Smart Economy

A New Rare Earth Metal - Fulvalene Diruthenium - has the ability to absorb, store sunlight as heat

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered a rare earth metal, which is able to absorb sunlight and store it as pure heat until it is needed.

Rare earth metals used to be a collection of seventeen earth metals in the periodic table namely scandium, yttrium, and the fifteen lanthanides. The recently discovered rare earth element is fulvalene diruthenium which has a unique ability to act like a molecular heat battery and harness solar energy and heat from the sun and store it indefinitely by changing its conformation and being stable.

Lead author of the study, Professor Jeffrey Grossman, said that the molecular structure of the metal includes two aromatic carbon rings, attached to a transition metal. When molecule absorbs sunlight it changes state into a semi stable but perfectly safe state and by applying additional heat or some other catalyst, the heat energy that has been contained in the molecule can be released and the molecule will come back to its original state. The huge amount of heat released can be used for various purposes.

Most solar power devices in recent use can convert solar energy into electrical energy but do not act as a storage material for heat energy. When the heat is released from this rare metal either by introducing some heat or by using a catalyst a temperature of 200oC can be achieved.

 Professor Grossman said that a reversible and stable form of stored solar heat is very advantageous as it does not need any insulation and can be used where and when on demand. The major obstacle in using this advanced technology is that fulvalene diruthenium is extremely rare, making it very expensive to use. The element comes from ruthenium, which is a rare, costly hard white metal of the platinum group and only 12 tons of ruthenium are mined each year. The plus point that emerges from this very important research is that scientists are able to determine the exact mechanism and are sure that they will be able to find cheaper materials to perform the function in future.

The results of the study are published in Angewandte Chemie, a scientific journal that covers all aspects of chemistry.

More info see here http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ange.201002994/full and here  http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja9707062

Walter Derzko

Rare Earth Elements in U.S. Not So Rare > Significant Deposits Found in 14 States

Approximately 13 million metric tons of rare earth elements (REE) exist within known deposits in the United States, according to the first-ever nationwide estimate of these elements by the U.S. Geological Survey. This estimate of domestic rare earth deposits is part of a larger report that includes a review of global sources for REE, information on known deposits that might provide domestic sources of REE in the future, and geologic information crucial for studies of the availability of REE to U.S. industry.

The report describes significant deposits of REE in 14 states, with the largest known REE deposits at Mountain Pass, Calif.; Bokan Mountain, Alaska; and the Bear Lodge Mountains, Wyo. The Mountain Pass mine produced REE until it closed in 2002. Additional states with known REE deposits include Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

“This is the first detailed assessment of rare earth elements for the entire nation, describing deposits throughout the United States,” commented USGS Director Marcia McNutt, Ph.D. “It will be very important, both to policy-makers and industry, and it reinforces the value of our efforts to maintain accurate, independent information on our nation’s natural resources. Although many of these deposits have yet to be proven, at recent domestic consumption rates of about 10,000 metric tons annually, the US deposits have the potential to meet our needs for years to come."

REE are a group of 16 metallic elements with similar properties and structures that are essential in the manufacture of a diverse and expanding array of high-technology applications. Despite their name, they are relatively common within the earth’s crust, but because of their geochemical properties, they are not often found in economically exploitable concentrations.

Hard-rock deposits yield the most economically exploitable concentrations of REE. USGS researchers also analyzed two other types of REE deposits: placer and phosphorite deposits.  Placer deposits are alluvial formations of sandy sediments, which often contain concentrations of heavy, dense minerals, some containing REE.  Phosphorite deposits, which mostly occur in the southeastern U.S., contain large amounts of phosphate-bearing minerals.  These phosphates can yield yttrium and lanthanum, which are also REE.

Ninety-six percent of REE produced globally now comes from China. New REE mines are being developed in Australia, and projects exploring the feasibility of economically developing additional REE deposits are under way in the United States, Australia, and Canada; successful completion of these projects could help meet increasing demand for REE, the report said.

REE are important ingredients in high-strength magnets, metal alloys for batteries and light-weight structures, and phosphors. These are essential components for many current and emerging alternative energy technologies, such as electric vehicles, photo-voltaic cells, energy-efficient lighting, and wind power. REEs are also critical for a number of key defense applications.

