11. Other/ Environmental:   New technology will cut plug-in hybrid fuel consumption by one third

An image of the Chevrolet Volt , the world's all-time top selling plug-in hybrid ("File:DCA 06 2012 Chevy Volt 4035.JPG - Wikimedia Commons")


Summary:

 A team of engineers lead by Xuewei Qi, have taken inspiration from the energy savings made by birds flying in formation in order to improve the efficiency of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) by over 30 percent. PHEVs combine a gas or diesel engine with an electric motor and a large rechargeable battery.  Most PHEVs start in all-electric mode, running on electricity until their battery is emptied before switching to hybrid mode. Energy management systems (EMS)
 control power splits between an engine and a battery when they change from electric mode to hybrid mode. This is an easy EMS strategy to apply called binary mode control, but isn't an efficient way to combine two power sources. In lab tests conducted by the team, blended discharge strategies (when power from the battery is used throughout the trip) have proven to be  more efficient at minimizing fuel consumption and emissions. This  new and  highly efficient EMS developed and tested by the team “combines vehicle connectivity information (ex: cellular networks and crowdsourcing platforms) and evolutionary algorithms to decrease fuel consumption by over 30%.

Discussion:

I believe that this is a very positive development that will have an impact on the world because PHEVs are much more efficient than other types of vehicles as the cost of electricity to power plus in hybrids for all-electric operation costs less than one quarter of the cost of gasoline in California ( “Plug-in Hybrid”). PHEVs also produce less air pollution, require less petroleum,  and produce fewer greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming compared to conventional vehicles that run on gas or diesel.  PHEVs also eliminate the problem that all-electric vehicles have called “range anxiety”, in order to achieve driving-ranges similar for vehicles with gas or diesel tanks. By using blended discharge strategies, the vehicles will probably be able to travel longer distances per charge with over 30% less fuel consumption. After reading this article, I have been inspired to buy a PHEV over a all-gas or diesel vehicle  when I am older, especially if I live in a big-busy city so I can help the environment and save thousands of dollars from fuel costs and use them towards something that may matter, such as my education or towards a home.


Works Cited:

University of California - Riverside. "New technology will cut plug-in hybrid fuel consumption by one third: Researchers are combining connected vehicle technology and evolutionary algorithms to make PHEVs more efficient." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 January 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170110194659.htm>.

Plug-in Hybrid - Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_hybrid. Accessed 24 Jan. 2017.

File:DCA 06 2012 Chevy Volt 4035.JPG - Wikimedia Commons. 9 June 2012, https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DCA_06_2012_Chevy_Vol t_4035.JPG#mw-jump-to-license. Accessed 24 Jan. 2017.

10. Other- Researchers achieve major breakthrough in flexible electronics


link for image: http://electroiq.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/IGZO.jpg


SUMMARY:

A team of scientists from the National University of Singapore, have developed “conducting polymer films that can provide unprecedented ohmic contacts to give superior performance in plastic electronics, including organic light-emitting diodes, solar cells and transistors”. The key in this project was to design polymer films with the desired work function needed to make ohmic contacts. ‘Work function’ is the minimum amount of energy needed to move an electron from a film surface vacuum (space void of matter). The researchers demonstrated that “work functions as high as 5.8 electron-volts and as low as 3.0 electron- volts can now be attained for films that can be processed from solutions at low cost”. To make such materials, they developed the “concept of doped conducting polymers with bonding ionic groups”, said Dr. Png Rui-Qi, a senior researcher at the NUS who led the research. "As a result, these conducting polymers can remain stable despite their extreme work functions and provide the desired ohmic contacts,” he said. The group believes that the lack of approach to make ohmic contacts has been a key component in making flexible electronics. The group is now working with industrial partners to further develop this technology.

