#Superfast blood tests devised in Montreal could revolutionize diagnosing A simple and fast chemical process developed by scientists in Montreal could allow family doctors to one day use equipment as straightforward and cheap as a diabetic's blood sugar tests to diagnose a range of diseases
researchers from the University of Montreal describe a novel way to detect large molecules like antibodies in blood using a quick,
one-step process involving electricity and DNA. The technique could give rise to a proliferation of new so-called point-of-care medical tests blood tests that can be performed in the field, possibly even by patients themselves,
and that yield results in minutes.""Nowadays if you go see a physician to have a blood test,
they'll send you to a clinic. A couple vials of blood will have to be analyzed by a technician with specialized techniques,
"said paper co-author Alexis Vallée-Belisle, a University of Montreal chemistry professor and the Canada Research Chair in bioengineering and bionanotechnology."
"What these tests are looking for is antibodies proteins that are generated by the body in response to viruses or bacteria.
The highlight of the technique we developed is you put a drop of blood on our electrodes,
if you have the antibody. And in principle, you can detect any antibody you want.""Electrical current Vallée-Belisle and his team, working with a chemist from the University of Rome, came up with a way to detect antibodies by having them bind to loose, single strands of DNA.
Those single strands then attempt to pair up with nearby complementary strands to form the characteristic DNA double helix.
The researchers designed the single DNA strands so that if no antibodies are present when they bind with their complementary pairs, a detectable electrical current flows.
But if antibodies are present and attached to the loose strands, the current drops. The drop is so precisely measurable that the test can even be used to determine how much antibody is in a sample
instead of simply indicating its presence or absence. They call the process"electrochemical steric-hindrance hybridization assay,
"or eshha, because it takes advantage of how the DNA molecules react in the presence of other larger particles, an effect known as"steric hindrance."
"Biochemistry professor Kevin Plaxco of the University of California at Santa barbara, who supervised Vallée-Belisle's previous postdoctoral work and who is himself an expert in electrochemical methods to detect antibodies,
There are currently point-of-care antibody tests on the market for diagnosing HIV within minutes,
quantifiable data on how much antibody was found. That might not be needed for HIV, but it could be useful for doctors treating autoimmune diseases,
or for using the eshha technique to detect things like how much of a chemotherapy drug a patient is metabolizing
so that their dose can be tuned fine. STD screening in minutes The Montreal researchers'method would also allow for simultaneous testing for the presence of more than a dozen different antibodies,
meaning one small drop of blood and one quick test would be enough to screen for almost every sexually transmitted disease within minutes, at a doctor's office.
The doctor could then immediately notify the patient and prescribe medication right away if any of the results came back positive."
"Currently a large percentage of people don't come back to see the results, because you need to take another appointment,
so you waste a lot of time and a lot of money, "Vallée-Bellisle said. He said so far,
his team has shown their method works to detect five different typical"model"proteins and will soon publish research showing they can also detect three of the various HIV antibodies.
After that, they're also aiming to detect antibodies for syphilis and herpes. One of the big advantages of their method is its cost:
The electrodes used to detect the electrical current can be had for five to 10 cents each,
and creating the necessary DNA sequences can be as cheap as $10 for a large enough strand to run"thousands of tests,
"Vallée-Bellisle said.""The basic infrastructure for all this is dirt cheap,"Plaxco confirmed. Vallée-Bellisle said the next step in commercializing their findings will be signing up a business partner to work on developing the right niche for their work
#Paralyzed man walks again using brain-computer link A brain-to-computer technology that can translate thoughts into leg movements has enabled a man paralyzed from the waist down by a spinal cord injury to become the first such patient to walk without the use of robotics,
doctors in California reported on Wednesday. The slow, halting first steps of the 28-year-old paraplegic were documented in a preliminary study published in The british-based Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation,
along with a Youtube video. The feat was accomplished using a system allowing the brain to bypass the injured spinal cord
and instead send messages through a computer algorithm to electrodes placed around the patient's knees to trigger controlled leg muscle movements.