This report is part of a larger, Department of Defense-funded study of how the United States, and the Department of Defense in particular, use REE, as well as the status and security of domestic and global supply chains.  In addition, the USGS National Minerals Information Center maintains statistics on global mineral production, trade, and resources that include rare earth elements.

The new USGS report, which provides an overview of domestic REE resources and possibilities for utilizing those resources, is available on line at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5220. To learn more about REE, please visit the National Minerals Information Center’s REE webpage

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Scientists create world's first 'super-twisted' light

The research team at the University of Glasgow twisted the light like a corkscrew by using a polarising filter, before shining it onto a specially shaped piece of gold to create the world's first 'super twisting'.

Super twisted light does not exist in nature and, until now, it had only been theorised by scientists, never produced.

Super twisted light can be used to find protein traces in incredibly small samples of biological material  like blood, far less than currently used.

The researchers have already used the light to look at many different proteins and have found that it is particularly sensitive to the structures of proteins which cause degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.

The findings have been published in Nature Nanotechnology.

Dr Malcolm Kadodwala, senior lecturer in the School of Chemistry, said: “We are very excited by this research. Essentially, this twisted light, which does not exist naturally, allows us to detect biological materials at unprecedented low concentrations.

“Due to the nature of the twisted light, it has been shown to be particularly effective at detecting proteins with a structure characteristic of amyloids – insoluble proteins that can stick together to form plaques within different organs in the body.

“It is these plaques which are thought to play a part in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and CJD – though the reasons for this are unclear.

“We’re now looking to see if this same technique can be adapted to detect a wider range of proteins which are indicative of other diseases. The fact this method requires much less material (just one picogram or million millionth of a gram) for analysis than current techniques and uses a form of light previously unrealised is a big step forward.”

The complex science behind the technique takes advantage of the fact light can be twisted like a corkscrew by passing it through a special polarising filter: in much the same way as polarised sunglasses allow only certain alignments of light waves through.

By shining light onto a specially-shaped piece of metal – in this case gold – the light that is emitted from the metal becomes super-twisted.

Polarised or twisted light is already used in some medical techniques to analyse biomolecules, however the multidisciplinary Glasgow team, have been able to achieve a much more powerful system by twisting the light even tighter.

The team included engineer Dr Nikolaj Gadegaard and life scientist, Dr Sharon Kelly, with a team of physicists at the University of Exeter, led by Dr Euan Hendry.

The use of super-twisted light in spectroscopy – the analysis of materials according to way they absorb and emit light – has numerous potential applications in biosensing and could also be used to detect particular types of viruses which have similar structures.

Provided by University of Glasgow

Ukrainians Flew First -2 decades before the Wright Brothers

When asked, every school child in the west will undoubtedly tell you that the Wright Brothers were the first to fly. Well, they would be half right. The Wright Brothers were the first to fly in the western world but few Ukrainians and even fewer westerns know that they were not the very first in the world  to perfect man-made flight. That aeronautic breakthrough and honor goes to a Ukrainian inventor Alexander Mozhayskyi, and predates the Dec 17, 1903 Wright Brother’s attempt by a full two decades.

This was one of the historical curiosities that was highlighted at the 2010 Bloor West Village Ukrainian Festival in Toronto this past weekend.  One of the most popular displays that garnished the most visitor attention was the collection from the national historical museum in Kyiv, the world heritage site of Kyiv’s St. Sofiya cathedral and others, that featured vignettes of Ukrainian history.  Produced by Taras Hukalo, assisted by Victor Glasko -this quote caught most people’s attention: 

“In 1876 ALEXANDER MOZHAYSKYI flew 20 meters in steam-powered heavier than air aircraft of his own design in Voronovytsia, Vinnytsia region, Ukraine. He flew again twice in 1886. That is why Ukrainians call Voronovytsia the cradle of aviation.”

One article written in Ukraine’s Castles called “Voronovystia’s Wings   opines:  “Disputes about the question of who invented the first aircraft, Alexander Mozhayskyi or the Wright Brothers,  can make for fascinating fireside chats and will never be settled.  However, Ukrainians keep calling the Voronovysia village in Vinnytsia the cradle of aviation. The fact remains that in 1876, a strange machine built by Mozhayskyi , took off and flew in the Ukrainian skies.”

So Ukraine has a century old tradition of avionics.

