Antonio Pasolini

Adopting renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power is a great way to reduce emissions and produce energy locally. In places like remote Pacific islands, however, those benefits are potentially a key to independence. For that reason Tokelau, a 10 sq. km. (3.86 sq. mi) island nation that lies around 500 km (311 mi) north of Samoa and which is a territory of New Zealand, is about to ditch diesel as a source of electricity and switch to solar power.  Read More

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Atlanta's Emory University have developed microneedles less than a millimeter in length that can deliver drug molecules and particles to the region in the back of eye. The new technology provides an alternative to current methods which are either invasive, with drugs being injected into the center of the eye, or based on eyedrops, which are limited in their effectiveness.  Read More

Over the last few years, electric cars have become more mainstream with the launch of successful models such as the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. Now, Danish developer and manufacturer ECOmove hopes to enter the expanding e-car market with its QBEAK model, which is slated to hit the road in 2012.  Read More

A new scientific breakthrough points to a new way of treating the Hepatitis C virus, which infects 170 million people worldwide. Researchers at the University of Florida have created nanorobots that can attack the very mechanism of viral replication. It acts on a cellular level as a tiny particle destroys the mechanism that reproduces the proteins related to the disease.  Read More

A new generation of environmentally-friendly tires has been launched in Europe. Dutch tire company Apollo Vredestein has produced prototypes of tires manufactured using natural rubber made from guayule and Russian dandelion, the latter also the subject of research being carried out by Bridgestone. The prototypes will now move on to an intensive testing phase before they get to the production phase. The hope is to create an alternative to Asia's rubber monopoly, where the world’s main source of latex, Hevea brasiliensis, mostly comes from.  Read More

The state of Pernambuco in Brazil’s northeast is going to become home to the country’s first algal biomass plant, thanks to an agreement between See Algae Technology (SAT), an Austrian developer of equipment for the commercial production of algae, and JB, one of Brazil’s leading ethanol producers. The plant will produce algal biomass from natural and genetically modified strains of algae.  Read More

Although water is the world’s most precious commodity, an astounding amount of it is wasted by industries. Fortunately, water treatment and recovery has become the focus of several technology companies, including GE, which recently demonstrated a water treatment technology that virtually eliminates losses at bottling plants and other water-related operations. The pilot study of GE’s AquaSel, a non-thermal brine concentrator technology, took place at the plant of a leading beverage company in Asia. GE says costs were greatly reduced and there was almost no liquid discharge.  Read More

Blind people in São Carlos, a city in the state of São Paulo in Brazil, have had their lives made easier when they are out and about their city. The municipality has hooked up with Grupo Criar, a company specialized in traffic systems, to design the Busalert app to make it easier and more efficient to use the city’s bus network.  Read More

New research carried out at São Paulo University’s School of Medicine in Brazil reveals that HDL concentrations in the blood influence the synthesis and absorption of cholesterol by the body, besides being linked to how insulin impacts on the metabolism of glucose. HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, is also commonly referred to as "good cholesterol."  Read More