Spiraling laser pulses could change graphene

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 11:46am

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

This illustration depicts the structure of graphene, which consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern. A new simulation suggests that spiraling pulses of polarized laser light could change graphene's nature, turning it from a metal to an insulator. Led by researchers at SLAC and Stanford, the study paves the way for experiments that create and control new states of matter with this specialized form of light. Image: AlexanderAlUS via Wikimedia Commons

A new study predicts that researchers could use spiraling pulses of laser light to change the nature of graphene, turning it from a metal into an insulator and giving it other peculiar properties that might be used to encode information.

The results, published in Nature Communications, pave the way for experiments that create and control new states of matter with this specialized form of light, with potential applications in computing and other areas.

“It’s as if we’re taking a piece of clay and turning it into gold, and when the laser pulse goes away the gold goes back to clay,” said Thomas Devereaux, a professor at the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE)’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and director of the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES), a joint SLAC/Stanford institute.

“But in this case,“ he said, “our simulations show that we could theoretically change the electronic properties of the graphene, flipping it back and forth from a metallic state, where electrons flow freely, to an insulating state. In digital terms this is like flipping between zero and one, on and off, yes and no; it can be used to encode information in a computer memory, for instance. What makes this cool and interesting is that you could make electronic switches with light instead of electrons.”

Devereaux led the study with Michael Sentef, who began the work as a postdoctoral researcher at SLAC and is now at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Germany.

Tweaking a wonder material

Graphene is a pure form of carbon just one atom thick, with its atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern. Celebrated as a wonder material since its discovery 12 years ago, it’s flexible, nearly transparent, a superb conductor of heat and electricity and one of the strongest materials known. But despite many attempts, scientists have not found a way to turn it into a semiconductor—the material at the heart of microelectronics.

An earlier study demonstrated that it might be possible to take a step in that direction by hitting a material with circularly polarized light—light that spirals either clockwise or counterclockwise as it travels, a quality that can also be described as right- or left-handedness. This would create a “band gap,” a range of energies that electrons cannot occupy, which is one of the hallmarks of a semiconductor.

In the SIMES study, theorists used the DOE’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to perform large-scale simulations of an experiment in which graphene is hit with circularly polarized pulses a few millionths of a billionth of a second long.

Getting as close to real as possible

“Previous studies were based on analytical calculations and on idealized situations,” said Martin Claassen, a Stanford graduate student in Devereaux’s group who made key contributions to the study. “This one tried to simulate what happens in as close to real experimental conditions as you can get, right down to the shape of the laser pulses. Doing such a simulation can tell you what types of experiments are feasible and identify regions where you might find the most interesting changes in those experiments.”

The simulations show that the handedness of the laser light would interact with a slight handedness in the graphene, which is not entirely uniform. This interaction leads to interesting and unexpected properties, said SLAC staff scientist and study co-author Brian Moritz. Not only does it produce a band gap, but it also induces a quantum state in which the graphene has a so-called “Chern number” of either one or zero, which results from a phenomenon known as Berry curvature and offers another on/off state that scientists might be able to exploit.

Insights go beyond graphene

While this study does not immediately open ways to make electronic devices, it does give researchers fundamental insights that advance the science in that direction. The results are also relevant to materials called dichalcogenides, which are also two-dimensional sheets of atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure.

Dichalcogenides are the focus of intense research at SIMES and around the world because of their potential for creating “valleytronic” devices. In valleytronics, electrons move through a two-dimensional semiconductor as a wave with two energy valleys whose characteristics can be used to encode information. Possible applications include light detectors, low-energy computer logic and data storage chips and quantum computing. In addition to the work on graphene, members of the research team have also been simulating experiments involving the interaction of light with dichalcogenides.

“Ultimately,” Moritz said, “we’re trying to understand how interaction with light can alter a material’s character and properties to create something that’s both new and interesting from a technological point of view.”

