science – Australian Science

Interview with Joanne Manaster – a multipassionate scientist

Danica Radovanovic — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 16:58:20 +0000

Joanne Manaster is a cell and molecular biology lecturer at the University of Illinois. She currently works as an online course developer and lecturer of science courses for the School of Integrative Biology. Prior to this current position, Joanne has taught histology, cell biology, and tissue engineering laboratories to biology and bioengineering students for nearly 20 years. Beside her academic career, she is a science writer and communicator, science video host, and STEM advocate. Joanne has run a girls’ bioengineering camp, and helped with the iGEM synthetic biology team and other outreach activities. She also makes video reviews of popular science books as well as whimsical science experiments with cats, cookies, gummy bears and make-up.

Joanne writes about science at her website, Joanne Loves Science and also at Scientific American blogs. She has been named by Mashable as having one of the 25 Twitter Accounts That Will Make You Smarter. You can find her on Twitter as ScienceGoddess.

Welcome to Australian Science! Would you, please, tell our readers a little bit more about yourself? What is your scientific background, and your professional scope?

Thank you for asking me to join you!

I am a faculty lecturer at the University of Illinois. I initially started my college studies with plans to head to medical school but through my course of studies I found I really clicked with cell and molecular biology and was very adept at lab work. Through various opportunities, I also discovered I had a knack for explaining scientific concepts so eventually changed my path to teach at the university level. I studied muscle development at the microscopic level in grad school and eventually transitioned to teaching cell biology and histology.

How did you initially get interested in science? When did you start to express your curiosity for science?

I always loved nature and had a fascination with human health. I spent a lot of time in nature and did a lot of reading on science topics. I didn’t know any scientists. I knew they existed from reading textbooks, but the whole field seemed shrouded in mystery. However, I understood what doctors did and thought that becoming a physician would be a valid way to pursue my passion for science. As I mentioned above, it wasn’t until college that I realized how scientists did their work, and could then consider that as a career path.

It is interesting to mention that you are a former international model, back in the days of your adolescence. Did you find something scientific in the world of modeling and fashion?

As far as modeling goes, I was discovered while I was in high school. Initially, I wasn’t enthusiastic about it but realized it would be a great way to earn money for medical school. While I was modeling, I wasn’t thinking about it in any scientific manner as I was learning to interact with a very new and somewhat foreign world. It wasn’t until I completed my science training in college did I really start to see how science explained just about everything. In my course of teaching students, I also began to see the value in piquing their interest by talking about things they could relate to in terms of science, and that extends to my online outreach!

Would you tell us more about your role within executing online courses for current and future science teachers?

After many years of giving lectures and running laboratory classes which overlapped with my online outreach, I realized that I could apply my ability to communicate online to my instructing position so I transitioned to teaching cutting edge biology through my online program for middle school and high school teachers who want to obtain their Master of Science Teaching. I have designed and executed three courses for this program so far: The Human Genome and Bioinformatics, Evolution and Medicine and Emerging Infectious Diseases. I enjoy mixing primary scientific literature with popular science communication to both train the teachers and to give them resources for their classrooms. Teachers make the best students!

You have a very unique approach for science book reviews using video as a format for presentation, encouraging everyone to read. Other videos are an interesting and whimsical introduction to the world of science disguised in everyday items. How did you get inspired to make such videos?

Book reviews are a natural for me. I love to read and I love science! The gummi bear videos began from a question asked by one of my college students. He asked if a gummy bear could be liquefied through the process of sonication (using high frequency sound waves). I then considered how I could subject the gummy bears to other lab techniques!

One of my favorite videos is Cats In Sinks, which was inspired by a fun website that showed numerous cats in sinks and it made me think I could talk about theoretical vs. experimental science by trying to figure out how many cats could fit in my large lab sink.

