Solar Flux; From Bug to Feature

Excess solar flux could be harnessed and used to generate additional electricity at a tower CSP plant, by cladding part of the tower containing the receiver with photovoltaic (PV) panels, according to Sandia scientist Cliff Ho. He found that adding PV on the tower could generate over 10 MW, or 10% of the total capacity of a 100 MW CSP plant, using the same reflected sunlight off heliostats used to focus “suns” up onto the tower receiver for thermal solar generation.

Grazing Horses on Better Pastures

When you picture a horse, you may imagine it grazing contentedly in a grassy pasture. Grazing lets horses move around naturally outdoors and socialize with other horses. And grass is an easily available, nutritious feed that horses like eating. If you have the land, providing pasture for horses is less costly than buying hay.

Nature Communications: A Specific Protein Regulates the Burning of Body Fat to Generate Heat

Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) have identified a protein that holds promise as a target for therapies to reduce obesity. Drs. Guadalupe Sabio and Nuria Matesanz have demonstrated that MKK6 controls the conversion of fat stores, known as white fat, into brown fat, in which lipids are burned to maintain body temperature and reduce obesity. The study is published today in  Nature Communications.

Live Phone Calls Better Than Text Messages and Letters to Remind People About Colon Cancer Screening

Live phone calls significantly outperform text messages and letters as a way to remind patients to complete and return at-home screening tests for colon cancer, according to new research in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Dual Project Supports Understanding of Climate Change and Astronomy

A team of researchers from across the country will work together to design a satellite instrument, which will sit on board the International Space Station (ISS). The technology will monitor the complex interaction between the Earth’s upper atmosphere and the climate, and could advance our understanding of earth observations and aeronomy. 

Tai Chi Holds Promise as Cardiac Rehab Exercise

The slow and gentle movements of Tai Chi hold promise as an alternative exercise option for patients who decline traditional cardiac rehabilitation, according to preliminary research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

Scientists Develop Tool Which Can Predict Coastal Erosion and Recovery in Extreme Storms

The damage caused to beaches by extreme storms on exposed energetic coastlines and the rate at which they recover can now be accurately predicted thanks to new research led by the University of Plymouth.

Best way to save the caribou? Look at white-tailed deer and moose

The most effective way to save North America’s dwindling caribou herds is to keep numbers of invading prey animals—like deer and moose—low, according to a new UAlberta research study.

“Prey like moose and deer are expanding in numbers and range because of logging and climate change,” said Robert Serrouya, a postdoctoral fellow in biological sciences professor Stan Boutin’s lab.

High-tech bandage uses phone app to identify infection

A “smart bandage” that detects and treats infection using a smartphone app has the potential for transformative advances in wound care, says UVic bioengineer Mohsen Akbari, principal investigator of a study published this week which describes the science behind the innovation.

Akbari and his UVic-based research team with collaborators from Harvard Medical School and UBC are working with UVic Industry Partnerships to commercialize GelDerm, a patent-pending bandage that monitors pH levels at wound sites to detect the earliest signs of bacterial infection.

Study tells of pumpkin-colored zombies

Reducing nutrient pollution may help prevent human disease