De-extinction to revive and restore

Posted on March 20, 2013

Jurassic Park the movie was one of its kind…it made history not only in terms of the money it made but also the concept and the idea of bringing back species long dead was both fascinating and and incredulous. Something similar is being proposed by Dr. Stewart Brand, an environmentalist  for four decades Brand is already well known for creating the Whole Earth Catalog, The WELL, the Global Business Network and the Long Now Foundation. Now this evangelist  wants to re-create — or “de-extinct” — a few animals that’ve disappeared from the planet.

Imagine if the woolly mammoth and the Sabre tooth that you’ve so loved in ice age, the movie were to walk the face of the earth again. Or imagine the passenger pigeons are brought back from extinction by way of a new Bio-genetic technology.This revolutionary technique has been proposed by Brand and is backed on the basis of a ten year research conducted by a team of Spanish and French scientists who almost brought back an extinct wild goat known as Pyrenean ibex back to life.

The process of De-extinction is based on a very simple premise. DNA samples of the extinct species are located from museums or even from ancient fossils, it is withdrawn and injected into a healthy surrogate who can comfortably give birth to the extinct species. In case of the wild goat, the scientists made 56 attempts to impregnate a present day goat , the de-extinct goat was born , it survived a few minutes and then died due to a severe genetic mutation.

But the process of De-extinction raises a whole lot of moral, ethical and philosophical questions. Do we even want to bring back species that have been extinct ? what is the use of reversing the evolutionary process? will the new species that have been brought back be able to adapt and survive in the new eco system or will they alter it completely? These species which are extinct are gone for a reason- the very basic one is that they failed to survive in the time and the circumstances that they lived in . 

Stuart Prim  at the Nicholas School of the Environment emphasizes on the impracticalities of de-extinction and why conservation should take precedence. According to him bringing back the species will do more harm than good because along with the species one will have to think of recreating the ecosystem and the environment for them to thrive in and recreating nature is a very complex task.

This focus on de-extinction should be justified only if we a a proper environment to bring back the species and the focus should be more on better conservation as a strategy.  The reason that drives the species to be extinct is the continued expansion of humans into their environment. this is the issue that should be tackled first.

China’s Internet Firewall

Posted on March 22, 2013

In 2012, China was leading the way for developing countries as its internet user count hit 600 million. In a country of 1.3 billion people that is saying a lot. Do the Math. In fact official data shows most of the users connectivity is through mobile devices. An ever increasing number of people in China stay online using micro blogging services and social networking sites. It is estimated that by 2015 China will have more than 800 million Internet users, many of which will be from rural regions. The Chinese have their own versions of the Western Micro blogging sites. Renren is the equivalent of Facebook, Baidu=Google, Sina Weibo=Twitter, and Youku is the equivalent of Youtube. 

This in a situation when the nation imposes strict internet censorship on its users. China’s internet firewall is the country’s system of online restriction. The new government and the new leader worry about the power the internet holds, curbing its free use will not only restrict and control free publishing but will also put an end to any potential threat to the single party communist regime. This is an age when China promises economic reforms and better living standards to its citizens. 

The National Peoples Congress (NPC)  has passed a new law asking users toregister their real names with the internet service providers. Earlier the citizens did not have to do so and could use alternate pseudonyms to register. This new tightening of internet usage is “intended to better protect Internet users’ privacy and provide a legal basis for safeguarding online information safety to ensure the healthy and orderly development of the Internet”, an NPC spokesperson has claimed .

China’s internet firewall is the result of online expose`s of the officials wrong doings on Chinese micro blogging sites. Internet users have often used the sites for anonymous complains about corruption and official abuse. Citizens who at times wish to speak in complete confidence about a specific individual or company’s misconduct cannot do so now.

In a report published by “Reporters without borders”, it seems a large number of governments are resorting to cyber crime, surveillance  and intrusions on dissidents and journalists to curb the freedom of speech. This report is published on the eve of World Day against Cyber-Censorship. Syria, China, Iran, Bahrain and Vietnam are the top five nations who regularly conduct systematic online surveillance. This is a serious violation of human rights. 

