Moines, Iowa (September 5, 2013) – A young Kenyan scientist who made major breakthroughs in combating the deadly aflatoxin mold contamination that occurs in stored grain, which has been a serious problem in Africa and around the world for decades, was today named the 2013 recipient of the prestigious “Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, Endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation.” Dr. Charity Kawira Mutegi, 38, who currently serves as the Kenya Country Coordinator for the Aflasafe Project for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), on assignment from the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), was named winner of the award. At the request of the World Food Prize Foundation, Mamadou Biteye, the Rockefeller Foundation’s Managing Director for Africa, made the announcement during the renowned African Green Revolution Forum in Maputo, Mozambique.

Aflatoxin, a naturally occurring mold, is a major concern for farmers and consumers worldwide; it is toxic to people who consume it either directly through contaminated grain, or through milk or meat if livestock have been fed contaminated grain. It is one of the most carcinogenic substances known.

Dr. Mutegi spearheaded efforts to identify the cause of, and solution to, a deadly outbreak of aflatoxicosis in 2004-05, fatal to 125 people in eastern Kenya who consumed contaminated grain. Her diligent research led to innovative solutions to avert future outbreaks and safeguard the region’s staple crop of maize. Dr. Mutegi is leading efforts for the development of a biocontrol product in Kenya that can be used to significantly reduce aflatoxin levels in maize. This works by introducing naturally occurring non-toxic strains of the fungus, which have a competitive advantage over the strains that produce the deadly aflatoxin, a technology that was developed by the US Department of Agriculture – Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS), and locally adapted for use in several African countries by IITA and partners. The non-toxic strains outcompete the toxic strains, thus reducing aflatoxin contamination in the maize crop. The microbial bio pesticide she and her team are developing – “aflasafe KE01” – is affordable for farmers, is natural and environmentally safe, and once applied to a field, the effects last multiple growing seasons, making it extremely effective.
The full press release is here: http://tinyurl.com/kwnc55n

[Bodger]

It is nice to see a someone in the area where theres a problem answering it , i find the lack of generic people to solve their own problems that they accepted ,but it was a thing that we grew up and developed, i am trying very carefully not to mention skin colour and development of health issuses

[Bodger]

Just realised that 10 pints of Guinness do affect your responses

[Stanley]

Could be that the level of technology education has a bearing on this. Look at the way India has embraced computer technology. Could it have anything to do with the fact that their Institute of Technology is recognised as being more rigorous than anything in the West?

[Tizer]

Bodger, it can't be too big an effect - it only took you 2 minutes to realise and respond! But then you've had years of practise with the black stuff...

I have great respect for India's science education, they've given it higher priority than we have done. They also put more emphasis on discipline in educational institutions too. But the one big thing they have to attend to is the widening gap between rich and poor...

[Tripps]

I read recently that India does not have a single university on the world's top two hundred.
However take a look at http://www.tata.com and be very afraid.

For example - this a list of their companies just under the letter T in their index. This contains the most but, there are twenty five more letters in the index. J - is for Jaguar Land Rover for instance.

T

Taj Air
TAL Manufacturing Solutions
Tata Advanced Materials
Tata Advanced Systems
Tata Africa Holdings
Tata AG
Tata AIA Life Insurance
Tata AIG General Insurance
Tata Asset Management
Tata AutoComp Systems
Tata BlueScope Steel
Tata Business Support Services
Tata Capital
Tata Ceramics
Tata Chemicals
Tata Chemicals Europe
Tata Chemicals Magadi
Tata Chemicals North America
Tata Communications
Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consulting Engineers
Tata Cummins
Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company
Tata Elxsi
Tata Global Beverages
Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery
Tata Housing Development Company
Tata Industrial Services
Tata Industries
Tata Interactive Systems
Tata International
Tata International AG
Tata Investment Corporation
Tata Limited
Tata Metaliks
Tata Motors
Tata Motors European Technical Centre
Tata NYK
Tata Petrodyne
Tata Pigments
Tata Power
Tata Power Delhi Distribution
Tata Power Solar Systems
Tata Power Trading
Tata Precision Industries
Tata Projects
Tata Quality Management Services
Tata Realty and Infrastructure
Tata Services
Tata Sky
Tata Sons
Tata Sponge Iron
Tata Steel
Tata Steel Europe
Tata Steel KZN
Tata Steel Processing and Distribution
Tata Steel Thailand
Tata Strategic Management Group
Tata Technologies
Tata Teleservices
Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra)
Tatanet
Tayo Rolls
The Tinplate Company of India
Titan Company
TKM Global Logistics
TM International Logistics
Trent
TRF
TRL Krosaki Refractories

[hartley353]

Take a look at American Companies and see how many have British ownership. I have attended training seminars all around the globe, they are all well represented by Indian candidates, and of a very high standard Many have trained at universities in India, and gone on to post graduate at foreign institutes. There are some pretty dismal Universities in this country dishing out degrees for just attending. Many foreign students come here for degree courses not because they are the best, but because they are the easiest, but still retain some kudos. My Canadian god daughter was one.

[Tizer]

From The Times, 14th September 2013. A five-column article - read the first three columns then continue with the two below them. Sorry about the difference in size of the images - click on them for larger versions that are easier to read.

[hartley353]

Classic mere rhetoric, words without substance, we will all have to wait for the truth but it will be an awful long time coming. Maybe I should make a time capsule, so that in the future some one may read I told you so for me.

[Stanley]

Words without substance eh?

[Bodger]

Tizer Sing a song of Science
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rjbtsX7 ... tx8z1e87fQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtItBX1l ... tx8z1e87fQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50ZssEojtM

[Tizer]

So that's why Hartley referred to scientists as `nutty' in the climate thread!

