Paper Microphone For Harvesting Power

A microphone made from paper could be use to harvest power from ambient sounds. It could be use to power small devices like solar cells have done for pocket calculators.

Calculating When to Form a Coalition

Mathematics can be used to know when to form or dissolve a political coalition. But I think it will be a while before the politicos adopt such rational methods.

Artificial Photosynthesis

Artificial photosynthesis is near. This adds a new dimension to the carbon capture game. Carbon dioxide could be recycled into innumerable useful products including drugs, plastics, and even fuels.

A Way Forward On Nuclear Waste

Recent moves by the DOE brings rational nuclear waste disposal into a real possibility.  Having a separate destination for spent fuel and high level defense wastes makes plenty of good sense. The former is being stored at many locations around the country and could be recycled. The latter is at very limited number of sites and very different in its makeup.

New Compounds

Many modern diseases are caused when proteins clump up. Now we are investigating a new collection of compounds that break up the clumps or keep them from forming. This could be good news in the areas of diabetes, cancer, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Positive Feedback in Global Warming

While many strain to maintain the fantasy that global warming is some sort of conspiracy theory, 
there is now direct evidence that we can expect an acceleration of it. The warmer it gets, the faster it's going to get warmer.

When Mammoths Roamed the West

They were hunted by humans. The list of hunters includes the makers of the Haskett points. These folks were contemporary with the Clovis culture but fabricated their spear points completely differently. Recent finds have not only uncovered spear points but other, truly-unique stone tools.

Mount Everest Shrank as Nepal Quake Lifted Kathmandu

With the recent quake, Mount Everest lost maybe an inch while Kathmandu rose about 3 feet. That explains the amount of devastation there. Truly horrific. It will take a terribly long time for the people to recover.