Personal energy self-sufficiency is coming closer to reality as micro-scale systems allow homes and small buildings to recycle their own heat waste.
Combined heat and power (CHP) systems capture energy from space or water heaters and convert it to electricity. The technology could potentially cut carbon-dioxide emissions by up to 30%, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Large applications of CHP systems have been in use for many years, but only recently have they been scaled down to sizes suitable for residential or small-business use.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Emerging Technology Award, www.energy star.gov/emergingtech.
Future buildings from homes to skyscrapers may be more responsive to fluctuations in the surrounding climate, improving their resource efficiency, thanks to architectural research under way at the University of Greenwich.
“Protocell cladding” using bioluminescent bacteria or other materials would be applied on building facades to collect water and sunlight, helping to cool the interiors and produce biofuels. The protocells are made from oil droplets in water, which allow soluble chemicals to be exchanged between the drops and their surroundings.
“The big drive in the construction industry in the next growth period is going to revolve all around sustainability and ecological planning,” says Neil Spiller, head of the university’s School for Architecture and Construction.
Sources: University of Greenwich School of Architecture and Construction, www.gre.ac.uk/schools/arc. British Council, www.britishcouncil.org.
Pens, steering wheels, and other products we handle daily could one day actively reduce our stress.
People tend to play with their pens when they are nervous, so Delft University of Technology researcher Miguel Bruns Alonso developed a pen that senses this fidgety habit. To remind the worrier to calm down, the pen’s built-in electronics and electromagnets provide a counterweight to these movements.
Applied to steering wheels in automobiles, the stress- sensing and counterforce system could help reduce aggressive driving, Bruns believes.
Source: Delft University of Technology, http://home.tudelft.nl/en/.
Targeted stimulation of areas of the brain could provide relief for patients whose severe depression is unresponsive to other treatments.
A tiny “brain pacemaker” is implanted under the patient’s clavicle, allowing doctors to control electrodes implanted in the brain.
The technique, developed by physicians at the University of Bonn and colleagues in the United States, was devised for Parkinson’s patients but now raises hopes for significantly improving conditions for the severely depressed.
Source: University of Bonn, www.uni-bonn.de.
An unusual form of cancer that can be transmitted between individuals has been observed among dogs, wolves, and coyotes. Understanding the phenomenon may help advance techniques for stopping the progression of cancer in other species.
The canine transmissible venereal tumor, spread by licking, biting, or sniffing tumor-infected areas, survives through a process of stealing mitochondria from the host animal.
The research is being conducted at Imperial College London, supported by the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council.
Source: Imperial College London, www.ic.ac.uk.