Discussion:

I find this topic very interesting because I have never heard of flexible electronics before, and this article is basically about new technology in the field of plastic electronics. I am surrounded by electronics at all times in the form of LEDs, and plastic electronics, and this article is about new technology that enhances the performance of them.  After more research, I discovered that plastic electronics are made from carbon-based semiconductors that may provide “flexible, lightweight large area and additively-manufactured devices”,(Baker-Jackson). The films that these researchers developed provide unrivalled ohmic contacts which makes them superior to other technology available because they used the concept of doped conducting polymers with bonding ionic groups. After reading this article I would like to learn more about flexible electronics and the costs of creating them with polymer films.

WORKS CITED:

“Vacuum.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Jan. 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum. Accessed 20 Jan. 2017

Baker-Jackson, Carlisle. “Breakthrough Achieved in Flexible Electronics.” Chemical Engineering, Laboratory News, 18 Jan. 2017, http://www.labnews.co.uk/news/breakthrough-achieved-flexible-electronics-18-01-2017/. Accessed 20 Jan. 2017.

National University of Singapore. "Researchers achieve major breakthrough in flexible electronics." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 January 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170113090448.htm>.

9. BIO- Soft robot helps the heart beat

SUMMARY:

A team of researchers at Harvard University and Boston Children's Hospital, have developed a customizable soft robot that fits sound the heart and helps it with beating and pumping blood. The robotic sleeve can twist and compress to sync with the beat of a heart, “augmenting cardiovascular functions weakened by heart failure”. What makes this device different from currently available soft robotic devices that assist the heart, is that this one does not interact with blood. The thin silicone sleeve of this device uses “soft pneumatic actuators placed around the heart to mimic the outer muscle layers of the mammalian heart”. These actuators twist and compress the sleeve in a similar motion to the beating heart. “The device is tethered to an external pump, which uses air to power the soft actuators”. This sleeve can be customized for patients to adjust with more weakness in certain areas of the heart. The sleeve is attached to the heart using a combination of a suction device, sutures, and a “gel interface” to help deal with friction between the device and the heart. This device can assist the heart and potentially even with healing and recovering.

Discussion:

I believe that this is a very positive invention that can impact many lives because this device can help deal with the problem of heart failure, which affects around 41 million people worldwide. This can potentially open a  new treatment option for people suffering from heart failure. Though there are many soft robotic devices to help the heart, this one is the only one to not interfere with the blood. This is a very good thing because this puts patients at a much lower risk for blood clots and strokes, according to the researchers. After reading this article I have become interested in the topic of soft robots that help the body function because I've never heard of a robot that can help the heart beat and function properly, and did not know that this kind of technology existed.

Works cited:

Soft Robot Helps the Heart Beat -- ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170118143755.htm. Accessed 23 Jan. 2017.

(same source above used for image)

8. Optics:   New laser based on unusual physics phenomenon could improve telecommunications, computing

(image found at the same webpage as the source listed below)

SUMMARY:

A team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego have demonstrated the world’s first laser based on “an unconventional wave physics phenomenon called bound states in the continuum”. This technology can revolutionize the development of surface lasers by making them compact and energy efficient. The BIC laser is made from a “thin semiconductor mem‐ brane made of indium, gallium, arsenic and phosphorus”. This membrane is structured as an array of “nano-sized cylinders suspended in air”. According to Boubacar Kanté, an electrical engineering professor who led the study, they can get “the surface lasting to occur with arrays as small as 8 x 8 particles”, as compared to surface lasers which need 100 times larger arrays and more power to function. BIC lasers can easily be tuned to emit beams of different wavelengths which would make them useful for medical lasers made to target certain cancer cells without normal tissue getting damaged and they can also be made to emit beams in different shapes such as a spiral, donut, or bell curve. This is because BICs are waves “that remain perfectly confined, or bound, in an open system”, and unlike conventional waves which escape in open systems, BICs stay localized and don't escape even if they have pathways to do so.