At the Big Tent Activate summit held in New Delhi on Thursday, Eric Schmidt the Executive Chairman of Google described China as the most egregious example of a nation attempting to control the internet. In his interview with Guardian’s Editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger, Schmidt talked about the New York times computers being hacked by the Chinese. 

One wonders at the potential and danger of this information which is being surveyed and can only hope that it does more good than harm.

A two dimensional arrangement of Carbon atoms in a chicken wire hexagonal arrangement make up a new revolutionary material which scientists call Graphene. This new material is futuristic and is said to revolutionize the 21st century. Graphene is the thinnest and the densest material known today so dense that even a Helium atom cannot pass through it. It is strong and tensile known to be an amazing conductor of electricity and heat.

Discovered originally in 2003 by Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov who were subsequently awarded the 2010 Nobel prize in Physics, Graphene  a futuristic material is now the object of many a debate.Its potential is being researched in the field of  developing smartphones, ultrafast broadband, drug delivery and computer chips.

The University of Manchester is on the hunt for ideas regarding the full use of Graphene. It is for this purpose that at a recent staff event the university launched a 50,000 pound enterprise competition for students to come up with new Graphene ideas. 

Below is a list of possible future applications of Graphene.

• It could act as a rust protector on metals if used as a thin coat of paint. Even as an electronic ink its advanced usability could be defined
• Graphene could work as a Photo voltaic cell to improve the efficiency and working life of batteries.
• Since it is highly sensitive to the environment, Graphene could act as a sensor to measure strain, magnetism, gas or pressure.
• In the field of medicine it can help in building new tissues for regenerative medicine by delivering drugs to the point of contact.
• Graphene in the future might be used to prepare e papers which will have flexible screens and will be capable of being a rollup epaper by 2015.

These applications of Graphene go on to prove Moore's law that the exponential growth of technology is definitive and what we will see in the near future are inventions and discoveries of a singular exponential nature whereby machines become smarter and smarter permitting humans to be diagnostic and open minded in our approach to life.

Last week the Cardinals at the Vatican selected the new Bishop of Rome , Pope Francis. Formerly known as the Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, Pope Francis was elected even as millions Catholic and Non Catholic alike waited with bated breath for the smoke signals to twirl out of the Vatican chimney. The sight gave hope to the millions as it is understood that the new pope will address a large number of debatable issues and help surmount them. As the new pope will tackle new challenges- those which will have huge repercussion on humanity in general, his actions and his decisions will be carved forever in history. He will be for time immemorial be remembered for helping the poor and vulnerable and strengthening the international community. 

But all that remains to be seen as Pope Francis is yet to declare his stance on Climate Change. Will the new Pope Francis tackle Climate Change? He is yet to formulate a long term strategy that will protect human life, health and the environment. The former Bishop of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI  in his address to the Reichstag Building in 2011 had stated that -"The importance of ecology is no longer disputed. We must listen to the language of nature and we must answer accordingly." 

Climate Change and the Vatican have much in common.  The Vatican has made huge strides forward in renewable energy.

In 2009, the Vatican installed huge Solar panels, the largest in Europe which led to energy production per capita of 200 watts per inhabitant. By doing so the Vatican became the world's smallest state to step up the fight against Global warming. The 2000 photovoltaic panels were installed over the Nervi Hall where the Pope holds his audiences. This installation has led the Vatican to saving close to 90 tonnes of oil and fossil fuel annually. Further the Vatican has a solar heating system for its cafetaria and even the pope's summer residence is being fitted to get power from the Methane produced by the close by horse stables.

The question arises will the new Pope follow in the footsteps of the previous one? Will Pope Francis tackle Climate Change? Pope Benedict was also called the Green Pope...will the new Pope address an issue affecting the entire world community?

 That remains to be seen even as Climate Change displays its destructive impact throughout the world. As of now, Climate change is the leading cause of 400,000 deaths on an average each year. The reasons are a plenty and mostly targeted towards the developing countries. Hunger, water, communicable disease, air pollution and even cancer are the main problems affecting the poorer nations. As the West grapples with changing weather patterns in the form of droughts, thunderstorms, rain and wild fires, the international community is hoping for help from all corners. We hope the new pope will be a helping hand. 

