Did you know that panda researchers in China, wear panda costumes so they could give mother-like feelings to lonely baby pandas who lost their mothers.
It gives a whole new meaning to pandering to the kids.
But in this case it’s a matter of survival.
Chinese conservationists are dressing up in fluffy panda costumes as they help prepare captive-born cubs to live in the wild.
Helping hand: One of the scientists carries a cub away for an examination
They are anxious to ensure the endangered animals have as little contact with humans as possible.
So rather than being hand-reared as precious pandas often are, they are being brought up by their mothers in a piece of protected woodland.
Human help is always on hand, as their every move is monitored by CCTV.
Their vigilant keepers can see in a moment if they need medicine or a health check-up.
Who are you? Researchers carefully take the four-month-old cub's temperature during a physical examination in Hetaoping Research and Conservation Centre for the Giant Panda
Handle with care: The cub is placed in a box to be taken from its habitat
But they make sure to slip into their panda suits before venturing anywhere near, as they are anxious that their charges don’t become used to seeing humans.
Keepers at the Hetaoping Research and Conservation Centre in western China believe the costumes are vital if the cubs are to survive when finally released into the wild.
In 2006, Xiang Xiang, a five-year-old male, was freed after spending three years being taught survival skills such as foraging for food and marking his territory.
After initially appearing to be adjusting well, he died after getting into a fight with a group of wild pandas.
They are thought to have sensed something different about the human-reared interloper.
With fewer than 2,500 giant pandas living free in China, conservationists are desperate not to take any chances with the next group facing life in the wild.
Headless: The researcher carries the panda away, confident his human shape has not been seen
There is a widely held belief that the amount of dangerous chemicals released into the atmosphere would be greatly reduced if we were to all use Hybrid or Electric cars. According to a new study that was recently published in the Environmental Science and Technology Journal, this is actually not the case. The study has discovered some very interesting stuff. It points to the fact that passenger cars are only responsible for about 20% of total dangerous gas emissions. What this means is that there would not be a particularly drastic reduction in the rate of emissions because of the use of Electric or Hybrid cars. Scientists need to look elsewhere in order to address the problem.
The study I have mentioned was produced by North Carolina University. It has been suggested that 40% of cars in the US may be Hybrid or all electric by the year 2050. The study takes into account variables such as the cost of running a vehicle and the prices of oil and batteries. Even if 40% of cars the US were to be hybrid or electric the study found that it would not have a noticeable effect on gas emissions. The lead author of the study has stated that people should not be discouraged from buying electric cars. Despite these findings, electric cars are still useful when it comes to improving air quality and oil dependency.
We may one day be reading by the light of a houseplant
Tired of filling your house with boring old ficus plants and ferns for a little greenery? You're in luck, because you could soon be able to bring home your own luminescent plant. No, it isn't the result of some kind of nuclear accident. The plants are engineered by the biotechnology company Bioglow and were first announced in 2010 when molecular biologist Alexander Krichevsky et al. published the results in PLOS One. Since that initial report, the team has been working to refine the technique and get the plants growing brighter. Bio-luminescence can be found in a variety of organisms, including certain jellyfish, bacteria, and insects. These creatures use their natural glow for many reasons, including scaring off predators or attracting prey. For modern scientists, bioluminescence is used a standard marker used in biological research, as it gives scientists a very clear confirmation that the genetic modification was successful. Now, plants that are genetically engineered to be bio-luminescent will be available to the public as a novelty, though it could have future implications as a truly–ahem–green source of energy. Glowing plants have been attempted for some time now, but required the use of special dyes or UV lights. Because the properties that made these glow were from an external source, these didn’t really work all that well and were not truly bioluminescent. Bioglow’s plants will be the first commercially available plants that have been altered to be autonomously luminescent (which Krichevsky describes as “autoluminescent”). The glowing plants have been named Starlight AvatarTM. They are an engineered version of Nicotiana alata plants, which is an ornamental tobacco species. Don’t let that put you off; the plant smells like jasmine, not an old bowling alley. Its moniker comes from the fact that it glows about as bright as starlight. Depending on the individual, the light can be seen as soon as the lights go out, but it may also take a couple minutes for your eyes to adjust. The biggest drawback of the plant now is that they have a relatively short lifespan at only 2-3 months because it takes so much out of the plant to create the light. The lab continues to work on increasing the longevity of the plant as well as ramping up the brightness. It is the company’s hope that someday these plants could be used to provide a natural source of light inside the home and even possibly replace garden lights, saving money and energy. Dying to get your hands on one of the first Starlight AvatarTM plants? Bioglow will be holding an auction for the first twenty plants. It doesn’t cost anything to sign up for the auction, but you do need to register on Bioglow’s website to get on the email list for the auction link. The auction is only open to those in the United States and bidding starts at just $1, plus shipping fees.