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, say the outcome marks a promising but incremental achievement in the development of brain-computer interfaces that may one day help stroke
and spinal injury victims regain some mobility. Dr. An Do, a study co-author, said clinical applications were many years away.
Results of the UC Irvine research still need to be replicated in other patients and greatly refined.
Nevertheless, the study proved it possible"to restore intuitive, brain-controlled walking after a complete spinal cord injury,"said biomedical engineer Zoran Nenadic,
who led the research. 3. 6 metres The steps taken a year ago by the experiment's subject,
former graduate student Adam Fritz, who injured his back in a motorcycle accident, appear modest as seen in the video.
Fritz propelled himself over a distance of 3. 6 metres across the floor of UC Irvine's imove Lab,
though his weight was supported partially by an overhead suspension harness and a walker he grasped to keep his body upright,
which brain signals were transmitted to a robotic prosthesis attached to the patient's legs to produce movement,
Practised with virual reality In previous research by other scientists, a brain-computer interface has been used to allow paralyzed patients to grasp a cup of coffee with a robotic arm
which began about five years after Fritz became paralyzed, involved months of mental training in
Those signals were picked then up by an electroencephalogram (EEG) he wore as a cap and were transmitted to a computer for processing by a special algorithm that could isolate the messages related only to leg motion
and convert them to signals that would stimulate the patient's muscles to walk. The scientists and patient first practiced with a virtual-reality-like video game in which Fritz was trained to control a walking avatar.
He also underwent extensive physical rehab to strengthen his muscles. Fritz next practiced walking in the actual lab while suspended slightly above the floor.
Researchers hope to refine the technology by miniaturizing the EEG component enough to be implanted inside the patient's skull
or brain, allowing for clearer reception of the neural messages and perhaps the delivery of pressure sensation from sensors in the foot back to the brai i
#U s. expected to announce drone registry The U s. federal government will require many drone aircraft to be registered,
Pilot sightings of drones have doubled since last year, including sightings near manned aircraft and major sporting events,
"Federal aviation administration chief Michel Huerta said at a news conference to announce the step. Registration will increase pressure on drone operators to fly responsibly,
he said, adding,"when they don't fly safely, they'll know there will be consequences.""To work out details,
the FAA and the Transportation department are setting up a 25-to 30-member task force including government and industry officials and hobbyists.
They'll recommend which drones should be required to register and which should be exempted, and design a system that would be easy for commercial operators to comply with,
Toys and small drones that don't present a safety threat are likely to be exempt.
Drones that weigh only a pound or two or that can't fly higher than a few hundred feet are considered less risky.
There is no official count of how many drones have been sold in the U s, . but industry officials say it is in the hundreds of thousands
Transportation secretary Anthony Foxx directed the task force to deliver its report by Nov 20. The Consumer electronics Association has forecast that 700,000 drones will be sold this holiday season,
and Foxx said it's especially important that new drone users be taught the responsibilities that come with flying.
Registering drones that could pose safety risks"makes sense, but it should not become a prohibitive burden for recreational users who fly for fun and educational purposes
and who have operated harmoniously within our communities for decades,""Dave Mathewson, executive director of the Academy for Model Aeronautics, said in a statement.
The FAA now receives about 100 reports a month from pilots who say they've seen drones flying near planes
and airports, compared with only a few sightings per month last year. So far there have been no accidents,
but agency officials have said they're concerned that even a drone weighing only a few pounds might cause serious damage
if it is sucked into an engine or smashes into an airliner's windshield. In cases where drones have crashed where they were supposed not to be crowded flying at sports stadiums
for example it has been difficult to find the operators. The FAA signed an agreement last month with CACI International Inc.,an information technology company in Arlington, Virginia,
to test technology that could locate the operators of small drones that are flying illegally near airports.
The technology would let the government track radio signals used to operate drones within a 5-mile radius
and identify the operator's location a
#Toronto teens invent wearable heart-monitoring device Two Grade 12 students from Danforth Tech have invented a watch that tracks vital signs
and can summon help in an emergency. Andre Bertram and Frank Nguyen created a health technology start-up for their watch-like device,
so that it takes away that need for your medical knowledge, "he said. The 24/7 device monitors a user's blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen levels
and does ECG readings so that it can predict if someone will have a heart attack. Nguyen's concern for his mother's heart condition inspired him to create the device.