Recently Japanese marine scientists made headlines when they announced a technological breakthrough in the extraction of Methane Hydrates from the ocean. Methane Hydrate is a mixture of natural gas and water that becomes solid in cold , high pressure conditions in deep ocean floors.These Methane Hydrates are a promising new energy source for Japan as extraction of gas from this frozen source can reap huge benefits for an energy starved nation. JOGMEC (Japan Oil Gas and Metals National Corporation) has even tentatively targeted 2019 as the year in which they commercialize this operation. Methane Hydrates or 'fire from ice' as it is popularly known has been found off the sea of Japan.

Worldwide these deposits are found in a whole lot of places and they have potentially 35 % more natural gas than other reserves. If Japan is successful it will have a supply of gas lasting the country for a 100 years. For Japan and for the rest of the world Methane Hydrates are a promising new energy source. The US  and China have major programmes for exploration and experimental extraction of the gas with the US funding 14 projects in Alaska. 

India is known to have massive deposits of Methane Hydrate estimated to be nearly 1890 trillion cu.m. In 2006, an Indo-US scientific venture found deposits of Methane Hydrates in four regions in India -the Konkan-Kerala basin, the Krishna Godavari basin, The Mahanadi Basin and the sea off the coast of the Andamans. Some of these reserves are said to be the richest in the world.

Way back in the 1970 when this discovery was made China and India along with Korea and Taiwan were on an economic fast track and this discovery came as a boon for the developing nations. Sadly, India is now nowhere in the picture. Despite having such rich reserves of Methane,  India is bound by the formidable economic and environmental challenges to exploit this resource. Industry guess estimates that the initial cost itself would be difficult to surmount add to that the fact that India does not have a National policy for this purpose in place yet. Also there is no research based marine expedition programme on the horizon in the near future. 

India needs to develop its own technologies for exploration and extraction of the Methane Hydrate. It needs an R& D centre where research can be carried out successfully. Borrowing technology from the west will not suffice as the Hydrate reserves in India have been found in fractured shales and not in sandstone as it is in Japan or the USA. The environmental issue will also have to be tackled as Methane is a greenhouse gas and its extraction will have repercussions on the planet. Attitudes and policies need to be addressed and the government has to initiate the change. 

 In July last year the discovery of a new particle made headlines across the world as it was the eureka moment of discovery for thousands of scientists working at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The discovery of the particle , then called the Boson like or 'Godlike' particle was monumental,  triggering a huge response throughout the scientific community. Scientists at CERN in Geneva said their analysis was based on well researched data and the discovery of the particle  pointed firmly towards the one described by Professor Peter Higgs in 1964 at Edinburgh University.

But now the Higgs Boson discovery is authenticated .

Its been a year and the scientists have declared the particle to be truly the Higgs Boson that they originally discovered. The reluctance to confirm the discovery 100 % is not the fault of the scientists as in particle physics certainty of a discovery can only be confirmed down to the last .01% and now the more the scientists look at the particle the more it resembles the long-sought Higgs Boson that confers mass on the building blocks of nature. The new evidence which is the result of a year long relook at the properties of the particle points towards the end of a decade long search for the particle. It also put the physicists at the journey of a new one ...where do they go from here?

Research teams and scientists have been on a voyage of discovery as far as particle physics is concerned. As more and more particles were discovered quantum mechanics became a household name. Our understanding of the universe and its creation -the fact that particles took on mass and created matter, the fact that we were created through a subatomic process has become more acceptable and we continue to understand and search for the origins of life and the Big bang. The discovery and the authentication of the Higgs Boson is a cause for celebration. In layman's terms we are on the verge of discovering the creation of the world through this particle. This discovery is said to be a huge contender for the Nobel Prize this year and has huge implications in scientific advancement. 

At present many scientists are working on a way to improve the analysis of the Higgs data that has been collected as the Large Hadron Collider is in the midst of a scheduled two-year shutdown for maintenance and will only comeback online in 2015. The machine is being refurbished and upgraded. Reasearch is not over at CERN and practical applications of the particle still need to be ascertained. Who knows what conclusions we derive from there...?

So Global Warming is here and how. Temperatures of the planet have been soaring steadily. They've never been as high in the past 4000 years as they are now and researchers insist that they are showing no sign of a decline. All this warming is causing predictable changes as sea levels rise and danger of floods increase.

