Inspiring Green Technology That Has the Power to Heal

by Rebecca Paul

One can’t deny the ever-increasing role that technology plays in our lives. While some people are averse to the spread of technology, many of us recognize the positive impact that it can have on our future and the quality of our lives. In the field of medicine, there are many scientists, doctors, engineers, and designers that are constantly pushing the bounds of what’s possible in terms of human health — and the results are inspiring. Read on for some of our favorite examples of awe-inspiring and green medical revelations!

 

Photovoltaic Device Gives Sight to the Blind

There is no better example of how we can use technology to create a brighter future than using photovoltaics to help the blind see. Researchers at Stanford University recently developed a new artificial retina implant that actually uses the power of the sun to help give sight to the blind. Previous implants were problematic because of the challenges associated with providing enough electricity to the chip. Fortunately, with the development of miniature photovoltaic cells, these new implants now have the power to get the job done.

LCD Televisions Transformed into Infection Fighting Medicine

One downfall to adopting new technology is the issue of “disposing” or “not disposing” of the old stuff — e-waste has become a real problem that needs a real solution. Scientists at the University of York have gone above and beyond finding a way to properly dispose of this waste — they’ve discovered how to recycle discarded LCD televisions into an amazing infection-fighting substance. York’s Department of Chemistry and its team of researchers successfully transformed the key element of LCD television sets – polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) – into an anti-microbial material that can fight infections – now that’s what e-waste recycling should be.

Implantable Solar-powered Chip Monitors Blood Sugar Levels

Most diabetics have forever had to deal with the uncomfortable, but unavoidable need to monitor their own glucose levels by drawing blood. Lucky for them, the Glucowizzard may have eliminated much of the discomfort associated with the finger pricking ritual. This solar-powered device is a rice-sized implantable glucose sensor that is inserted under the patient’s skin. The device continuously monitors glucose levels and only needs to be replaced once each year.

Medical Dressing Uses Nanotechnology to Treat Infection

Researchers at the University of Bath and the Southwest UK Paediatric Burns Center have redefined the future of wound dressing. Their amazing dressing not only stops you from bleeding…. it can also detect disease-causing pathogens. As soon as these pathogens are detected, nano-capsules in the dressing release antibiotics and change color to indicate that the medicine has been released

Living, Breathing “Lung Chip” Provides Alternative to Animal Testing

Testing chemicals to determine how safe or unsafe they are for the human body is an important part of ensuring our health. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to go about this, and animal testing is a horrific endeavor altogether. Seeking to provide a solution to this quandary, researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute have developed a synthetic human lung-on-a-chip. Their transparent bite-sized device cleverly mimics how a real lung breathes, and how it allows pathogens into the blood stream. With access to inspiring gadgets like this one, the ethically dubious practice of animal testing could soon be history.

America’s First Zero Energy School to Open

by Andrew Michler

Richardsville Elementary, a new LEED Platinum School in Kentucky, is getting extra credit by being the first zero energy school in the nation! Opening this month to much anticipation, the facility is a cornucopia of green building strategies and efficient technologies. The bread and butter of the school’s success are tremendous efficiency gains coupled with a 300 kW thin-film solar array. Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects have done and astonishing job of reducing the building’s energy consumption to one fourth of a typical school without breaking the bank.

 

The 72,000 square-foot school uses insulating concrete forms (ICF) with a highly insulated roof to reduce reliance upon heating and cooling equipment. The windows are shaded by light shelves that reflect sun into the celestry windows, providing ample daylighting. Nanogel translucent panels line the celestry window in the main hall. Their ability to provide lots of glare free daylight is paired with super-insulated performance. A ground-source heat-pump helps provide for the building’s heating and cooling needs, and exposed pipes, meters and a floor motif teach the students about the system. In fact, each hallway showcases an environmental theme or technology — solar panels, heat pumps, recycling, and water conservation.

The energy production comes from a huge thin film solar array that is glued to the roof top. The array was chosen for its simplified installation and because it could easily conform to the radius of the roof. Green construction materials used include a bamboo floor in the gym and reused building materials from the deconstructed school that was replaced. The kitchen uses new technologies that eliminate the need for a hood. The entire project breaks down to less than $200 a square foot, proving that great design and green building don’t require a huge cost burden. In fact, with all said and done, this could be the cheapest school to run in America!