Ukrainians and westerners are likely more familiar with Ihor Sikorsky. Hukalo’s display offers the following about Sikorsky:  “Loosing friends in the midst of rising communist terror and mounting oppression, in 1919, after building the world’s first four engine bomber and other aircraft for the Tsar, Ihor Sikorsky , immigrated from Kyiv, Ukraine to USA. In 1923 he established the first aircraft manufacturing company in the world and created the world’s first commercially produced helicopters, taking the lead in the world of design and manufacture of military, civil, commercial helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Sikorsky’s helicopters are reputed to be the best in the world. “  Torontonians will remember Sikorsky helicopters, that were used to finish off the top sections of the CN Tower.

The other jewel in Ukrainian industrial aviation crown are Antonov and Motor Sich.

Hukalo & Glasko add:  “Ukraine is one of just nine countries worldwide currently designing and building transport and top class civil aircraft. One plane, the Ukrainian AN-225 “Mriya”, NATO designation “Cossack”, is the largest aircraft in the world. General designer Petro Balabuyev said the Mriya can lift a payload of 250 metric tons in its huge belly or outside firmly secured to the top of its fuselage. Further more, despite its heavy weight (628,315 lbs. empty), with its 32 wheels it is capable of landing and taking off from sodden grass and /or ice covered fields.”

“The Antonov Design Center built the AN-225 in Kyiv, Ukraine where it also produces the second largest plane in the world, the AN-124 “Ruslan”. Involved in producing the Antonov Mriya and Ruslan’s engines model D-18T, in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, is Sich Motors. Founded in 1907, it is one of the largest enterprises in the world, the only one in Ukraine, manufacturing airplane and helicopter engines as well as industrial gas turbines.”

But Ukraine’s pre-eminence in aviation may be at risk from Russia.

On Sept 18, 2010 Interfax reported that “Ukraine is ready to offer Russia a number of joint ventures in various fields.”, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said  during a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev last week, the eight since Yanukowych came to power.

One such proposal is Zaporizhia-based OJSC Motor Sich, who  plans to set up a joint venture with the Defense Ministry of Russia in Gatchina in Leningrad region by the end of 2010 to manufacture at least 100  TV3-117VMA-SBM1V helicopter engines per year .

Red flags and alarm bells should be ringing right across Ukraine.. Politicians in Ukraine who have an interest in protecting Ukraine’s strategic national interests should be protesting this Party of Regions decision at all costs. There is no economic benefit to Ukraine in this JV, since Russia brings nothing to the table. Most importantly, Russia will gain access to and steal world-class Ukrainian engine design know-how and intellectual property, which Russia desperately needs to fulfill its military contracts with India and China to supply future unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) and next generation helicopters.

The communist government in China is using a similar tactics to Russia, trying to pressure US auto manufacturers in establish JV’s in China if they want to sell electric cars to the Chinese. The USA fears losing their electric battery technology know-how to China (Wall Street Journal Sept 16 2010). Ukraine should have similar fears about aviation and Russian attempts to muscle in.

Walter Derzko is a Senior Fellow at the Strategic Innovation Lab (S-Lab) at OCAD University in Toronto and teaches at the MA program in Strategic Foresight and Innovation (SFI) at OCAD University in Toronto.

Contaminated USA Groundwater Used for Public Water Supply

Contaminants in USA Groundwater Used for Public Supply

[Along with the toxic effects of GMO's, is it any wonder that we are seeing a spike in cancer rates throughout North America--Walter Derzko]

More than 20 percent of untreated water samples from 932 public wells across the nation contained at least one contaminant at levels of potential health concern, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. 

About 105 million people — or more than one-third of the nation’s population — receive their drinking water from one of the 140,000 public water systems across the United States that rely on groundwater pumped from public wells

The USGS study focused primarily on source (untreated) water collected from public wells before treatment or blending rather than the finished (treated) drinking water that water utilities deliver to their customers.

“By focusing primarily on source-water quality, and by testing for many contaminants that are not regulated in drinking water, this USGS study complements the extensive monitoring of public water systems that is routinely conducted for regulatory and compliance purposes by federal, state and local drinking-water programs,” said Matthew C. Larsen, USGS Associate Director for Water. “Findings assist water utility managers and regulators in making decisions about future monitoring needs and drinking-water issues.”