More radical changes are occuring in the North as the Arctic is greening rapidly. A study conducted by NASA and University Scientists published in Nature Climate Change states the the growing season in the North is dramatically changing. Analyzing satellite and ground-based data, researchers found that the vegetation in the North resembled that found four to six degrees of latitude further south. In short the Arctic region is blooming.

Is that a good thing or bad?. According to scientists the areas which are blooming and developing new forests will aid global warming, reducing surface reflectivity and further warming the Arctic. This expansion of the forest will impact the wildlife and the inhabitants thereby tilting the delicate balance of the ecosystem. In the coming decades if the warming continues at current rates then the existing shrubs will grow to full fledged trees.

This can negatively impact the region increasing drought stress as well as insect and fire disturbances. If wildfires increase warming could accelerate. If the scientists are correct then, by 2060 these forests will spread down to Alaska and Canada. Greenland’s ice cover will shrink, turning the island over to tundra.

The accumulation of heat trapping gases like the CO2, water vapor, and methane are causing the planet's surface to warm, this warming is reducing the polar sea ice exposing the dark ocean below which in turn traps more heat and increases the heat by warming the air above the water. This phenomena has been labelled by scientists as the amplified greenhouse effect.

Future Superhumans with Nanotechnology

Posted on March 12, 2013

Superman remains a powerful force to reckon in the American Culture even after 74 years of his debut as an comic book action hero. Its easy to understand why. Superman fulfills all that we yearn for - godlike supernatural physical abilities, good looks, an indestructible and predictably consistent future, bionic limbs and a body which is superhuman. Among the new innovative technologies one talks of – ‘Superbodies of the Future ‘. This is going to happen.  As technology advances exponentially, we know for sure that by the year 2030 the solution to aging will have been found. In the coming years we will see future superhumans with nanotechnology!

How will we create Future Superhumans with Nanotechnology?  Most renowned and controversial futurist Ray Kurzweil says that by 2030 our bodies will have Nanobots the small size of red blood cells . These nanobots will be far more superior to any medical technology known to man today. These nanobots will be regulating our DNA, our immune system , getting rid of all the bad aspects and regenerating new parts. Ray Kurzweil  is known to have the most number of correct predictions about mankind and the future of technology. 

Nanotechnology is set to revolutionize the world of Sports as well as the scope of medicine. Athletes will have better -more resilient bodies after using performance enhancing drugs. The paralysed will be able to walk again using machine-brain interface which will make it possible for mechanical limbs to respond to human thought . There is some research related to healing wounds instantaneously- aportable laser pen capable of sealing up wounds.

Examples of technology used to enhance physical ability are known and not so rare, Tiger Woods underwent laser eye surgery to see better than 20/20 vision helping him to excel at Golf. Diane van Deren a former tennis player underwent lobectomy, a form of brain surgery  which altered her perception of time making her incapable of judging its passing. That surgery has enabled her to become one of the most successful female extreme distance runners in human history. Both she and Woods show no immediate outward sign of their superior physical structures they possess.

So what we hope to see in the next twenty years is revolutionary technology in a future era of unprecedented connectivity, path breaking medical innovations and a chance to be superman! 

Futuristic Fuel empowering Japan

Posted on March 8, 2013

Japan has made new strides in searching for new Eco friendly green fuels to empower itself. This latest programme is one that cannot be termed Eco friendly but it will put the need for using fossil fuels on a large scale to rest. Scientists in Japan have discovered huge caches of combustible ice just off its southwest coast. This fiery ice if used as an energy source could lay the ghosts of the Fukushima nuclear plant  to rest. This initiative was taken up by the Japanese government in 2011 after the disaster at the Nuclear plant.

This Futuristic Fuel empowering Japan is below the water. Some 1300 meters deep in the ocean lies ice which is frozen Methane. This methane in the water or Methane Hydrates as it is called is solid due to the low temperatures and high pressure in its vents below the water.

The Chemical structure of the methane gas when used after processing gives it the potential to be 164 times the volume of natural Gas.If tapped this would work out to be a big energy source.

Large amounts of similar gas has been found to be trapped beneath the Arctic ocean floor called Permafrost. There has been concern by scientists who predict that large scale warming of the atmosphere has caused this permafrost to melt and as the melting increases poisonous Methane gas will release into the atmosphere causing double the harm than that caused from CO2. 