Note: The date of the auction hasn’t been released yet, but this article will be updated when Bioglow makes the announcement to those who have confirmed registration.
Could Sparkling Glow-in-the-Dark Pavement Replace Street Lights?
This energy-efficient technology to illuminate pathways is environmentally friendly and beautiful.
A bike path in Cambridge, England glows with a brilliant blue.
Keeping parks well lit at night can be a costly means to ensure pedestrian and cyclist safety. But a British-based company has come up with a way to turn park paths into glow-in-the-dark thoroughfares that double as energy-efficient works of art.
Created by Pro-Teq, Starpath is a sprayable coating of light-absorbing particles that harvests ultra-violet rays from the sun during the day and dramatically lights up like a starry sky at night. The veneer is non-reflective, anti-slip and waterproof, and can be applied to cement, wood, tarmac or other solid surfaces.
Earlier this month, Starpath was tested on all 1,600 square-feet of the paths at Christ’s Pieces Park, in the university town of Cambridge. The park is well trafficked late into the evening by cyclist and pedestrians alike.
"Our surface works best over tarmac or concrete, predominantly tarmac, which is the main bulk of the U.K. path network," says Pro-Teq’s Neil Blackmore, in a sales video. "When it's coming to the end of its useful life, we can rejuvenate it with our system, creating not only a practical, but a decorative finish."
Seeing that local city councils were increasingly shutting off park lights at night to save money, Pro-Teq developed Starpath to maintain public safety without the financial and environmental costs of overhead lighting. It's a common problem; in the U.S. for instance, cities generally count streetlights as their first or second biggest energy drains.
But the glow-in-the-dark spray also comes with additional benefits: Its non-reflective surface doesn't seem to contribute to light pollution, which not only inhibits views of the nighttime sky, but can have dire consequences for local wildlife due to the constant illumination.
Overhead street lighting does provide one important benefit to urban parks, however, and that's the deterrence of crime. It's not yet known if Starpath would provide enough light to do the same.
Pro-Teq's Neil Blackmore says that for larger urban parks where the possibility of crime is higher, his technology could be used in conjunction with overhead lighting, if not replacing street lights completely, then cutting down on the number of them necessary to illuminate darkened areas.
"I was in London today looking at a large park for Starpath," he says. "And there's lights down by the river, but in the back of the park, there's no lighting at all. So having our product there, in the complete darkness, would only benefit the user."
Pro-Teq’s demonstration project in Cambridge is tiny, though, compared to a glow-in-the-dark technology being rolled out across the English Channel.
The Netherlands began its "smart highway" redesign this year with the promise of using super-charged glow-in-the-dark paint to illuminate highways during the country's long, dark winters. Not only will the paint light up to define the road and its lanes, but when the temperature drops below freezing, a bright snowflake design appears on the asphalt, warning drivers about the possibility of black ice.
As innovative and environmentally-friendly as the Netherlands' design is, though, Pro-Teq's Starpath may have bested it in terms of pure aesthetics. The starry spray is dramatic and not only lights up to a brilliant blue (as seen in the video above), but is also available in other sparkling colors, like red, gold and green.
Whether its application could extend to some roadways remains to be seen, but at least for now, Starpath looks like an energy-efficient way to light up parks while simultaneously turning them into eye-catching art displays.
TREEPODS: Carbon-Scrubbing Artificial Trees for Boston City Streets
Trees naturally filter and clean our air, but in today’s heavily polluted world, it’s just too huge of a task to expect Mother Nature to take care of herself. Taking this into account, designers Mario Caceres and Cristian Canonico have designed a set of beautiful air-filtering trees for the SHIFTboston urban intervention contest. Called TREEPODS, the designs harnesses biomimicry to efficiently emulate the carbon filtration qualities of trees.