Lan Nguyen Heartwatch Lan Nguyen's heart condition inspired her son Frank to create the device.
CBC)" I don't know what she's doing at home and she is unwilling to call for EMS
Bertram and Nguyen are working with Ryerson University and St michael's Hospital to refine the tool
and hope to see it around the world d
#illerbacteria To The Rescue! Scientists Enlist E coli To Make Planet-Saving Plastic Out Of Practically Nothing The Intertubes have buzzing with news of a new way to make plastic without using petroleum or petrochemicals.
Based on artificial photosynthesis, the process uses sunlight and carbon dioxide to make the building blocks for renewable plastics as well as fuels, paints,
and your favorite pharmaceuticals. It all helped along by the notorious bacteria E coli and some other bacteria we never heard of before.
and potentially lethal behavior linked to contaminated food and water. However, E coli exists in a wide variety of strains, most
The new study comes from a team at the University of California Berkeley with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
which plants use solar energy to reduce carbon dioxide to acetate, a ubiquitous biochemical uilding block. In the second step, acetate is converted to more complex chemical precursors.
one recent development is proposed a new $75 million round of funding for an Energy department project for making fuel out of sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water.
but our excuse for not knowing anything about is that the genome for S. ovata was sequenced only a couple of years ago.
The 2013 genome announcement launched right into the good stuff by noting that. ovata uses N-methyl compounds
and H2 and CO2 as energy and carbon sources to produce acetate. The folks at Berkeley Lab have been all over S. ovata for artificial photosynthesis (our bad for missing their April 16 press release) through a connection with UC Berkeley Kavli Energy Nanosciences Institute.
The new process starts by harvesting sunlight with a nanostructure of wires made from silicon and titanium:
hen sunlight is absorbed, photo-excited electron#hole pairs are generated in the silicon and titanium oxide nanowires,
which absorb different regions of the solar spectrum. The photo-generated electrons in the silicon will be passed onto bacteria for the CO2 reduction
We were able to uniformly populate our nanowire array with S. ovata using buffered brackish water with trace vitamins as the only organic component.
and the biodegradable plastic PHB. Moving forward the team will try to figure out how to combine the two bacteria into one integrated step.
#Poland's Ideabank Turned Four BMW i3 EVS Into Mobile ATMS ATMS were considered once a revolution in convenience,
able to dispense money without a human bank teller being there. But nowadays, needing to find an ATM to get some money out of the bank can be a real hassle.
That's why Poland's Ideabank turned four BMW i3 electric cars into mobile ATMS, dispensing cash to customers via a mobile app, reports Carscoops.
The Ideabank mobile ATM is linked to an Android app, with the popular i3 already roaming the streets of Warsaw.
Should the idea prove popular Ideabank is ready to roll out even more of the mobile ATMS to customers who need cash,
but can't be bothered to find an ATM for themselves. It's a cool idea
The ATM i3 can also pick up cash from customers business, saving them a trip to the bank,
all controlled through an Android phone app. Of course there are elements other than entrepreneurs that might want a mobile ATM to come to them.
at least that's what I generally need money for after the sun goes down. Not that I don't think this idea has merits.
the Ideabank mobile ATM could redefine banking convenience. No more making quick runs to the cash machine
when you can just call the cash machine to you u
#Solar Important Part of Energy Mix in Australia olar is playing an increasingly important role in Australia energy mix,
said the CEO of the country Clean energy Finance Corporation, adding that both the residential and commercial solar industries are ramping up.
Oliver Yates, CEO of the Clean energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), spoke at the Australian Solar Council Solar 2015 Conference in Melbourne,
and said that the CEFC is working to support the Australian commercial solar market, y financing the innovative use of solar technologies across a broad range of industries.
The country already has 4 GW of rooftop solar PV installed with residential solar accounting for the bulk of that capacity.
