Tech

Policy makers in Europe and United States are markedly underestimating the changes needed to mitigate CO2 emission required to prevent dangerous climate change because they work in 'silos', according to pioneering research.

Dr Sebastian Carney, from The University of Manchester, discovered that the lack of communication between government departments, NGOs and other authorities has resulted in significant differences over who is responsible for what.

A Michigan State University professor says if the world is to make better decisions when it comes to developing new energy sources, it needs to have better methods of measuring progress toward its energy goals. Just how well are we doing at developing alternatives to fossil fuels?

Speaking at this year's meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Bruce Dale said that appropriate metrics are needed in order to gauge our progress toward energy security.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A comparison of two types of minimally invasive surgery to repair kidney blockages that prevent urine from draining normally to the bladder found that robot-assisted surgery was faster and resulted in less blood loss and shorter hospital stays.

Root systems are the basis of the second Green Revolution, and the focus on beans and corn that thrive in poor growing conditions will help some of the world's poorest farmers, according to a Penn State plant scientist.

"Africans missed the Green Revolution of the '60s because they typically do not eat wheat and rice, which was its focus," said Jonathan Lynch, professor of plant nutrition.

By dipping ordinary paper or fabric in a special ink infused with nanoparticles, Stanford engineer Yi Cui has found a way to cheaply and efficiently manufacture lightweight paper batteries and supercapacitors (which, like batteries, store energy, but by electrostatic rather than chemical means), as well as stretchable, conductive textiles known as "eTextiles" – capable of storing energy while retaining the mechanical properties of ordinary paper or fabric.

Consumers need faster, more efficient ways of being notified when there is a recall of food products.

That's the message Michigan State University's Ewen Todd gave to a symposium at the 2010 American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting being held in San Diego.

Todd, a professor of advertising, public relations and retailing, spoke at a symposium titled "Tracking and Tracing Our Food Supply: The Way Forward."

Dust is a powerful thing.

Not the stuff that we wipe off the coffee table on a regular basis, but the tiny particles floating around in the earth's atmosphere, which originate primarily from deserts in North Africa and the Middle East.

It can affect the oceans, impact the carbon cycle and even have an effect on global temperature.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As Americans demand new and cleaner ways to meet the country's energy needs, researchers are turning to algae as a promising new fuel source. The approach has the potential to significantly reduce the nation's reliance on imported oil while contributing to rural economic development and lowering greenhouse emissions.

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's Edward S. Rubin will discuss U.S. energy strategies needed to mitigate global climate change Feb. 20 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego, Calif.

Rubin, the Alumni Professor of Environmental Engineering and Science and a professor of engineering and public policy and mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon, will discuss the need for a climate policy that effectively puts a price on CO2 emissions, which in turn would create incentives to reduce emissions.

Tempe, Ariz. - An international team of scientists, including two from Arizona State University, have taken a significant step closer to unlocking the secrets of photosynthesis, and possibly to cleaner fuels.

Yields of biodiesel from oilseed crops such as safflower could be increased by up to 24 percent using a new process developed by chemists at UC Davis. The method converts both plant oils and carbohydrates into biodiesel in a single process, and should also improve the performance characteristics of biodiesel, especially in cold weather.

A paper describing the method, which has been patented, is online in the journal Energy & Fuels.

Smarter power grids have a central role to move Europe towards a low carbon energy economy, as underlined by the European Union's Strategic Energy Technology Plan Information System (SETIS) , led by the Joint Research Centre (JRC). A new JRC lead-authored report on transmission network planning highlights that a radical change in coordinated network planning and operation is needed to accommodate market liberalisation and the increasing integration of renewable power sources.

SAN DIEGO -- Ships blowing off steam are helping researchers understand how manmade particles might be useful against global warming. New results from modeling clouds like those seen in shipping lanes reveal the complex interplay between aerosols, the prevailing weather and even the time of day the aerosol particles hit the air, according to research presented Saturday morning at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting.

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC (February 19, 2010) – Accessing out of hours care is still a challenge for UK palliative care patients, even several years after the introduction of phone help line services like NHS24 and NHS Direct. Scottish researchers have specific recommendations for a more detailed and regular communication strategy to improve patients' care, which are published by SAGE in the journal Palliative Medicine.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Think of it as the end of cars' slacker days: No more sitting idle for hours in parking lots or garages racking up payments, but instead earning their keep by helping store power for the electricity grid.