Political Ecology

Researchers from the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham have discovered the mechanisms that allow the common soil bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans to recover the precious metal palladium from industrial waste sources.Palladium is one of the platinum group metals (PGMs) which are among the most precious resources on earth. They possess a wide variety [...]

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized from polyethylene using a pyrolysis–combustion technique. Pre- or post-consumer polyethylene (in strips, pellets or ground particles) was pyrolyzed to gaseous products, which were then combined with an oxygen-containing gas and auto-ignited to create a fuel-rich flame. The combustion effluent was used to synthesize multi-wall CNTs using stainless-steel wire mesh as [...]

In the future, he added, it may be possible to develop collectors, similar to the solar cells that collect the sunlight to produce electricity, to capture hygroelectricity and route it to homes and businesses. Just as solar cells work best in sunny areas of the world, hygroelectrical panels would work more efficiently in areas with [...]

Carter explained that the substance became known as “dry water” because it consists of 95 percent water and yet is a dry powder. Each powder particle contains a water droplet surrounded by modified silica, the stuff that makes up ordinary beach sand. The silica coating prevents the water droplets from combining and turning back into [...]

Mitochondria, often called the powerhouse of the cell, have been harnessed in a new battery-like device that could one day power small portable devices like mobile phones or laptops. Mitochondria convert fatty acids and pyruvate, formed from the digestion of sugars and fats, to adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the cell’s energy supply. Along the way a [...]

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Basically, the generator works like an electromagnet. Powered by standard alternating current or battery, it runs electricity through a wire that is coiled around a metal cylinder, creating a harmless, low-energy magnetic field that extends for hundreds of meters. Just like radio, the field can carry an audio signal by modulating (raising or lowering) its [...]