Michele, it gives much hope that scientists are studying how to use methane-eating bacteria, called methanotrophs, to eat up methane before it escapes to the atmosphere.
Methane is the scariest greenhouse gas because (1) it is 20 times more warming than carbon once it reaches our atmosphere. Also (2) a large quantity of methane has been stored beneath the Arctic Ocean ice cap and in the Arctic Circle tundra permafrost. Once the Arctic ice cap and the permafrost melt, tons of methane could be released into the atmosphere where it could cause sudden and catastrophic global warming.
So it's comforting to know that scientists are trying to find ways to understand this mysterious bacteria and possibly convert it to a chemical that could eat methane in the places we need. I wonder if they are getting the funding they need for these projects. I'd feel better about Bill Gates if he'd put his money towards these projects and forget about the aerosols.
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms11728
I'm not a scientist, so please correct me if I've stated this incorrectly.
Excrement stains in satellite images in Antarctica were how researchers discovered a penguin colony that had been living there for some 2,800 years. You can read about this incredible discovery here:
https://www.livescience.com/64282-hidden-adelie-penguin-supercolony.html
Some good news from the field of cancer research: Scientists develop 10-minute universal cancer test.
According to the Good News Network, a paper published in Atmospheric Environment researchers looked at how people could reduce air pollution from roads by planting trees and hedges.
Well, here's to re-thinking the definition of science and technology.
I wonder if this is a piece of our "future" puzzle. As much as we will develop some wonderful technology tools to help manage our lands and our lives, I think we will also dig deep into our past to find forgotten solutions to problems we currently face. An earth friendly way to problem solve.
- A California town threatened by the sort of wildfires that recently wiped out a neighbouring community is appealing for an unusual type of help: a crack team of goats.
Nevada City has launched a crowdfunding drive, dubbed “goat fund me”, to recruit a herd to munch through acres of wildfire-prone vegetation at the fringe of town.
Lovendures, I saw the same story about goat grazing and was pleased. Yes, I do think old methods and indigenous knowledge will play major roles in reversing environmental and cultural decay. Personally, I've never found much inspiration in the shiny techno-utopias envisioned by the wizards of Silicon Valley. Instead, I like to imagine that the coming decades will see a renaissance of "marginal knowledge" that has been hiding in plain sight.
For example, the adobe construction methods of Southwestern Indians is an effective, low-energy model for dwellings that will passively stay cool in the summer and retain heat in the winter. It also turns out that the leaves of the kratom plant (Mitragyna speciosa) can be used as a non-opioid treatment for fentanyl and heroin addiction. As disclosures like these gain traction among problem solvers, maybe we'll see a synthesis of old and new technology that gives rise to innovations beyond our current imaginings. One can hope...
Looks like the future has arrived, at least in Scottsdale.
Autonomous robotic vehicles have begun delivering groceries for Fry's Food Stores in Scottsdale, AZ. There is no driver in the vehicle, a first apparently, however a car with a human is driving behind during the test run. This is unlike other autonomous cars which do have a driver inside. The vehicle can travel up to 25 miles an hour and travels on side streets. They are actually kinda cute. I can see a good use for these, especially if you are sick or unable to drive. The cost for delivery currently is $5.95.
What will the future of housing look like? Perhaps housing after disasters? Perhaps this. Homes that build themselves in as little as 10 minutes.
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p06ywmw9/the-amazing-homes-that-build-themselves
Love this. Love thinking about homes that can handle the changes ahead.
Fascinating concept of house design and of levers from an industrial designing standpoint!
But I don't see or hear any mention of foundations, insulation, earthquake, tornado, high winds, flooding etc. resistance.
Lots of thoughts but fun to see, Lovendures!
Will be interesting to see if its more than winning art designs approach or truly environmentally livable, sustainable, ecofriendly or practical.
Some of those industrial art design people come up with some really amazing concepts that only end up in design venues, modern art shows, and promotional tours, but again I once scoffed at the concept of self-driving cars ?
Tesla Purchasing Ultracapacitor Maker Maxwell Tech | by Paul A. Eisenstein on Feb.05, 2019
http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2019/02/tesla-purchasing-ultracapacitor-maker-maxwell-tech/
It appears Tesla has decided to move away from it’s lithium-ion batteries toward eco-friendlier, less expensive, and more powerful storage systems in it’s future cars. This is welcome news. Hopefully we will learn more about this new technology and other applications it could be used for.