Findings showed that naturally occurring contaminants, such as radon and arsenic, accounted for about three-quarters of contaminant concentrations greater than human-health benchmarks in untreated source water. Naturally occurring contaminants are mostly derived from the natural geologic materials that make up the aquifers from which well water is withdrawn.

Man-made contaminants were also found in untreated water sampled from the public wells, including herbicides, insecticides, solvents, disinfection by-products, nitrate, and gasoline chemicals. Man-made contaminants accounted for about one-quarter of contaminant concentrations greater than human-health benchmarks, but were detected in 64 percent of the samples, predominantly in samples from unconfined aquifers.

N.B. A chemical-free drilling technology that uses vibration combined with drilling instead of just conventional rotary drilling and doesn't need the 350 chemicals used in fracking for shale gas has been developed by Ukrainian scientists more then 20 years ago.  But it has been largely ignored by the oil/gas industry in the west.

“Detections of contaminants do not necessarily indicate a concern for human health because USGS analytical methods can detect many contaminants at concentrations that are 100-fold to 1,000-fold lower than human-health benchmarks,” said lead scientist Patricia Toccalino. “Assessing contaminants in these small amounts helps to track emerging issues in our water resources and to identify contaminants that may warrant inclusion in future monitoring.”

Scientists tested water samples for 337 properties and chemical contaminants, including nutrients, radionuclides, trace elements, pesticides, solvents, gasoline hydrocarbons, disinfection by-products and manufacturing additives. This study did not assess pharmaceuticals or hormones.

Most (279) of the contaminants analyzed in this study are not federally regulated in finished drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The USGS also sampled paired source and finished (treated) water from a smaller subset of 94 public wells. Findings showed that many man-made organic contaminants detected in source water generally were detected in finished water at similar concentrations. Organic contaminants detected in both treated and source water typically were detected at concentrations well below human-health benchmarks, however.

Additionally, the study shows that contaminants found in public wells usually co-occurred with other contaminants as mixtures. Mixtures can be a concern because the total combined toxicity of contaminants in water may be greater than that of any single contaminant. Mixtures of contaminants with concentrations approaching benchmarks were found in 84 percent of wells, but mixtures of contaminants above health benchmarks were found less frequently, in 4 percent of wells.

This USGS study identifies which contaminant mixtures may be of most concern in groundwater used for public-water supply and can help human-health researchers to target and prioritize toxicity assessments of contaminant mixtures. The USGS report identifies the need for continued research because relatively little is known about the potential health effects of most mixtures of contaminants.

Wells included in this study are located in 41 states and withdraw water from parts of 30 regionally extensive aquifers, which constitute about one-half of the principal aquifers used for water supply in the United States.

Human-health benchmarks used in this study include U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Maximum Contaminant Levels for regulated contaminants and USGS Health-Based Screening Levels for unregulated contaminants, which are non-enforceable guidelines developed by the USGS in collaboration with the EPA and other water partners.

Treated drinking water from public wells is regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Water utilities, however, are not required to treat water for unregulated contaminants. The EPA uses USGS information on the occurrence of unregulated contaminants to identify contaminants that may require drinking-water regulation in the future.

This study and additional information about public wells can be found on the Quality of Water from Public-Supply Wells in the United States website.

People served by public water systems can obtain information about their drinking-water quality from their water supplier. Selected water suppliers provide an annual water-quality report; some reports are available on EPA's Consumer Confidence Reports (CRR) website.

Companion USGS studies on the transport of contaminants to public supply wells are online. In addition, a comparable study on the quality of water in domestic wells is online.

Walter Derzko, The Opportunity Clinic, Smart Economy, Toronto

Biological imaging with 4D ultrafast electron microscopy

Here's another significant microscopy advance, the second one within a single week--Walter Derzko.

Biological imaging with 4D ultrafast electron microscopy, published in PNAS Early Edition for 17 May 2010 by David J. Flannigan, Brett Barwick, and Ahmed H. Zewail1 + Author Affiliations

Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 Contributed by Ahmed H. Zewail, April 26, 2010 (sent for review April 17, 2010)

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/05/13/1005653107.abstract?etoc

Abstract

Advances in the imaging of biological structures with transmission electron microscopy continue to reveal information at the nanometer length scale and below.  The images obtained are static, i.e., time-averaged over seconds, and the weak contrast is usually enhanced through sophisticated specimen preparation techniques and/or improvements in electron optics and methodologies.  Here we report the application of the technique of photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM) to imaging of biological specimens with femtosecond (fs) temporal resolution.

