UV light 'triggers water in space'
A team of astronomers has determined that ultraviolet (UV) light triggers the formation of water molecules in space, after detecting water vapour around an ageing star.
The European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory recently discovered warm water vapour in the circumstellar envelope of the carbon star IRC +10216, challenging current understanding that water was absent in carbon-rich old stars.
After interpreting data collected by the imaging cameras and low-resolution spectrometers aboard Herschel, researchers at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium concluded that the penetration of ultraviolet photons deep into a clumpy circumstellar envelope resulted in the formation of the high-temperature water.
In a report, published online in the journal Nature, the scientists said that the presence of UV light alone is not the only “ingredient” necessary for the appearance of water molecules, but it is absolutely necessary.
Other postulated explanations included the vaporization of icy bodies (comets or dwarf planets) in orbit around the evolved star, grain surface reactions, and photochemistry in the outer circumstellar envelope. However, none could explain the high temperature of the water, given its location in the far-infrared and sub-millimetre spectrum of the star.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
http://www.nature.com/ (Nature)
Scientists create whisky biofuel
Scientists in Scotland have created biofuel from whisky by-products that could be used in vehicles very soon.
The £260,000 research project funded by Scottish Enterprise's Proof of Concept programme took two years to develop.
Edinburgh Napier University’s Biofuel Research Centre sampled whisky distilling by-products from Diageo's Glenkinchie Distillery in Tranent, East Lothian and created biofuel by using two main whisky by-products - pot ale and draff.
Pot ale is essentially the liquid from the copper stills and draff is the spent grains. Using both, butanol is produced and can then be used as fuel.
The University has filed a patent for the fuel and is now planning to start a spin-out company so that the product can be used commercially.
Professor Martin Tangney, who is leading the research and is director of the Biofuel Research Centre, said: "The EU has declared that biofuels should account for 10% of total fuel sales by 2020. We're committed to finding new, innovative renewable energy sources.
"The new biofuel is made from biological material which has been already generated. Theoretically it could be used entirely on its own but you would have to find a company to distribute it."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
http://www.napier.ac.uk/ (Edinburgh Napier University)
Gene for teeth formation identified
Researchers at the University of Zurich have identified the gene that when unexpressed could lead to malformed crowns and absence of enamel in teeth.
Thimios Mitsiadis, professor of oral biology at the institute, said research on lab mice has shown that the Jagged2 gene is essential in the tooth formation (odontogenesis) process.
The study found that when lab mice were subjected to genetic manipulation, and the expression of Jagged2 was inhibited, they developed more cusps, severe deformations of molars' crowns. Cell growth and the enamel in incisors were also absent.
Jagged2 acts on the Notch signalling pathway - responsible for allowing cells to react in response to stimuli from their environment. The team found that when the gene is unexpressed, this pathway is interrupted.
The new discovery may help researchers treat genetic tooth malformations more effectively.
But since the Notch pathway is linked with the formation of almost all other tissues and organs, the identification of the gene that interacts with the pathway could have wider implications.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Engineers unveil 10MW wind turbine
British engineers have conceptualised a large wind turbine capable of generating up to 10 megawatts of power.
Aerogenerator X, developed by engineering firm Wind Power Limited along with architects at Grimshaw, academics at Cranfield University and Rolls Royce, Arup, BP and Shell, is almost 900 feet tall and rotates on its axis to produce power.
The turbine has two arms which form a V-shape and contain rigid "sails" mounted along their length. As the wind passes over them, the arms act like aerofoils and help in generating lift.
Those behind the design say the turbine could generate 20MW or more of power. They are now trying to make the designs more efficient to atone for the large amount of weight the turbine gained due to its scaled-up diameter.
The first Aerogenerator X could be up and running by 2013.
Feargal Brennan, head of offshore engineering at Cranfield University, said: "Upsizing conventional onshore wind turbine technology to overcome cost barriers has significant challenges, not least the weight of the blades, which experience a fully reversed fatigue cycle on each rotation."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Duel fuel rocket in development
A low carbon-footprint dual-fuel rocket is under development at the University of Hertfordshire, it has been said.
The experts - Eur Ing Ray Wilkinson and Sathyakumar Sharma – said the rocket will be fuelled by a combination of carbon dioxide (CO2) and aluminium.
The rocket will take CO2 and convert it into carbon. If the technology proves successful, it can be used for a rocket for the planet Mars.
To develop the rocket, the engineers are making use of their knowledge of hybrid fuels. Sathyakumar, an MSc student from the University of Salford, had also worked at the Indian Space-Research Organisation.
Eur Ing Wilkinson said: “The idea is that a Mars rocket (not this one) could save a lot of cost and mass by not taking with it the propellants it needs for its return flight. One method of doing this is to use an easily available Martian resource, carbon dioxide, as a propellant, and burn it with aluminium or magnesium powder.”
By September, the technology demonstrator is likely to be completed.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
http://www.herts.ac.uk/home-page.cfm (University of Hertfordshire)
