Wind Turbine Creates Water Out Of Air

For millions of people, spanning over 20% of the human race, getting access to fresh drinking water is a struggle that could cost them their lives. Droughts are catastrophic for the people living in these drier climates but one company, Eole Water, is working to change that. Developed by French inventor Marc Parent, a new windmill uses electricity to pull moisture from the surrounding air, turning it into drinkable water. Marc was inspired by the condensation on his air conditioner while living in the Caribbean and he began working on a turbine that would use the power of wind to generate electricty which he could use in turn to pull moisture out of thin air.

"Each unit can create 1,000 liters of drinking water using only moisture and powered only by wind. Let me highlight this word : CREATE. All existing solutions (wells, desalination, lakes/rivers pumping, etc.) only treat an existing source of water. Thus, what happens when there is no or no more water available?" stated Thibault Janin, the marketing and communication director of Eole Water,  "The WMS1000 can create water when there is no existing source available. That makes a difference. Our technology integrates water creation, water collection, water treatment and water local distribution.  The WMS1000 can produce and distribute water everywhere."

So far the turbines have been tested in France,  Abu Dhabi, and soon Dubai. The Dubai location will be opening by the end of the year and will be available to the public.

1.7 Million Raised For Nikola Tesla Museum

Most people have never heard of Wardenclyffe or Shoreham, New York, but mention the name Nikola Tesla and intellectuals everywhere will chatter excitedly about this unsung hero of modern science. When the world was still living in a time of candlelight, Tesla was inventing the concept of alternating current, the very system we use today to power our homes. Want to know more about Tesla? Read here.

Wardenclyffe was the final laboratory that Tesla used before his passing and he had intended to build a tower there that would have provided free energy to the entire world. When the project lost funding in 1917, however, the land was sold off to film and paper manufacturers. The laboratory and tower foundation still remain to this day and the land recently went up for sale again. Two bidders were eyeing the property, one a non-profit intent on building a Nikola Tesla museum and the other a developer who intended to build a retail center. Faced with the prospect of losing this part of history to a new Walmart, popular comedy site The Oatmeal put out a plea to all of geekdom to ask for help in outbidding the retailer.

The goal had been set at $850,000 but within days that number had been smashed through by generous donations. The fundraising efforts are now at over $900k and growing with a full 39 days of fundraising left. The money already raised, when combined with a matching contribution from NY, will be more than enough to purchase the property and any additional funding will go toward the building of the museum.

Since the campaign started last week, it has raised an average of $145,000 per day, $6,000 per hour and $100 per minute, with contributions coming from 102 countries, according to an infographic by Indiegogo. So far, 20,000 people have donated.

NASA Makes Historic Mars Landing

At 1:32 am EDT, NASA rover Curiosity landed safe and sound inside a large crater on Mars. The descent to the martian surface was one of the most perilous in the history of space robotics. There was no room for error as the car sized rover used a combination of parachute, rockets, and a tether to navigate the 7 mile drop to the surface. Applause erupted throughout the NASA command center as their dreams and hard work finally came to fruition.

With budget cuts and the cancellation of the space shuttle program still fresh in their minds, the NASA scientists who have worked on Curiosity see this landing as especially meaningful. There has not been another astrobiology mission to Mars since the late 1970s and scientists are eager to see what their rover comes back with. Within minutes of its landing, Curiosity was already sending back spectacular photos of a distant world. The project is slated to last an entire 2 years, during which the rover is slotted to search for signs of potential life as well as evidence that life may have existed at one point.

To read more and see a video of the touchdown, please click here.

Cancer "Stem Cell" Discovery Could Revolutionize Treatments

It's the dreaded word that no patient wants to hear: cancer. For many years, it simply meant there was no hope but doctors have continued to struggle with new and improving ways to treat this deadly disease. Now, a medical break-through may be on the horizon. For the past few years, scientists have hinted that some solid forming tumors may be linked back to particular cells that cause their growth. These cancer "stem cells" are sometimes left behind when treating a tumor and patients experience regrowth. Proof was lacking, however, that such cells really existed.

Now, three separate teams of scientists, all working on independent studies, have found proof that these stem cells do exist. This could mark a major turn in how doctors treat tumors in their patients. Previous treatments all aimed at removing the tumor itself but now doctors may begin aiming at these stem cells to prevent the tumor from growing larger. Once it is removed, killing the stem cells would also mean no relapses. There is some concern that the cancer stem cells appear very similar to normal stem cells responsible for regenerating healthy tissue in the body. This means targeting them may risk damaging the healthy stem cells as well. For now, research is on-going with emphasis being placed on providing distinction between healthy and cancerous stem cells as well as how to target only the malignant kind.

The discovery and proof of the cancer stem cells is still a major step in the right direction according to Prof Hugo Snippert of the University Medical Centre in Utrecht. "Cancer stem cells change the paradigm. The goal of shrinking tumours may well turn out to be less important than targeting the cancer cells in that tumour," he stated, "Many argued that these cells did not exist. But we have shown for the first time there is such a thing as a cancer stem cell and that tumours are maintained by them."

Amazing 15-Year Old Scientist Improves Pancreatic Cancer Test

Jack Andraka can't vote, and he can't drive. Yet. But what he can do is to invent a cheap, accurate test for pancreatic cancer, which

detects pancreatic cancer 168 times faster than current tests. It’s also 90% accurate, 400 times more sensitive, and 26,000 times less expensive than today’s methods. 

(Via Fast Company) 

This is Jack, speaking at TED, a global ideas conference:




(Jack Andraka at TED@NewYork talent search. June 7, 2012. New York, NY. Photo: Ryan Lash. Via the TED flickr photostream.)

And here's his talk (it's pretty amazing):

He started his research because a friend's brother was killed by pancreatic cancer, and Jack felt that he wanted to do something to help. Not only that, but after he came up with his idea, he contacted research institutions all over the country, hoping for someone who would help develop and implement it.

What an awesome kid.