Global Trade Wars Escalate Over Solar Energy
Solar panels point to the Nevada sky as they generate electricity for use on Nellis Air Force Base
Fair competition or Save the Planet? That could ultimately be at play as China and the West, long at odds over trade in steel, textiles and auto parts, risk being sucked into a row over protectionism in renewable energy equipment such as solar panels.
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Access To Clean Water Should Be A Human Right
A boy drinking water from a borehole in Zimbabwe
In this months PLoS Medicine Editorial, the editors argue that — despite recent international objections — access to clean water should be recognised as a human right.
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Cheaper And More Reliable Lithium-Ion Batteries
Lithium-ion cells that use polymer electrolytes can be affordably packaged in compact, flexible pouches
A new incarnation of lithium-ion batteries based on solid polymers is in the works. Berkeley, CA-based startup Seeo, Inc. says its lithium-ion cells will be safer, longer-lasting, lighter, and cheaper than current batteries. Seeo’s batteries use thin films of polymer as the electrolyte and high-energy-density, light-weight electrodes. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is now making and testing cells designed by the University of California, Berkeley spinoff.
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Plug-And-Play Solar Panels By Veranda Solar
Veranda Solar Panels
Solar start-up Veranda Solar wants to change the world of solar power the way Apple changed computers. Veranda got a big head-start on financing the start-up when the company was awarded 100,000€ as runner-up in the PICNIC Green Challenge, funded by the Dutch postcode lottery. The solar panels Veranda uses are nothing special. The prototypes were developed in cooperation with Stanford University and SunPower Corp. No new photovoltaic advances, no biomimicry.
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Medical Care You Can’t Afford Not To Afford
With the recession in full swing, more and more Americans seem to be putting their health-care needs on the back burner as they struggle to handle monthly bills and day-to-day expenses.
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DNA Portraits
DNA Mini Portrait
Have you run out of gift ideas for your loved ones this holiday season? Well, why not let DNA 11 help you out in this aspect? After all, we’re pretty sure that dad is sick and tired of receiving yet another belt-and-tie gift box, while mom might take offence at a new vacuum cleaner as if she doesn’t already have enough to do around the home already. DNA 11 has the perfect gift solution – something that will never cross the minds of most people – it has released its latest gift idea, the DNA Mini Portraits. This line of more affordable DNA art will bring together art, technology, beauty and pop culture in a single piece.
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OLED Sheets Replace Conventional Lighting
With geeks all over the world testing the supremacy of technology and pushing its frontiers, simple yet useful devices are going through a major facelift. An innovation of today becomes an object of daily use in a matter of few years. This time, it’s the turn of lighting devices. General Electric Co. has come up with a machine that can prints sheets of light. The flexible sheets are coated with a layer of OLEDs and other chemicals which run 8-inch wide with a final layer of metal foil to guard the mixture. It emits a blue-white glow on having passed electric current through it.
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