I also really enjoyed using cookies as my models of blood cells to create a series about those cells called “Blood Cell Bakery

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A Secret Code to the Cosmos is Hidden in the Light

Danica Radovanovic — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 00:01:25 +0000

Are you watching the new Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey – the scientific documentary television series? I am, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it! The series is a follow-up to the 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which was presented by Carl Sagan. The all new Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey science documentary consists of thirteen episodes and just like the original program, continues to use a storytelling approach to present complex astronomy and science concepts in an accessible and entertaining manner. The episodes feature the latest information which has been updated since the 1980 series and uses substantial computer-generated special effects and animation to illustrate and enhance the narration.

The series is hosted and presented by astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was inspired by Sagan as a college student. He created a new version of the series, aiming to reach a wider audience and not just those specifically interested in the sciences.

The entire Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey series is dedicated to exploring how we discovered different laws of nature and explaining how scientists found our Earthly coordinates in space and time in relation to the universe and created a vision of the cosmos. Listening to the great narratives, watching the stars, and contemplating the scale of space and time relative to Earth, is enough to humble any scientifically curious soul.

My favourite episode, called “Hiding in the Light

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The Science of Translation

Alex Petrovic — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 05:37:50 +0000

Language is a fascinating and complex part of human society. Not even the most esteemed linguists can put a number on how many languages there are in the world – not to mention the various dialects within those languages (Linguistic Society, 2014).

What’s most interesting – and what poses the biggest challenges for translators – is that words don’t always have the same meaning in every language. As such, words are not ‘just words’ – they have a cultural and historical background, that only those who grew up immersed in the language can truly understand.

This ambiguity across languages and dialects is a huge challenge for scientists, in particular, and has been the focus of several research projects. If a scientific study is in French, how can one be certain that its English or Chinese counterpart, for example, holds the same meaning as the original author intended?

Studies into Translation

Naturally, a lot of scientific translations have been done. Almost every significant study or piece of research done around the world is likely to have been translated into another language for scholars to read.

Several studies have looked at the discrepancies, and consequences, that have arisen from poor translation. Examples include a study conducted in 2011 (Shuttleworth, M.) investigated the translations of 1354 sections of text published across 62 Scientific American articles in several different languages, while Sharkhas (2009) did a quality assessment of English-Arabic translations in popular science. Both found that the key discrepancies related to cultural variations and semantic differences.

The Translator journal published a very interesting special issue that looked at some of the key studies surrounding science and translation in 2011, which included Shuttleworth’s study.

Machine translations

Millions, perhaps billions, of dollars have been thrown into computer-generated translators over the past few decades. But you only need to have a little experience of using the popular Google Translate tool to know that there is still a long way to go. Unfortunately we’re still not at a stage where scientists can put full faith into automated translators.

Despite how incredibly far we have come over the last 40 years, the same problems exist in translation – language is just too complex. Philipp Koehn, a machine translation researcher at the University of Edinburgh School of Informatics told the BBC, “Language is always ambiguous, so you can’t always use rules, and new vocabulary is always coming in, so you need someone to continually maintain those rules.” (BBC, 2012)

The future of translation

Considering how much has been achieved in the science of translation over the past few decades, there is no doubting we are moving forward and getting closer to more accurate translations.

There is still a while to go until scientists can fully trust computer-generated translations, however, because in many cases there can significant consequences to poor translations. Imagine if a medical textbook given to new doctors mixed up some key theories?

So, while travelers, businesses and language students already have access to fantastic tools for everyday translations that are close to reliable, scientists will keep on researching and developing for many years to come.

Other useful References:
http://www.simpletranslation.com/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3204888/

Cite this article:
Petrovic A (2014-04-01 05:37:50). The Science of Translation. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 29, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/education/the-science-of-translation/

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The Highlights of 2013

Danica Radovanovic — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 10:04:12 +0000

This year our writers churned out a host of fantastic articles, including a series of posts dedicated to women in space, written by Sharon Harnett. One of the most notable of the series was all about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman astronaut. This year was the 50th anniversary of her historic spaceflight. We also had a few great interviews, including one with Henry Reich, creator of the YouTube series Minute Physics. We’ve managed a number of achievements. We’ve helped several science writers gain exposure and reputation world wide, we’ve appeared on ABC’s Newsline, and we’ve been listed in TED’s top 10 science and technology websites.

