Monday, September 24, 2012
Hydrogen fuel cell for phone charging set for 2013
Hydrogen Generating Sheet. Credit: Rohm
(Phys.org)—A three-way collaboration between Japan-based Rohm, Aquafairy, and Kyoto University has resulted in the development of a smartphone-charging fuel cell—a compact, high output, portable hydrogen powered fuel cell that can generate electricity by producing hydrogen. This is achieved through a chemical reaction between calcium hydride sheets and water. The fuel cell can generate five watt hours of electricity, to charge an average smartphone within two hours. The fuel cell will be promoted for a variety of uses, from charging a smartphone to serving as a 200-watt portable generator delivering backup power.
Rohm said the new hydrogen fuel cells use a solid that creates hydrogen by adding water, generating power through "hydro-synthesis." No harmful byproducts such as carbon dioxide or VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) are involved. The fuel cells can be disposed of as general waste.
If the sheets are laminated and sealed, they last for twenty years, claimed a spokesman. Lithium ion batteries lose their charging ability in four to five years. Aquafairy had been developing a small fuel cell some years ago when they then started to exchange information with Rohm. Also, Rohm and Aquafairy have launched a joint project for a compact, lightweight 400-watt fuel cell system with Kinkei System.
Credit: Diginfonews
The fuel cell announced this month is promoted as advanced in its use of calcium hydride in place of magnesium hydride. Calcium hydride has high reactivity with water at a wide range of temperatures. Stable reactions are possible just by taking measures to suppress reactions. A resin is added to calcium hydride. ROHM and Aquafairy succeeded in solidifying calcium hydride in a sheet configuration, generating approximately 4.5 litres of hydrogen from a sheet less than 3cc in volume (measuring 38 x 38 x 2mm), providing a power output of 5Whr, said Rohm.All in all, collaborative efforts of Rohm, Aquafairy and Kyoto University have resulted in plans for (1) the cover type and card case type of fuel cell, which have a generation capacity of 5Wh for smartphones, (2) a portable power generator with an output power of 200Wh and (3) a 400Wh fuel cell for seismometers, developed in collaboration with Kinkei System.
Hydrogen fuel cell. Credit: Rohm
In describing the special nature of fuel cells, Aquafairy has said that a fuel cell doesn't store electricity, but generates it like a power-generating plant. It can continue to supply electric power as long as hydrogen and oxygen fuel are supplied."Fuel cells can be made smaller, lighter, and more efficient than conventional storage and rechargeable cells, and thus are expected to drive expansion into new markets and applications, said a Rohm release.
Rohm, Aquafairy, and Kyoto University will continue to work on their development. They plan to evaluate the reliability of the fuel cell, make improvements and commercialize it in 2013.
The fuel cell will be shown at CEATEC in Japan early next month and at Electronica in Munich, Germany, in November.
Foxconn Riot Much Worse Than First Thought: 10 Reported Dead
More than 2,000 Foxconn workers were involved in the riot.
Earlier today, we reported on the Foxconn riot that broke out at the company’s Taiyuan, China, plant on Sunday evening. More than 2,000 employees were involved, and it took more than 5,000 police several hours officers to bring the disturbance under control.
Although many were injured, it was first thought that there were no deaths. Unfortunately the riot was much worse than initially reported, and ten workers have now been pronounced dead, according to reports.
According to CPCW — via Chinese blog MIC Gadget — the disturbance resulted in ten deaths, and the plant has now been closed for at least three days while investigations take place. However, Foxconn has denied that were any fatalities.
“We can confirm that there have been no employee deaths related to the incident which took place at an employee dormitory in Taiyuan last night. Reports to the contrary are inaccurate,” the company said in a statement.
This particular plant employees more than 79,000 people, and it specializes in the assembly of manufactured components and stamping metal. It is currently producing the new aluminum rear panels that feature on Apple’s iPhone 5, and at least one production line was damaged during the riot.
This is the same plant where workers rioted back in March, and MIC Gadget claims it’s notorious for its strict overtime requirements, which are forced upon its workers. But one of the biggest complaints is that security personnel are abusive to staff, which is said to be the cause of Sunday night’s brawl.
Our sources indicated that one of the security guards hit a Foxconn worker and this made even more of the workers angry and they started to beat up the security guard and others who tried to stop the fighting. Eventually as the Foxconn hired security was overwhelmed rather quickly, they called for backup. They have said it is a dispute between “workers” that started between 10-11pm on September 23rd. However it rapidly escalated from there.
Gang members from Shandong and Henan also became involved in the fight when news spread, and it took 5,000 police officers until 3 a.m. to bring it under control.
In an effort to keep the fight under wraps, employee cellphones were confiscated and erased, and around 100 people were arrested. In addition to this, Chinese authorities moved quickly to have photographs and videos of the incident removed from microblogging site Sina Weibo.
As workers fled the scene, many were trampled, and around 40 individuals are now in the local hospital with injuries, though MIC Gadget suspects the actual number may be greater than that.