In PINEM, the biological structure is exposed to single-electron packets and simultaneously irradiated with fs laser pulses that are coincident with the electron pulses in space and time.  By electron energy-filtering those electrons that gained photon energies, the contrast is enhanced only at the surface of the structures involved.  This method is demonstrated here in imaging of protein vesicles and whole cells of Escherichia coli, both are not absorbing the photon energy, and both are of low-Z contrast.  It is also shown that the spatial location of contrast enhancement can be controlled via laser polarization, time resolution, and tomographic tilting.  The high-magnification PINEM imaging provides the nanometer scale and the fs temporal resolution.  The potential of applications is discussed and includes the study of antibodies and immunolabeling within the cell.

Key words Evanescent nanoscale biostructure

Footnotes 1To whom correspondence should be addressed.  E-mail: zewail@caltech.edu. Author contributions: D.J.F., B.B., and A.H.Z. designed research, performed research, contributed new reagents/analytic tools, analyzed data, and wrote the paper.  The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/05/13/1005653107.abstract?etoc

New nanomicroscopy technique for tracking bacterial proteins in 3-D

Many great advances and discoveries in chemistry, biology and physics were often preceded by leaps in instrumentation power and capabilities-what we can see, hear, smell or touch.  What has been out of reach is sense-making at the nanolevel ( at ten to the minus nine concentration leves).

This new method allows scientists to view bacterial protein distribution in real time and in 3-D at the nano-level of neuronal dendrites. The wide spread  use of this and other nanomicroscopy methods should accelerate the rate of discoveries and innovations in many fields of research--Walter Derzko

Near-isotropic 3D optical nanoscopy with photon-limited chromophores by Jianyong Tang1, Jasper Akerboom, Alipasha Vaziri, Loren L. Looger, and Charles V. Shank1 + Author Affiliations

Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147 Contributed by Charles V. Shank, April 9, 2010 (sent for review December 28, 2009)

Abstract

Imaging approaches based on single molecule localization break the diffraction barrier of conventional fluorescence microscopy, allowing for bioimaging with nanometer resolution.  It remains a challenge, however, to precisely localize photon-limited single molecules in 3D.  We have developed a new localization-based imaging technique achieving almost isotropic subdiffraction resolution in 3D.  A tilted mirror is used to generate a side view in addition to the front view of activated single emitters, allowing their 3D localization to be precisely determined for superresolution imaging.  Because both front and side views are in focus, this method is able to efficiently collect emitted photons.  The technique is simple to implement on a commercial fluorescence microscope, and especially suitable for biological samples with photon-limited chromophores such as endogenously expressed photoactivatable fluorescent proteins.  Moreover, this method is relatively resistant to optical aberration, as it requires only centroid determination for localization analysis.  Here we demonstrate the application of this method to 3D imaging of bacterial protein distribution and neuron dendritic morphology with subdiffraction resolution.

See full text here http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/05/13/1004899107.full.pdf+html

Key words: 3D bioimaging, nanoimaging, bacterial imaging, neuron imaging, biophotonics

Walter Derzko, The Opportunity Clinic, Smart Economy, Toronto

Weapons of mass moral corruption (MMC) ? - electromagnetic interference (EMI)

The conspiracy theorists will likely jump all over this one. Wait a minute-come to think of it, this research makes me a little nervous too !!

It's well known that the Russians bombard the US embassy in Moscow with electromangnetic waves or pulses.

"From the public medical literarture, we know that the magnetic component of the electromagnetic field  is psychoactive and can cause mood or behavior changes. These fields can cause brain entrainment, a state when the brain mirrors the pulse rate of the external artificial signal which cause changes in the body and mind.

In a Feb 1985 Omni Magazine story called The Mind Fields, the military was quoted as concluding that "with the right electromagnetic field you might be able to produce the same effects as psychoactive drugs."