So, in no particular order, here are ten of our favourite articles from 2013. We hope you’ll enjoy these stories. Stay curious and scientifically passionate!

A Tale of Two STEM Women by Buddhini Samarasinghe

When I first read this story, I was struck by how often we focus on happy stories like Marie Curie’s, and how the story of someone like Clara Immerwahr remains largely forgotten. She had a tremendous amount of potential, as evidenced by her being the first female to receive a Ph.D at the University of Breslau, an endeavor that is certainly not for the faint-hearted even now. One can only wonder at the ‘might-have-beens’ if she had had the same support and encouragement that Marie Curie did, if she had not married Haber, or if Haber had been a different kind of person. These examples highlight that talent alone is not enough; we need to encourage that talent by promoting equality and recognizing our own biases when it comes to women in STEM. Read more>>

Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman (in science) by Amy Reichelt

Obtaining a senior academic position for any aspiring young academic is one of those uphill struggles with roads lined with self doubt, setbacks and sacrifice. Some call it the way to tenure-track, in my mind it’s one of those ill-defined paths through a potentially haunted forest inhabited with monsters, gigantic poisonous spiders and creepy people who communicate by screaming. It can be harder still to even reach that point, particularly for young women. While the number of women professors in Europe, N. America and Australia has increased over the last decade, universities still have a disproportionately small number of women in senior professorial positions. Read more>>

Spiders on Mars? No, An Australian Radio Telescope! by Elizabeth Howell

The MWA is a powerful telescope in its own right, but what is even more exciting is it will form part of a larger project in the coming years. The Square Kilometre Array will link radio telescopes on two continents — Australia and Africa — to get a fine look at the sky in radio wavelengths. MWA is just one part of this array. There will also be dish receptors in eight countries in Africa, with the core and some mid-frequency aperture arrays in South Africa’s Karoo desert. Read more>>

Hopeful results in latest HIV vaccine trial, but many hurdles to overcome yet by David Borradale

A HIV vaccine, known as SAV001-H has shown promising results in an early clinical trial, with no adverse effects reported and importantly, a significant increase reported in HIV specific antibodies in participants who received the vaccine. In this trial, 33 HIV positive participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups: half into a treatment group receiving the vaccine and half into a placebo group who did not receive the vaccine. The participants were followed up at regular periods, testing safety of the vaccine and antibody response over a one year period. Read more>>

Are Australians Really Getting Dumber? by Magdeline Lum

The Australian Academy of Science has found that when it comes to science Australians are getting dumber in its latest report on science literacy. Compared to three years ago, less people in Australia know that the Earth’s orbit of the sun takes one year. Among 18-24 year olds 62% surveyed knew the correct answer, a fall from 74% three years ago. Other results would also send scientists into a tail spin of despair, with 27% of respondents saying that the earliest humans lived at the same time as dinosaurs, though an improvement from 30% of respondents in 2010 who thought this. What does this all say? If you take the face value of the press release and the ensuing media coverage, Australians are getting dumber. Read more>>

From fables to Facebook: Why do we tell stories? by Lauren Fuge

Storytelling is one of our most fundamental communication methods, for an obvious reason: narrative helps us cognise information. Telling intelligible, coherent stories to both ourselves and others helps our brains to organise data about our lives and our world. But when we askwhy stories are so effective at helping us cognise information, the answers are surprising: it seems that somewhere in the otherwise ruthless process of natural selection, evolution has wired our brains to prefer storytelling over other forms of communication. Read more>>