Pop-Up Village for Haiti Made From 900 Shipping Containers

by Bridgette Meinhold

Haitian Canadian musician Luck Mervil is leading the charge to help rebuild Haiti with houses made from repurposed shipping containers. Mervil is behind the Montreal organization Vilaj Vilaj, which wants to use 900 shipping containers to build an entirely new village west of Port-au-Prince fit for 5,000 people. The organization aims to build sustainable and long-term housing in Haiti — and eventually elsewhere — with the help of local Haitians.

    

Mervil, who has put his own career aside to work on this important project, expects the entire community to cost around $25 million and has been ardently working to raise the funds. The new village will be built on a parcel of previously uninhabited land near Leogane, a coastal city west of Port-au-Prince. A prototype shipping container house was built in Canada in 10 days for between $8,000 and $10,000, and Mervil expects the costs to be much lower in Haiti.
The village will consist of a series of 900 shipping containers grouped together in a grid and separated by open space, parks, and playing fields. Both 40 and 20-foot containers will be used to construct durable, long-term and hurricane and earthquake resistant homes. Each home will offer roughly 320 sq feet of living space with running water and bathrooms. The village will also be self-sufficient, with space for companies to set up shop so that villagers can work and support themselves.

 

MIT’s Solar Funnel Concentrates Solar Energy 100 Times

by Timon Singh

A group of chemical engineers at MIT have devised a way to collect solar energy 100 times more concentrated than a traditional photovoltaic cell. If their ’solar funnel’ venture proves to be a success, it could drastically alter how solar energy is collected in the future — there will no longer be a need for massive solar arrays or extensive space to generate significant and sufficient amounts of power. The engineers’ research has determined that carbon nanotubes – hollow tubes made up of carbon atoms — will be the primary instrument in capturing and focusing light energy, allowing for not just smaller, but more powerful solar arrays.

In the Sept. 12 online edition of the journal Nature Materials, Michael Strano, the Charles and Hilda Roddey Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and leader of the research team said, “Instead of having your whole roof be a photovoltaic cell, you could have little spots that were tiny photovoltaic cells, with antennas that would drive photons into them.” Their work is being funded by a National Science Foundation Career Award, a Sloan Fellowship, the MIT-Dupont Alliance and the Korea Research Foundation.

The antenna itself is incredibly small – it consists of a fibrous rope about 10 micrometers (millionths of a meter) long and four micrometers thick, containing about 30 million carbon nanotubes. The prototype made by Strano’s team consisted of a fiber made of two layers of nanotubes, each with different electrical properties.
When a photon strikes the surface of the solar funnel, it excites an electron to a higher energy level, which is specific to the material. The relationship between the energized electron and the hole it leaves behind is called an exciton, and the difference in energy levels between the hole and the electron is known as the bandgap.
The inner layer of the antenna contains nanotubes with a small bandgap, and nanotubes in the outer layer have a higher bandgap. Excitons like to flow from high to low energy, and in the solar funnel’s case means they can flow from the outer layer to the inner layer where they can exist in a lower energy state. When light strikes the antenna, all of the excitons flow to the center of the antenna where they are concentrated and the photons are converted to an electrical current. Like with all solar cells however, its efficiency depends on the materials utilized for the electrode.

Strano’s team is the first to construct nanotube fibers in which the properties of different layers can be controlled — an achievement made possible by recent advances in separating nanotubes with different properties. It is not just the higher rate of concentrated energy that makes the solar funnels a breakthrough — by utilizing carbon nanotubes, solar cells can be constructed at a lower-cost than traditional silicon-based solar cells.
While the cost of carbon nanotubes was once prohibitive, it has come down in recent years as chemical companies build up their manufacturing capacity. “At some point in the near future, carbon nanotubes will likely be sold for pennies per pound, as polymers are sold,” says Strano. “With this cost, the addition to a solar cell might be negligible compared to the fabrication and raw material cost of the cell itself, just as coatings and polymer components are small parts of the cost of a photovoltaic cell.”
In theory, with this new technology, not only could the solar funnels be used to generate power, but they could be used in applications where light needs to be concentrated — such as telescopes or night-vision goggles. The design behind the solar funnel is quite innovative, by capturing the light in a tube, Strano’s solar funnel, also know as an nanotube antenna, boosts the number of photons that can be transformed into energy, but in a similar process to that of tradition solar cells.
Strano’s team is now reportedly working on ways to minimize the energy lost as excitons flow through the fiber, as well as new antennas that would lose only 1 percent of the energy they absorb versus the standard 13 percent.