Discussion:

The topic of BIC lasers will likely revolutionize surface lasers and after reading this article I don't think it would be wrong to predict that these types of lasers are going to be dominating the medical and military fields. I believe that this is a positive topic and will be a positive change in the future which will impact everyone's lives.  This is because lasers and light sources have become very common to use these days and BICs are more compact and energy-efficient for communications and computing applications as compared to standard lasers. What makes them special is that they have different wavelengths which will help in the medical field, especially for cancer removal surgeries, because BICs decrease the chances of hitting a non cancerous tissue, which I find a very good thing.  It will probably take a while until BICs start getting used because the still has to figure out how to make BIC lasers that are electrically powered rather than optically powered by another laser, but once this problem is solved, I believe that BICs will greatly impact our lives.

Works cited:

New Laser Based on Unusual Physics Phenomenon Could Improve Telecommunications, Computing -- ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 Jan. 2017, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170111132758.htm. Accessed 19 Jan. 2017.

7. Environmental --Biofuel matchmaker: Finding the perfect algae for renewable energy

A biochemical engineer examines Algae samples. ("Biofuel Matchmaker...")

A team of researchers lead by Michael Huesemann, of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has developed a new “streamlined process could quickly pare down heaps of algae species into just a few that hold the most promise for making biofuel”. This new $6 million project is using a unique climate-simulating lab system for this process. The process involves putting a potential payload of bright green algae into a dozen glass cylinders and exposing them to hundreds of multi-coloured lights, which all provide sunlight’s natural hues. The tiny LEDs change brightness levels to mimic conditions of the outdoors and to simulate a virtual cloud passing, ‘chillers’ kick in and cool down the algae temperature a little bit. “The Algae DISCOVR Project” is trying out a new approach that could reduce the cost and the time needed “to move promising algal strains from the laboratory and into production. At the end of the three-year pilot project, scientists hope to identify four promising strains from at least 30 initial candidates”. They are undergoing this project because Algae biofuel is a clean energy method, but the production costs are very high which limit production and use.

DISCUSSION

I find that this is a very important project and it will eventually impact everyone's lives because we are likely going to run out of fossil fuels in the next 50 years -100 years, as they aren't a renewable energy source (2017). Fossil fuels are harmful for the environment and human health because they can contribute to acid rain through the release of sulfur dioxide and are also a cause of pollution. By developing new renewable ways to generate energy, it will not be a hard transition from fossil fuels to a new energy source and things such as algae biofuel are clean and may eventually lower in cost. After reading this article I am interested in learning new energy methods and how they compare with older ones and I believe that this project is very positive one that can change the world.

Works cited:

Biofuel Matchmaker: Finding the Perfect Algae for Renewable Energy -- ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 Jan. 2017, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170113133049.htm. Accessed 17 Jan. 2017.

 Rinkesh. “Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels - Conserve Energy Future.” Fossil Fuels, Conserve Energy Future, 25 Dec. 2016, http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/disadvantages_fossilfuels.php. Accessed 17 Jan. 2017.

2017. When Will Fossil Fuels Run Out? 2000, http://www.carboncounted.co.uk/when-will-fossil-fuels-run-out.html. Accessed 17 Jan. 2017.

6.  Climate change:     Changing climate changes soils

Jonathan Gray, lead author of the study, collecting carbon samples. ("Changing climate soils...")

SUMMARY

A team of researchers in Australia, lead by a senior scientist named Jonathan Gray, have used digital techniques to predict how one vital soil characteristic, soil organic carbon, which is a major determinant of soil health,  may be altered by climate change. Soil organic carbon is important because it influences many things such as fertility and the  water holding capacity of soil. The researchers used 12 climate change models to predict how “soil organic carbon levels vary with climate change”. These models reflected a “full range of projected global climate outcomes”. Most of these models showed a decline in soil organic carbon with climate change, but a few showed an increase. They discovered that the extent to which soil organic carbon changes varied upon the soil types, land use regimes, and current climate. The next step for the researches is to predict how other key soil properties, such as nutrients and acidity, will be affected by projected climate change. This is important because these variables will impact agricultural and native ecosystems.