Source: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Recycling nuclear waste

Fri, 05/29/2015 - 11:12am

Kate McAlpine, Univ. of Michigan

The simulation of the reactor core confirms that the dead zones allow the reactor to operate safely. This image shows where atoms split, or fission. The fuel rods run vertically, with the red, high-fission fuel regions and blue, low-fission dead zones. Image: Seker et al, Univ. of Michigan

The simulation of the reactor core confirms that the dead zones allow the reactor to operate safely. This image shows where atoms split, or fission. The fuel rods run vertically, with the red, high-fission fuel regions and blue, low-fission dead zones. Image: Seker et al, Univ. of Michigan

An advanced nuclear reactor under development by Hitachi could help solve the nuclear waste problem, and Univ. of Michigan researchers were involved in verifying its safe performance through computer simulations.

The U-M team worked with colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Univ. of California, Berkeley. After more safety analysis, Hitachi plans to move forward with a prototype of the "resource-renewable boiling water reactor" in the next few years.

One of the major technological hurdles for nuclear energy is developing systems to dispose of the waste produced by typical reactors. It must be sealed away for hundreds of millennia while the radioactivity naturally decreases.

Hitachi's new design would burn off the longest-lived radioactive materials, called transuranics, shortening that isolation period to a few centuries. This would recycle the nuclear waste to produce yet more energy and reduce the amount that must be stowed away.

"Because of transuranics, we're talking about lifetimes for storing fuel that we can't even fathom," said Thomas Downar, U-M professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences. "You get this down to a hundred years, then you're talking about the ability to engineer a container that you have confidence will last that long."

In the conventional boiling water reactors that currently produce about 30 percent of all the nuclear-generated electricity in the U.S., the neutrons that split uranium atoms have been slowed by the boiling water. In contrast, the Hitachi design uses fast neutrons since they are more likely to split, or fission, transuranic atoms.

Prototype fast reactors have been running since the 1970s, but they use a sodium coolant. Sodium burns when it comes into contact with air and reacts violently with water. This is one of the reasons why U.S. utilities that operate reactors have been hesitant to consider sodium-cooled designs.

A water-cooled fast reactor, though, could offer safer and more familiar operation. The challenge was designing a water-cooled core that would stop itself if it started overheating and the water turned to steam. In conventional reactors, the water's slowing action acts as a failsafe because steam is less effective at decelerating neutrons. Since fewer neutrons are at the right speed to cause fissions, the reaction rate slows down too.

For a boiling water reactor that's burning transuranics, this scenario is trickier. The faster neutrons could mean a faster fission rate, creating more heat, steam and fast neutrons.

"If something goes wrong and the power increases, you want to have the fission rate decrease," Downar said.

To create this safety feature in their reactor, Hitachi engineers plan large dead zones in the fuel rods, made of materials with a much lower probability of fissioning with fast neutrons.

Hitachi calculated that as the presence of steam reduced the density of the water, fast neutrons were likely to travel further. By keeping the active regions of the fuel assembly small, more neutrons would be lost to these "blanket" regions in an overheating scenario, slowing the fission rate.

Before beginning the expensive process of prototyping, Hitachi wanted to confirm with outside experts that the design would perform as expected.

With funding from the Department of Energy, members of Downar's group spent the last three years developing codes that could simulate the more complex layout and physics of Hitachi's reactor core design. For example, uranium fission reactions are reasonably steady and easy to predict, but transuranic reactions are irregular and difficult to calculate accurately.

The U-M team developed a method to generate data that simulates the way transuranics burn. They then applied this data to established codes currently used for boiling water reactor analysis. By looking at what happened when the steam bubbles appeared, the team found that the fast neutrons tended to leave the reactive part of the fuel assembly, slowing the reaction rate as planned.

Now, the university teams are about to begin a careful comparison of their methods with the predictions from the Hitachi computer codes to discover any differences in the simulation of the advanced reactor's performance. Hitachi will fund the teams at U-M, MIT and Berkeley for the next phases of the project.

Source: Universty of Michigan

‘$5 Insanity’: What You Should Know About Flakka

                                         May 21, 2015 -- Some call it “$5 Insanity.”

Flakka, a new designer drug, is surging in popularity. Poison control centers in states including Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas are responding to an increasing number of incidents involving it.

Here’s what you need to know:

What is flakka?