Cambridge University Produces Cheap Plastic Organic Solar Cell

by Timon Singh

The University of Cambridge has developed a low cost organic solar cell that has the potential to transform solar production. This new material is made of organic plastic and could be used on awnings, umbrellas and other plastic devices to generate energy.

By placing organic polymers (long chains of carbon-based molecules) in plastic you create an organic photovoltaic cell, that until now have not had much commercial success. With an operating principle similar to photosynthesis in green plants, organic photovoltaic cells are cheap to produce when compared to silicon solar cells, but have quite a low efficiency. This is something which the University of Cambridge is aiming to change.

The university team has reportedly come up with a commercial model that combines efficiency improvements, a longer lifespan, low-cost (and low-toxicity) raw materials, a cost-effective manufacturing process, and a product line that focuses on economies of scale and ease of installation. If this can be done, then cheaply produced solar cells have the ability to transform poorer countries and their energy demands.

The university’s Cavendish Laboratory and the Carbon Trust have formed a joint venture company to develop organic solar PV technology, which has been financed with a £4.5 million initial investment from the Trust and specialty chemicals firm Rhodia. Cavendish Labs have reportedly fine-tuned the capability for fabricating large-scale plastic electronic devices on flexible materials using roll-to-roll processes. The new company will be able to focus on developing organic photovoltaics (OPV) on flexible rolls, enabling them to be used more readily and discretely on buildings – and potentially other objects – than conventional rigid photovoltaic panels.
Not only can organic photovoltaic plastic be molded for any purpose, but it can be spray-painted on objects, be it buildings, cars or otherwise. There are also investigations in to creating a silicon-based solar paint, but if organic photovoltaic paint can be produced first, and more cheaply, then it could transform the solar market. Instead of acres of solar cells, cities could be transformed using solar plastics, not to mention the more environmental alternative – bioplastics, which are made from waste-water instead of petroleum.

Water and water filtration

New Nanotech Purifier Filters Water 80,000 Times Faster

by Cameron Scott

A new water filter that employs cotton dipped in nano-sized silver wires and copper tubes works 80,000 times faster than filters that simply block bacteria from getting through. The filter, developed by Stanford University researchers for use in developing countries, efficiently conducts a tiny charge of electricity, zapping 98 percent of all bacteria.

 Photo: Shai Kessel

Millions of people die in rural and undeveloped areas every year from exposure to contaminated drinking water. The challenge is to create processes that work cheaply and reliably and uses materials that are light enough to transport. The pass-through filter is less likely to fail due to clogging or becoming infested with the bacteria it’s intended to kill: if bacteria cling to it, the silver kills them. And because its nano-materials are especially efficient conductors of electricity, the filter can get the jolt it needs from a small solar panel, a hand crank or 12-volt car batteries.
Unfortunately, when it comes to drinking water, 98 percent isn’t an adequate kill rate, so water would have to be filtered more than once. But since the filter works 80,000 times faster, there’s plenty of time for that.

