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Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) confirms Ukrainian breakthrough in Alzheimer's treatment with Hydrated Fullerenes or C60-HYFNs or Water Soluble Buckyballs

Russian Academy of Sciences confirms Ukrainian break-though in treating Alzheimer’s
with Carbon 60 or C-60 or hydrated fullerenes (C60HYFns) or Buckeyballs. 

After the discovery of C-60 in 1985 and the awarding of the Nobel prize in 1995 to Kroto, Smalley and Curl, Ukrainian scientists, then discovered a way to make Carbon 60 or C-60 or fullerenes or buckeyballs water soluble about 15 years ago, have made progress on the Alzheimer’s front
treating it with Fullerene Water Solution (FWS) and with conventional treatment.
This was approved as a “dietary supplement” by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health
in 2010, and just several weeks ago they started producing a water drink in
Ukraine with .0002mg/100ml of C-60.

Walter  Derzko

WATER  SOLUBLE C60 FOR DEVELOPING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE  TREATMENT

I.Ya.Podolskiy1) E.G.Makarova 1) R.Ya.Gordon2) V.V.Vorobev2) L.G.Bobyleva 1) A.G.Bobylev1)
Z.A.Podlubnaya1) , A.B.Geht3) O.A.Mishulina4)


1) Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Pushchino
2) Institute of Cell Biophysics, Pushchino
3) The Russian State Medical University, Moscow
4) National Research Nuclear University MEPI, Moscow


Creation of drugs for the  prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most important
challenge to biomedical research in the XXI century. Synthesis of water-soluble
fullerenes and carbon nanotubes opened a new direction for drug development,
which is growing rapidly in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

* Rationale. One key element in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is increased formation of aggregated forms in the brain of amyloid β-peptide (1-42) (Aβ1-42). Create antiamiloid drugs is
the main thrust of development of asthma therapy.

^ The project aims to investigate the properties of stable antiamiloidn molecular colloidal aqueous
solution of fullerene C60HyFn.

Results. By transmission electron microscopy in vitro for the first time on a visual level, it was shown that
water-soluble C60 prevent and destroy the beta-amyloid. These findings led to
the conclusion that the fullerene in vitro anti-aggregation has a strong effect
on the β-amyloid peptides. Microinjection C60HyFn (0.46 nmol / μl) into the
hippocampus significantly reduced β-amyloid deposits in the pyramidal neurons of
hippocampal CA1 neurons and warned neurodegeneration. Fluorescence microscopy of
hippocampal pyramidal neurons with acridine orange and microfluoremetric
analysis will provide quantitative data on the restoration protein synthesizing
activity of pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus, impaired Aβ. Microinjection
C60HyFn (0.46 nmol/1μl) to prevent violations of spatial memory, due to the
introduction of the hippocampus Aβ1-42 (1.6 nmol / μl). On surviving hippocampal
slices fullerene increases the activity of pyramidal neurons in rats modified
EEG frontal cortex, impaired Aβ1-42.

Conclusion. Functionalized C60 direction slowly act on one of the key molecular targets of Alzheimer's disease, aggregated amyloid β-peptides, and are of great interest for the development of
Alzheimer's disease therapy. We assume that in the first half of the XXI century
will be based on fullerenes developed an effective prevention and treatment of
Alzheimer's disease.

This work was supported by a grant of the Presidium of RAS "basic sciences Medicine" and the state contract the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of the Russian Federation №
P1052.

http://rudocs.exdat.com/docs/index-417897.html?page=47

More in Russian

http://www.c60water.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=33

Ukrainian scientists, who discovered a way to make Carbon 60 or C-60 or fullerenes or buckeyballs
water soluble about 15 years ago, have made progress on the Alzheimer’s front
treating it with Fullerene Water Solution (FWS) and with conventional treatment.
This was approved as a “dietary supplement” by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health
in 2010, and just several weeks ago they started producing a water drink in
Ukraine with .0002mg/100ml of C-60.

Below is a very rough
Google Translation from the Russian original.

Obviously, this
research is not on the radar of most western
researchers.

Walter
Derzko

http://www.c60water.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=33

One of the diseases elderly is Alzheimer's disease or senile dementia.
More common after
sixty, but sick and young people. The disease is characterized by a steady
deterioration of memory until the complete disintegration of the personality.
Already in the beginning of the disease, recognizing the gradual loss of memory,
a person experiences great emotionally shaken. This neurodegenerative disease
affects more than thirty million people. Nicholas Sparks romantic drama "The
Notebook" and the same film shows the tragedy of close people who are sick of
this terrible disease.
Unfortunately, at present, has not yet found drugs
that can stop or reverse the development of cause neurodegenerative process.
Search for drugs for the treatment of this disease are engaged in the world. The
Institute of
Theoretical and
Experimental Biophysics studies in experimental models of Alzheimer's disease
are conducted under the direction of Igor Jakovljevic Podolsky. In 2007, he
first discovered the neuroprotective properties of water molecules with the most
beautiful. His work, published in January 2012, revealed the influence of
fullerene water very cause of the neurodegenerative process of memory
loss.
Alzheimer's disease is
associated with a decrease in the water content in the brain and increased
formation of amyloid protein (beta-amyloid peptide Aβ1-42). The threads of this
protein like vines entwine the neurons of the brain, disrupting their work and
worsening memory. In November 2011, Podolsky reported to the Presidium of RAS
results of their work done in accordance with the program "Fundamental science -
medicine." It was shown that the water has a fullerene antiamiloidnymi
properties. Microinjection of water prevents the formation of amyloid by
fullerene and destroyed "threads" of amyloid protein. This led to a reduction of
neurodegenerative changes in the brain of rats and restore lost
memory.
Interview with Igor Yakovlevich under "great discovery" was broadcast
on Channel One Russian TV from 18 to 23 March 2012.

