A total of four ocean sunfish have been spotted along Germany's Baltic coast over the last week, far away from their habitat in tropical and temperate waters. Biologists say the awkward, slow-moving and friendly giants are likely to have been swept in by storms. Maritime experts and beachcombers have been puzzled by the appearance of several sunfish -- strange, disk-shaped creatures that can reach a length of up to 3.30 meters and a weight of over two tonnes -- along Germany's Baltic Sea coast in recent days, thousands of miles away from their normal habitat in tropical and temperate waters around the world. A fisherman said on Saturday he had caught a 10-kilo, 60-centimeter-long sunfish out of the water near the island of Rügen. Last Wednesday, walkers found two sunfish, one 80 centimetres long and the other a full meter, lying dead on a beach east of the city of Kiel. A day before, passersby had spotted a smaller sunfish that still showed signs of life, and had pushed it back in the water.
Maritime experts and beachcombers have been puzzled by the appearance of several sunfish -- strange, disk-shaped creatures that can reach a length of up to 3.30 meters and a weight of over two tonnes -- along Germany's Baltic Sea coast in recent days, thousands of miles away from their normal habitat in tropical and temperate waters around the world.
A fisherman said on Saturday he had caught a 10-kilo, 60-centimeter-long sunfish out of the water near the island of Rügen. Last Wednesday, walkers found two sunfish, one 80 centimetres long and the other a full meter, lying dead on a beach east of the city of Kiel. A day before, passersby had spotted a smaller sunfish that still showed signs of life, and had pushed it back in the water.
Slovenia's capital, Ljubljana, is set to become more visible on the political map of the 27-nation EU as the city has been selected to house the union's Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), designed to boost the idea of a single European market in electricity and gas. The decision - taken by EU ministers in charge of energy on Sunday evening (6 December) - puts an end to what was described as "a tough game" between three contestants. Slovakia's Bratislava came in second, while the third bidder, Bucharest in Romania, enjoyed the least support. "It is a historical day for Slovenia," Slovenian minister Matej Lahovnik said in response to the outcome. In the past, his country failed to get Frontex, the agency responsible for security of the union's external borders, as well as the European Institute for Gender Equality.
The decision - taken by EU ministers in charge of energy on Sunday evening (6 December) - puts an end to what was described as "a tough game" between three contestants. Slovakia's Bratislava came in second, while the third bidder, Bucharest in Romania, enjoyed the least support.
"It is a historical day for Slovenia," Slovenian minister Matej Lahovnik said in response to the outcome. In the past, his country failed to get Frontex, the agency responsible for security of the union's external borders, as well as the European Institute for Gender Equality.
The first, provisional dates for the 2010 TTxGP Championship leccy bike racing series have been released. And two new teams have signed up for 2010 race series. The first e-bike contest of 2010 will be the inaugural event of the North American Championship and will take place at Infineon Raceway in California on 14 and 16 May. Another three US dates are expected to be announced early in the new year.
The first, provisional dates for the 2010 TTxGP Championship leccy bike racing series have been released. And two new teams have signed up for 2010 race series.
The first e-bike contest of 2010 will be the inaugural event of the North American Championship and will take place at Infineon Raceway in California on 14 and 16 May. Another three US dates are expected to be announced early in the new year.
In a city where clean water has become a commodity that is delivered to the highest bidder, the poor often have to go without. Yet those who have money can easily get enough. In Mumbai's wealthy suburbs, large tankers delivering water are commonplace. Every day more than 5,000 tankers deliver some 50 million litres of water to people who can pay, according to unofficial estimates cited by the newspaper Mumbai Mirror.
In a city where clean water has become a commodity that is delivered to the highest bidder, the poor often have to go without.
Yet those who have money can easily get enough. In Mumbai's wealthy suburbs, large tankers delivering water are commonplace.
Every day more than 5,000 tankers deliver some 50 million litres of water to people who can pay, according to unofficial estimates cited by the newspaper Mumbai Mirror.
BBC News - India's Tata launches water filter for rural poor
The Indian industrial conglomerate Tata Group has launched a new low-cost water purifier, aimed at lower-income households in rural areas.The Tata 'Swach' purifier is less than one metre tall, and does not need running water or electricity to work. The firm is hoping to revolutionise the business of providing clean water, a lack of which affects almost one billion people globally. Tata says the device is the result of a decade of research and development. The Tata Group includes India's largest carmaker Tata Motors, and also has interests in steelmaking, IT, and chemicals.
The Indian industrial conglomerate Tata Group has launched a new low-cost water purifier, aimed at lower-income households in rural areas.
The Tata 'Swach' purifier is less than one metre tall, and does not need running water or electricity to work.
The firm is hoping to revolutionise the business of providing clean water, a lack of which affects almost one billion people globally.
Tata says the device is the result of a decade of research and development.
The Tata Group includes India's largest carmaker Tata Motors, and also has interests in steelmaking, IT, and chemicals.