Environmental Health Issues Water Cancer & Chlorine Is the chlorine in our drinking water acting as catalyst triggering tumor development both in atherosclerosis and cancer? The addition of chlorine to our drinking water started in the late 1890’s and had wide acceptance in the United States by 1920. Joseph Price, M. D, wrote a fascinating yet largely ignored book in the late 1960’s, entitled Coronaries Cholesterol. Chlorine, Dr Price believes, is the primary and essential cause of atherosclerosis is chlorine. "Nothing can negate the incontrovertible fact the basic cause of atherosclerosis and resulting entities, such as heart attacks and most common forms of stokes is chlorine. The chlorine contained in processed drinking water." (1) This conclusion is based on experiments using chlorine in the drinking water of chickens. The results: 95% of the chickens given chlorine added to distilled water developed atherosclerosis within a few months. Atherosclerosis, heart attacks and the resulting problems of hardening of the arteries and plaque formation is really the last step in a series of biochemical malfunctions. Price points out it takes ten to twenty years before symptoms in humans become evident In many ways, this is reminiscent of cancer which can take twenty to thirty years to develop. Can chlorine be linked to cancer too? In the chlorination process itself, chlorine combines with natural organic matter decaying vegetation to form potent cancer causing trihalomethanes (THM’s) or haloforms. Trihalomethanes collectively include such carcinogens as chloroforms, bromoforms carbon tectachloride, bischlorothane and others. The amount of THM’s in our drinking water is theoretically regulated by the EPA. Although the maximum amount allowed by law is 100 ppb, a 1976 study showed 31 of 112 municipal water systems exceeded this limit. (2) According to some studies by 1975, the number of chemical contaminants found in finished drinking water exceeded 300. (3) In 1984 over 700 chemicals had been found in our drinking water The EPA has targeted 129 as posing the greatest threat to our health, Currently the EPA enforces federal standards for 34 drinking water contaminants. In July, 1990 they proposed adding 23 new ones and expects this list increasing to 85 in 1992. (4) Another report claims the picture is much worse. According to Troubled Waters on Tap "over 2100 contaminants have been detected in U. S. drinking water since 1974 with 190 known or suspected to cause adverse health effects at certain concentration levels. In total, 97 carcinogens and suspected carcinogens, 82 mutagens and suspected mutagens, 28 acute and chronic toxic contaminants and 23 tumor promoters have been detected in U. S. drinking water since 1974. The remaining 90% of the organic matter present in drinking water has not been identified by testing to-date. Compounds in these concentration could pose serious toxic effects, either alone or in combination with other chemicals found in drinking water. Overall, available scientific evidence continues to substantiate the link between consumption of toxins in drinking water and serious public health concerns, Studies have strengthened the association between ingestion of toxins and elevated cancer mortality risks"(5) Studies in New Orleans, Louisiana; Eric County, New York, Washington County Maryland, Ohio County, Ohio reveal high levels of haloforms or THM ‘s in drinking water The result – higher levels of cancer. (6) (7) (8) (9) ‘The continued use of chlorine as the main drinking water disinfectant in the United States only adds to the organic chemical contamination of drinking water supplies. The current federal standard regulation of trihalomethanes do not adequately protect water consumers from the multitude of other organic chlorination by-products that have been shown in many studies to be mutagenic and toxic’(5) "Chlorine is so dangerous" according to biologist/chemist Dr. Herbert Schwartz," that Is should be banned. Putting chlorine In the water is like starting a time bomb. Cancer heart trouble, premature senility, both mental and physical are conditions attributable to chlorine, treated water supplies. It is making us grow old before our time by producing symptoms of ageing such as hardening of the arteries. I believe if chlorine were now proposed for the first time to be used in drinking water it would be banned by the Food and Drug Administration."(10) Many municipalities are experimenting with a variety of disinfectants to either take the place of chlorine or to be used in addition, as a way of cutting down on the amount of chlorine added to the water However these alternatives such as chlorine dioxide, bromine chloride, chloromines, etc., are just as dangerous as chlorine. We’ re replacing one toxic chemical with another. On the positive side, some cities are starting to use aeration carbon filtration, ultraviolet light and ozone as safe alternatives to chemical disinfectants. But the number of cities and the number of people getting water from these methods is minimal. How can chlorination be linked to heart disease and cancer? In Super Nutrition for Healthy Hearts Dr Richard Passwater shows how "the origin of heart disease is akin to the origin of cancer" Chlorination could very well be a key factor linking these two major diseases Chlorine creates THM's and haloforms. These potent chemical pollutants can trigger the production of excess free radicals in our bodies. Free radicals cause cell damage. Excess free radicals can cause normal smooth muscle cells in the arterial wall to go haywire, to mutate. The fibrous plaque consequently formed is essentially a benign tumor. (11) Unfortunately, this tumor is linked with the origin of heart disease. If your drinking water is chlorinated, don’t drink it You can purchase very effective filters which will remove 99% of the THM’s or purchase proper bottled spring water. Just this simple safeguard may save thousands from heart disease and cancer - the two major degenerative killers in the United States. Price JM. Coronaries Cholesterol/Chlorine. NY: Pyramid, 1969. Maugh TH. New Study Links Chlorination and Cancer Science 1983; 211 (February 13): 694. Wilkins JR, Reiches NA, Kruse CW. Organic Chemical Contaminants in Drinking Water and Cancer AM. J. Epidemology 1979; 114: 179-190. U.S Water News. EPA Seeking to Expand Number of Drinking Water Contaminants to 34. August 1990: 8 Conacher D. Troubled Waters on Tap Organic Chemicals in Public Drinking Water Systems and the Failure of Regulation. Wash D. C: Center for Study of Responsive Law, 1988: 114. Page T, Harris RH, Epstein SS. Drinking Water and Cancer Morality in Louisiana. Science 1976; 193: 55-57. Gottlieb DG, Osborne RH. Premiminary Report on Nationwide Study of Drinking Water and Cardiovascular Diseases. J. Environmental Pathology and Toxicology. 1980; 3: 65-76. Carlo GL, Mettlin CJ. Cancer Incidence and Trihalomethane Concentrations in a Public Water System. AM. J. Public Health 1980; 70 (May): 523-525 Wilkins JR, Comstock GW. Source of Drinking Water at Home and Site-Specific Cancer Incidence in Washington County, Maryland. AM J. Epidemology. 1981; 114: 178-190. Dons Bach KW, Walker M. Drinking Water. Huntingdon Beach, CA: Int’l Institute of Natural Health Sciences, 1981. Passwater R. Supernutrition for Healthy Hearts. NY: Jova 1978. Source: - Healthy Water, Martin Fox, PH.d.

