Wednesday, 8 February, 2012

Ethanol in gasoline now comes mainly from corn, a food crop. Cellulose, found in crop wastes, wood and switchgrass, could be a great source of ethanol, if only the yeast that makes ethanol could digest cellulose. A new genetic alteration forced yeast to break down cellulose, and then convert it into ethanol.

Plywood used to be bonded with soybean glue; then along came synthetic adhesives. They were strong and cheap, but they did release toxic formaldehyde. Now, industry is switching to a new, improved soy adhesive. Tough, water-resistant soy glue does not release formaldehyde, and is already being used for interior plywood.

We need more electricity. More alternative energy. Less greenhouse warming, and better ways to manage our power supply. Can the electric grid meet multiple challenges and help us survive prosperity? What good are smart meters? And what is this going to cost?

Imagine a transistor so tiny that it can slip inside a living cell to measure electrical potential. Now coat that transistor so the cell will pull it inside without damage. Then adapt the transistor to measure RNA and proteins. Nanofabrication tricks convert science fiction into science fact!

Strong, tough, sticky, elastic and biodegradable, silk may be used for a mesh to support injured tissues, or as a temporary container for drugs, stem cells and growth factors. As scientists divine the secret of how spiders and silkworms make silk, they are finding ways to engineer silk into medical devices.

When big tech goes bad, we ask: How do engineers design fail-safe mechanisms for nuclear weapons, radioactive waste, spaceships?

A small constriction in a buried pipe shows that the Maya were using pressurized pipes before year 750. It’s more proof that when it comes to water, people get inventive! And what did the Maya do with the New World’s oldest plumbing? How about storing water, supplying drinking water, and flushing toilets?

London pioneered video surveillance in public, but it’s catching on fast. Many major cities have systems, and more are coming. What do these cameras learn? How do they interact with other sources of data? In this culture of disclosure should we even worry about privacy?

People have been controlling fermentation for at least 9,000 years. What were the ancients brewing, and how did alcohol change society?

Buried charcoal stimulates microbes and plant growth, helping farmers on poor soil. Studies show that charcoal is stable for hundreds of years.