Darren Quick

Millions of years of evolution has resulted in plants being the most efficient harvesters of solar energy on the planet. Much research is underway into ways to artificially mimic photosynthesis in devices like artificial leaves, but researchers at the University of Georgia (UGA) are working on a different approach that gives new meaning to the term “power plant.” Their technology harvests energy generated through photosynthesis before the plants can make use of it, allowing the energy to instead be used to run low-powered electrical devices.  Read More

Kicking off with the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE), which was launched in March 2009, the European Space Agency’s Earth Explorer missions are intended to provide a greater understanding of the Earth and the interactions between various natural Earth processes. “Biomass” is the seventh Earth Explorer satellite to get the nod and will provide and accurate picture of the amount of biomass and carbon stored in the world’s forests.  Read More

When it comes to fishing rods, there’s no true one-size-fits-all solution. But angler Terry L. Manley believes he has come up with a system that (literally) extends the suitability of a rod for a variety of conditions. The patent pending Multifunctional Rod Foundation (MRF) System – a.k.a. the “Adjust-A-Butt” – allows the length of the rod to be altered in less than a second as well as amplifying vibrations to improve sensitivity when the fish are on the bite.  Read More

Despite the one-way nature of the trip, it seems there’s no shortage of people willing to pack their bags and experience life on Mars. Just two weeks after putting out the call for potential Mars settlers, Mars One had received over 78,000 applications from people in over 120 countries. With the application period set to last 19 weeks, the Mars One selection committees face a daunting task in whittling the numbers down to the four individuals that will ultimately make the journey that is planned for September 2022.  Read More

While we wait for affordable multi-junction solar cells that are pushing past the 40 percent conversion efficiency mark to make it out of the lab and onto our roofs, we have to make do with standard commercial silicon cells that currently max out at around 19 percent. A team from the University of New South Wales in Australia has found a way to improve the quality of low-grade silicon, enabling higher efficiency solar cells to be produced from cheaper, low-grade silicon.  Read More

Earlier this week we reported on a neurological implant that has been found to accurately predict the onset of epileptic seizures. But a discovery by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) could one day render such a device obsolete. By transplanting a specific type of cell into the brain, the researchers have been able to cure epilepsy in adult mice, with hopes a similar treatment could work in humans.  Read More

ARM is currently king of the hill when it comes to mobile devices, with ARM architecture the basis of processors and systems on a chip (SoC) including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, NVIDIA’s Tegra, Texas Instruments’ OMAP, the CORTEX series and Apple System on Chips found in iPhones and iPads. It’s obviously not a situation Intel is happy with and the company has high hopes that its new Atom chip design called Silvermont will help change the mobile silicon landscape.  Read More

Instead of traipsing through Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León might have been better off turning his search inwards. More specifically, he should have turned his attention to a region of the brain called the hypothalamus. At least that’s what research carried out on mice by scientists at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests. They found that the hypothalamus controls many aspects of aging, opening up the potential to slow down the aging process by altering signal pathways within that part of the brain.  Read More

Aside from the inconvenience of injecting insulin multiple times a day, type 1 diabetics also face health risks if the dosage level isn’t accurate. A new approach developed by US researchers has the potential to overcome both of these problems. The method relies on a network of nanoscale particles that once injected into the body, can maintain normal blood sugar levels for more than a week by releasing insulin when blood-sugar levels rise.  Read More