More Solar

MIT Creates Self-Assembling Solar Cells That Repair Themselves

by Jaymi Heimbuch

MIT's Test Cell Patrick Gillooly, MIT
Solar cells are intended to mimic the photosynthesis of plants -- converting light into energy in the most efficient manner possible. But what other characteristics of plants could be handy for the renewable energy sector to mimic? How about the self-assembly of chloroplast, the component of plants that do all the vital photosynthesis. Leaves repair themselves after sun damage again and again to keep up their ability to convert light into energy. Now, MIT researchers believe they've discovered how to use this self-assembly to restore solar cells damaged by the sun.

Popular Science writes, "To recreate this unique regenerative ability, the MIT team devised a novel set of self-assembling molecules that use photons to shake electrons loose in the form of electricity. The system contains seven different compounds, including carbon nanotubes that provide structure and a means to conduct the electricity away from the cells, synthetic phospholipids that form discs that also provide structural support, and other molecules that self-assemble into "reaction centers" that actually interact with the incoming photons to release electrons."
These compounds can assemble themselves into structures able to harvest solar energy at an efficiency of about 40%. As they loose efficiency from damage, a surfacant can be spread across them to break down the compounds, then when it is filtered out, the cells reassemble good as new. The researchers think they can eventually boost the efficiency even higher, and perhaps provide solar cells that are virtually indestructible.
MIT is constantly coming out with new possibilities for the solar industry, from solar concentrators that improve both efficiency and designs, to printing thin film solar cells on paper. And now, perhaps, solar cells that bring us even closer to completely mimicking leaves.

SkyFuel’s SkyTrough is World’s Most Efficient Solar Concentrator

by Timon Singh

When it comes to producing solar power, efficiency is the key – efficiency of the panels, efficiency of the system’s collectors and, according to SkyFuel, efficiency of the solar concentrator technology. Solar concentrators are increasingly being used in the industry, due to their efficiency in providing cheap solar energy. By harnessing the sun’s energy, a solar concentrator can provide the necessary heat for dozens of homes and thus save electricity. As such, the systems are more efficient than regular solar generators as captured power is not just converted into electricity. But according to SkyFuel, a U.S.-based company, their SkyTrough solar concentrator technology has a thermal efficiency of 73% at 350˚C (662˚F). More than just a shallow claim, their statement has been confirmed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which has certified the SkyTrough solar concentrator technology to have the highest efficiency in its class!

