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Sorry, my mistake. Put it in the wrong place. I meant to go to MCIC. Delete that one, OK?
Medical is part Paul's interest, so I figured they should be there.
Yep, I've become a lot more interested in medical.
Cobalt Replacements Make Solar Cells More Sustainable
Researchers at the University of Basel have successfully replaced the rare element iodine in copper-based dye-sensitized solar cells by the more abundant element cobalt, taking a step forward in the development of environmentally friendly energy production. The journal «Chemical Communications» has published the results of these so-called Cu-Co cells.
copper_dsc_small
The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) converts light to electricity. A coloured copper complex absorbs light and injects an electron into a semiconductor. This electron then passes around a circuit, does work, and is eventually returned to the copper to regenerate the dye by a transport system. In this new work, the cobalt complex acts as an electron transport agent between the cathode and the dye molecules allowing the photocurrent to flow. (Adapted with permission from Bozic-Weber et al., Chem. Commun., 2013,49, 7222-7224 | doi: 10.1039/C3CC44595J. © 2013 Royal Society of Chemistry)
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) transform light to electricity. They consist of a semiconductor on which a dye is anchored. This colored complex absorbs light and through an electron transfer process produces electrical current. Electrolytes act as electron transport agents inside the DSCs.
Usually, iodine and iodide serve as an electrolyte. Chemists at the University of Basel have now been able to successfully replace the usual iodine-based electron transport system in copper-based DSCs by a cobalt compound. Tests showed no loss in performance.
The replacement of iodine significantly increases the sustainability of solar cells: «Iodine is a rare element, only present at a level of 450 parts per billion in the Earth, whereas cobalt is 50 times more abundant», explains the Project Officer Dr. Biljana Bozic-Weber. Furthermore, this replacement also removes one of the long-term degradation processes in which copper compounds react with the electrolyte to form copper iodide and thus improves the long-term stability of DSCs.
The research group around the Basel chemistry professors Ed Constable and Catherine Housecroft is currently working on optimizing the performance of DSCs based on copper complexes. They had previously shown in 2012 that the very rare element ruthenium in solar cells could be replaced by copper derivatives.
This is the first report of DSCs, which combine copper-based dyes and cobalt electrolytes and thus represents a critical step towards the development of stable iodide-free copper solar cells. However, many aspects relating to the efficiency need to be addressed before commercialization can begin in anything other than niche markets.
Molecular Systems Engineering
«In changing any one component of these solar cells, it is necessary to optimize all other parts as a consequence», says Ed Constable. This is part of a new approach termed «Molecular Systems Engineering» in which all molecular and material components of a system can be integrated and optimized to approach new levels of sophistication in nanoscale machinery. In this publication, the engineering of the electrolyte, the dye and the semiconductor are all described.
This systems chemistry approach is particularly appropriate for the engineering of inorganic-biological hybrids and is the basis of ongoing collaborations with the ETH Department of Biosystems Engineering in Basel (D-BSSE) and EMPA. A joint proposal by the University of Basel and D-BSSE for a new National Centre of Competence in Research in this area is currently in the final stages of appraisal.
Original Citation
Biljana Bozic-Weber, Edwin C. Constable, Sebastian O. Fürer, Catherine E. Housecroft, Lukas J. Troxler and Jennifer A. Zampese
Copper(I) dye-sensitized solar cells with [Co(bpy)3]2 /3 electrolyte
Chem. Commun., 2013,49, 7222-7224 | doi: 10.1039/C3CC44595J
Further Information
Prof. Dr. Edwin Constable, University of Basel, Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, 4056 Basel, Switzerland, E-mail: edwin.constable@unibas.ch
Big money over little money.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Progress in using ethanol to make key raw material now produced from oil
Ethanol from corn and other plants could become the sustainable, raw material for a huge variety of products, from plastic packaging to detergents to synthetic rubber, that are currently petroleum-based. This was the conclusion of an article published in the ACS journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
Yingzhe Yu and colleagues point out that a chemical called ethylene, now produced from petroleum, is one of the most important raw materials for everyday products. Ethylene is used to make hundreds of products, including polyethylene, the world's most widely used plastic. Scientists have been seeking sustainable alternatives to petroleum for making ethylene, and Yu's team reviewed progress in the field.
