Inhabitat’s Week in Green: Darth Vader lamp, 3D-printed inchworm and a cheap invisibility cloak
Posted by Inhabitat | Filed under Techie Stuff
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
As scientists and renewable-energy developers continue to make advances in solar and wind technology, it's becoming more apparent than ever that clean energy doesn't just represent the future -- it's also the present. Spain proved that this week, when the Mediterranean country announced that it produced an impressive 54 percent of its total energy in April from renewable sources. Researchers at Yale University discovered a way to boost the efficiency of solar cells by 38 percent simply by coating them with a fluorescent dye. In another promising development, scientists at the University of Georgia developed a way to harness the photosynthetic process to generate clean energy from plants. And at a conference in California, NRG unveiled a mini prefabricated solar canopy that could soak up rays in any garden or commercial lot.
Filed under: Misc
Alt-week 5.11.13: drones, more drones and dual perspective advertising
Posted by James Trew | Filed under Techie Stuff
Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days.
There was a time when young, engineering minds were content with putting together radio controlled vehicles for leisurely amusement. Now, they're using their clever brains to make UAVs fly longer and land anywhere. At least we know who to blame when robopocalypse finally rolls around. This is alt-week.
Filed under: Misc, Science, Alt
Watch Live: ISS emergency spacewalk to fix ammonia leak (Update)
Posted by James Trew | Filed under Techie Stuff
Yesterday NASA reported that an ammonia leak had been discovered on the ISS. Astronauts Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy are embarking on an emergency spacewalk to fix the problem. NASA TV is broadcasting the walk live, and you can follow along on the somewhat safer journey past the break.
Update (3:54PM ET): Nasa has reported within the last or so that the faulty pump has been successfully replaced. The entire spacewalk took about six and half hours to complete, according to NASA's Twitter.
Filed under: Science
Source: Space.com, NASA (Twitter)
Tags: Science
University of Georgia stops plant photosynthesis to generate solar power
Posted by Jon Fingas | Filed under Techie Stuff
There's a more efficient way to harvest energy from the backyard than by wiring up hapless critters. Researchers at the University of Georgia have proof: they've discovered a way to generate electricity from plants through hijacking the photosynthesis process. By altering the proteins inside a plant cell's thylakoids, which store solar energy, scientists can intercept electrons through a carbon nanotube backing that draws them away before they're used to make sugar. While the resulting power isn't phenomenal, it's still two orders of magnitude better than previous methods, according to the university. The protein modification method may have a rosier future, as well: the team believes that it could eventually compete with solar cells, producing green energy in a very literal sense.
Via: Gizmag
Source: RSC Publishing, University of Georgia
You probably can’t leap over this six-foot homemade Piranha Plant (nor should you try)
Posted by Ben Gilbert | Filed under Techie Stuff
We'd probably say something like, "I always thought it would be cool to build a giant fire breathing piranha plant," and then promptly forget about following through. Also, hey, that sounds dangerous! Hack-a-day's Caleb Kraft, however, doesn't allow silly things like fear of seared human flesh get between him and his dreams. (This is the same man who created an incredible Portal gun, in case you forgot the name.)
Kraft created a six-foot tall, fire-breathing "piranha plant" -- also known as "that bastard plant hiding in Super Mario World's pipes" -- using PVC pipe, butane and a whole mess of other materials. The results are -- well, we can think of a variety of adjectives that'd fit perfectly well here, but you'll likely come up with a few of your own after watching the video of it in action below the break.
Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Science, Alt, Nintendo
Source: Hack-a-day
Tags: Alt, Gaming, Misc, Nintendo, Science
NASA reports ammonia leak on ISS, says inhabitants ‘in no danger’
Posted by Sharif Sakr | Filed under Techie Stuff
The International Space Station has been a font of good news and scientific progress since it received its first human residents at the start of the millennium, but now it may be starting to show its age. The current crew reported seeing damage to the vessel's truss structure yesterday and NASA has since confirmed there's been a leak of ammonia from the station's cooling system. The Agency says the problem isn't dangerous and that regular ISS-style activities are continuing as normal while earth-bound helpers figure out a way of re-routing power channels before part of the cooling system shuts down. If you want to hear what unflustered voices sound like at an altitude of over 200 miles, check out the audio of Commander Hadfield's initial report of the leak at the source link below.
Filed under: Transportation, Science
Via: SlashGear, Spaceflight Now
Source: NASA
Tags: Science, Transportation
Virus-based sensors find superbugs in minutes, may lead to safer surfaces
Posted by Jon Fingas | Filed under Techie Stuff
Viruses usually have to be rendered inert to work in humanity's favor, as anyone who has received a flu shot can attest. Auburn University has bucked that trend by discovering a way to put active viruses to work in not only diagnosing sickness, but in preventing it in the first place. It's using bacteria-hating (and thankfully harmless) viruses as biosensors to quickly identify superbugs, or antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can sometimes prove fatal. As the viruses change color once they've reached impervious bacterial strains, in this case variants on Staphylococcus, they can reveal superbugs within 10 to 12 minutes -- a potentially lifesaving interval when current purification-driven methods can take hours. Auburn would like to eventually use what it has learned to develop more effective antibacterial glass and similar surfaces. If successfully put into practice, either breakthrough could mitigate what's already a major medical crisis.
[Image credit: Bob Blaylock, Wikipedia]
Via: The Verge
Source: JoVE
Roku can now tell you how to get, how to get to Sesame Street with new PBS channels
Posted by Ben Gilbert | Filed under Techie Stuff
Big Bird (or "Big Yellah," as we like to call him) and his Sesame Street cohorts are now available for streaming on your Roku box. Not just that, but his non-avian colleagues from PBS and PBS Kids are also making the trip, arriving today in new PBS and PBS Kids Roku channels. The two new channels offer more than the on-demand access to PBS programming you'd expect; PBS Digital Studios' work is also available to stream (we're quite fond of it, if you couldn't tell).
While it's not 100 percent clear what exactly is available at any given time, PBS' announcement says "hundreds of videos" can be accessed, which are pulled from the archives, from national and local daily programming, and include biggies like NOVA, Frontline, and American Experience (it stands to reason that heavy hitter Downtown Abbey won't be available, given its exclusive license with Amazon starting next month). PBS Kids is similarly well-stocked, with "more than 1,000 videos," which includes everything from Curious George to, yes, Sesame Street. There's a short teaser video of the service being used just below the break, should you not be able to contain yourself until you get home.
Update: According to Roku, not all Roku players support the new PBS channels. "Both PBS and PBS Kids are available immediately for all Roku 3, Roku 2, Roku LT, new Roku HD players and the Roku Streaming Stick in the US," the company says. Heads up!
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Science, HD
Source: Roku
Tags: HD, Home Entertainment, Science
The Daily Roundup for 05.06.2013
Posted by David Fishman | Filed under Techie Stuff
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