Plastic’s Reach by Kelly Burnes

Plastic. Seems it has extended its reach into the farthest corners of the universe. An earliest post described how plastic has changed our lives, for better…and for worse. ADD link to earlier post. That post largely reflected on the growing problem of plastic in the oceans and the effect on plant and animal life. Now, it seems that plastic threatens our freshwater lakes now too. Read more>>

Postcard from Spitzer: weather on 2M2228 is hot and cloudy by Kevin Orrman-Rossiter

Long distance weather reports are now a commonality. The report for 2MASSJ22282889-431026 is somewhat unusual. It forecasts wind-driven, planet-sized clouds, with the light varying in time, brightening and dimming about every 90 minutes. The clouds on 2MASSJ22282889-431026 are composed of hot grains of sand, liquid drops of iron, and other exotic compounds. Definitely not the first place to spend a summer holiday. Not that 2MASSJ22282889-431026 (or 2M2228 as it is known in The Astrophysical Journal Letters) will appear on a travel itinerary anytime soon. For 2M2228 is a brown dwarf, 39.1 light years from earth. Read more>>

The bacteria that live inside hurricanes by Charles Ebikeme

Seven miles above the Earth’s surface, where the weather is born, lies the troposphere – the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere. Up there, where the clouds dance around, are bacteria that can make it rain, and are important for the formation of clouds. The atmospheric microbiome is a concept and field of study that is gaining importance. As we come to grips with a changing climate and environment, understanding more and more our Earth ecosystem remains vital. With hurricane damage in the US and elsewhere seemingly on an exponential increase in recent decades, it is important to mitigate for the worst. Read more>>

Quantum computing: Australian researchers store data on a single atom! by Markus Hammonds

Computing is also an incredibly fast moving field of technology, and research is finally taking us towards the exciting world of quantum computing! Quantum computers will work using quantum bits, or qubits for short, which are analogous to the digital bits used in computers like the one which you’re using to read this article. Recently, a team of engineers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has successfully demonstrated, for the first time ever, how a single atom can be act as a qubit, effectively showing the first step in building an ultra fast quantum computer. And they might just have created the best qubit ever made. Read more>>

Happy 2014 from Markus, Charles, Kevin, Kelly, and Danica!

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The Future of Fertility Treatment: Advanced Embryo Selection

Dunya — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 00:08:03 +0000

It is incredible just how far science and technology have come over the last few decades. In the past, men and women with fertility problems had very few options. Nowadays, there are more options than ever before and fertility treatments are becoming increasingly advanced and reliable.

The latest breakthrough in fertility treatments is here in Australia, where a new technique in preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) technology, called Advanced Embryo Selection has shown promising results in reducing a woman’s risk of miscarriage.

What is Advanced Embryo Selection (AES)?

Up to 70 per cent of embryos created are abnormal, meaning that they will not result in a healthy baby being born. AES is a form of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, which refers to genetic profiling of embryos prior to transfer into a patient. Advanced Embryo Selection is a new, more advanced PGD technique that allows scientists to select the best embryos for implantation in advance, decreasing the risk of miscarriage and increasing IVF pregnancy rates by up to 65%.

How does Advanced Embryo Selection Work?

Prior to implantation, all 24 chromosomes of a developing embryo are screened to determine whether or not there are any extra or missing chromosomes, which would inhibit a successful pregnancy.

By studying the individual chromosomes, scientists can identify whether or not a particular embryo would potentially result in a miscarriage, would not initiate a pregnancy at all or might result in birth defects such as Down Syndrome.

It takes approximately 36 hours to do the tests that will determine the potential success rate of an embryo. It is claimed to be the world’s fastest and most precise embryo selection test available.

Benefits of Advanced Embryo Selection

While typical non-selective lVF treatment is more than suitable for a lot of women, there are a range of benefits to using Advanced Embryo Selection as a preferred/additional technique.