Both the Soviet and American military have long been well aware of the health effect of low level radio frequencey waves of 5-12 pulses per second (Hertz) and at very low energy levels (25 nanoteslas)

• 6 Hz- Headaches reported
• 6.66 Hz and lower- nausea, headaches, confusuion and depressive anxiety
• 7.8 Hz, 8Hz, 9Hz- produced alpha rhythms often reched in meditation and a sense of well being
• 10.35 Hz- created agitated anxiety, fear and hostile aggressive behavior
• 11 Hz-induced riotous behavior

(source: Controlling the Human Mind by Dr Nick Begich)

Now we see that moral judgments can be altered or swayed  ... by magnetic fields too.

By disrupting brain activity in a particular region, neuroscientists at MIT can sway people’s views of moral situations. To make moral judgments about other people, we often need to infer their intentions — an ability known as “theory of mind.” For example, if one hunter shoots another while on a hunting trip, we need to know what the shooter was thinking: Was he secretly jealous, or did he mistake his fellow hunter for an animal?

MIT neuroscientists have now shown they can influence those judgments by interfering with activity in a specific brain region — a finding that helps reveal how the brain constructs morality.

Previous studies have shown that a brain region known as the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) is highly active when we think about other people’s intentions, thoughts and beliefs.  In the new study, the researchers disrupted activity in the right TPJ by inducing a current in the brain using a magnetic field applied to the scalp.  They found that the subjects’ ability to make moral judgments that require an understanding of other people’s intentions — for example, a failed murder attempt — was impaired.  The researchers, led by Rebecca Saxe, MIT assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences, report their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of March 29.  Funding for the research came from The National Center for Research Resources, the MIND Institute, the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, the Simons Foundation and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation.

The study offers “striking evidence” that the right TPJ, located at the brain’s surface above and behind the right ear, is critical for making moral judgments, says Liane Young, lead author of the paper.  It’s also startling, since under normal circumstances people are very confident and consistent in these kinds of moral judgments, says Young, a postdoctoral associate in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

“You think of morality as being a really high-level behavior,” she says.  “To be able to apply (a magnetic field) to a specific brain region and change people’s moral judgments is really astonishing.”

Thinking of others

Saxe first identified the right TPJ’s role in theory of mind a decade ago — a discovery that was the subject of her MIT PhD thesis in 2003.  Since then, she has used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show that the right TPJ is active when people are asked to make judgments that require thinking about other people’s intentions.

In the new study, the researchers wanted to go beyond fMRI experiments to observe what would happen if they could actually disrupt activity in the right TPJ.  Their success marks a major step forward for the field of moral neuroscience, says Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, professor of philosophy at Duke University.

“Recent fMRI studies of moral judgment find fascinating correlations, but Young et al usher in a new era by moving beyond correlation to causation,” says Sinnott-Armstrong, who was not involved in this research.

The researchers used a noninvasive technique known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to selectively interfere with brain activity in the right TPJ.  A magnetic field applied to a small area of the skull creates weak electric currents that impede nearby brain cells’ ability to fire normally, but the effect is only temporary.

In one experiment, volunteers were exposed to TMS for 25 minutes before taking a test in which they read a series of scenarios and made moral judgments of characters’ actions on a scale of one (absolutely forbidden) to seven (absolutely permissible).  In a second experiment, TMS was applied in 500-milisecond bursts at the moment when the subject was asked to make a moral judgment.  For example, subjects were asked to judge how permissible it is for a man to let his girlfriend walk across a bridge he knows to be unsafe, even if she ends up making it across safely.  In such cases, a judgment based solely on the outcome would hold the perpetrator morally blameless, even though it appears he intended to do harm.  In both experiments, the researchers found that when the right TPJ was disrupted, subjects were more likely to judge failed attempts to harm as morally permissible.  Therefore, the researchers believe that TMS interfered with subjects’ ability to interpret others’ intentions, forcing them to rely more on outcome information to make their judgments.

“It doesn’t completely reverse people’s moral judgments, it just biases them,” says Saxe.

While understanding other people’s intentions is critical to judging them, it is just one piece of the puzzle.  We also take into account the person’s desires, previous record and any external constraints, guided by our own concepts of loyalty, fairness and integrity, says Saxe.

“Our moral judgments are not the result of a single process, even though they feel like one uniform thing,” she says.  “It’s actually a hodgepodge of competing and conflicting judgments, all of which get jumbled into what we call moral judgment.”

