Tech | Page 1792 | Science Codex

Rice University researchers ask if biofuels will lead to a 'drink or drive'

Rice University scientists warned that the United States must be careful that the new emphasis on developing biofuels as an alternative to imported oil takes into account potential damage to the nation's water resources.

"The ongoing, rapid growth in biofuels production could have far-reaching environmental and economic repercussions, and it will likely highlight the interdependence and growing tension between energy and water security," said a report titled "The Water Footprint of Biofuels: A Drink or Drive Issue?"

Distributed security may be the key to beating cyber crime

Could an entirely new approach to online security, based on distributed sanctions, help prevent cybercrime, fraud and identity theft? A report in the International Journal of Intercultural Information Management suggests it could.

Susan Brenner of the University of Dayton School of Law, in Dayton, OH, and Leo Clarke of the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law, in Lansing, MI, suggest that government could control cybercrime by requiring anyone accessing cyberspace to employ reasonable security measures but without infringing on civil liberties.

New York - wind power world capital?

Palo Alto, CA—In the future, will wind power tapped by high-flying kites light up New York? A new study by scientists at the Carnegie Institution and California State University identifies New York as a prime location for exploiting high-altitude winds, which globally contain enough energy to meet world demand 100 times over. The researchers found that the regions best suited for harvesting this energy match with population centers in the eastern U.S. and East Asia, but fluctuating wind strength still presents a challenge for exploiting this energy source on a large scale.

What is the role of reactive oxygen species in ethanol-mediated cell death of polarized hepatic cells?

Liver disease that results as a consequence of alcohol abuse is a major medical problem worldwide. Ethanol consumption leads to a variety of liver alterations including the accumulation of fat, inflammation of the liver, as well as the presence of scar tissue. However, how these events happen after drinking alcohol are not well understood. It is known that ethanol-related liver alterations involve impairments to the hepatocyte cell in the liver that includes the induction of cell death mechanisms.

Created: method to precisely glue particles together on the micro- and nano-scale

Researchers at New York University have created a method to precisely bind nano- and micrometer-sized particles together into larger-scale structures with useful materials properties. Their work, which appears in the latest issue of the journal Nature Materials, overcomes the problem of uncontrollable sticking, which had been a barrier to the successful creation of stable microscopic and macroscopic structures with a sophisticated architecture.

Making waves: LSU's WAVCIS increases modeling capabilities

BATON ROUGE – LSU's WAVCIS, or Wave-Current-Surge Information System for Coastal Louisiana, has a few new tricks up its sleeve in preparation for the 2009 hurricane season.

Renewable energy: Report on status and prospects for the US

Renewable energy resources – solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass – could potentially offer local, sustainable sources of electrical power in the U.S. Tapping into these resources requires new technologies, some of which are still in development. One issue facing the renewable-energy field is determining when the technologies that convert these resources into power can be ready for large-scale use, and estimating what it will take to get there.

Officials commend UH's leadership in creation of ship channel security district

The University of Houston is being credited with playing a pivotal role in the creation of the Houston Ship Channel Security District, which was approved unanimously by Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday morning.

The development of the security district, a public-private partnership that will fund enhancements to security technology, infrastructure and processes along the ship channel, was done in large part by Pat Bellamy, chairman of the Houston Ship Channel Security Council and director of UH's Southwest Public Safety Technology Center (SWTC).

Individuals who apply pesticides are found to have double the risk of blood disorder

(WASHINGTON, June 12, 2009) – A study involving 678 individuals who apply pesticides, culled from a U.S. Agricultural Health Study of over 50,000 farmers, recently found that exposure to certain pesticides doubles one's risk of developing an abnormal blood condition called MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance) compared with individuals in the general population.

RA individuals from lower GDP countries keep working despite worse symptoms than richer countries

Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday 12 June 2009: Individuals diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in lower gross domestic product (GDP) countries (GDP below $11,000) are more likely to continue working despite higher disease activity and functional disability scores compared to their counterparts in higher GDP countries (GDP >$24,000) according to a new multinational study presented today at EULAR 2009, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Robotic ferret will detect hidden drugs and weapons

A new type of robot being developed will make it easier to detect drugs, weapons, explosives and illegal immigrants concealed in cargo containers.

Dubbed the 'cargo-screening ferret' and designed for use at seaports and airports, the device is being worked on at the University of Sheffield with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The ferret will be the world's first cargo-screening device able to pinpoint all kinds of illicit substances and the first designed to operate inside standard freight containers.

Better access to info and dialogue with HCPs on sexual issues for rheumatology patients

Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday 12 June 2009: Patients with rheumatic diseases want more information and better communication with healthcare professionals on the sexual issues related to their conditions, according to the results of a new study presented today at EULAR 2009, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Copenhagen, Denmark.

3 studies confirm the value of etanercept therapy in treating juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday 12 June 2009: Three new studies have individually shown the anti-TNF (tumour necrosis factor) therapy etanercept to be effective, with a good safety profile, in children under four years of age with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and associated with improved Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in a substantial proportion of children with JIA.

Efficiency is poor at Spanish airports

Researchers from the Canary Islands, basing their work on an analysis of 37 Spanish airports, have shown that the economic inefficiency of most of these is due to excessive decentralisation of airport services. "The majority of airport operators are more concerned with security parameters than with economic efficiency", Juan Carlos Martín, a professor in the Department of Applied Economic Analysis at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and one of the authors of the study that has recently been published in the Journal of Productivity Analysis, tells SINC.

Rainforest rehab in every sense

Sophisticated sensors that measure leaf wetness, soil moisture and temperature are helping rehabilitate rainforest in the Springbrook World Heritage precinct in south-east Queensland.

The CSIRO sensors are being used to uncover the microclimatic conditions favourable for rapid natural regeneration of degraded rainforest environments.

A network of ten sensor nodes, connected wirelessly, has been sampling parameters such as rainfall, humidity, temperature, soil moisture and the amount of available light inside the forest every five minutes since May 2008.