The TREEPOD systems are capable of removing carbon dioxide from the air and releasing oxygen using a carbon dioxide removal process called “humidity swing,”. In addition to their air-cleansing abilities, TREEPODS will also include solar energy panels and will harvest kinetic energy through an interactive seesaw that visitors can play with at the TREEPOD’s base. As passersby play on the seesaws they power displays that explain the TREEPODS’ de-carbonization process. Both the solar panels and the kinetic energy station will power the air filtration process, as well as interior lights.
The TREEPODS themselves will be made entirely of recycled/recyclable plastic from drink bottles. Based not only on trees, but on the human lung, the design of the “branches” will feature multiple contact points that serve as tiny CO2 filters. The proposed design, giant white and translucent canopies of trees, can be installed among existing trees or on their own. Interestingly, the TREEPODS have been compared to “urban furniture”: sleek yet functional design pieces that would fit into any urban environment. At night, the TREEPODS light up in an array of eye-catching colors.
Caceres and Canonico hope that these “trees” will function not just as examples of gorgeous urban design and sources of sustainable energy, but also as meeting places, allowing citizens to have an air purifying tree to sit under with friends and enjoy the day.
Trees with naturally-glowing leaves could provide an environmentally-friendly alternative to street lamps. Researchers in Taiwan have discovered that adding nanoparticles of gold to the leaves of the Bacopa Caroliniana tree causes its leaves to glow.LED glow
Dr Ye-Hsun points out that this is potentially a win-win-win situation, with the glowing plants reducing power usage, and lowering light pollution, while absorbing CO2.
Dr Yen-Hsun Su from at Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University was working on alternatives to LED lights when the discovery came about.LED glow
‘Bio-LED’ lights
The tiny particles of gold cause chlorophyll in the plants leaves to produce a reddish luminescence.LED glow
Dr Yen-Hsun Su told Chemistry World: “In the future, bio-LED could be used to make roadside trees luminescent at night. This will save energy and absorb CO2 as the bio-LED luminescence will cause the chloroplast to conduct photosynthesis.”
ETA comment: Too many lights
I have often wondered why so many lights are left on – especially between one and five in the morning. Pedestrians and motorists require different types of lighting. Lighting just for pedestrians is cheaper.
If organisations responsible for lighting, as part of their planned maintenance and replacement programs devised lighting that catered specially for driving and lighting that was especially for walking separately then they would be able to turn off the lights for drivers but keep on the lower-powered lights for pedestrians. Naturally, this would generally only apply to main roads, but bio-LED technology could provide an ideal solution for lighting for pedestrians. LED glow
If overnight temperatures are due to fall below your inside temperature, open the house as much as possible from late afternoon
Should you open or close your house to keep cool in a heatwave? Many people believe it makes sense to throw open doors and windows to the breeze; others try to shut out the heat.
Listen to talk radio during a hot spell and you are likely to hear both views.
In a modern house the best advice is to shut up shop during the heat of the day, to keep the heat out. Then, throw open the windows from late afternoon onwards, as long as overnight temperatures are lower outside than inside.
But our research shows that opening and closing doors, windows and curtains is just one of the factors at play. To really stay cool when the heat is on, you also need to think about what type of house you have, and what its surroundings are like.
The traditional “Queenslander” house has long been seen as ideally suited for hot weather. Such houses have great design features for cooling, including shady verandas and elevated floors. But the traditional timber and tin construction provides very little resistance to heat transfer.
If uninsulated homes are closed up during a heatwave they would very likely become too hot. This has led people to opening up their house, to stop them getting much hotter inside than outside.
But in temperatures of 40C and above, one could argue that both strategies (opening and closing) in an uninsulated house would result in very uncomfortable occupants. Such houses would also not meet current building regulations, as insulation has been required in new houses since 2003 (or earlier in some parts of Australia).
Our research explores the role of design and construction on occupant comfort in hot weather. We have looked at brick and lightweight houses, as well as those made from less common materials such as structural insulated panels, earth, straw, and advanced glass and roof coatings.
We found that three factors influence the comfort of people inside a house: whether is it opened or closed; its urban context; and its construction materials. Having a better understanding of these factors could help you to keep cool this summer – or prepare for the next one.
To breeze or not to breeze
Whether they have air-conditioning or not, we found that people usually approach hot weather in the same way: by opening doors and windows to capture breezes.