Saxe’s lab is now studying the role of theory of mind in judging situations where the attempted harm was not a physical threat.  The researchers are also doing a study on the role of the right TPJ in judgments of people who are morally lucky or unlucky.  For example, a drunk driver who hits and kills a pedestrian is unlucky, compared to an equally drunk driver who makes it home safely, but the unlucky homicidal driver tends to be judged more morally blameworthy.

Magnets over the right ear, you say ? eh? That's called cell phone use. So could cell phones become the next huge health stigma or the cigaretes of the 1980 or 1970's?

Walter Derzko

How to predict the future with over 90% accuracy? use Bayesian Game Theory

I've been compiling a list of qualitative and quantitative foresight (prediction) methods and the total has passed over 50.

New Scientist magazine this week reviews one quantitative method called Bayesian Game Theory, in surprisingly quite an understandable fashion, that even a lay person like me can understand...well maybe not all the math details but the overall workings are quite clear.

Ever wonder what methods the CIA uses to predict complex geopolitical events?

They turn to Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, a professor of politics at New York University, who back in 1979 developed a game theory based prediction model, which he calls predictioneering. He says" I can predict events and decisions that involve negotiations, coercion (lies, bluffing, reneging on promises), cooperation or bullying." The model predicts what people will do in "strategic  situations" where the outcome also depends on other people's decisions ie domestic politics, foreign policy, geopolitical conflicts, business decisions and social interactions.  

New Scientist writes: "

"Over the past 30 years, Bueno de Mesquita has made thousands of predictions about hundreds of issues from geopolitics to personal problems. Overall, he claims, his hit rate is about 90 per cent. So how does he do it?

Examples: Terrorism & Climate Change

Terrorism:

"Bueno de Mesquita recently used it to make a prediction on the political situation in Pakistan. Working with a group of students, he asked how willing the Pakistani government would be to pursue Al-Qaida and Taliban militants in its territory, and how the US government could exert influence on their decision."

In January 2008 the students fed in data on all the players, including the US, Pakistan's then president Pervez Musharraf and other leading Pakistani politicans. Their assumption was that the US would offer foreign aid to persuade Pakistan's leaders to target the terrorists, and Pakistan would try to extract the maximum amount of aid possible from the US.

The model predicted that to get maximum cooperation from Pakistan, the US would need to donate at least $1.5 billion in 2009, double the projected 2008 figure. In return for this Pakistan would pursue the terrorists on a scale of 80 out of 100, but no more. In other words, the leadership would make considerable effort to reduce the terrorist threat but not to completely eliminate it. "The Pakistani government are no fools," explains Bueno de Mesquita. "They know that the money will dry up if Al-Qaida and the Taliban are destroyed. So they will rein the threat in and reduce it, but not utterly destroy it."

The outcome? According to Bueno de Mesquita, the US government authorised $1.5 billion in foreign aid to Pakistan in 2009, and the Pakistani leadership sustained pursuit of the militants at that level. "We have done very well," says Bueno de Mesquita.

Climate Change:

So what of the future? Another of Bueno de Mesquita's recent predictions addresses the future of climate change negotiations up to 2050. Depressingly, he predicts that although the world will negotiate tougher greenhouse gas reductions than in the Kyoto protocol, in practise these are likely to be abandoned as Brazil, India and China rise in power in relation to the European Union and the US."

See: The Man who sees the Future, New Scientist Volume 250 No 2752 March 20,2010,  pg 42 

Walter Derzko

Scope of Hydrated Fullerene (C60- HYFN) Research in Ukraine; Nanomedicine, nanomaterials on demand, sports medicine, cosmetics, pharmacology, agriculture, veterinary medicine etc

UPDATE  Nov 2010: HYFNs have been approved for manufacturing as Fullerene Water Solution (FWS)  drink in Ukraine by the  Ministry of Health  as of Nov 2010. It's the first nanotech based health drink in the world. For information about availability  contact me privately by email.

I received this updated list of research directions and activities surrounding hydrated fullerenes (C60) otherwise known as water soluble bucky balls, from my colleagues in Ukraine,who discovered and patented hydrated fullerenes (HyFn's) in the 1990's. They are looking for business and academic research collaborators around the world.