However, if like Japan which has invested millions to fund research for extraction of Methane Hydrates, other nations would do the same then we would have enough energy to last us for a century. Meanwhile Japan continues to dig further. This month a team of scientists will drill 300 metres below the seabed. Their aim is to extract the Methane and start commercial production by 2018. 

But there are problems galore and as scientists face technical and environmental challenges one thing is certain that digging deep under high pressure conditions will not go unchecked. Safety is a big issue as is uncontrolled gas leaks and landslides. Undersea earthquakes are also a big risk factor.

Because the experiment is in the testing stage , scientists will have to carefully monitor the ocean floor .Lucia van Geuns, an energy analyst at the international energy programme of the Clingendael Institute says, “Methane hydrates could make Japan energy independent” .

Nevertheless, the fact remains that the planet holds huge reserves of Methane gas in the form of Hydrates and these are sufficient to power all nations. The US, China, Canada and South Korea are among other countries now exploring the mining of methane hydrates from their own sea beds. More experiments and initiatives have to be taken up to explore the potential of these Hydrates. http://greenfuture-tech.com

Official Blog: Voices of women in technology

Official Blog: Voices of women in technology

China’s Cancer Villages

Posted on February 27, 2013

The miracle economic boom in China has come with its own set of health disasters. Not only have the country’s main cities been affected by hazardous  pollution but industrial and agricultural boom has led to far flung contamination of ground water and air. The water and rivers across the country are contaminated with chemicals and sludge from industries and smelting plants . As more and more residents drink this toxic water cases of cancer are being discovered by the dozen in these cancer villages.

A huge rise in stories of cancer driven deaths in rural regions have become rampant and as the economy grows at breakneck speed the government is at its wits end, grappling with more and more environmental disasters. A Cleaning up act of pollution in urban areas by the government merely implies shifting and relocating the toxic industries to rural and far flung areas.

There has been a recent public outcry against rising cases of lung cancer caused by the pollution smog that enveloped cities like Beijing in early January. Cancer is now officially China’s biggest killer and one in every fourth person dies from cancer related death in the city. That’s an abysmal 80% increase in the mortality rate from cancer over the past 30 years. 

The issue has been addressed by environmentalists for a long time and in 2009, Deng Fei, an investigative journalist used the Google maps to plot out worst cancer hit villages in China. Communities and villagers that live close to Recycling factories for e waste showed highest incidences of cancer. They were exposed to carcinogens in the air and water supply. In other places where smelting plants exist, cases of lead poisoning are on the rise.  

But now, the new five year plan drafted by the government brings hope as the government has finally acknowledged the environmental disasters occurring in the country. The document states, “ “In recent years, toxic and hazardous chemical pollution has caused many environmental disasters, cutting off drinking water supplies, and even leading to severe health and social problems such as ‘cancer villages’”. 

The initial plan is to locate and clamp down those hotspots that have been identified as Cancer Clusters. Nearly 58 toxic chemical production plants face a possible closure in the near future. This step will hope to bring down the level of the occurrence in a positive way.

Asteroid and Meteors galore in this year 2013. While news of an asteroid whizzing by very close to the Earth over the Indian Ocean was viral, reports of meteors falling from the sky high up in the Ural mountains became top headlines. Had the two occurred together one can only imagine and fear the catastrophe of the aftermath. Scientists however reiterate that the two incidents are not connected.  

Lets begin with  the meteor shower. As millions of unsuspecting Russians drove to work around 9:20 am on the morning of February 15 2013, a meteorite entered the Earth's atmosphere exploding nine times starting at altitudes of 55 kilometers, this was seen as bright showers entering the Earth by people.The meteor was about one third the diameter of the asteroid 2012 DA 14 and eyewitness accounts state that it was brighter than the Sun with a trail blazing for almost 30 seconds before impact. 

The Russian military found a crater which was 6 meters wide. The Russian Academy of Science reported that the meteorite weighed 10 tonnes before it entered the Earth's atmosphere. Almost 1000 people are reported to be dead as news of many injured from the glass breaking shards still comes in. 

