Nanotube Contest Calls for Creative Explanations

February 26, 2009

Explaining nanotechnology is about as easy as explaining quantum mechanics. The particles are so small, they require special equipment to "see," and they behave strangely, in ways that are unfamiliar to a lay person -- or even a scientist. So how do you get people to understand this field, which is one of the fastest growing around?

You hold a competition.

The American Chemical Society has announced a video contest to encourage entrants to explain the field of nanotechnology in creative ways.

Entrants can submit a video that will be judged on creativity, scientific clarity of explanation, originality and quality of the video. The winner will receive $500 in cash. It's no "X Prize," but I love the idea and I'll bet entrants are not in it for the money. These are people with a natural desire to have fun with their research and educate people. You go!

Anyone can enter, as long as you register on the site, and anyone can vote. Watch videos featuring the adventures of NanoMan or the NanoSong or one that explains what a football has to do with nanotechnology.

Photo courtesy ACS

Weekly Update: February 23-27

February 23, 2009

Mon., Feb 23
PRI's The World: Technology Podcast 232
An ordinary computer user with an Internet connection can help classify a quarter of a million galaxies imaged by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This week on his podcast, Clark Boyd delves into the Galaxy Zoo project as well as the Iranian space program, space junk, Pirate Bay, a website that serves as a clearing house for links to torrents of music, movies and television shows, and speaks with Shahan Mufti, a correspondent for Globalpost.com, who has a story about US military laptops showing up for sale in Pakistani marketplaces.

Tues., Feb 24
Puzzle: Virtual Architecture
We're featuring a few images from the University of Cincinnati's project to create visualizations of buildings, villages and earthen mounds of a range of ancient cultures from those of the city of Troy to people who lived in the Ohio River Valley as early as 100 B.C.

Wed., Feb 25
Gene Charleton's Engineering Works podcast.

Thurs., Feb 26
Top 10: technological advances in television since it was invented
See them all from the cathode ray tube to 3D cinema, see the biggest advances in television since it was invented.

Fri., Feb 27
Slide show: Self-assembling Nanostructures
Hairlike nanofibers twist and braid on their own and could form coatings that grip surfaces with amazing strength.

Image: University of Cincinnati

Wide Angle: Love and Technology

February 14, 2009

All we need is love. And all love needs these days is a little boost from technology to get the ball rolling, the sparks flying and the flame burning. In the "olden days," it was the invention of the phone and automobile that did the trick. Now, it's virtual dating, social networking, genetic partnering and chemical analysis that not only bring us together, but help us understand how we got there in the first place. Find out how by diving into our Wide Angle on Love and Technology.

News: Virtual Dating Helps Couples Test Waters
Going on a virtual date entails helps eliminate unrealistic expectations based on an ambiguous Web site profile. And believe it or not, the experience is actually quite intimate. See how.

My Take: DNA Could Improve Your Love Life.
The last few years have seen a boom in genetic tests to analyze such things as genealogy and disease. But who'd have guessed that knowing your DNA could also improve your love life. Tamara Brown, chief science officer of GenePartner, explains how.

Top 10: Social Networking Sites
Social networking sites are fulfilling the potential of the Web: connecting people across the globe. But why do they matter so much?

Puzzle: Emotional Robots
Emotions are not just for humans anymore. Robots are learning how to express themselves too.

Video: Science of Sex Appeal: Testosterone vs. Dopamine.
Testosterone and dopamine drive sexual behavior. What's the difference? Find out in Discovery Channel's "The Science of Sex Appeal."

Blog: Hot for Mama Earth
What does passionate, romantic love have to do with sustainable technology? I went out on a limb and asked neuroscientists who study couples in love if it's possible to feel for the Earth the way we do about the ones who make our hearts beat faster.

Photo: Er Ten Hong

Biohacking is Home Style Genetic Engineering

February 10, 2009

Andrew Maynard (right), chief science advisor for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and a contributor to the Discovery Tech site, saw our Wide Angle on synthetic biology and sent me a email this morning point to his blog. There he has a good piece on biohacking. It seems that smarty-pants people out there are making advances in bioengineering right in their garages or basements and with parts ordered of Craigslist.