The key benefit of AES is that chromosomes are accurately assessed prior to implantation, minimising the risk of miscarriage and failed pregnancies. It can mean less stress for the women involved and the process can be completed overnight so that embryos do not need freezing while results are pending.

Additionally, a patient’s IVF cycle can continue uninterrupted while the AES process is happening, largely due to the quick turn around time for results.

The tests on embryos are done from a single cell, which is biopsied on day three of embryo growth. This means that a patient will have more embryos available for testing.

Who is Advanced Embryo Selection for?

Advanced Embryo Selection is suitable for a lot of people with fertility problems, however it can be particularly beneficial for women who fit the following criteria:

Aged 38 years or over
A history of recurrent miscarriage
A history of failed IVF attempts
There has previously been an abnormally chromosomal pregnancy (e.g. Down Syndrome)

However, it is best to speak to your GP or fertility specialist about whether or not AES is suitable for your circumstances.

What is the Advanced Embryo Selection Process?

As mentioned above, the AES process involves a single-cell analysis from a three day old embryo. This single cell’s DNA is then multiplied thousands of times using comparative genomic hybridization technology, which is placed on a DNA chip.

This DNA is then assessed against normal male and female DNA. It is at this stage that scientists can detect whether or not an embryo is suitable for transfer. Only those that have a normal, healthy chromosomal profile will be chosen.

Further reading:

http://ivf.com.au/fertility-treatment/genetic-testing-pgd/advanced-embryo-selection

http://qfg.com.au/fertility-treatment/genetic-testing-pgd/advanced-embryo-selection

http://www.carefertility.com/genetics-programme-sc2/what-is-pgd-what-is-genetic-diagnosis-sj1/

Image credit: Flickr

PDF Resource Credit: Dr Michael Flynn

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Weekly Science Picks

Markus — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 08:06:07 +0000

Hello everyone. I hope you’ve all had a good week! It’s a balmy Autumn evening here in the UK where I sit as I write this – and I must say, this week’s science picks include something quite historic…

Anyone with half an eye on the science news recently should know by now that it’s been officially confirmed that NASA’s Voyager 1 probe is has now been confirmed as being in interstellar space. It is no longer within the Sun’s heliosphere and no longer feels the solar wind. To Voyager, the Sun is now simply another star in the sky. Though as Phil Plait points out, being in interstellar space is not technically the same thing as leaving the solar system.

Voyager 1 Reaches Interstellar Space. But Has It Left the Solar System? Wellllll…

However, there’s more to our solar system’s far-flung suburbs than errant electrons and protons. Even out there, over 120 times farther from the Sun than the Earth’s orbit, there are more substantive objects: huge, frozen chunks of ice that are essentially giant comets… It’s like walking outside the front door of your house and saying you’ve left your property. While you’ve left your house, there’s still the yard all around you. You have a ways to go yet.

Citizen Science has been around for a while now, as a fun and interesting way of getting internet users to casually help scientists analyse vast amounts of data. So the latest idea is to use online gaming and social media platforms like Facebook to bolster the effort…

How Facebook and gaming could help scientists battle disease

One example, a smartphone game set for release later this year, is currently called “GeneGame”. Players of the game, developed by Cancer Research UK, will be contributing to the identification of cancer-causing genetic faults from tumour samples. In a crucial difference to the Galaxy Zoo experiment, the scientific research will be a indirect consequence of the gameplay, rather than the explicit focus of the gameplay.

From a long departed craft, to one of the most recent, NASA’s LADEE vehicle is currently en route to the Moon, to study its tenuous atmosphere (and the word “Atmosphere” is used rather loosely here, believe me). But as the probe was launched, there was an unfortunate amphibian casualty. You see, the launch pads at NASA’s Wallops facility are built in rather swampy areas…

Frank the Frog Sacrificed Himself for LADEE Launch

From NASA: “A still camera on a sound trigger captured this intriguing photo of an airborne frog as NASA’s LADEE spacecraft lifts off from Pad 0B at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The photo team confirms the frog is real and was captured in a single frame by one of the remote cameras used to photograph the launch. The condition of the frog, however, is uncertain.