Scope of Hydrated Fullerene (C60- HYFN) Research in  Ukraine

  

Development of nanomaterials.

•  Synthesis of new nanosized composition on the bases of metal, dielectric and semiconducting materials.

•  Development and research of bio-nanocomposites.

  

Physical and chemical research of nanostructures.

•  Research of physical and chemical properties of nanostructural materials, and in the first place – fullerenes in hydrated state.

•  Research of structural organization of water and water solutions. Cluster nature of water.

•  Research of behaviour peculiarities of physical and chemical processes in heterogeneous media, structured by hydrated fullerenes.

•  Research of behaviour peculiarities in water solutions of substances at their small and super small concentrations.

•  Research of the heat-conduction process in media containing nanostructural materials.

•  Research of photocalytic processes in presence of nanomaterials in different media.

  

Biological research of nanostructures. 

•  Toxicological research of nanomaterials.

•  Development of biocompatible materials on the basis of nanostructural composites.

•  Research of biochemical reactions and biological processes in heterogeneous water media, structured by hydrated fullerenes.

•  Research of the biological role of cluster water structures.

•  Research of the influence of specific cluster organization of water on increasing of biological system stability against unfavourable environmental factors, including action of different electromagnetic fields and ionizing radiation.

•  Research of the use of nanoparticle solutions as components of nutrient medium for microorganisms growth, producers of specific antibiotics, vitamins, proteins, etc.; and as components of biological test-systems for biomedical analyses.

•  Research of the use perspectives of hydrated fullerenes for preservation, including cryoconservation, of different biological material (biomolecules, cells, blood and its components, organs and tissues).

•  Research of the influence of hydrated fullerenes on the processes of aging and their ability to slow down such kind of processes.

  

Nanostructures for pharmacology.

•  Development of medicinal forms of hydrated fullerenes for parenteral, oral, intranasal and other ways of administration.

•  Efficiency enhancement of existing pharmaceuticals due to incorporation of hydrated fullerenes into their composition.

•  Development and creation of new vaccines and serums with decreased allergenic and side effects.

  

Nanostructures for medicine.

•  Research and application of nanostructures as additional agents and components, enhancing efficiency of standard schemas of treatment of human diseases.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes as antioxidative, immunoprotective, anti-inflammatory and antiallergic agents.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes as highly effective radioprotective agents.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes in clinic of cardio-vascular diseases.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes for prevention and treatment of oncological diseases.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes for diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes in clinic of digestive organs’ diseases and kidney and urinary tract diseases.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes in clinic of bronchopulmonary diseases.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes for prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and diseases of ear, throat and nose.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes for children’s diseases.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes in clinic of surgical diseases.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes in clinic of women's diseases.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes for lesions of internal organs in case of alcoholism and toxicomania.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes in geriatric practice.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes in sports medicine.

•  Research and application hydrated fullerenes in balneology.

  

  

Nanostructures in sports.

•  Enhancement of exercise tolerance in sportsmen and their sport results without use of dopes, stimulators, anabolics, etc.

•  Improvement of adaptive abilities in sportsmen under stress conditions.

  

Nanostructures for cosmetics, perfumery and personal hygiene products.

•  Research and application of nanostructures with bioantioxidative and structure-organizing properties as components that significantly improve consumer properties of cosmetic and perfumery products.

•  Protection of “gentle” components of such products and prolongation of their shelf life.

•  Creation of brand new cosmetic and perfumery products and personal hygiene products with health-improving properties.

  

Nanostructures for food.

•  Research and application of nanostructures with bioantioxidative and structure-organizing properties as components that significantly improve consumer properties of food.

•  Protection of “gentle” components of such products and prolongation of their shelf life.

•  Substitution by hydrated fullerenes of hazardous conserving agents and stabilizers for food products.

  

Nanostructures for agriculture.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes in agriculture for accelerated germination and growing of plants.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes for enhanced plant resistance to disease-producing agents.

  

Nanostructures in veterinary medicine.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes for prevention of animal diseases, including viral ones.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes to enhance reproductive qualities, viability and quality of life of elite animals.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes for animals in sports.

Anyone wishing to collaborate in joint academic research, outsource their research or start  contract research, please contact me directly. (from your business email)

Here is the Institute's new web page:  http://ipacom.com/index.php?lang=en.

Walter Derzko