People in both groups also tended to shut up the house if it gets hot outside, or if there is no breeze, or before switching on the air-conditioner if they have one. Most participants in our survey, which looked at homes less than 10 years old, also used ceiling fans to create air movement.
Occupants tape foil to the inside of windows to try to stop their home from overheating in Queensland.
But our research showed that many people failed to take advantage of cooler overnight temperatures, meaning their homes were hotter than the outside during the night. This may mean that houses have not been designed to get rid of daytime heat. Or that people aren’t opening the windows overnight to allow the house to cool down.
The impact of context
The research shows that occupants first try natural ventilation for achieving comfort. But the success of this strategy depends on the urban context of the house. This includes factors such as housing density, street scape and microclimate.
For example, during a hot spell in 2013 an Ipswich estate experienced minimum and maximum temperatures that were 3-4C hotter than the local weather station. Restricted air movement due to nearby buildings, and radiant heat from hard surfaces such as concrete, can both drive temperatures up.
Built for comfort
Both the housing industry and occupants seem to have little understanding of the impact design and construction have on the temperature inside the building. As a result, air-conditioning is now seen not as desirable, but as a necessity. This does not have to be the case.
What does this mean for comfort year-round, and in a heatwave?
In inland southeast Queensland, a 6-star home will have an internal temperature of 18-28C for 80-85% of the time. In a typical year, its temperature will be above 30C for between 300 and 350 hours (3.5% of the time). Heat-wave conditions would result in more hours above 30C.
In contrast, a 9- or 10-star house in the same climate would deliver more “comfort” hours (85-95%) and would be above 30C less than 2% of the time. These houses are designed to slow down the transfer of heat, meaning they naturally stay cooler for longer. And there is no (or little) need for air-conditioning!
This 9-star home uses 48% less electricity than the south-east Queensland average.
A wide variety of design and construction techniques and materials can be used to achieve such high performance houses in every climate zone in Australia.
Open and shut case
So when facing a heatwave, should we open up our houses or close them up? The answer is… it depends.
If your home is well insulated and shaded, it should be able to resist several days of extreme heat. Closing doors, windows and curtains during the heat of the day can help the house stay cooler than outside. Ceiling fans provide air movement to make you feel cooler.
Opening the house as much as possible from late afternoon to early morning is beneficial if overnight temperatures will fall below your inside temperature.
Air conditioning a poorly insulated house with little shading is expensive and futile. In a well-insulated and shaded house, air-conditioning can be used quite efficiently by using the same strategies as above. A higher thermostat setting (perhaps 26-28C), combined with ceiling fans, can provide comfort with lower running costs. This can also reduce strain on the electricity network.
Whether air-conditioned or not, houses can be designed specifically for their climate, to limit the flow of heat between the outside and inside. The higher the star rating of the house, the more effectively it stops unwanted heat from entering the house. Different strategies are required for different climates.
Of course, the knowledge that you might be more comfortable in a different house is likely to be cold comfort as you swelter through this summer. But perhaps you can prepare a “cool comfort” plan for next summer.
High fetal death rates coincided with releases of toxic metal into Washington D.C.’s pipes
DANGEROUS WATER The rate of stillbirths increased during two recent episodes of elevated lead levels in Washington, D.C.’s drinking water.
Stillbirth rates in Washington, D.C., rose in parallel with two recent spikes in lead levels in drinking water, a new analysis finds.
Virginia Tech environmental engineer Marc Edwards and colleagues, in an earlier study, tied a 2001–2004 increase in children’s blood lead levels to a switch in the chemical that Washington’s water authority uses to disinfect drinking water (SN Online: 1/27/2009). After 2004, when city officials warned the public and the utility distributed water filters, blood lead levels fell.
Long-established science suggests that the elevated lead levels should have also increased stillbirths, which are fetal deaths in the second half of the normal 40-week gestation period. The new study, published December 9 in Environmental Science & Technology, provides evidence that such an increase occurred during Washington’s lead crisis. Edwards found that in 2001, Washington’s annual fetal death rate jumped by 32–63 percent relative to the rates in 1997–1999; no comparable increase occurred in Baltimore, which did not suffer lead level spikes.
Washington’s stillbirth rates returned to normal in 2004. But the city’s fetal death rate rose again in 2007–2009, when pipe replacements released lead into some homes’ drinking water.