Apple also has four of its own employees located at this plant, which are working to improve efficiency and quality control. It’s unclear where these workers were at the time the riot started.
With the plant now closed for three days, and at least one production line damaged, it could be that Apple’s iPhone 5 shipping delays get worse before they get better.
Microsoft faces fine over browser commitment: EU
US software giant Microsoft faces yet more heavy fines after it promised to offer clients a choice of web browser but has failed to do so, the EU's competition commissioner said.
US software giant Microsoft faces yet more heavy fines after it promised to offer clients a choice of web browser but then failed to do so, the EU's competition commissioner said Monday.
Microsoft apologised in July for a "technical error" as the EU launched a probe into why 28 million users of the Windows 7 operating system were unable to choose between the company's default Internet Explorer and other browsers.
The company had committed in 2009 to provide Windows users in Europe a "choice screen" enabling them to pick an alternative web browser until 2014.
The screen, however, was missing from an update to Windows 7 posted in February 2011 and when it failed to appear, the Commission ran out of patience and launched the formal probe in July.
Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said that as result, Microsoft would be fined.
"The fault is there, it has been there for more than a year and it is clear that we need to react," he said.
"It is not only the distortion of competition during this period which concerns us; it is very serious, from my point of view, that the remedies imposed on Microsoft have not been applied," he said.
"It is easier to make progress in our investigation if a company which has broken competition rules recognises the fact," Almunia added.
A company that is found by the Commission to have breached legally-binding commitments can face fines of up to 10 percent of total annual turnover.
A Microsoft spokesman said the company had responded in July by agreeing to "extend the time period to show the browser choice screen by the time that we failed to show it".
The company has "already sent the browser choice screen to every user who hadn't seen it; all new users will see (it)," the spokesman added.
The EU fined Microsoft 899 million euros ($1.2 billion) in 2008 for failing to comply with an order to share product information with rivals so that their software can work with Windows.
Renewed boycott announced against GMO pushing mega-corporations
Proposition 37, a Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food Initiative, plainly states that raw or processed foods offered for sale to consumers must be properly labeled if they contain GMOs, and that no food products labeled "natural" can legally contain GMOs. Passage of this important ballot measure is the key to sparking GMO labeling laws nationwide, as it has the potential to drastically change for the better the way major food companies formulate their products. (http://www.carighttoknow.org/)
Several major chemical and food corporations; however, have been actively injecting tens of millions of dollars behind the scenes to stop Prop. 37 from becoming law. And many of these corporations own smaller companies and brands that are marketed as organic or "natural" in health food stores all across the country. It is important in these final days before the November 6 election to stop buying these brands, and support only healthy and organic brands that are not tied to major corporations fighting GMO labeling efforts.
Here is a list of the top corporations fighting GMO labeling efforts, as well as their subsidiary companies and brands. Many of these companies' products and their respective brands are available in health food stores, and you should avoid supporting them because of their pro-GMO position:
• Pepsi -- SoBe, Tazo, IZZE Sparkling Juice, Naked Juice, Naked Juice Coconut Water, Mother's Cereals, Nut Harvest Nuts, Sabra Hummus, Stacy's Pita and Bagel Chips, Aquafina
• Nestle -- Gerber Organics, Juicy Juice, Perrier, Poland Spring, S. Pellegrino, PowerBar, Tribe Mediterranean Foods
• Coca-Cola -- DASANI, FUZE Healthy Infusions, glaceau smartwater, glaceau vitaminwater, Honest Tea, Odwalla, Simply juices
• ConAgra -- Alexia Foods, Lightlife
• Kellogg's Company -- Kashi, Bear Naked, Wholesome & Hearty (Gardenburger), Morningstar Farms / Natural Touch
• General Mills - Cascadian Farm Organic, Muir Glen, Good Earth, Larabar, Liberte Greek yogurt, Nature Valley
• Kraft - Halls cough drops
• Dean Foods / Land O Lakes - Silk, Horizon Organic
A more thorough list of the top companies fighting GMO labeling can be accessed here:
http://www.anh-usa.org/our-gmo-boycott-is-expanding/
ANH-USA has also created its own list of companies and brands that are tied to mega-corporations fighting against Prop. 37 and other GMO labeling initiatives:
http://www.anh-usa.org/boycott-companies-fighting-prop-37/
"Why is this GMO labeling fight so important? Once GMOs are labeled in California, it will bring a cascade effect in other states as well, since most national companies won't create two labeling schemes, one for California and one for the rest of the country," says ANH-USA. "Moreover, once products containing GMOs are labeled, people will stop buying them -- and this economic pressure will be enough to force GMOs off the market."
On the flip side, here is a list of companies that actively support Prop. 37 and GMO labeling efforts elsewhere (http://www.anh-usa.org/boycott-companies-fighting-prop-37/). These are the companies that deserve our unabashed support for their commitment to honesty and transparency in food labeling:
Source: Natural News
Non-Disease Virus Kills Breast Cancer Cells In Lab
In earlier studies, the team also showed that AAV2 promotes cell death in cervical cancer cells infected with human papillomavirus (HPV).