Nevertheless, commercial solar is now starting to grow in demand, making up just under 25%of new solar PV installed. e expect this trend to continue,
as more businesses experience the benefits of solar in helping them bring down their energy and operating costs over time,
Mr Yates said. he emergence of battery technology in particular is likely to be a game changer for commercial solar,
because of its ability to improve the reliability of supply. Solar homes typically use solar for about 30 per cent of their electricity needs.
With battery storage this could be boosted to over 70 per cent, an indication of the scale of the potential benefits for commercial solar.
Solar with storage can also reduce the reliance on diesel-fired generators in remote areas
#Brazil Could Reach 2 GW Rooftop Solar By 2024 After Tax Is dismissed Reported last week by various news agencies,
the Brazilian government has ruled that local states no longer need to tax renewable power, which could allow the country to reach 2 GW of rooftop solar by 2024.
According to reports, Brazil government will lower profit participation contributions and social security taxes for solar equipment used by residential customers.
Brazil Energy Minister Eduardo Braga announced the move on Wednesday of last week, adding that the country government will also ask states to reduce the goods flow tax on the energy generated by solar. he state of Sao paulo endorsed our proposal
and is leading a process that is a milestone for Brazilian solar generation Braga said in a speech to Congress. ax exemption will enable this source to be competitive,
though he apparently did not say how much the taxes might be reduced. The ICMS tax is said to average 20%to 30%of the value of renewable energy that homes
and businesses return to the grid. he initiative is a positive sign to spur distributed generation in Brazil,
said Rodrigo Lopes Sauaia, executive director of the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar energy Association. As for the possible threshold of 2 GW by 2024, figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance calculate that approximately 700
000 homes and small businesses would have to install solar panels to reach the figure. Solar power is already beginning to be a hope for the future in Brazil,
with numerous solar power plants being initiated and funded over the past few months. A 350 MW floating solar plant was announced earlier in April,
and a few days ago Minas gerais, the southeastern state of Brazil, announced that it will start the process to auction bids for the development of solar PV power plants P
#New Battery technology Will Fundamentally Change The Way The Grid Operates Originally published on Energy Post.
By Michael Mcelfreshthe spread of cost-effective batteries, such as Tesla new Powerwall, will fundamentally change the way the electric grid operates,
writes Michael Mcelfresh of Santa clara University. Combined with other innovations, batteries in homes and businesses will transform how people
and businesses treat electricity. Along the way, these batteries will improve the efficiency and reliability of the grid overall.
Right now, most power is generated at large power plants and distributed to consumers. Electric energy storage allows a two-way flow of power
which offers some significant advantages for support of the power grid. For example, storage is particularly useful for offsetting the intermittent nature of wind and solar photovoltaics,
which don produce power on demand as a fossil fuel power plant does. For an individual consumer, having a battery behind the meter provides a great deal of flexibility in managing energy use.
Batteries allow consumers to cut their electric bills by reducing how much power they consume during peak hours when power costs more,
which is the case in many states such as California. Homes with rooftop solar panels and batteries can actually use energy from their solar systems during power outages and
with a modest amount of storage, have sufficient power to last for days if the grid is out.
And with enough storage, they can disconnect from the grid indefinitely a development utilities fear.
A number of states have net metering, programs in which utilities purchase the excess electricity from solar panels that fed into the grid.
In combination with net metering, behind-the-meter storage creates the opportunity for customers to buy power from the grid
when prices are low and then sell stored energy from batteries when prices are high.
This practice, known as arbitrage has led to concerns at utilities which have levied large additional charges for equipment installations in some places.
Commercial and industrial customers stand to benefit from behind-the-meter storage as well. They can reduce their usage during times of peak demand
and cut so-called demand charges fees for maximum power usage that can dominate how much they pay for energy.
From the perspective of the power grid, electric vehicles (EVS) can in many respects be considered a variation of behind-the-meter storage they just happen to be mobile.
EV batteries can hold a significant amount of energy. The Nissan leaf for example, holds 24 kilowatt-hours,
while an average house will use 30 kilowatt-hours per day, so a car battery could provide backup power during an outage.
But electric cars create challenges for grid operators. Because they draw so much current during charging, there is the potential to overload circuits that serve neighborhoods.
