Tech Thursday

Bio

Using bacteria to test for toxins in water.  Put a bunch of E. coli in a view glass, dye them so they are visible, then add a spot of suspect water.  If all the bacteria flee from the water, there is bad juju, don’t drink it.

Requirement One, engineer bacteria to produce medicine inside a human body.  Requirement Two, once no longer needed, get the bacteria out of that body.  Solution: Give the bacteria a two position thermostat.  At one temperature, they make medicine, at another, they self destruct.

Leveraging worms to figure out how we can cause the human body to regenerate lost tissues (like arms, legs).

Why are scars ugly?  Two reasons, no fat, and no hair follicles.  Looks like that is another problem solved.

Wound closure has gone from stitches, to staples, to steristrips, to super glue, and now this.

Physics

That is a very, very, very, … very tiny amount of time.

Renewables

A common mineral shows promise in boosting the efficiency of solar cells that are designed to use more of the spectrum of light.  First generation, 21.7% efficiency.  Also, this kind of solar cell can be made by essentially wet printing, so the cells can be printed on flexible sheets, which makes them a hell of a lot cheaper.  So an efficiency on par with the best cells in production, and a very cheap production process means this could flip the solar PV cost equation on it’s ear.

Wind turbines make noise because big airfoils create big turbulence..  That noise annoys people who live close to the turbines.  Owls have big airfoils and are next to silent.  Now we know why owls are so quiet, and the bet is that we can use that to make turbines much quieter.  See also.

Using bio-waste to make fuel for airliners.

Turning old tires into fuel.

Turning sewage into energy.  Obama probably isn’t wrong, given all the ways we are playing around with producing energy.

Technology

And yet another application for carbon molecules.

Using metamaterials to replace semi-conductors in micro-electronics, etc.  Result is cooler devices that can handle more power flow.

It’s not technically a hologram, but the effect is the same.

As if men needed a legitimate reason to watch porn on their phones…

Portable, room temperature hydrogen storage.  Ummm, this is kind of a bigger deal than it’s being made out to be.

Climate

I’ve said before that one of the problems with climate models is that there is an awful lot of variables that the models can’t account for, because we just flat out don’t know about them.  Case in point.  This doesn’t mean we can drill and dig for dead dinosaurs with renewed vigor, but it is another example of why you should always be a little wary of trusting computer models of poorly understood systems.

Aerospace

Mars Adobe hut!  The dirt is a great way to shield from radiation.  If you can’t bind it into a concrete to coat the exterior of your habitat walls, then you dig a hole and have a habitat that reminds you of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru (but sadly, no T-16).

I love the idea, but it’s still a concept for travel over oceans, unless they can do something about the boom.

Cool space photos.  That is all.

I wonder if Trump will shut this down in favor of a small telescope on the roof of Trump tower and a claim that he is the best at spotting dangerous asteroids.

A fun, seven part series about space weather.  Credit to Aaron, who found it for me.

Materials

Seems a little bit of skin pigment goes a long way.

This is interesting, but I’m not exactly sure how it would stay on the wing of a transonic airliner.  That would have to be one hell of a strong magnet.

When it comes to safety gear, I usually have no problem shelling out money for good gear, because it’s my life on the line.  But at the same time, the fact that each piece of gear is a single use item does make the cost a bit unpalatable.  So if a bike helmet can be made of paper, and still do the job…

A glue that works no matter the temperature.  And helps you save 15% or more on your car insurance.

Nuclear Diamond Batteries.  Admit it, that right there is enough to make you want to click that link.  And it’s not even clickbait, but it might result in a strange union between Greenpeace and DeBeers.

Game changing process for making cheap, non-toxic hydrogels.  Sounds like they might be biodegradable, or at least inert enough that it could make diapers less of an environmental burden.

Suddenly silk becomes a lot more interesting for things other than comfy clothes.

Civil

Remember the NYC staircase as public art?  I said before this is silly because it doesn’t go anywhere.  This is how you do public staircases as art.  See, it not only goes somewhere, it’s being useful at the same time (crossing busy roads).

The general idea is good (houses that rise up in the event of a flood), but why a mechanical system to jack it up?  Just design the house to float and anchor it like a floating dock.

Again, looks good and is useful.  I’m curious as to the cost, though.

A floating community.  Of course it’s the Dutch.

I love dome houses, they appeal to an aesthetic I have.  I also understand I am in the minority.  I do think that, if we are going to continue to publicly insure people who live in hurricane prone areas, they should be required to live in something like this.  With armor glass panels.  Seriously, why do we subsidize their choices?

Our changing world, courtesy of Google.

Something For The Lawyers

Star Trek and Copyright Law.  See, I do love you!

Image by r3v || cls