The obtained results
allow us to begin clinical studies of fullerene water as a means for the
treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. It is assumed that patients
will spray water fullerene as a spray in the nasal passages and to drink a
certain pattern.
Increased production of amyloid protein is the cause of not
only Alzheimer's disease. In addition to degenerative changes in the brain, it
can cause malfunction of other organs such as the pancreas, which is considered
as a possible cause of diabetes type. Amyloid proteins provoke the development
of many serious human diseases, the methods of treatment which at the moment
does not exist.
The Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of
amyloidosis research conducted by Professor Zoya Alexandrovna Podlubnaya. Her
studies show that water prevents the formation of fullerene and destroying
amyloids in striated muscle. Antiamiloidnye fullerene properties of water can
allow the creation of new drugs for the treatment of previously incurable
diseases. This stimulates interest in studying biomedical properties of
fullerene water in many research centers. 

Mathematicians aim to take publishers out of publishing

Episciences Project to launch series of community-run, open-access journals.

17 January 2013

Jean-Pierre Demailly is a leader in an effort to create a researcher-run publishing system.

Mathematicians plan to launch a series of free open-access journals that will host their peer-reviewed
articles on the preprint server arXiv. The project was publicly revealed yesterday in a blog post by Tim Gowers, a Fields Medal winner and mathematician at the University of Cambridge, UK.

 

The initiative, called the Episciences Project, hopes to show that researchers can organize the peer
review and publication of their work at minimal cost, without involving commercial publishers.

“It’s a global vision of how the research community should work: we want to offer an alternative to traditional mathematics journals,” says Jean-Pierre Demailly, a mathematician at the University of Grenoble, France, who is a leader in the effort. Backed by funding from the French government, the initiative may launch as early as April, he says.

Many mathematicians — and researchers in other fields — claim that they already do most of the work
involved in publishing their research. At no cost, they type up and format
their own papers, post them to online servers, join journal editorial boards
and review the work of their peers. By creating journals that publish links to
peer-reviewed work on servers such as arXiv, Demailly says, the community could
run its own publishing system. The extra expense involved would be the cost of
maintaining websites and computer equipment, he says.

That cost is not small, but it
could eventually be provided in part by the journals' users. The arXiv server,
for example, costs about US$826,000 a year to run, and is funded by the Cornell
University Library in Ithaca, New
York; the Simons Foundation in New York and institutional members.

Demailly says that he first thought of open-access electronic journals that overlay arXiv eight years ago, but the concept became a reality only last June, when he was contacted by the
Centre for Direct Scientific Communication (CCSD), based in Villeurbanne,
France. The CCSD, a unit of the French National Centre for Scientific Research,
develops open-access repositories such as the multidisciplinary archive HAL,
which mirrors the arXiv site.

For the Episciences Project, the CCSD plans to create a publishing platform that will support online
peer-reviewed journals. Each journal, or ‘epijournal’, would have its own
editor and editorial board, and authors could submit their arXiv-posted papers
to their journal of choice. The journal would then organize peer review,
perhaps using workflow software provided by the CCSD. Peer-reviewed papers
would be posted on arXiv alongside their un-reviewed versions. A central
committee (led by Demailly) would manage new journal candidates and make
recommendations on paper formatting, but each journal would be free to set its
own policies (including whether to charge for publication).

Gowers plans to start a journal in the interdisciplinary field of additive combinatorics; Demailly would not
say what other early epijournals might be. Gowers has strong views on shaking
up research publishing — last year, he kick-started
a boycott of the Dutch publishing giant Elsevier (see also Nature’s
profile of Gowers).

The idea of overlaying arXiv is
not new: some mathematics journals tried it in the early 2000s but scrapped the
idea because libraries began dropping print subscriptions, says Demailly.
Meanwhile, there are already some free, community-organized mathematics
journals, such as Documenta Mathematica, funded by the German Mathematical Society. “They are doing things on their own with a small website; we will have a global platform
capable of drastically reducing an individual journal’s administration costs,”
Demailly says.