Maynard's point is that "it is going to be really tough for a self-trained 'biopunk' to assimilate the knowledge and expertise to make a productive contribution to biotechnology."

It's a great post with lots of links back to related material. I suggest you check it out.

Wide Angle: Synthetic Biology

February 09, 2009

Synthetic biologists engineer artificial, microbial life. Their work could lead to life-saving drugs and new kinds of fuel. Find out how by diving into our Wide Angle on synthetic biology.

News: Mutating HIV To Death. Scientists are testing a new drug that actually speeds up HIV's mutation in the hope that the deadly virus will mutate itself to death.

News: Venter Lab Makes Progress on Artificial Life. Scientists have discovered a more efficient way of building a synthetic genome that could one day enable them to create artificial life, according to a study.

My Take: Do Synthetic Biologists Play God? In the lab, researchers are creating artificial, microbial life. Is that playing God? And, if so, is it wrong? Bioethicist Arthur Caplan gives us his take.

Slide Show: What Would You Tell Darwin? Synthetic biologists engineer artificial, microbial life. Their work could lead to life-saving drugs and new kinds of fuel. But how would the scientists explain synthetic biology to Darwin? We asked 15 of them; here's what they said.

Blog: Super Duper Sustantainable Stuff Will Synthetic Bio Save the Planet?
Caltech chemical engineering and biochemistry professor Frances Arnold makes the case that it can.

Video: Scientists Turn Wood Into Fuel By chemically modifying certain molecules, researchers can turn organic waste -- such as that from corn harvests and lumberyards –- into synthetic gas. See the video.

Top 10: Genetically Modified Foods Some say genetically engineered plants wreak havoc with human health and nature. Others argue that engineered crops reduce global food shortages, insidious pests, weeds and extreme weather.

Wide Angle: Electric Car Grid

February 03, 2009

Gas prices are up. Gas prices are down. Now they're up. No wait....down. The fluctuations have us all furrowing our brows. But a few folks, mostly researchers, tech experts and utility companies, are investigating ways to make it all go away. They're looking at how hybrid electric and plug-in electric cars could provide a more sustainable, carbon-free mode of transportation.

How? Through a concept called vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. It involves cars that can plug into an electrical outlet and, thereby, the electric grid. The owner charges her car during low-peak period, like when she's sleeping. And allows the utility company to tap her car's battery when electricity demand is super high, like during the middle of a hot summer day. The concept could revolutionize the electric power grid and at the same time, put money directly into consumer pockets. Find out how by diving into our Wide Angle on V2G.

• Top 10: V2G Projects
  In the future, electric cars take energy from a smart power grid and then give it back when the grid's peaking. It's a long way off, but people are working now to make it happen.

• News: Electric Car Get Network. This month, the City of Newark, Delaware became the first electric utility in the US to use a car to store and provide power for the local electric grid. The vehicle, which runs on electricity alone, is specifically designed to store energy and improve grid reliability.


• Video: Electric Car Feeds Grid. V2G technology can turn an electric car into a moving power station. Jorge Ribas rides shotgun with Willett Kempton, the man behind the concept.

• Blog: Vehicle to Grid Faces Speed Bumps. Wouldn't it be awesome if we could have a two-way charging system when electric vehicles become widely available? That way the cars could store some power and serve as a backup electricity source in a pinch. Fortunately, vehicle to grid or V2G, is in the works. Unfortunately, it faces myriad challenges before it becomes a national reality.

• Puzzle: Electric Cars Got the Look. Electric cars come in all shapes and sizes, from sporty to practical to manly. Check out the styles and then do the puzzle.

• Blog: Engineering Works! Fill Up on Electricity. Engineers and entrepreneurs are combining engineering and futuristic business plans to make electricity work. One company, Better Place, is looking at cars and electricity the same way we look at cell phones and minutes. Instead of selling cars and gasoline, their idea is to sell mobility. You buy or lease your car and download electricity just like you download music. And maybe best of all, the electricity comes from solar and wind power.


• Blog: How About an Electric Car With That Mortgage?
  Every once and a while, important and serendipitous collaborations emerge. They're so simple--like peanut butter in chocolate cups--that you wonder why everything can't be so obvious. Same goes for a house and car. Why keep separating them?

Photo: Daimler AG