It’s a man-made stimulant called an alphaPVP. It’s similar to “bath salts,” another dangerous drug that’s grabbed headlines in recent years.

Its off-white, coarse crystals sell for as little as $5 a hit. The name comes from la flaca, a Spanish club-slang term for a sexy, skinny girl.

“It looks like aquarium gravel,” says Alfred Aleguas, PharmD, managing director of the Florida Poison Information Center, Tampa.

How is it used?

People have tried taking it in a number of ways, says Jeffrey Bernstein, MD, medical director of the Florida Poison Information Center, Miami.

Those ways include:

    Snorting
    Mixing with food
    Drinking like a tea
    Pressing into pill form
    Inserting it into the rectum
    Vaping in an e-cigarette
    Injecting

“With injecting, you’re really asking for trouble, because the drug is likely to be cut with … dirt, with talc, who knows what else -- and you’re putting all that in your veins,” Bernstein says.

How does it work on the brain?

Users feel a sense of euphoria, Bernstein says. “It plays with your neurotransmitters, [brain chemicals] like dopamine and serotonin.”

That can lead to a state called excited or agitated delirium in a high that lasts for several hours.

What are the risks?

People who are high on flakka often lose touch with reality, Aleguas says.

“They don’t know what they’re doing, they’re hallucinating, they’re paranoid, they’re aggressive, they’re super-agitated,” he says. “That’s why you see news stories of people running down the street naked, banging on cars in traffic and just crazy, crazy stuff.”

Other health effects that Aleguas and Bernstein often see include:

Another dangerous effect is hyperthermia, or elevated body temperature, which Bernstein says can reach 108 degrees. At that temperature, he says, blood can no longer clot and a person starts to bleed internally.
..

“They bleed and they go into multi-organ failure,” he says. “Lung, liver, kidney, and brain injury can each occur when their temperature stays too high for too long.”

In an emergency room, doctors attempt to cool the person, to calm them. They may also use diazepam, midazolam, or another similar drug to slow a user’s heartbeat.

“We give them symptomatic and supportive care, try to keep them from hurting themselves and hospital staff,” he says.

Who's using flakka?

Bernstein says most users are male and in their teens, 20s, or 30s, although some are older.

“I haven’t seen any regular users,” he says. “It tends to be used sporadically and is associated with concerts and parties and things like that.”

And those users don’t always know what they’re getting, says Bernstein, who gets a call about flakka every day, and more on the weekends. About one-third of calls are from users looking for help, he says, while the others are from emergency personnel caring for users and looking for guidance.

“There’s no quality control on the street, so no one knows for sure what they’re taking,” he says. “Just because they bought something called flakka, no one knows if that’s really what they used, much less what kind of concentration you’re getting. It’s an unknown drug at an unknown dose, and any dose is abuse.”
“They bleed and they go into multi-organ failure,” he says. “Lung, liver, kidney, and brain injury can each occur when their temperature stays too high for too long.”

In an emergency room, doctors attempt to cool the person, to calm them. They may also use diazepam, midazolam, or another similar drug to slow a user’s heartbeat.

“We give them symptomatic and supportive care, try to keep them from hurting themselves and hospital staff,” he says.

Who's using flakka?

Bernstein says most users are male and in their teens, 20s, or 30s, although some are older.

“I haven’t seen any regular users,” he says. “It tends to be used sporadically and is associated with concerts and parties and things like that.”

And those users don’t always know what they’re getting, says Bernstein, who gets a call about flakka every day, and more on the weekends. About one-third of calls are from users looking for help, he says, while the others are from emergency personnel caring for users and looking for guidance.

“There’s no quality control on the street, so no one knows for sure what they’re taking,” he says. “Just because they bought something called flakka, no one knows if that’s really what they used, much less what kind of concentration you’re getting. It’s an unknown drug at an unknown dose, and any dose is abuse.”

                                       source to this post : www.webmd.com

TE Connectivity 3D-prints first functioning motorcycle

The 3D-printed motorcycle, on display

The 3D-printed motorcycle, on display (Credit: TE Connectivity)

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Unveiled at Rapid 2015 in Long Beach, California, TE Connectivity’s exercise in 3D printing demonstrates the ability to design a motorcycle on a computer, print it in plastic, add tires and a motor, then take it for a spin. In fact it may take a little more than that to actually end up with a complete functioning motorcycle; nonetheless, the concept is nothing short of exciting.