Cite this article:
Hammonds M (2013-09-15 08:06:07). Weekly Science Picks. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 29, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/news/weekly-science-picks-46/
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The Best of Australian Science: August 2013

Danica Radovanovic — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 00:07:31 +0000

This month, we’d like to welcome our new writer Buddhini Samarasinghe, who is a molecular biologist, with experience in cancer research. Some of her upcoming stories will be bringing us fascinating contributions about the molecular mechanisms of cancers.

As well, here is our usual monthly roundup. A wonderful variety of science and technology stories, covering astronomy, education, technology, health, environment, and more!

Stay curious and scientifically passionate!

Life of an epidemic: Australian dengue by Charles Ebikeme

It is always a bad sign when crowds gather. On the morning of Wednesday March 21 in the year 1900, a crowd began to gather in Sydney. A thousand people had gathered outside the offices of the Board of Health in Macquarie Street. They had gathered because bubonic plague had broken out. People had already started to die from the Black Death. Panic was the only course of action.

The Government had stockpiled Haffkine’s serum (named after the Russian bacteriologist that developed it in a makeshift laboratory in a corridor of Grant Medical College) — a new plague vaccine, and had used it to inoculate front

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Weekly Science Picks

Kelly Burnes — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 00:50:28 +0000

Stay tuned for top science stories! Photo credit: Thinkstock, via BBC News

Welcome to this edition of Weekly Science Picks.

What a busy news week – with the markets up, the transportation incidents with planes and trains, major flooding in China…well, there’s been a lot going on. And there were numerous stories of scientific importance reported on as well. So I’ve listed the stories I’ve found significant this week. Topics include climate change, space, physics, public health, girls in education, and dogs watching TV. Yes, dogs watching TV. There’s a little something for everyone. So kick back, with your favorite beverage in hand and soak up some knowledge.

TOP STORIES

Distant quakes ‘can trigger wastewater-site temblors’ by Jason Palmer

The notion of natural earthquake triggering is not new; in hydrothermal and volcanic areas, tremors can be triggered by large, distant earthquakes. But the new study suggests what is in effect a new category: natural triggering of seismic events primed by human activity.

If you’d like to read the full paper, you can check it out on Science: Injection-Induced Earthquakes by William L. Ellsworth

NASA Warned to Go Slow On Asteroid Capture Project by Richard A. Kerr

NASA’s plan to retrieve a tiny asteroid as a steppingstone for astronauts on the way to Mars in the 2030s could be just the exciting project that the space agency needs to garner public support in these severe budgetary times, speakers at a workshop held yesterday in Washington, D.C., said.

Climate Change Will Cause More Energy Breakdowns, U.S. Warns by John M. Broder

Every corner of the country’s energy infrastructure — oil wells, hydroelectric dams, nuclear power plants — will be stressed in coming years by more intense storms, rising seas, higher temperatures and more frequent droughts.

NEWS TO BE AWARE OF

ScienceShot: Sterilizing Human Waste, No Electricity Required by Lizzie Wade

Thanks to a new invention, all you need is some sunshine, a little water, and a dash of gold nanoparticles.

Optical lattice atomic clock could ‘redefine the second’ by Rebecca Morelle

The devices, called optical lattice clocks, lost just one second every 300 million years – making them three times as accurate as current atomic clocks.

At UN, Malala Yousafzai rallies youth to stand up for universal education by UN News Centre

“Let us pick up our books and our pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One teacher, one book, one pen, can change the world,

Cite this article:
Burnes K (2013-07-14 00:50:28). Weekly Science Picks. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 29, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/news/weekly-science-picks-37/
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Weekly Science Picks

Sharon — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 07:43:02 +0000

A happy Science Sunday to everyone! As usual there’s been a lot happening in the world of science, so lets take a peek of the most interesting picks for the past week!

Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) to launch!

At the end of this month, NASA will launch IRIS. IRIS will watch the Sun and provide NASA with information on the Sun’s atmosphere and the interface region. This will give scientists a better understanding of how the Sun’s energy powers the solar wind!

NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to explore Mercury

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Italian Space Agency (ASI) President Enrico Saggese signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on the European Space Agency (ESA) led BepiColombo mission to Mercury

Earth’s plant life shown in Hi Res imaging

NASA’s Suomi NPP Satellite shows Earth’s vegetation mapped at a higher resolution than ever before.

Human Brain Mapped in 3D!

A new three-dimensional map, aptly called BigBrain is the most detailed ever constructed! Scientists hope it will lead to a more accurate picture of how the brain’s different regions function.

Can high energy y-ray astronomy be done from Earth?

Traditionally astronomers have relied on space telescopes to conduct high-energy y ray astronomy because Earth’s atmosphere is a very efficient shield for y rays. However, in early July at the International Cosmic Ray Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, indicate that γ-ray astronomers are betting their future on an ambitious ground-based telescope.

What drives mammals to extinction?

Australian researchers say that it’s not bad luck that drives mammals to extinction over geological time, but their failure to keep pace with a deteriorating environment.

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Wind power: renewable energy for the cities of the future

Markus — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:24:24 +0000

Renewable energy? I’m a big fan! Unfortunately, so are modern wind turbines, which are the subject of intense arguments and criticism despite their many benefits. However, this view might be changed somewhat, by a new innovation by Farzad Safaei at the University of Wollongong (UOW) – a new type of wind turbine known as PowerWINDows.

I’m actually going to come straight out and drop the neutral viewpoint on this article, because this is important. I am very much a supporter of renewable energy, and I find it quite preposterous that anyone would even think about arguing against it. Very recently, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have reached 400 parts per million for the first time in recorded history. This may not seem like a lot, but Earth’s atmosphere hasn’t seen this much carbon dioxide for over 3 million years. It may sound like a cliché to say, but by continuing to burn fossil fuels we’re doing some permanent damage to our planet. And speaking as an astronomer, I can say with some authority – this is the only planet we’ve got.

Lots of people argue against wind turbines. In my not-so-humble opinion, this is ridiculous. Nonetheless, it happens. People claim that they’re “a blight on the landscape”, that they generate noise, that they affect local wildlife, and that they have a negative impact on health. Most of these criticisms are unsubstantiated and have no basis in fact. Let’s think rationally here: all of the same things are probably true of any other form of power station. And when other power stations go wrong, the effects can be significantly worse than a broken propeller blade. Hopefully then, innovations like PowerWINDows might help to both silence the critics and make wind energy a more easily attainable power source.

The basic idea with PowerWINDows is that there are none of the large rotating blades which people claim to be dangerous. The smaller, compact design allows PowerWINDows turbines to be installed on tall buildings such as skyscrapers and apartment blocks. All in all, the newly designed turbines are cheaper, quieter, and more convenient than existing wind turbine technology.

After four years of design and testing work, UOW have signed a deal with Birdon, one of Australia’s top engineering companies, to build and test a prototype suitable for commercial production. If all goes according to plan, the new turbines may go into production sometime in the future. Just imagine how much additional power could be generated if every large city had wind turbines installed on every tall building!

Professor Safaei’s inspiration for the idea was a desire to improve on existing wind turbines and any of their shortcomings – i.e. the criticisms made against them. His goal was to enable modular manufacturing, reduce noise and land usage, and allow easier transportation and installation. “I wanted to create a wind turbine that better integrated with living environments

Cite this article:
Hammonds M (2013-05-22 00:24:24). Wind power: renewable energy for the cities of the future. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 29, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/environmental-science/wind-power-renewable-energy-for-the-cities-of-the-future/
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