In order to mitigate this and avoid the cost of upgrading the infrastructure, some utilities offer, or require, special tariffs that reward EV charging at night
when energy demand and prices are low. By charging when the power use is low, EVS can help flatten the typical load curve of the grid
and draw power at off-peak hours at night. Since EVS are pulling power off the grid
they can also offset excess power production from wind in particular, which often generates more power than can be used late at night.
That can help generators avoid the negative pricing when excess power reduces the real-time price of power to less than zero sometimes associated with excessive wind generation conditions.
Meanwhile, EVS can address the decreasing power sales utilities have been experiencing by adding what is a essentially another power-hungry appliance to their monthly bills.
Close on the horizon is so-called vehicle to grid (V2g) technology. Standards will finally make it possible to use the EV battery in two-way operation with utilities.
The University of Delaware for example, has experimented with ways to connect parked EVS to the electric grid.
When grid operators need a short burst of power or have excess power, they push power back and forth into the EVSBATTERIES.
Owners could be paid for these services. A real game changer, however, would be if utilities could manage the behind-the-meter storage with another technology known as demand response
or cutting power use at key times during the day. Utilities used to make deals with large energy users, such as factories,
and call them on the phone to cut power use during peak power days. For example
in the middle of a hot summer day when the load from air conditioning is high, grid operators struggle to meet the demand.
Cutting power during those peak hours gives them more capacity to avoid brownouts. And in exchange for agreeing to reduce power on peak days,
customers get some sort of payment. Demand response lowers power use during peak hours of the typical daily oad curve.
S Energy Information Administrationthe phone calls of old evolved into automated systems. And eventually, in deregulated markets,
businesses formed that collect the demand response commitments from multiple large energy users. Then they sell that capacity to reduce power
when needed on the daily energy markets. This has been an effective method for reducing dependence on the polluting
and expensive generators that only run for those few weeks of peak needs. More recently utilities particularly those with hourly pricing plans such as Comed in Illinois
and Austin Energy in Texas have begun experimenting with demand response in the residential market. Smart thermostat maker Nest uses its internet-connected thermostat to respond to demand response requests on peak demand days.
Customers can respond to a day-ahead phone notification by choosing to opt out of the event
or they can simply adjust the thermostat to opt out after the utility has given the signal.
Some more recent demand response experiments involve hour-ahead notification. So far these experiments have dealt mostly with adjusting thermostats to reduce loads
but appliances are now being sold with the ability to use real-time pricing for operating decisions.
What if the behind-the-meter storage could be dispatched by demand response signals? If utilities could draw on the energy stored in behind-the-meter batteries and EVS,
it could have a range of benefits. The connected storage could lower power costs by eliminating some peak generation needs
and provide a buffer for variable wind and solar power. For the consumer, energy storage enables a whole new way to look at home electricity use.
It can provide energy security, lower energy costs and eventually offer an opportunity to become part of the market for buying
and selling power t
#Sunpower Looks To Develop 1gw Of Solar Farms In Chile Over Next 5 Years US Solar giant Sunpower,
which recently bought the American solar assets of Australian renewables developer Infigen, has turned its attention to ne of the most attractive regions on the planetfor solar,
revealing plans to spend as much as $1. 5 billion on solar farms in Latin american country, Chile.
The California-based company wants to develop 1gw of solar farms in Chile in five years, according to CEO Tom Werner,
who describes the country as a strategic market, with henomenal sunshineand a favourable economic and policy environment,
including new rules for utility-scale solar auctions. Indeed, Chile has a target of 20 per cent of renewables generation by 2025 and,
under President Michelle Bachelet, has introduced a system allowing wind and solar electricity generators to sell their power in specific time-blocks,
increasing their ability to compete with traditional power plants. This, alone, has led to Chile installing a forecast record amount of new installed renewable capacity of 1. 1gw in 2015,
including 680mw from solar PV plants, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. ow growth will come from auctions,
said Adam James, solar analyst for Latin america at GTM Research. hile alone will be responsible for half of new solar installations in Latin america this year. ccording to Werner,
the company will participate in Chile next energy auction, for which participants can submit bids until April 2016,
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