Considering that fundamental parts such as the frame and wheel bearings are entirely printed in plastic, one would agree that TE’s goal to portray a technology that manufactures load-bearing production parts has been achieved.

Modeled in a Harley-Davidson Softail fashion, the motorcycle measures around 8 ft (2.4 m) long, weighs 250 lb (113.4 kg) and consists of more components than its designers can account for. Its frame, printed after a process of trial and error, can support a total of 400 lb (181 kg) – that would be two adult passengers. Apart from the small electric motor and tires, some other outsourced parts include the braking system, electrical wiring, battery, belt drive, mirrors, sidestand and some bolts.

The highlight is, of course, its fully functioning status. A small 1 hp (750W) electric motor can power a 15 mph (24 km/h) ride for several minutes. Though this may not sound ground-breaking, it doesn’t necessarily need a bigger battery or a stronger engine to make a point as a showbike at a conference on printing, scanning and additive manufacturing. All that matters is that, after some 1,000 work hours and US$25,000, TE Connectivity has come up with a proper motorcycle indeed.

The main load-bearing parts were constructed with Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology, the process of injecting layer upon layer of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic enriched with the heat resistant resin Ultem 9085. With this process, TE printed several parts with complex dynamic properties, such as the frame.

The wheel bearings sound tricky to fabricate, especially the rear one that was printed into a single piece with the hub and the drive sprocket. After some testing miles, both bearings reportedly held up against the load they must bear and the heat generated in the process. Equally difficult work has probably been involved in the fabrication of the wheel rims, which have to support real motorcycle tires with fully-inflated tubes.

Some metal parts like the headlight housing were printed in bronze through Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), where a laser melts the desired shape out of several layers of metal powder.

Apparently this is the second prototype or, more precisely, a rebuild of the first after it suffered some damage during transportation. Thankfully creative minds saw this as an opportunity rather than a calamity, finding the chance to make some improvements on the original design.

Although it seems highly improbable for an electronic connector and sensor manufacturer to build any more motorcycles, TE Connectivity’s achievement highlights some promising prospects. Already several DMLS applications are available to the automotive and aerospace industries though companies like EOS. Stratasys, whose printers worked overtime for this project in TE’s labs, is currently in a partnership with Ducati advising the Italians on developing in-house FDM prototyping. By printing functional prototype engines, Ducati has been able to cut the development time of a new Desmosedici race engine for MotoGP from 28 to only eight months. Benefits from this process are expected to reach production models sooner or later.

TE Connectivity initially thought of printing a model of a motorcycle as a display of sculpting skills. This had already been done, several times over. The idea of a functioning bike was born in the process, probably out of the realization that it could actually be done. After all, the first printed car was unveiled and driven in public just last September.

3D printing technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, having progressed in just a few years from forming simple ornamental plastic parts to generating dynamic structures that function within moving mechanisms. In this sense, this motorcycle that looks like a child’s toy may well prove to be a landmark product.

Sources: TE Connectivity, 3DPrint.com

5 Things the USA Needs to Know about China's New Military Strategy

May 28, 2015

On Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry of Defense issued its first policy document in two years, a white paper titled, “Chinese Military Strategy.” The document, released amid ongoing Chinese island reclamation and increasingly hostile warnings to U.S. Navy aviation assets operating in the South China Sea, outlines how the Chinese armed forces are expected to support Beijing’s geopolitical objectives.
In the white paper, a copy of which can be read online in English or Chinese, China vows to use the armed forces to create a “favorable strategic posture with more emphasis on the employment of military forces and means,” in order to guarantee the country’s peaceful development. The document also less-than-subtly indicts the United States (and other neighbors) for taking “provocative actions” surrounding Chinese reefs and islands.
Five major elements of the strategy worthy of American attention stand out:

1. Preserving the role of the Communist Party remains the People Liberation Army’s (PLA) number one priority:
The PLA’s most important task remains maintaining the power and authority of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The white paper makes it perfectly clear that the PLA first exists to protect the CPC and the regime of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Notions of defending the Chinese homeland or the people of China take a back seat to preserving the legitimacy and efficacy of the CPC. After all, the PLA is an arm of the CPC—not the Chinese state—and thus the Chinese armed forces are tasked solely with defending the Party rather than the well-being of 1.3 billion Chinese people. Should economic, demographic, or social issues threaten CPC legitimacy, Xi has the option of utilizing PLA forces to quell political opposition and domestic unrest.