[Stanley]

No, it was because he knows he's right and will go to heaven.

[Tizer]

Counting on neodymium (23 September 2013, from Forschungszentrum Juelich, Germany)

Magnetic molecules are regarded as promising functional units for the future of information processing. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Jülich and Aachen were the first to produce particularly robust magnetic molecules that enable a direct electrical readout of magnetic information. This was made possible by selecting the rare earth metal neodymium as the central building block of the molecule. The team’s research findings are published online in the journal Nature Communications.

The miniaturization of processors is approaching the limits of what is physically possible. At the same time, the global energy consumption by information and communications technologies is increasing continuously, requiring new approaches to handle the growing volume of data. Magnetic molecules provide a solution to this problem. They could take the place of conventional electronic components, such as diodes or transistors. In contrast to these components, however, they can be controlled with minimal voltage – which drastically reduces energy consumption – and have much more sophisticated switching functions that depend on the magnetism of the molecules.

Magnetic molecules act as tiny magnets and are able to process information in the form of electrical signals. They always have the same number of atoms, can be designed specifically for various functions, and can be produced cost-effectively in an identical form over and over again. In order to use this ‘molecular spintronics’ in technical applications, the magnetic structure of the molecules must be effectively shielded from environmental influences, but at the same time, it must be accessible to electric current.

“You could say that electric current and magnetism have to communicate with each other,” says Dr. Daniel Bürgler from Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance. The physicist’s team, located in Jülich and Aachen, has produced a molecule that fulfils these requirements: “In neodymium phthalocyanine, the same electrons that give rise to magnetism are also involved in electronic transport,” explains Bürgler. The researchers were able to demonstrate this by comparing simulated data to experimental values.

The metal neodymium is a rare earth metal. Molecules comprising rare earth atoms and phthalocyanines, which can be found in nature in the form of leaf pigments, are considered particularly stable and shield the magnetic state of the central rare earth atoms very effectively. However, electrical readout of the magnetic state directly from these molecules had failed in the past. Due to the electrical contacting of these molecules, the electric current was hardly influenced by the magnetic structure.

In order to identify a suitable rare earth atom, the researchers first analysed the distribution of the electrons flying about the atoms like a cloud. Only some of the electrons produce the magnetic structure. These must be situated sufficiently deep within the electron cloud to be unaffected by environmental influences. At the same time, they must not be located so deep as to prevent interaction with the electrons conducting electric current. Neodymium fulfils these requirements, because it is more lightweight than other lanthanides and its electrons are distributed within a larger cloud.

Full bibliographic information: `Accessing 4f-states in single-molecule spintronics'; S. Fahrendorf et al.; Nature Communications, published online 24 September 2013 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3425.

[Tripps]

Thanks for that - interesting. I thought the name Juelich rang a bell from a few years ago, and thanks to the miracle of google I found what I half remembered. Juelich Probably no connection.

[Stanley]

The number of times I have heard that we have reached the limits of miniaturisation....

[PanBiker]

Thanks for that - interesting. I thought the name Juelich rang a bell from a few years ago, and thanks to the miracle of google I found what I half remembered. Juelich Probably no connection.

Nice cluster of antenna masts there Tripps.

[Tizer]

Thanks for that - interesting. I thought the name Juelich rang a bell from a few years ago, and thanks to the miracle of google I found what I half remembered. Juelich Probably no connection.

They are at the same place, Juelich, between Aachen and Cologne. The research centre is another of those many technical institutes which are responsible for Germany's economic progress and success. Here is their web page (if it comes up in German just click `English' at the top of the page):
http://www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/Home ... 22A7993670
I heard someone on the radio recently saying that Germany was unfortunate in having many fewer universities than we do in the UK. The truth is that instead they have many more excellent technical institutes than we do.

Now for something different...and Stanley thinks he has a lot of earwax!
Earwax provides insight into whale’s lifetime of exposure to pollutants
(Press release from the publisher of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, PNAS.)
Many baleen whale species continuously accumulate layers of wax in the ear canal, which is sealed off from the external environment, forming an earplug that remains in place for the whale’s lifespan. Stephen Trumble et al. hypothesized that the waxy layers, which can be used in a manner similar to tree rings to roughly estimate a whale’s age, would contain a chronological archive of the fat-soluble chemicals that a whale naturally secretes and is exposed to in the ocean. The authors analyzed the chemicals within each layer of the earplug from a deceased male blue whale, revealing fluctuating levels of testosterone and the stress hormone cortisol during the whale’s 12-year lifespan. The analysis also revealed that the whale had accumulated substantial levels of persistent organic pollutants, such as pesticides and flame retardants, within its first year of life, likely during gestation and/or nursing; by contrast, mercury levels in the earplug spiked during two distinct time periods later in the animal’s life. The authors suggest that earplug analyses may aid assessments of the impacts of human activities on marine organisms and their ecosystems.
“Blue whale earplug reveals lifetime contaminant exposure and hormone profiles," by Stephen J. Trumble, et al., Released in advance of publication. Abstract: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/09/10/1311418110

[Stanley]

Great! I have always said that earwax is important!

[Stanley]

LINK
See this for the totally unsurprising report that living under the flight path of an airport tends to be harmful. We value silence far too little these days. I am fortunate in that my house has a dead end back street, garden front and is not near any traffic route. With the advantages of good insulation, solid house build and efficient double glazing it id possible to sit quietly with only the ticking of the clock and occasionally the faint hum of the fridge. I value this and am sure it is good for me.

[David Whipp]

I have always said that earwax is important!

it id possible to sit quietly with only the ticking of the clock and occasionally the faint hum of the fridge

The wax in my right ear has done away even with the latter benefit Stanley describes. (Hoping to get it clear before the left one follows suit.)