They found that one particular device has the potential to make a highly pure ethylene product from ethanol with high efficiency and low cost. The device, called a fluidized bed reactor, works by suspending the chemicals needed to make ethylene inside the walls of a chamber. Newly produced ethylene exits through a pipe, while the rest of the material remains to continue production. Yu's team discusses progress toward commercial use of such devices, noting that there would be "great significance" for promoting economic development.
Contact: Krysten Carrera
NIDDKMedia@mail.nih.gov
301-496-3583
NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Removing a protein enhances defense against bacteria in CGD mice
NIH study also suggests an alternative, adjunct approach to drug-resistant staph infections
Deletion of a protein in white blood cells improves their ability to fight the bacteria staphylococcus aureus and possibly other infections in mice with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), according to a National Institutes of Health study. CGD, a genetic disorder also found in people, is marked by recurrent, life-threatening infections. The study's findings appear online in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
A team of researchers from NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) compared three groups: CGD-afflicted mice with the protein Olfm4; CGD-afflicted mice in which the protein had been deleted, and healthy mice in which the protein had been deleted. Olfm4, also known as olfactomedin 4, is sometimes helpful in limiting tissue damage but can also hinder white blood cells' ability to kill bacteria.
The researchers found that the white blood cells in mice without the protein could better withstand staphylococcus aureus infection, a major threat to patients with CGD.
"Although treatment for CGD has greatly improved over the past several years, the disease remains challenging," said Dr. Wenli Liu, staff scientist and lead author. "Our research suggests a novel strategy that might pave the way toward developing new treatments to fight against common and often deadly infections."
The results also suggest another potential method to treat methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other drug-resistant bacteria in patients without CGD, used alongside other therapies. MRSA is a strain of bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotics most often used to treat staph infections. Most commonly contracted in hospitals, MRSA represents a significant public health threat.
"Over the years, MRSA and other bacteria have evolved to be resistant to many antibiotics," said Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., NIDDK director and study lead. "This study suggests an alternative approach to combat infection by strengthening white blood cell capabilities from within the cells, in addition to resorting to traditional antibiotic treatment."
The research group is now investigating how changing Olfm4 levels in human cells enhances immunity to and from a variety of drug-resistant bacteria. The findings may put researchers closer to developing drug treatment for people, possibly through development of an antibody or small molecule that could inhibit Olfm4 activity.
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The study was supported by the Intramural Research Program at NIDDK. Administrative and technical support were provided by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, both part of NIH.
The NIDDK, a component of NIH, conducts and supports research on diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass some of the most common, severe and disabling conditions affecting Americans. For more information about the NIDDK and its programs, see http://www.niddk.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
Brain-2
30 Jul 2013 13:50:38.263
PA 253/13
Physicists and neuroscientists from The University of Nottingham and University of Birmingham have unlocked one of the mysteries of the human brain, thanks to new research using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG).
The work will enable neuroscientists to map a kind of brain function that up to now could not be studied, allowing a more accurate exploration of how both healthy and diseased brains work.
Functional MRI is commonly used to study how the brain works, by providing spatial maps of where in the brain external stimuli, such as pictures and sounds, are processed. The fMRI scan does this by detecting indirect changes in the brain’s blood flow in response to changes in electrical signalling during the stimulus.
Click here for full story
Story credits
More information is available from Dr Karen Mullinger, Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, The University of Nottingham on +44 (0)115 846 6881, karen.mullinger@nottingham.ac.uk; or Emma Rayner in the Communications Office , at The University of Nottingham, on +44 (0)115 951 5793, emma.rayner@nottingham.ac.uk
Emma Rayner
Emma Rayner - Media Relations Manager
Email: emma.rayner@nottingham.ac.uk Phone: +44 (0)115 951 5793 Location: University Park
Carcinogenesis
Fatty acids could aid cancer prevention and treatment
Omega-3 fatty acids, contained in oily fish such as salmon and trout, selectively inhibit growth and induce cell death in early and late-stage oral and skin cancers, according to new research from scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.
Fatty acids could aid cancer prevention and treatment
Omega-3 fatty acids, contained in oily fish such as salmon and trout, selectively inhibit growth and induce cell death in early and late-stage oral and skin cancers, according to new research from scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.