2. China is building a military to fight and win wars:
The Chinese military is focused on ensuring recent investments in the PLA translate into genuine warfighting capability. The white paper clearly states that the PLA intends to, “endeavor to seize the strategic initiative in military struggle, proactively plan for military struggle in all directions and domains, and grasp the opportunities to accelerate military building, reform and development.” The Chinese military desperately wants a military capable of going on the offensive and defeating any challengers. The white paper gives particular emphasis to Chinese naval ambitions of becoming a blue water force. A Chinese blue water navy will operate regularly beyond the “first island chain” separating the South China, East China, and Yellow Seas from the Pacific, to protect Chinese strategic interests.
For officials in Beijing, a blue water navy is a modernized force capable of defending territorial claims, conducting global operations, and perhaps most significantly,constituting a “real challenge” to the U.S. Navy. While the desire for a capable blue water navy is not surprising, it serves as a warning to other nations in the region, a warning that is unlikely to ease existing tensions with neighboring Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. A Chinese military that is built to fight and win wars is also a military that could show little reluctance in using force to assert sovereignty.

3. The PLA appears focused on perceived threats from the United States, Japan, Taiwan, South China Sea littoral states and the Koreas:
The white paper and its reworked strategic guidelines reflect a perception of “new” national security issues: the U.S. rebalance to Asia; Japanese revisions to military and security policy; external countries meddling in Chinese territorial disputes in the South China Sea and elsewhere; instability and uncertainty on the Korean Peninsula; and independence movements simmering in both Taiwan and Tibet. Beijing’s security interests now lie farther from home, and across regions requiring an active military presence. The PLA leadership is seeking to equip and train its forces to meet new perceptions of the Chinese security environment. In doing so, the latest white paper makes certain China has no qualms in upholding a military strategy of “active defense,” or what the document breaks down into a combination of strategic defense, self-defense, operational and tactical offense, and a willingness to counterattack.

4. The Chinese military knows it has some big organizational hurdles to overcome:  
The white paper examines necessary measures to overhaul the daily operations and internal structure of the PLA. These include: giving continued priority to ideological and political work, modernizing logistics infrastructure, establishing a military law system, and integrating military and civilian support efforts. Specifically at the domestic level, the white paper stresses the need to improve national defense education, boost public awareness of the Chinese military, and rethink processes for bringing on PLA enlistees. These initiatives all appear to be aimed at tackling existing weaknesses in organizational and human capital to yield a stronger military force.

5. The good news: China is interested in military-to-military contacts and relationships and the white paper is a sign of increased transparency:

The white paper states that, “China’s armed forces will continue to develop military-to-military relations that are non-aligned, non-confrontational and not directed against any third party.” More specifically, the white paper expresses Chinese armed forces’ interest in fostering a new model of military relationship with U.S. armed forces that would include defense dialogues, exchanges and other measures aimed at strengthening mutual trust, preventing, unintended escalation, and mitigating crises. Military-to-military contact and engagement with China are beneficial to the United States because such initiatives can help avoid miscalculation and improve the U.S. ability to understand Chinese intent. Engagement also establishes a foundation for future negotiation and de-escalation if crises develop. The other “good news” in the white paper is its transparency. The white paper is a clear statement of Beijing’s military intent; after reviewing the white paper, the international community is left with a better understanding of Chinese plans for their military.
A clear-eyed reading of China’s new white paper should temper naïveté in thinking Beijing seeks to become a peaceful, responsible stakeholder in the global order. Aside from an interest in deepening existing mil-mil relationships, the new strategic guidelines leave little room to doubt Chinese ambitions of transforming into a modern, maritime power capable of challenging the United States in the Asia-Pacific theater and elsewhere in the world. The white paper signals that the Chinese military intends to project power beyond its immediate periphery, into the open ocean, in pursuit of a “national rejuvenation” aimed at countering what Chinese leaders see as U.S.-led efforts to check China’s rise. The document marks a notable transition from a Chinese focus on economic development—and a hands-off approach to global affairs—to a reorientation that not only accounts for the global scope of Chinese interests, but also suggests a national tenacity to defend Chinese interests through the use of force.
China’s white paper sends some disturbing messages that China is committed to “achieving slow motion regional hegemony.” It appears that China has both a vision and a plan to extend the PLA’s global reach—now it is up to the United States and its allies and friends in the Pacific to engage with China while working to devise an adequate response.
This piece first appeared in CFR’s blog Defense in Depth here.