Loveendures, we have no idea where the the best place in the country would be to build a house. I have heard it suggested the Great Lakes area might be the best place. After the frozen weather there recently I'm not too sure. It's anyone's guess.
My wife and I recently bought a piece of property. At the moment we are planning to build a steel storage building on our property next July. We aren't going to build a house, at least for now. Instead, we will put a trailer inside the steel building and live in it during the winter and take it outside during warmer weather. Hopefully, we can sell our property and leave for somewhere else if our location becomes too unbearable for us. Maybe we will know where we want to go by then.
NWDoug and Lovendures, I've often wondered that myself!
It might end up apples and oranges, 6 of one, 6 of the other in pros and cons.
I just know when the program is over, I wouldn't mind a curtain call to send love and best wishes to all others!
Engineers develop a new way to remove carbon dioxide from air: The process could work on the gas at any concentrations, from power plant emissions.
The device is essentially a large, specialized battery that absorbs carbon dioxide from the air (or other gas stream) passing over its electrodes as it is being charged up, and then releases the gas as it is being discharged. In operation, the device would simply alternate between charging and discharging, with fresh air or feed gas being blown through the system during the charging cycle, and then the pure, concentrated carbon dioxide being blown out during the discharging.
-- ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191025170815.htm
University of CambridgeSummary:A widely-used gas that is currently produced from fossil fuels can instead be made by an 'artificial leaf' that uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, and which could eventually be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel alternative to gasoline.
'Artificial leaf' successfully produces clean gas -- ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191021111826.htm
This is not a topic that most would think of for this science and technology subject but it does fit and I don't see a better place for this discussion. A friend shared this article recently and I found it fascinating. It is about women and Alzheimers (as well as some other health issues). I did not know that women get this disease 2x as much as men and it has nothing to do with how long women live. This article shows there is so much we do not understand about women and health in general. It also shows we still aren't funding women's health studies the way they should be funded.
There are some steps mentioned which may help obtain better brain health while we continue to learn.
https://medium.com/neurotrack/menopause-and-alzheimers-1c455f29fe16
Peruvian innovators launch banana leaf biodegradable dishes to combat plastic plates or styrofoam consumption and their harm to the environment.
The company’s first product, Bio Plant, are rectangular-shaped plates made free of stryene and other carcinogenic components, which can both be found in plastic and styrofoam plates. They decompose in two months and naturally degrade within those 60 days.
Reposting from my Miracles thread under Positive Predictions to this one on Science and Technology as the miraculous outcome is either a huge discovery or a fluke miracle for one man.
A medical miracle and yes it did involve science and technology but Chris Barr paralyzed in a surfing accident several years ago and told he was completely paralyzed with no cure is now walking.
Chris is called Patient #1. The first person to be given his own stem cells harvested from his own stomach fat and then injected into his spine.
And now many months later he is not only walking again but doing so with only the support of a cane.
Doctors say much more research is still needed because they are so amazed by this miracle themselves that they need to determine if Chris is an anomaly (perhaps another scientific explanation for a miracle 
As he said being Patient #1 in a trial with unknown consequences was easy. As far as he was concerned he had nothing to lose.
A true medical miracle.
A powerful antibiotic that kills some of the most dangerous drug-resistant bacteria in the world has been discovered using artificial intelligence.
The drug works in a different way than other existing antibacterials and is the first of its kind to be found by using Artificial Intelligence referred to as "machine learning" to go through vast digital libraries of pharmaceutical compounds.
Tests showed that the drug wiped out a range of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, including Acinetobacter baumannii and Enterobacteriaceae, two of the three high-priority pathogens that the World Health Organization ranks as “critical” for new antibiotics to target.
Ground-breaking discovery finally proves rain really can move mountains -- ScienceDaily
"The dramatic effect rainfall has on the evolution of mountainous landscapes is widely debated among geologists, but new research led by the University of Bristol and published today in Science Advances, clearly calculates its impact, furthering our understanding of how peaks and valleys have developed over millions of years.
Its findings, which focused on the mightiest of mountain ranges -- the Himalaya -- also pave the way for forecasting the possible impact of climate change on landscapes and, in turn, human life.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201016143049.htm