DISCUSSION 

This is a very important topic and can impact my life because without healthy soil we would struggle to survive. This is because healthy soil supports plant and vegetation growth and without this, the food chain would be broken and we would quickly be out of food. It also supports animal biodiversity, above and below ground, and helps support the water supply and quality. Soil distribution can also  impact rivers, lakes and streams by changing their shape, size, capacity and direction. Because the soil is so important we should work to keep it healthy. I know I can't help on a big scale, but to keep the soil on my lawn and backyard healthy, I can add compost to improve its quality, apply recommend fertilizers, and use “well-drained soil”. This article hasn't really inspired me much, but after reading it I am interested in learning more about the soil and what it is made up of and I may even end up reviewing some of my ‘Soil and Vegetation’ notes from my grade 9 Geography class.

WORKS CITED

Changing Climate Changes Soils -- ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, Oct. 2016, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170111133851.htm. Accessed 16 Jan. 2017.

Other websites used to help me write my explanations:

Pantsios, Anastasia. 7 Reason Healthy Soil Is Vital to Human Life on Earth - EcoWatch. EcoWatch, 15 Dec. 2014, http://www.ecowatch.com/7-reason-healthy-soil-is-vital-to-human-life-on-earth-1881989408.html. Accessed 16 Jan. 2017.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/fruit-vegetable/simple-successful/healthy-soil-english/

5. Biochemistry

Low Iron Levels May Be Linked to Hearing Loss

(MILLER)

People with low iron levels may develop a condition called “iron deficiency anemia”, which has “wide-ranging effects throughout the body”, and a new study published in the journal “JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery” suggests iron deficiency anemia is also linked with hearing loss. The researchers looked at data from the medical records of more than 300,000 adults in Hershey, Pennsylvania, who were all between the ages of 21 and 90. In the study, adults who had iron deficiency anemia were 2.4 times more likely to develop combined hearing loss compared with those who did not have iron deficiency anemia.  People with iron deficiency anemia were also 1.8 times more likely to have sensorineural hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss can develop when damage occurs to the tiny blood vessels in the ear, and iron deficiency anemia can put a person at risk for such damage because the condition has been “linked to problems with myelin, a sheath that surrounds nerve cells, including the nerve that runs from the ear to the brain”, according to a team led by Kathleen Schieffer, a doctoral student at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, wrote in the study. “Iron deficiency anemia can be treated easily with iron supplements, so future studies should focus on whether this can help prevent hearing loss, the researchers wrote”.

This topic can influence, change, or impact my life, because iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia, and if anemia is left untreated, it can result in severe fatigue, pregnancy complications, heart problems, and even death ( usually sickle cell anemia).  To avoid getting iron deficiency anemia and eventually losing my hearing because of combined or Sensorineural hearing loss, I will change or incorporate new food into my diet because I do not want to have a hearing-aid until I am an elderly. This type of diet would include: red meats, dark green- leafy vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, and iron-fortified cereals because all these foods are high in iron. I will also lessen my use of earbuds and headphones. This is because Long-term exposure to loud music can cause sensorineural hearing loss. Most MP3 players and other music devices today can produce sounds which are equivalent to a sound level at a rock concert. In conclusion, this article has inspired me to increase my iron intake by eating more iron-rich foods so my chances of developing hearing loss will decrease.

Works cited

Main article: Miller, Sara. “Low Iron Levels May Be Linked to Hearing Loss.” LiveScience, 30 Dec. 2016, http://www.livescience.com/57354-iron-deficiency-anemia-linked-to-hearing-loss.html. Accessed 3 Jan. 2017.

Publishing, IAC. Hearing Loss from Headphones and Earphones. 2016, https://www.symptomfind.com/health/hearing-loss-from-headphones-and-earphones/. Accessed 3 Jan. 2017.

Clinic, Mayo. “Symptoms and Causes - Anemia - Mayo Clinic.” Mayoclinic, 6 Aug. 2016, http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anemia/symptoms-causes/dxc-20183157. Accessed 2 Jan. 2017.