source of this post - www.nationalinterest.org

Howe and Howe unveils Ripsaw EV-2 "luxury tank"

The Ripsaw EV2 could be described as Mad Max and Batman's love child (Credit: Howe and Howe)

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If you've seen Mad Max: Fury Road, then you'll be familiar with the tank-tracked Peacemaker chase vehicle. In fact, the Peacemaker was actually a modified Ripsaw, an off-road vehicle manufactured by Maine-based Howe and Howe Technologies. Although the movie version had a car body on top, the consumer/military version is open-topped. Now, however, Howe & Howe has announced the new-and-enclosed Ripsaw EV2 (Extreme Vehicle 2) – it's described as a "high-end luxury super tank."
Little is available in technical details right now, which is partly due to the fact that the EV2 will be made largely to individual buyers' specs.
We can tell you, however, that it has a power winch, gull-wing doors, a high-intensity light bar, 12 inches (30 cm) of suspension travel, and a diesel engine that puts out over 600 hp. It additionally has an interior that looks more like something out of one of the Batman movies than a Mad Max creation
.

There are also no performance specs just yet, although the company does state that the original Ripsaw (which is the base of the EV2) is the fastest dual-tracked vehicle ever made.
Should you be wanting one, you'd better be quick, patient and wealthy. Howe and Howe states that the Ripsaw EV2 will be made by hand in a limited run, each one taking up to six months to build, and costing "well into the 100s of thousands depending on desired luxury and performance packages."

Source: Ripsaw

Japanese nuclear plant cleared to restart

Thu, 05/28/2015 - 12:50pm

 

Associated Press

 

 

Today, a nuclear plant in southern Japan obtained the final permit needed to restart its reactors, paving the way for it to become the first to go back online under new safety standards introduced after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

All of Japan's more than 40 reactors are currently offline for repairs or safety inspections. The two units at the Sendai nuclear power plant are among 24 reactors seeking to restart, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pro-business government tries to put as many back online as possible.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved the Sendai plant's operational safety plans, the last step of a three-part screening process. The plant's safety program includes emergency response plans in case of fire, floods or other natural disasters or a serious accident.

The plant, owned by Kyushu Electric Power Co., won approval in September of the safety of its reactors and other equipment under tighter rules set after a powerful 2011 earthquake and tsunami decimated the Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.

Abe's government says nuclear energy is vital for resource-poor Japan's economy. It is now finalizing plans for Japan's long-term energy mix and is seeking to have nuclear energy supply about 20 to 22% of its energy needs in 2030, although public opinion remains divided.

While local municipalities have already approved the Sendai plant's restart, many residents oppose the plan, citing potential danger from active volcanos in the region.

Kyushu Electric hopes to restart one reactor at the Sendai plant in late July after onsite tests and training and the other in late September, though there could be some delays.

Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka reminded the utility of the importance of safety education and training for plant workers after a multi-year stoppage. Kyushu Electric vowed to further improve the emergency response training of its workers and ensure safety.

