Californian boffins find Elixir of Eternal Youth

Closer and closer to longer life. With the world as screwed up as it is, wonder if such a discovery is a good idea?

“Mouse-molesting boffins in California have used biochemical signals to rejuvenate elderly, knackered bodily tissues in a fashion normally only achievable by youngsters. However, the scientists insist that they have not yet achieved an immortality drug, and if they had it would only be for mice. “We’re not at a point where we’re ready to inject ourselves with [this stuff]” said Dr Morgan Carlson. It seems that when we’re young, the stem cells in our bodies constantly repair and reinvigorate us. When we get old, this stops happening and pretty soon people are going through your stuff. “We don’t realize it, but as we grow our bodies are constantly being remodeled,” according to Conboy. “We are constantly falling apart, but we don’t notice it much when we’re young because we’re always being restored. As we age, our stem cells are prevented, through chemical signals, from doing their jobs.” Apparently one can revitalise stem cells by putting them in the right chemical environment. “When old tissue is placed in an environment of young blood, the stem cells behave as if they are young again,” according to the Berkeley press release – in a process not unlike that undergone by wrinkly old Hollywood stars placed in an environment of Catherine Zeta Jones.Essentially, the Californian researchers were able to persuade muscle tissues in some mice that they were young again. “We found that Notch is capable of physically kicking off pSmad3 from the promoters for the CDK inhibitors within the stem cell’s nucleus, which” – as any fool would realise – “tells us that a precise manipulation of the balance of these pathways would allow the ability to control stem cell responses.” Diddling with Notch and pSmad3 levels using “an established method of RNA interference” allowed Conboy and Carlson to manipulate TGF-beta proteins and fire up the dormant stem cells of a group of elderly mice. The octogenarian murines “showed levels of cellular regeneration that were comparable to their much younger peers”, apparently. But people shouldn’t just start swigging down Notch, pSmad3 and TGF-beta at random. Cellular regeneration, out of hand, is sometimes just another name for cancer. “We need to find out what the levels of these chemicals are in the young so we can calibrate the system when we’re older. If we can do that, we could rejuvenate tissue repair for a very long time.” – Source

DIY Anti-Paparrazi CCTV Sunglasses Video

So cool!

“These easy-to-make glasses use infra-red LEDs to obscure your face from cameras… and, perhaps most usefully, from ubiquitous CCTV observation. Paparazzi are very annoying for the stars but with these sunglasses, paparazzi can’t take a complete picture. Why? Because with these sunglasses your face will be invisible to the camera. Disclaimer: CAUTION! . Never use them for illegal acts. / (You could have clear glasses on some kind of headband that slips on your head to shine the LEDs at invasive cameras. – JWD)” – Source

God makes you stupid, researchers claim

Oh, how many times I’ve seen this proven to be true!

“A psychology researcher has controversially claimed that stupidity is causally linked to how likely people are to believe in God. University of Ulster professor Richard Lynn will draw the conclusion in new research due to be published in the journal Intelligence, the Times Higher Education Supplement reports. Lynn and his two co-authors argue that average IQ is an excellent predictor of what proportion of the population are true believers, across 137 countries. They also cite surveys of the US Academy of Sciences and UK Royal Academy showing single-digit rates of religious belief among academics. He said: “Why should fewer academics believe in God than the general population? I believe it is simply a matter of the IQ. Academics have higher IQs than the general population.” Lynn pointed out that most children do believe in God, but as their intelligence develops they tend to have doubts or reject religion. Similarly, as average IQ in Western societies increased through the 20th century, so did rates of atheism, he said.” – Source

Flying Saucer Runs on Plasma

Fascinating, but it doesn’t say if his model actually flew!

“Subrata Roy, an engineering professor at the University of Florida, is trying to patent his design of a circular, spinning aircraft he dubs WEAV, short for wingless electromagnetic air vehicle. The suggested prototype offers several advantages. It can hover and take off vertically. With no moving parts, the WEAV should be markedly reliable. And though his battery-powered model is only six inches across, Roy thinks a larger craft is possible. Electrodes lining the vehicle’s surface ionize the surrounding air. This creates plasma on the vehicle’s exterior. An electrical current sent through this plasma generates a force that not only produces the necessary lift and momentum. It also stabilizes the vehicle in windy conditions. Looking like a flying bundt pan, the WEAV design is partially hollow and continuously curved. This larger surface area improves lift and control. Flying in Earth’s air requires a thrust at least 10 times greater than in outer space where drag and gravity are lower. And the plasma necessary to fly also obstructs wave transmission used for communicating with a remote source.” – Source

Feds: Energy Use To Grow 50 Percent In 20 Years

And governments act as if we have plenty of time.

“Despite persistently high oil prices, global energy demand will grow by 50 percent over the next two decades with continued heavy reliance on environmentally troublesome fossil fuels, especially coal and oil, the government predicted Wednesday. Without mandatory actions to address global warming, the amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide flowing into the atmosphere each year from energy use will be 51 percent greater in 2030 than it was three years ago.” – Source

Bangalee’s Mr. Hydrogen comes clean on power

Check out the quantities of hydrogen versus time required.

“Professor Neville Stephenson OAM fresh back from the World Hydrogen Energy Conference where his plans for clean energy have created a buzz of their own. He and his team have created a carbon-free way to produce energy, and it can use carbon and the even more global warming gas methane to run. The conference held every two years in a different country is a chance for the people with the ideas and hardware to meet the people with the money and influence. “Nobody has this technology, it has been developed over the last 10 years and now has more than $2 million invested in it from Australian investors.” They now have a factory in Thailand and expect that at the next conference they will be speaking about where their technology is being used rather than how it could be. “We can currently produce 67,000 litres of hydrogen in two hours, but we’re aiming to build a unit that is 200 times larger than that one.” – Source

NO NEW GASOLINE-POWERED VEHICLES IN THE U.S. BY 2014 w/video

This is what we need as a transitional method to modify existing cars and slowly switch over to other fuel sources.