Cells have different ways of dying. When a healthy cell gets damaged, or starts behaving in an abnormal way, this normally triggers production of proteins that cause apoptosis or cell suicide: part of this process also involves switching off proteins that trigger cell division. The problem with cancer cells is that apoptosis fails, and the proteins that regulate cell division and proliferation stay switched on, so abnormal cells continue to multiply and create new abnormal cells and that is how tumors develop.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the world and the main cause of cancer-related death in women.
First author Dr Samina Alam, research associate in microbiology and immunology at Penn State, told the press in a statement released on Thursday that breast cancer is also "complex to treat".
Senior investigator Dr Craig Meyers, professor of microbiology and immunology at Penn State, explained why:
"Because it has multiple stages, you can't treat all the women the same. Currently, treatment of breast cancer is dependent on multiple factors such as hormone-dependency, invasiveness and metastases, drug resistance and potential toxicities."
However, he went on to say that in their study, they showed that "AAV2, as a single entity, targets all different grades of breast cancer".
He and his team believe that AAV2 is switching back on the apoptosis pathways that were switched off in the cancer cells.
For their study they used lab tissue cultures of cancer cells and found AAV2 killed 100% of them within seven days, with most of the cell death proteins activated on day five.
In another experiment, working with cancer cells from an aggressive form of breast cancer, they found the virus took three weeks to kill the cells.
Alam said they can see the virus is killing the cells, but exactly how it is doing it remains somewhat of a mystery.
"If we can determine which viral genes are being used, we may be able to introduce those genes into a therapeutic. If we can determine which pathways the virus is triggering, we can then screen new drugs that target those pathways. Or we may simply be able to use the virus itself," said Alam.
They still need to do more to find out exactly how AAV2 kills the cancer cells and for instance establish which of its proteins trigger the cell death pathways.
Although AAV2 does not affect healthy cells, if it were used directly as a treatment, the human immune system would probably target it and expel it from the body. That is why the researchers think a better approach would be to find which pathways it uses and then develop drugs that use them.
Meyers has a hunch that it involves the cellular myc gene. This gene is usually linked to cell proliferation, but sometimes myc protein is known to be involved in apoptosis as well.
In their paper, he and his co-authors explain how they found increased expression of this gene close to the time of death in the breast cancer cells.
The researchers at Penn State have also found that AAV2 can kill cells derived from prostate cancer, methoselioma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.
They have also studied the effect of AAV2 on the most aggressive form of breast cancer in a mouse model; preliminary tests suggest it destroys such tumors in mice, and they will be reporting those findings soon, they said in a statement.
German Study Says Condoms Contain Cancer-causing Chemical
A German scientific research institute has warned that most condoms on the market contain a cancer-causing chemical and has urged that their manufacture be subjected to stringent quality control.
Sobering news for rubber contraceptive users.
The Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Institute in Stuttgart said on Friday it had found the carcinogen N-Nitrosamine in 29 of 32 types of condoms it tested in simulated conditions.
The condoms, which were kept in a solution with artificial sweat, exuded huge amounts of cancer-causing N-Nitrosamine from its rubber coating. Researchers measured amounts of N-Nitrosamine, that were way above the prescribed limits for other rubber products such as baby pacifiers.
"N-Nitrosamine is one of the most carcinogenic substances," the study's authors said. "There is a pressing need for manufacturers to tackle this problem."
The study said that the carcinogen is thought to be present in a substance used to improve condom elasticity. When the rubber material comes in contact with human bodily fluids, it can release traces of N-Nitrosamine.
No immediate health risk
But since there are no prescribed limits of N-Nitrosamine for condoms, the study hasn't caused panic among manufacturers or mass-recalling of the products from counters.
Local government officials said condom users should not stop using rubber contraceptives based on the results of the study because N-Nitrosamine does not present an immediate health risk.
The Baden-Würtemmberg Social Ministry said it didn't think "it posed a risk." Authorities are also withholding the name of the affected manufacturers for fear of litigation.
Manufacturers should use alternative substances
But Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment said that daily condom use exposed users to N-Nitrosamine levels up to three times higher than levels naturally present in food.
Werner Altkofer, head of the Stuttgart-based Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Institute said that though the production of rubber usually uses chemicals that can exude N-Nitrosamine, condom manufacturers could bypass it by using more expensive alternative substances available on the market that didn't form the carcinogen.
"We believe that it's up to the manufacturers to use other production processes so that no N-Nitrosamine is formed in condoms," Altkofer said.
He added that the latter was technically possible going by the fact that products of some manufacturers didn't show traces of the carcinogen during the testing.
Beate Uhse taking no chances
Germany's biggest erotica compnay Beate Uhse however, has decided to play it safe.
Shortly after the results of the study were introduced on Friday, the group banned chocolate-flavored condoms from its range. That was because the study had show that condoms laced with a chocolate flavoring had overwhelming high levels of N-Nitrosamine.