Researchers may have discovered fountain of youth by reversing aging in human cells

 

Japanese noriben, in the shape of mitochondria (Credit: University of Tsukuba)

Researchers in Japan have found that human aging may be able to be delayed or even reversed, at least at the most basic level of human cell lines. In the process, the scientists from the University of Tsukuba also found that regulation of two genes is related to how we age.
The new findings challenge one of the current popular theories of aging, that lays the blame for humans' inevitable downhill slide with mutations that accumulate in our mitochondrial DNA over time. Mitochondrion are sometimes likened to a cellular "furnace" that produces energy through cellular respiration. Damage to the mitochondrial DNA results in changes or mutations in the DNA sequence that build up and are associated with familiar signs of aging like hair loss, osteoporosis and, of course, reduced lifespan.
So goes the theory, at least. But the Tsukuba researchers suggest that something else may be going on within our cells. Their research indicates that the issue may not be that mitochondrial DNA become damaged, but rather that genes get turned "off" or "on" over time. Most intriguing, the team led by Professor Jun-Ichi Hayashi was able to flip the switches on a few genes back to their youthful position, effectively reversing the aging process.

The researchers came to this conclusion by comparing the function level of the mitochondria in fibroblast cell lines from children under 12 years of age to those of elderly people between 80 and 97. As expected, the older cells had reduced cellular respiration, but the older cells did not show more DNA damage than those from children. This discovery led the team to propose that the reduced cellular function is tied to epigenetic regulation, changes that alter the physical structure of DNA without affecting the DNA sequence itself, causing genes to be turned on or off. Unlike mutations that damage that sequence, as in the other, aforementioned theory of aging, epigenetic changes could possibly be reversed by genetically reprogramming cells to an embryonic stem cell-like state, effectively turning back the clock on aging.

For a broad comparison, imagine that a power surge hits your home's electrical system. If not properly wired, irreversible damage or even fire may result. However, imagine another home in which the same surge trips a switch in this home's circuit breaker box. Simply flipping that breaker back to the "on" position should make it operate as good as new. In essence, the Tsukuba team is proposing that our DNA may not become fried with age as previously thought, but rather simply requires someone to access its genetic breaker box to reverse aging.

To test the theory, the researchers found two genes associated with mitochondrial function 
and essentially experimented with turning them on or off. In doing so, they were able to create defects or restore cellular respiration. These two genes regulate glycine, an amino acid, production in mitochondria, and in one of the more promising findings, a 97-year-old cell line saw its cellular respiration restored after the addition of glycine for 10 days.

The researchers' findings were published this month in the journal Scientific Reports.
Whether or not this process could be a potential fountain of youth for humans and not just human fibroblast cell lines still remains to be seen, with much more testing required. However, if the theory holds, glycine supplements could one day become a powerful tool for life extension.

Similar research from the Salk Institute has also recently looked at other ways to slow down or stop aging at a cellular level, while yet another team is looking into a new class of drugs called senolytics that could help slow aging. 

Source: University of Tsukuba

Kahn Design unleashes Aston Martin Vengeance and Land Rover Defender fury

The 105 Defender Pick Up starts just under £59,000 (Credit: Kahn Design)

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It's been a big year for Kahn Design. The British tuning shop has been making headlines regularly, thanks to projects like the Land Rover Defender 6x6. Its latest two designs aren't quite as extreme as that Geneva-debuted six-wheeler, but they're quite interesting in their own right. The Aston Martin Vengeance and Flying Huntsman 105 Defender Pick Up exist at opposite ends of the automotive spectrum, but they both share a level of visual "wow."

Kahn revealed the 105 Defender Pick Up Prototype at the Great British Land Rover Show last month. The latest member of its Flying Huntsman family, this new prototype is based on a Defender 90 pickup, gaining an extra 15 inches (381 mm) of wheelbase length to meet its "105" designation. A set of burly fenders adds 6 in (150 mm) of width.

In addition to its increased dimensions, Kahn's Defender wears a new body kit, starting with a new front bumper, X-Lander grille and shadow chrome headlamps. A set of matte black 18-in Defend 1945 Retro wheels roll below extended wheel arches, and a hood release cable and side steps add simple convenience.

Kahn doesn't mention any tuning for the Defender 90's 2.2-liter diesel four, but it has added a six-speed automatic transmission. It has also overhauled the brakes and suspension and redesigned the interior with leather trim, refashioned instruments, a Churchill clock, a three-spoke billet steering wheel and vented machined aluminum foot pedals.