Tata Group launches water purifier for the masses - The Globe and Mail
The Tata Swach - Hindi for "clean" - meets U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, and doesn't require running water, electricity, or boiling, executives said. It's cheaper than boiling water, cheaper than bottled water, and 2.5 times less expensive than Hindustan Unilever's low-cost Pureit filter, according to data provided by the companies.Tata will sell two versions of the 19-litre Swach container, priced at 749 rupees ($16.11) and 999 rupees ($21.48), depending on the material. The filter itself costs 299 rupees ($6.43). It will purify 800 gallons (3,000 liters) of water - enough for a family of five for a year - before it automatically shuts down. [...] Tata Group launches water purifier for the masses - The Globe and MailTata's water filter grew out of a decade of research and development. It uses paddy husk ash as a matrix, bound with microscopic particles of silver to kill the bacteria that cause 80 per cent of waterborne disease, executives said. The current model doesn't neutralize chemicals like arsenic and fluoride, which contaminate some ground water in India, but future versions will, executives said. Paddy husk ash has long been known for its cleansing properties - it has been used traditionally for tooth washing - and India produces about 20 million tons of it a year.
The Tata Swach - Hindi for "clean" - meets U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, and doesn't require running water, electricity, or boiling, executives said.
It's cheaper than boiling water, cheaper than bottled water, and 2.5 times less expensive than Hindustan Unilever's low-cost Pureit filter, according to data provided by the companies.
Tata will sell two versions of the 19-litre Swach container, priced at 749 rupees ($16.11) and 999 rupees ($21.48), depending on the material.
The filter itself costs 299 rupees ($6.43). It will purify 800 gallons (3,000 liters) of water - enough for a family of five for a year - before it automatically shuts down.
[...]
Tata's water filter grew out of a decade of research and development. It uses paddy husk ash as a matrix, bound with microscopic particles of silver to kill the bacteria that cause 80 per cent of waterborne disease, executives said. The current model doesn't neutralize chemicals like arsenic and fluoride, which contaminate some ground water in India, but future versions will, executives said. Paddy husk ash has long been known for its cleansing properties - it has been used traditionally for tooth washing - and India produces about 20 million tons of it a year.
Tata's water filter grew out of a decade of research and development. It uses paddy husk ash as a matrix, bound with microscopic particles of silver to kill the bacteria that cause 80 per cent of waterborne disease, executives said.
The current model doesn't neutralize chemicals like arsenic and fluoride, which contaminate some ground water in India, but future versions will, executives said.
Paddy husk ash has long been known for its cleansing properties - it has been used traditionally for tooth washing - and India produces about 20 million tons of it a year.
A cheap catalyst can both generate hydrogen and release energy from it. The new material could be a breakthrough that will allow the unpredictable energy flows from wind and solar farms to be stored. As nations attempt to put their energy consumption in order, the need for better ways to store electrical power is becoming apparent: wind and solar power installations don't always provide power when it's most needed. Batteries are one option - although they'll have to improve before they are practical for large-scale storage - but another is converting excess electricity into hydrogen and feeding it through a fuel cell later to generate electricity. Now Vincent Artero at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France, and colleagues have shown that a cheap catalyst could be used to both generate hydrogen to store energy, and also to consume it to extract stored power. Until now, almost all hydrogen-generating catalysts have been made with the expensive metal platinum, making scaling up their use impractical. A platinum-free catalyst for hydrogen formation was developed in 2006, but it required water-free conditions that were incompatible with conventional methods of making the gas. Artero and his colleagues have solved that problem, coating the platinum-free catalyst in a membrane that lets hydrogen ions reach the catalyst, but not water molecules.
As nations attempt to put their energy consumption in order, the need for better ways to store electrical power is becoming apparent: wind and solar power installations don't always provide power when it's most needed. Batteries are one option - although they'll have to improve before they are practical for large-scale storage - but another is converting excess electricity into hydrogen and feeding it through a fuel cell later to generate electricity.
Now Vincent Artero at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France, and colleagues have shown that a cheap catalyst could be used to both generate hydrogen to store energy, and also to consume it to extract stored power.
Until now, almost all hydrogen-generating catalysts have been made with the expensive metal platinum, making scaling up their use impractical. A platinum-free catalyst for hydrogen formation was developed in 2006, but it required water-free conditions that were incompatible with conventional methods of making the gas. Artero and his colleagues have solved that problem, coating the platinum-free catalyst in a membrane that lets hydrogen ions reach the catalyst, but not water molecules.
In August, physicist Jia Liu at New York University outlined his design for a spacecraft powered by dark matter (arxiv.org/abs/0908.1429v1). Soon afterwards, mathematicians Louis Crane and Shawn Westmoreland at Kansas State University in Manhattan proposed plans for a craft powered by an artificial black hole (arxiv.org/abs/0908.1803). No one disputes that building a ship powered by black holes or dark matter would be a formidable task. Yet remarkably there seems to be nothing in our present understanding of physics to prevent us from making either of them. What's more, Crane believes that feasibility studies like his touch on questions in cosmology that other research hasn't considered.
No one disputes that building a ship powered by black holes or dark matter would be a formidable task. Yet remarkably there seems to be nothing in our present understanding of physics to prevent us from making either of them. What's more, Crane believes that feasibility studies like his touch on questions in cosmology that other research hasn't considered.