Its surprising though that with modern equipment and technology why the path of the meteorite was not detected. NASA later stated that the trajectory of the asteroid as well as that of the meteor were opposite to each other. While one was travelling North to South the other whizzed past in the opposite direction. Early detection and warnings certainly might have prevented the loss of life.

NASA however had early predictions of the Asteroid DA 14. This was first seen by the Spanish scientists early last year. The Asteroid DA14  went past the Earth's surface almost 27,357 kilometers (23, 230 miles) away and is said to have originated from the solar system's asteroid belt situated between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Live stream and much hype was related to this astral event as millions attended the event organised by NASA to watch the asteroids path as it whizzed past the Earth's surface.

As of now neither the United States nor Russia have equipment or the technology to prevent a meteor strike . There are ideas as to how to detect and deflect space matter . Some of the more brilliant ones are -

• Using a  Robotic Space Vehicle to gently change the path of the asteroid
• Dropping nuclear bombs on the surface or near the asteroid to enable it to change its trajectory
• Trying to melt it 
• Cooling it down with solar shields and finally ,
•  Flying a spacecraft close to an asteroid, which would exert a gravitational pull.

Green Future Technology

Green Future Technology

Recycling Paper

Posted on February 12, 2013

Recycling Paper is the process of turning waste paper into a new product. Typically recovered paper can put 80% of its contents into further use for recycling while 20% goes to landfills. For recycling, the recovered paper has to have no glossy ink and should not be coated with clay or any other material. This hampers the recycling process and does not produce the conventional scrap that can further be made into recycled paper. If we recycle paper we use 60% less energy than what we would use to make fresh new paper from wood pulp. We would therefore in fact be saving a lot many trees.

India lacks gravely in the awareness and the need to recycle paper. Annually only 20% of waste paper is recovered as the country lacks the collection, sorting and grading system of waste paper for proper utilization.In comparison developed countries have a very high recovery rate. Germany- 73%, Sweden- 69%, japan -60%, Western Europe-56%, the US -49% and Italy-45%.     

The Indian paper Industry uses wood, agricultural residue and some waste paper ( about 7%) to manufacture paper. The immediate need is to increase that percentage and to lessen the dumping in landfills by increasing recycling. 

Here are a few reasons we should recycle. 

• Recycling reduces GHG emissions and saves energy
• Paper Recycling helps in increasing the rate of Carbon absorption and slows the rate of Carbon release
• About 90 % of all paper pulp is produced from wood, recycling one tonne of newspaper saves one tonne of wood and recycling one tonne of printed paper saves slightly more than two tonnes of wood. 
• Recycling paper saves 14% of landfill space
• It requires less energy and water 
• It decreases sulphur Dioxide emissions
• Recycling one tonne of paper can save 17 trees
• you can power your TV for 31 hours by using energy from saving 1 tonne of newspaper
• Most papers can be recycled 8 times before being discarded.

Japanese plan to build a Wind Farm on the Baltic Sea near Denmark. This was confirmed by the officials who stated that the Wind farm would be built ten kilometers off the shore of Fukushima . This is the same place where the Earthquake with and intensity of 9.0 and a subsequent Tsunami struck Japan in 2011. The Japanese have sworn to replace Nuclear energy with Renewable energy. The Tsunami which took the life of millions was the biggest natural disaster ever to befall the Eastern shores. 

The most amazing fact is the attitude of the Japanese in the face of disaster. Having crippled back to normalcy the Japanese after the Tsunami have managed to reconstruct their economy and with an attitude change are finally making strides in sustainable development. They have our utmost respect. Having accepted that Nuclear energy poses great dangers and is a formidable source of uncontrollable energy the Japanese have decided that wind and Solar power will take them forth. 

The wind farm in question is the largest that will be built in the world.This new farm planned for Japan is expected to produce 1 gigawatt using just 143 turbines. The turbines will be placed on floating steel platforms which will be anchored to the ocean floor on the continental shelf. They will be kept upright and will be 200 meters high with a 200 megawatt capacity. The construction of this amazing wind farm will be completed in 2020. The Japanese have plans on becoming completely self reliant and energy independent from fossil fuels and nuclear energy by 2040. 

So great is the need and the ambition to adopt renewable energy that in addition to the wind farm, plans are also being drawn up for the biggest solar farm in the country.