Clean water with free energy is the goal of German scientists who are using the sun’s rays to power small water treatment plants for developing countries. The system is designed for arid areas of Africa and Asia where a lack of electricity makes it impossible to use large industrial plants for the desalination of seawater, like those in the Middle East. ‘The regions have a very poor infrastructure. Quite often there is no electricity grid, so conventional desalination plants are out of the question,’ says Joachim Koschikowski. The engineer and his team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) have developed small decentralised units with their own solar power supplies that can transform salt water or brackish water into pure drinking water. ‘Our plants work on the principle of membrane distillation,’ says Koschikowski, comparing the technology to that used in breathable, waterproof fabrics, where the membrane prevents rainwater from penetrating through to the skin, while allowing water vapour to pass through to the outside. ‘In our plant, the salty water is heated up and guided along a micro-porous, water-repellent membrane. Cold drinking water flows along the other side of the membrane,’ he says. […]
NEW YORK — Scientists in California say they have produced embryos that are clones of two men, a potential step toward developing scientifically valuable stem cells. The new report documents embryos made with ordinary skin cells. But it is not the first time human cloned embryos have been made. In 2005, for example, scientists in Britain reported using embryonic stem cells to produce a cloned embryo. It matured enough to produce stem cells, but none were extracted. Stem cells were not produced by the new embryos either, and because of that, experts reacted coolly to the research. ‘I found it difficult to determine what was substantially new,’ said Doug Melton of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. He said the ‘next big advance will be to create a human embryonic stem cell line’ from cloned embryos. ‘This has yet to be achieved.’ Dr. George Daley of the Harvard institute and Children’s Hospital Boston called the new report interesting but agreed that ‘the real splash’ will be when somebody creates stem cell lines from cloned human embryos. ‘It’s only a matter of time before some group succeeds,’ Daley said. Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk claimed a few […]
If Germany can prove that fighting climate change doesn’t necessarily require nuclear power, other nations will follow. But if Germany fails, a nuclear renaissance may result, says DW’s Jens Thurau. German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel had his chance to shine in December at the Bali climate conference. No country, the energetic Social Democratic politician says, is similarly engaged in protecting the climate as Germany. By 2020 the country will reduce its emissions of greenhouse gasses by 40 percent by producing more energy from renewable sources, by saving energy, by investing billions in building renovations, by using energy from clean coal and gas power stations. And without using nuclear power. By 2021 all 17 of Germany’s nuclear power plants — one after another — will be shut down. When compared to other industrialized nations, that decision makes Germany more and more of an outsider. A new nuclear power plant is being built in Finland. France, the United States and Japan also have plans for new nuclear power stations. Great Britain recently decided to put more of an emphasis on nuclear power. These governments argue that the international community’s goals, which climate change researchers still call insufficient, to reduce […]
Experiments to create Britain’s first embryos that merge human and animal material will begin within months after a Government watchdog today approved two research teams to carry out the controversial work. Scientists at King’s College London and the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne will now inject human DNA into empty eggs from cows, to create embryos known as cytoplasmic hybrids that are 99.9 per cent human in genetic terms. The experiments are intended to provide insights into diseases such as Parkinson’s and spinal muscular atrophy by producing stem cells containing genetic defects that contribute to these conditions. These will be used as cell models for investigating new approaches to treatment and for improving understanding of how embryonic stem cells develop. They will not be used in therapy, and it is illegal to implant them into the womb. The decision by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to grant one-year licences to both teams ends more than a year of uncertainty for the researchers, who first applied for permission to start the work in the autumn of 2006. Last January the authority deferred a decision and launched a consultation on the issue, which reported in September that […]
The Cleveland Catholic Diocese has revised its policy on sexual abuse of minors to discourage anonymous tips. In addition, the revised policy calls for diocesan legal officials to direct investigations of non-clergy. The old policy did not specify whether the legal office or individual church agencies would direct the investigation of church workers and volunteers. The diocese says the revised policy also adds less confusing language to encourage greater reporting of abuse and requires parishes and church agencies to show they are complying. But a critic says it returns the church to ‘the bad old days’ of cover-ups. ‘It is a legalistic document that is meant to cast a veil over their own behavior,’ said Cleveland lawyer William Crosby, who has represented abuse victims. ‘This makes me want to weep.’ Catholic officials said the policy, which took effect Tuesday, was last updated in 2003. Review Board Chairwoman Patricia Ritzert said one significant change was to replace ‘allegation’ of sexual abuse with ‘report suggesting sexual abuse’ of a minor. ‘Allegation’ appeared to suggest to some people that a certain standard had to be met before reporting abuse, she said, while ‘suggesting sexual abuse’ should […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