“We need an ample supply of vehicles that can reliably utilize an alternative fuel; we need ample distribution and supply outlets for the alt fuel(s); and we need abundant resources (preferably located on the North American continent) to ensure a continuous supply of the raw material to produce the alt fuel. Next, we need available, plentiful, and affordable environment-friendly fuel solutions to the gasoline predicament (regardless of how or why the crisis exists and which conspiracy theory you subscribe to). THE CONTENDERS for the fuel solutions are: • Electric (straight plug-in battery or fuel-cell related) • Hydrogen – internal combustion engine • Solar • Ethanol • Bio-diesel • Compressed air • Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) • Propane. CNG and PROPANE VEHICLES – The prime requisite to make No New Gasoline-Powered Vehicles By 2014 a reality is vehicles that can reliably use an alternative fuel source. Unbeknownst to a great many Americans is that most if not all major automakers already produce vehicles that use CNG and/or propane, and they’ve been doing so for years. The list includes GM, Ford and Chrysler. Perhaps even more surprising is that many of the models, including Honda’s Civic GX are manufactured in North America. So obviously the technology is proven and the car companies know how to make them. CNG has a lower price per gallon (from about $1.25 to $2.75) and greater domestic reserves. Propane provides greater energy output per unit of measurement and offers more existing consumer outlets (there are literally thousands of propane dealers located throughout the country, in virtually every city and town).” – Source

Molten Salt Provides Highly Efficient Thermal Storage

Wow, this is more than I knew about storing heat in molten salt, quite fascinating.

“Despite their widespread use, solar technologies suffer the limitation of most renewable technologies: an unpredictable operating profile due to weather variations. However, using the highly efficient properties of molten salt for heat transfer, one technology insulates electricity production from weather volatility and, more importantly, it offers the capability to dispatch electricity as needed without requiring the use of natural gas. This technology is a concentrating solar power (CSP) technology, built around a proprietary central receiver tower and molten salt loop. The salt is a combination of sodium and potassium nitrate, with a melting temperature of 460°F. In the liquid state, molten salt has the viscosity and the appearance similar to water. “In solar applications, molten salt is used for a number of practical reasons,” says Terry Murphy, Chief Executive Officer for SolarReserve, who along with others helped develop the molten salt technology at Rocketdyne. “Molten salt is a heat storage medium that retains thermal energy very effectively over time and operates at temperatures greater than 1000°F, which matches well with the most efficient steam turbines. Second, it remains in a liquid state throughout the plant’s operating regime, which will improve long-term reliability and reduce O&M costs. And third, it’s totally ‘green,’ molten salt is a non-toxic, readily available material, similar to commercial fertilizers.” A primary advantage of molten salt central receiver technology is that the molten salt can be heated to 1050°F, which allows high energy steam to be generated at utility-standard temperatures (1650 psi minimum, 1025°F), achieving high thermodynamic cycle efficiencies of approximately 40 percent in modern steam turbine systems.” – Source

Energy crisis: Turning-point of humanity

Unfortunately, as the worlds’ population grows, so does our drain on natural resources. In my opinion, it is INEVITABLE that we will see more wars between countries and disasters from a pissed off and disappointed Gaia.

“After more than 150 years of increasing availability of energy and an explosive growth of the world population, we are now entering an era of always decreasing availability of energy. The oil-price rises explosivily. This time it is not about some action of OPEC, a threat of war or a cold winter. Today’s rises in price are the result of a turning-point in the oil supply. Demand keeps growing and the oil extraction has reached its ceiling. And, as the oil exporting countries use more and more oil themselves, less oil is offered on the export-markets. Those who count on alternative energy sources are wrong. Gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, wind and solar energy cannot make up the shortage of oil. The world population will have to do with less energy. Today’s mix of energy use consists of 36 percent oil, 24 percent gas, 28 percent coal, 6 percent nuclear, 6 percent hydro-power and 1 percent renewables, like wind and solar energy. The explosive growth of the world population has been possible by the one-time consumption of fossil energy. We now have reached the top of the energy-extraction. The extraction of the remainder demands more cost and efforts for a lower output. During our lifetime we never knew anything else but the growth model. That is in use nearly everywhere in the world. That is why we do not realize sufficiently, it is just an economic model. It only applies in a situation of permanent increase of energy, raw materials, working force and consumers. When there is less energy available than needed for a big population, we should – logically – strive for a smaller population. If we start the decrease in population early enough, then, counted per inhabitant, prosperity can be maintained at a high level. (When the population is too big, it will be war and economic crisis.)” – Source

Big Oil and the war in Iraq

Lied over and over, yet unpunished. It will come when Congress and the Senate grow some cojones!

“IT TOOK five years, the deaths of 4,100 US soldiers, and the wounding of 30,000 more to make Iraq safe for Exxon. ($543,236,299,998 Spent on Iraq as of 4:22 pm June 10th!) It is the inescapable open question since the reasons given by President Bush for the invasion and occupation did not exist, neither the weapons of mass destruction nor Saddam Hussein’s ties to Al Qaeda and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The New York Times reported last week that several Western oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, BP, and Chevron, are about to sign no-bid contracts with the Iraqi government. The Associated Press quoted Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Fadel Gheit as saying he believed the contracts were a first step toward production-sharing agreements. “These companies are in it for the money, not to make friends,” Gheit said. This of course blows a hole in another ancient Bush fallacy, the one in which former Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said “the oil wells belong to the Iraqi people” and former secretary of State Colin Powell seconded him by saying Iraqi oil “will be held in trust for the Iraqi people.” – Source