Laboratory Equipment

Artificial Forest Splits Water

In the wake of the sobering news that atmospheric carbon dioxide is now at its highest level in at least three million years, an important advance in the race to develop carbon-neutral renewable energy sources has been achieved. Scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have reported the first fully integrated nanosystem for artificial photosynthesis. While “artificial leaf” is the popular term for such a system, the key to this success was an “artificial forest.”

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/05/artificial-forest-splits-water

Today in Lab History: May 8, 1961- Seawater conversion

In 1961, the first practical seawater conversion plant in the U.S. was opened in Freeport, Texas, by the Office of Saline Water, U.S. Dept of the Interior. The plant was designed to produce about a million gallons of water a day at a cost of about $1.25 per thousand gallons.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/09/today-lab-history

Wind, Not Water, Formed Mound on Mars

A roughly 3.5-mile high Martian mound that scientists suspect preserves evidence of a massive lake might actually have formed as a result of the Red Planet’s famously dusty atmosphere, an analysis of the mound’s features suggests. If correct, the research could dilute expectations that the mound holds evidence of a large body of water, which would have important implications for understanding Mars’ past habitability.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/05/wind-not-water-formed-mound-mars

Investors Shift Focus to Cleaner Drilling

A decade ago, large investors in so-called clean technology had a straightforward goal: finance companies that would help eliminate the world’s dependence on oil, natural gas and coal.

But as profits from wind, solar, biofuels and other alternatives consistently fell short of expectations – and as the fossil fuel business boomed– things got complicated. Venture capitalists and other investment funds started stretching the definition of clean technology almost beyond recognition in an effort to make money while clinging to their environmental ideals.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/05/investors-shift-focus-cleaner-drilling

Today in Lab History: May 1, 1909- Hydroelectricity

In 1909, the first of five generating units was started in the power plant at the Minidoka Dam on the Snake River in Idaho. This was the first hydroelectric power plant to be built by the U.S. government. The first unit could generate 1,400 kilowatts of electricity.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/09/today-lab-history

‘Sea Stalactites’ Provide Origin of Life Clues

Life on Earth may have originated not in warm tropical seas, but with weird tubes of ice — sometimes called “sea stalactites” — that grow downward into cold seawater near the Earth’s poles, scientists are reporting. Their article on these “brinicles” appears in ACS’ journal Langmuir.

Bruno Escribano and colleagues explain that scientists know surprisingly little about brinicles, which are hollow tubes of ice that can grow to several yards in length around streamers of cold seawater under pack ice. That’s because brinicles are difficult to study. The scientists set out to gather more information on the topic with an analysis of the growth process of brinicles.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/sea-stalactites-provide-origin-life-clues

Comet Impact Brought Jupiter’s Water

ESA’s Herschel space observatory has solved a long-standing mystery as to the origin of water in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter, finding conclusive evidence that it was delivered by the dramatic impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in July 1994.

During the spectacular week-long collision, a string of 21 comet fragments pounded into the southern hemisphere of Jupiter, leaving dark scars in the planet’s atmosphere that persisted for several weeks.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/comet-impact-brought-jupiters-water

Solar-Powered Proteins Filter Harmful Antibiotics from Water

New research, just published, details how Univ. of Cincinnati researchers have developed and tested a solar-powered nano filter that is able to remove harmful carcinogens and antibiotics from water sources – lakes and rivers – at a significantly higher rate than the currently used filtering technology made of activated carbon.

In the journal Nano Letters, Vikram Kapoor, environmental engineering doctoral student, and David Wendell, assistant professor of environmental engineering, report on their development and testing of the new filter made of two bacterial proteins that was able to absorb 64 percent of antibiotics in surface waters vs. about 40 percent absorbed by the currently used filtering technology made of activated carbon. One of the more exciting aspects of their filter is the ability to reuse the antibiotics that are captured.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/solar-powered-proteins-filter-harmful-antibiotics-water

Technique Pinpoints Water Molecules Bound to Proteins

Water is crucial to the functioning of the body, even on very small scales. The ubiquitous liquid is key to the structure, folding and stability of proteins, but one of the still unanswered questions in the study of the structure and function of proteins and DNA is their exact relationship to their water environment. All of the molecules in our bodies function in water, but until now, we haven’t had a lot of experimental techniques to understand what water is doing or where it is binding to the interior surfaces of proteins.

A team of scientists from Case Western Reserve Univ. used the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory to develop a technique that pinpoints the location and motion of water molecules bound to proteins. Using temperature-dependent radiolysis and mass spectroscopy, they are able to identify where water is binding tightly or loosely on the surface of a protein and how it is influencing a protein’s function.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/technique-pinpoints-water-molecules-bound-proteins

Water Device Charges Cell Phones

A power source for your mobile phone can now be as close as the nearest faucet, stream or even a puddle, with the world’s first water-activated charging device.

Based on micro fuel cell technology developed at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, the MyFC PowerTrekk uses ordinary water to extend battery life for devices of up to 3 watts. Anders Lundblad, KTH researcher and founder of MyFC, says that the device can be powered by fresh or seawater. The water need not be completely clean.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/water-device-charges-cell-phones

Ancient Civilization had Methods of Water Conservation, Purification

Univ. of Cincinnati research at the ancient Maya site of Medicinal Trail in northwestern Belize is revealing how populations in more remote areas – the hinterland societies – built reservoirs to conserve water and turned to nature to purify their water supply. Jeffrey Brewer, a doctoral student in the Univ. of Cincinnati’s Department of Geography, will present his findings on April 11, at the Association of American Geographers’ annual meeting in Los Angeles.

Brewer’s research continues a UC exploration of the ancient Maya civilization that has spanned decades. The site for Brewer’s research, which was primarily occupied during the Classic Period (AD 250-900), functioned as a rural architectural community on the periphery of the major ancient Maya site of La Milpa.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/ancient-civilization-had-methods-water-conservation-purification