Kahn will offer the 105 Defender Pick Up package with a variety of color, trim and finish options, starting at £58,875 (approx. US$90,350).

Moving away from rugged 4x4 utility vehicles, Kahn has also recently teased an upcoming Aston Martin DB9 package it calls "Vengeance." The car earns that moniker by flashing its teeth angrily in a large, aggressive grille, a few extra big teeth over the prowling saber-toothed cat Kahn took inspiration from.

Moving backward, Kahn has removed any hint of angularity and transformed the DB9 with a series of flowing curves and surface volumes, best exemplified by the bulging rear fenders. The car rides on roulette-inspired two-tone wheels, 20 in/16 spoke up front and 21 in/18 spoke out back.

"Launching the Vengeance is the realization of a dream I’ve had since childhood, to design and produce my own car," Kahn CEO Afzal Kahn explains. "The design has gone through several iterations over the years and I’ve taken my time in selecting the right partners to prototype and manufacture the car, ensuring it represents the pinnacle of quality and perfection. I’ve kept every aspect of the underlying car from the crash structures to airbags – mechanically it’s unaltered – why change perfection? This is coachbuilding in its traditional sense – taking a tried and tested product and working solely on the aesthetic."

Kahn plans to begin hand-building a limited number of Vengeance models later this year, but has not yet announced pricing.

Source: Kahn Design

Mr. Everything wireless speaker can jump start a car

If the car's dead battery needs a jolt, Mr. Everything has a 16 V/2 A DC out port

In a very crowded marketplace, what can a newcomer to the Bluetooth speaker arena do to stand out from the crowd? Well, in the case of Mr. Everything, it's pack as much functionality and usefulness into a portable audio throwing box as possible. The water-resistant speaker comes with integrated emergency lighting, a wireless charging pad and enough stored juice to charge up a MacBook's battery twice or, as mentioned above, jump start a car. It's even got built-in storage. Not the flash memory kind, but somewhere to stow away essentials like protein bars or first aid supplies.
Described as an all-in-one charging station and speaker, Mr. Everything's built-in 14.8 V/6,700 mAh Li-Pol battery is reported capable of charging an iPhone 6 up to 15 times. The portable power bank is also being promoted as a source of emergency backup power should an earthquake, tornado or other natural disaster knock out the mains supply.

 

There's a lid up top which opens to a utility box for storing charging cables, earphones, thumb drives, house keys or all manner of modern life's necessities. The lid is also home to a Qi charging pad for wireless top ups of compatible smartphones. Each of the four USB ports provides 2.1 amps at 5 V, and if the car's dead battery needs a jolt then there's a 16 V/2 A DC out port, too. A similar Mr. Everything+ model also includes a universal AC outlet.
On the upper face, there's a groove for slotting in a tablet or smartphone for hands-free viewing and a line of playback and volume control buttons. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information available on what to expect from the speakers, other than the very vague assurance of "high quality Bluetooth-enabled audio" and that they'll be "comparable to expensive brand name speakers." This is because the final configuration has not yet been determined.
The Los Angeles-based development team (which includes a former senior engineer/researcher at Samsung) is currently considering three different units, with the lowest setup comprising two 6 W speakers rated at 8 ohms impedance.
Elsewhere, there's NFC connectivity (1 amp at 5 V), an aux-in jack to cater for non-Bluetooth devices and two LED lighting modules – a bright white one for use as a flashlight and some color-changing RGB mood lighting.

 

Mr. Everything and Mr. Everything+ are currently at the working prototype stage, each measuring 10.6 x 7.1 x 5.1 inches (269 x 180 x 129.5 mm) – though there is talk of reducing that bulk by about 30 percent for increased portability in the final products. Before consumers can actually get their hands on them however, the developers have launched on Kickstarter.
Early bird pledge levels of US$199 for the standard model and $299 for the Plus version have recently been extended, with backers potentially saving up to $150 off the expected retail price of each. The campaign runs until June 15 and, if all goes to plan, delivery to anywhere in the world is set to start in November/December.

Sources: Mr. Everything, Kickstarter