 

Performance of the optical elements of the SkyTrough was measured at the Optical Efficiency Test Loop in Golden, Colorado. The test facility was designed to allowed the study of the optical performance independent of the receiver’s heat loss characteristics. Optical efficiency is a direct gauge of the design elements unique to the SkyTrough’s mirror reflectance, parabolic accuracy, receiver alignment to the focal line of the trough, and the system’s tracking precision. ”The SkyTrough solar collector is a new, low-weight design that takes advantage of the patented reflector film jointly developed by SkyFuel and NREL,” said Chuck Kutscher, Principal Engineer and Manager of NREL’s Thermal Systems Group.
In a statement from SkyFuel, the company’s Chief Technology Officer Randy Gee said, “A lot of thoughtful engineering went into the SkyTrough, so we were confident our efficiency would be high, but NREL’s confirmation really validates our technology. We couldn’t be more pleased with NREL’s assessment.”
Parabolic trough solar concentrators, such as the SkyTrough, are designed to harness the sun’s energy to make steam for electricity generation. The more efficiently that a trough can harness the sun’s energy and convert it to steam, the more electricity it will be able to make. In the SkyTrough’s case, nearly three quarters of the solar radiation is thus converted into thermal energy, and then into electricity – a very high figure for solar power production. The fact that the thermal-to-electricity loss is only 27% is quite remarkable considering the large losses of efficiency that occur within the industry.

Global Solar rolls out stick-on solar panels

by Martin LaMonica

Glue may be the magic ingredient to making solar power cheaper.
Solar company Global Solar introduced a line of flexible solar modules which are designed for flat commercial rooftop buildings.
Rather than install racking systems to hold heavy glass-covered solar panels, the company's PowerFlex BIPV modules can be adhered onto a roof or built right into roofing materials. The modules are quicker to installer, lighter, and don't require any penetrations into the roof, according to the company.
The installed cost of Global Solar modules is about the same as traditional polycrystalline silicon panels with racks, said Jean-Noel Poirier, the vice president of marketing and business development. But because there is no need for spacing between racks, the flexible thin-film modules can cover more roof space and generate more power, he said.
The company plans to sell its solar modules--long strips of solar panels which almost 19 feet long and one and a half feet wide--through roof membrane manufacturers. The solar cells are made from a combination of copper, indium, selenium, and gallium (CIGS) and perform comparatively well in areas that don't have direct sun, Poirier said.
The company plans to get certification for the modules, which are being evaluated by roofing membrane companies now, by the end of the year and start production early next year.
Global Solar, one of many solar companies developing CIGS solar cells and modules, now has 75 megawatts worth of production capacity at two plants in Tucson, Arizona and Berlin, Germany. Until now, the company has supplied solar cells to panel manufacturers, but the company is now manufacturing its own modules for building-integrated photovoltaics, said CEO Jeff Britt.

New Black Silicon Solar Cells are Cheap and Absorb More Sun

by Brit Liggett

While the reflective and shiny solar panels that researchers have been making thus far look pretty, they’re no match for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) recently discovered black silicon solar cell. The scientists at NREL discovered that etching thousands of tiny holes into a silicon wafer causes it to be almost black and thus able to absorb almost all of the sun’s rays, and more absorbent solar cells mean more efficient panels.

 

We recently reported on researchers that are using off the shelf dyes to help solar cells absorb a wider range of light but this experiment goes even further. No color can stand up to black when it comes to absorbing . Black doesn’t bounce anything back – it hoards all photons for itself. The researchers got the idea from a team in Munich that had carefully placed a thin layer of gold and some fancy chemicals on their silicon to turn it black.
By mixing gold and chemicals into a cocktail and spraying it on silicon, they were able to create a black silicon wafer in under 3 minutes at room temperature. At 100 degrees Fahrenheit they can do it in less than a minute — this bodes well for mass manufacturing. They call their black silicon wet-etched, because the chemical and gold mixture is wet when applied and etches holes into the substance. Their next effort — and its a big one — is engineering a workable solar panel around their etched silicon.