Cancer Research
UPCI researchers target 'cell sleep' to lower chances of cancer recurrence
By preventing cancer cells from entering a state of cellular sleep, cancer drugs are more effective, and there is a lower chance of cancer recurrence, according to new research from an international research team led by University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute scientists. The discovery is the first to show that it is possible to therapeutically target cancer cells to keep them from entering a cellular state called quiescence, or "cell sleep."
American Cancer Society, GIST Cancer Research Fund, Life Raft Group
Contact: Allison Hydzik
hydzikam@upmc.edu
412-647-9975
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
New University of Waterloo process promises to revolutionize manufacturing of products
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
WATERLOO, Ont. (Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010) - A new "smart materials" process - Multiple Memory Material Technology - developed by University of Waterloo engineering researchers promises to revolutionize the manufacture of diverse products such as medical devices, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), printers, hard drives, automotive components, valves and actuators.
The breakthrough technology will provide engineers with much more freedom and creativity by enabling far greater functionality to be incorporated into medical devices such as stents, braces and hearing aids than is currently possible.
Smart materials, also known as shape memory alloys, have been around for several decades and are well known for their ability to remember a pre-determined shape.
Traditional memory materials remember one shape at one temperature and a second shape at a different temperature. Until now they have been limited to change shape at only one temperature. Now with the new Waterloo technology they can remember multiple different memories, each one with a different shape.
"This ground-breaking technology makes smart materials even smarter," said Ibraheem Khan, a research engineer and graduate student working with Norman Zhou, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering. "We have developed a technology that embeds several memories in a monolithic smart material. In essence, a single material can be programmed to remember more shapes, making it smarter than previous technologies."
The patent pending technology, which is available for licensing, allows virtually any memory material to be quickly and easily embedded with additional local memories.
The transition zone area can be as small as a few microns in width with multiple zones, each having a discrete transition temperature. As the processed shape memory material is subject to changing temperature, each treated zone will change shape at its respective transition temperature. As well, transition zones created side-by-side allow for a unique and smooth shape change in response to changing temperature.
Several prototypes have been developed to demonstrate this pioneering technology.
One mimics a transformer robot. The robot's limbs transform with increasing temperature at discrete temperatures, whereas in conventional shape memory technology this is limited to only one transformation temperature.
A video demonstrating the miniature robot can be seen at: www.research.uwaterloo.ca/watco/technologies/eng_memory_material.asp
The engineering technology was developed in the Centre for Advanced Materials Joining, based in Waterloo's department of mechanical and mechatronics engineering.
Time to buy IMO.
I believe their progress has been slow due to the weather. I'm not concerned.
Hey, I like that!
I think it'll come back.
You, too...hoping for the best.
Can't wait to make some money.
I think there are too many people on this job to run a scam. It starts with the partners all the way to the mayor.
looking for a dollar!!
Sorry, I don't see it tat way.
I'm looking for next week, too!
Paul said he was working his tail off. I'll take his word any time.
Thanks, MLR! that needed to be said.
I'm a believer, too! Onward, Ho!
I agree, also, that we will be making a profit.
Thanks just.
I'd load up if I had any money.
Still hanging in! I actually got a broker to check up on on things so I don't miss any of the action... Last time, I nearly missed all the action.
Yep, and Forth of July is coming up -- Nothing going on, there.
Well, for what it's worth, Lee still wants to do business with Lee.
Happy Birthday!
Yep believe it has taken place.
I'm not under water.
I like the dollar one!
Good to have somebody close to the action.
I'm here, unlike some some who insist that the whole thing is a scam with absolutely no proof. Paul wants to make money,too, by the way.
You betCH!a
How's that?
Contact: Michael Carlowicz
Michael.j.carlowicz@nasa.gov
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Wilfire smoke over Alaska
IMAGE: On June 19, 2013, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of smoke from wildfires burning in western Alaska. The smoke was moving west over...
Click here for more information.
On June 19, 2013, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of smoke from wildfires burning in western Alaska. The smoke was moving west over Norton Sound. (The center of the image is roughly 163° West and 62° North.) Red outlines indicate hot spots where MODIS detected unusually warm surface temperatures associated with fire.
According to an advisory released by the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center, record heat and dry fuels have produced record-setting fire potential across boreal spruce forests and tundra landscapes. The heat wave is the product of an intense ridge of high pressure over the state.
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