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Green Revolution 2: Apps for Farmers

By Guest PostSeptember 24, 2013Technology8 nations, african nations, america, apps for farmers, australia, australia based tradiepad, australian freelance writer, canada, g8, global north, green revolution 2, group, icow, Kenya, m pesa, paradigm, real time data, sharon freeman, sms, tradiepad, trial and error, vodafone, world bank

Doing paperwork has proven to be unsustainable but also entirely cumbersome in recent years given the multiplication of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. From Australia to America, Canada to Kenya, a paradigm shift towards cloud computing is being felt in the world and this could only expedite the clamor for less paper consumption.

Tradespersons have progressively depended on cloud-based applications to manage invoicing, bookkeeping and other jobs instead of filling their dashboards with unnecessary clutter. In particular, most farmers have looked and used the Cloud for a chance to turn a profit and save the earth all at the same time. (more…)

Using IBM’s Crowdsourced Supercomputer, Harvard Rates Solar Energy Potential of 2.3 Million New Compounds

By Guest PostJune 24, 2013Technologyaids, alan aspuru guzik, america, basic materials data, Berkeley, boinc, bright idea, cancer, carbon compounds, cepdb database, clean energy project, crowdsourced supercomputer, cyrus wadia, diseases, harvard, harvard rates, ibm, linux computer, mac, malaria, mgi, new york university, organic, organic semiconductors, plastic bags, rare earth elements, solar cells, solar energy materials, solar energy potential, sunlight into electricity, university of california, viktors berstis, White House, windows, world community grid

White House Applauds Citizen Science, Big Data Initiative

CAMBRIDGE, MA – 24 Jun 2013: The search for more versatile and less expensive materials for solar energy received a boost today as Harvard launched a free database that catalogues the suitability of 2.3 million organic, carbon compounds for converting sunlight into electricity.

Harvard’s Clean Energy project — which screened the molecules using World Community Grid, an IBM-managed virtual supercomputer that harnesses the surplus computer power donated by volunteers — is believed to be the most extensive investigation of quantum chemicals ever performed. (more…)

Perfectly mixed up

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2013Cultureamerica, american philanthropists, andrea davis, aspirational environment, austin, cowboy boots, devon county council, drama, emma payne, exeter, fiona macbeth, ian stewart watson, ma drama students, perfectly mixed up, shannon price, stetsons, texas, transition service, united states, university of exeter, young people

Drama has become a regular activity for Exeter’s young people in care who have joined forces with students from the University of Exeter to stage a play in Austin, Texas. Stetsons and cowboy boots are at the ready as Exeter’s creative gang of performers head to the United States.

This life changing experience will be the first time that the theatre company ‘Perfectly Mixed Up’ travel and perform outside of Devon. Throughout the week long stay the company will perform their show, More than the Sum, and run two workshops with young people in care in Austin, Texas. ‘Perfectly Mixed Up’ are guests of the University of Texas at Austin who have an exchange programme with the Drama department at University of Exeter. (more…)

Social Network Use Reflects East-West Disparity

By Guest PostFebruary 12, 2013Culture, Technologyamerica, China, chinese citizens, chinese culture, collective good mentality, computers, Facebook, human behavior, jin liang wang, linda jackson, me first culture, michigan state university, qzone, renren, social creatures, social isolation, social network sites, Social networking sites, southwest university, Technology, Twitter, united states, us citizens

The stark contrast between America’s “me-first” culture and the “collective-good” mentality in China is reflected in the two countries’ use of social networking sites, according to a new study led by a Michigan State University scholar.

U.S. citizens spend more time on the networking sites, consider them to be more important and have more “friends” on the sites, the research found. The most popular social networking site in the United States is Facebook; in China, two of the most popular sites are RenRen and Qzone. (more…)

NASA Curiosity Rover Collects First Martian Bedrock Sample

By Guest PostFebruary 10, 2013Scienceamerica, analytical laboratory, avi okon, bedrock, chemin, chemistry and mineralogy, chimra, curiosity rover, drill area, drill systems engineer, first martian bedrock, gale crater, in situ, jet propulsion laboratory, john grunsfeld, john klein, jpl, louise jandura, mars, martian rock analysis, NASA, pasadena, rocks on mars, sam, sample, sample analysis, sample on mars, scott mccloskey, sky crane

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Curiosity rover has, for the first time, used a drill carried at the end of its robotic arm to bore into a flat, veiny rock on Mars and collect a sample from its interior. This is the first time any robot has drilled into a rock to collect a sample on Mars.

The fresh hole, about 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) wide and 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) deep in a patch of fine-grained sedimentary bedrock, can be seen in images and other data Curiosity beamed to Earth Saturday. The rock is believed to hold evidence about long-gone wet environments. In pursuit of that evidence, the rover will use its laboratory instruments to analyze rock powder collected by the drill. (more…)

New Coal Technology Harnesses Energy without Burning, Nears Pilot-Scale Development

By Guest PostFebruary 8, 2013Environmentamerica, atmosphere, carbon dioxide, cdcl, chemical reaction, clean coal technology, coal ash, coal derived syngas, coal feedstock, coal to electricity, combustion, consumes oxygen, convert, dawei wang, diameter, economy with jobs, elena chung, hot iron, human hair, iron oxide beads, liang shih fan, micrometers, millimeters, natural resources, new coal technology, ohio coal, ohio state university, pilot scale development, pulverized coal, reaction, reactor, research scale plants, samuel ayham, scl, syngas chemical looping, Technology, thermal kilowatts

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new form of clean coal technology reached an important milestone recently, with the successful operation of a research-scale combustion system at Ohio State University. The technology is now ready for testing at a larger scale.

For 203 continuous hours, the Ohio State combustion unit produced heat from coal while capturing 99 percent of the carbon dioxide produced in the reaction. (more…)

Right Target, but Missing the Bulls-Eye for Alzheimer’s

By Guest PostFebruary 3, 2013Health, Scienceabeta, abeta40, abeta42, abeta42 protein, aleksey lomakin, alzheimer's disease, america, amino acids, amyloid beta, atul deshpande, brain, bulls eye, causes of death, chemical synthesis, computer simulations, david teplow, destroy neurons, disorder, george b benedek, gregory cole, hairpin like structure, late life dementia, mingfeng yang, molecular biology, mutant abeta peptides, pearl necklace, plaques, protein, robin roychaudhuri, sally frautschy, sequence, toxic actions, toxic form, ucla

UCLA researchers discover new point of attack for drug therapy

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of late-life dementia. The disorder is thought to be caused by a protein known as amyloid-beta, or Abeta, which clumps together in the brain, forming plaques that are thought to destroy neurons. This destruction starts early, too, and can presage clinical signs of the disease by up to 20 years.

For decades now, researchers have been trying, with limited success, to develop drugs that prevent this clumping. Such drugs require a “target” — a structure they can bind to, thereby preventing the toxic actions of Abeta. (more…)

Women Drivers Outnumber Men, but Still Drive Less

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2012Generalamerica, average female, declining rate, distance, drivers license, fatality rate, federal highway administration, fuel efficient vehicles, gender demographics, majority, male motorists, michael sivak, outnumber, roads, university of michigan, us drivers, women drivers

ANN ARBOR — Although women drivers now outnumber male motorists, men still account for the majority of the driving on America’s roads—albeit at a declining rate, says a University of Michigan researcher.

Using data from the Federal Highway Administration, Michael Sivak, a research professor at the U-M Transportation Research Institute, examined changes in the gender demographics of U.S. drivers from 1963 to 2010. (more…)

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