Demailly says that he expects to adjust the concept with feedback from the mathematics community. “If people want larger reviews linked to papers, or the possibility of online comments and
blogs, we can offer this with only minor changes to the platform,” he says. At
the moment, the model's success or failure hinges on buy-in from mathematicians
— but the involvement of Gowers and other prominent mathematicians, such as
Terence Tao of the University of California, Los
  Angeles, may help to build support.

Journal name: Nature

DOI:doi:10.1038/nature.2013.12243

 

 

Archaeologists Identify Spear Tips Used in Hunting a Half-Million Years Ago

Archaeologists Identify Spear Tips Used in Hunting a Half-Million Years Ago

Released:11/17/2012 3:00 PM EST
Source:University of Toronto

A University of Toronto-led team of anthropologists has found evidence that human ancestors used stone-tipped weapons for hunting 500,000 years ago – 200,000 years earlier than previously thought.

“This changes the way we think about early human adaptations and capacities before the origin of our own species,” says Jayne Wilkins, a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto and lead author of a new study in Science. “Although both Neandertals and humans used stone-tipped spears, this is the first evidence that the technology originated prior to or near the divergence of these two species,” says Wilkins.

Attaching stone points to spears – known as ‘hafting’ – was an important advance in hunting weaponry for early humans. Hafted tools require more effort and foreplanning to manufacture, but a sharp stone point on the end of a spear can increase its killing power.

Hafted spear tips are common in Stone Age archaeological sites after 300,000 years ago. This new study shows that they were also used in the early Middle Pleistocene, a period associated with Homo heidelbergensis and the last common ancestor of Neandertals and modern humans.

“It now looks like some of the traits that we associate with modern humans and our nearest relatives can be traced further back in our lineage,” Wilkins says.

Wilkins and colleagues from Arizona State University and the University of Cape Town examined 500,000-year-old stone points from the South African archaeological site of Kathu Pan 1 and determined that they had functioned as spear tips.

Point function was determined by comparing wear on the ancient points to damage inflicted on modern experimental points used to spear a springbok carcass target with a calibrated crossbow. This method has been used effectively to study weaponry from more recent contexts in the Middle East and southern Africa. The stone points exhibit certain types of breaks that occur more commonly when they are used to tip spears compared to other uses.

“The archaeological points have damage that is very similar to replica spear points used in our spearing experiment,” says Wilkins. “This type of damage is not easily created through other processes.”

The findings are reported in the paper “Evidence for Early Hafted Hunting Technology” published in the November 16, 2012 issue of Science. Other authors contributing to the study are Benjamin Schoville from Arizona State University, Kyle Brown of the University of Cape Town and University of Toronto archaeologist Michael Chazan. Funding for the research was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the National Science Foundation and the Hyde Family Foundation. Logistical support came from the South African Heritage Resources Agency and the McGregor Museum, Kimberley, South Africa.

The points were recovered during 1979-1982 excavations by Peter Beaumont of the McGregor Museum. In 2010, a team directed by Chazan reported that the point-bearing deposits at Kathu Pan 1 dated to ~500,000 years ago using optically stimulated luminescence and U-series/electron spin resonance methods. The dating analyses were carried out by Naomi Porat, Geological Survey of Israel, and Rainer Grün, Australian National University.

Dirty Electricity > Disturbance of the immune system by electromagnetic fields which could lead to disease and impairment

Disturbance of the immune system by electromagnetic fields—A potentially underlying cause for cellular damage and tissue repair reduction which could lead to disease and impairment

Olle Johansson ∗

The Experimental Dermatology Unit,
Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Received 23
August 2008; accepted 30 January 2009

 

http://www.emrnetwork.org/pdfs/PATPHY_621.pdf

Lifestyle diseases caused by electrification-Historical evidence that electrification caused the 20th century epidemic of ‘‘diseases of civilization”

Historical evidence that electrification caused the 20th century epidemic of ‘‘diseases of civilization”  Medical Hypotheses 74 (2010) 337–345

Samuel Milham;   Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, WA, USA

summary

The slow spread of residential electrification in the US in the first half of the 20th century from urban to rural areas resulted by 1940 in two large populations; urban populations, with nearly complete electrification and rural populations exposed to varying levels of electrification depending on the progress of electrification in their state. It took until 1956 for US farms to reach urban and rural non-farm electrification levels. Both populations were covered by the US vital registration system. US vital statistics tabulations and census records for 1920–1960, and historical US vitalstatistics documents were examined.

Residential electrification data was available in the US census of population for 1930, 1940 and 1950. Crude urban and rural death rates were calculated, and death rates by state were correlated with electrification rates by state for urban and rural areas for 1940 white resident deaths. Urban death rates were much higher than rural rates for cardiovascular diseases, malignant diseases, diabetes and suicide in 1940. Rural death rates were significantly correlated with level of residential electric service by state for most causes examined. I hypothesize that the 20th century epidemic of the so called diseases of civilization including cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes and suicide was caused by electrificatio not by lifestyle. A large proportion of these diseases may therefore be preventable

 

http://www.sammilham.com/historical%20evidence.pdf

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

###

 

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