Results tagged “New Scientist” from Innovations

Tiny Spy Planes Turned Into Medical Carrier Pigeons

September 15, 2008 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The unmanned aerial vehicles that the military uses to fly reconnaissance missions over enemy territory may be able to benefit civilian medical care. According to New Scientist, engineers have tested a converted craft to carry medical samples of blood, urine, or sputum, or up to two units of blood, for between hard-to-reach clinics in parts of South Africa and distant medical labs. Use of the vehicles - which, at about 1 foot long, resemble toys - should speed up diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as tuberculosis.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: New Scientist, unmanned aerial vehicles

New 'Fuel Battery' - Better Than Gasoline?

July 27, 2008 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new electrical storage device that is part battery and part chemical fuel cell could pack more energy than the same volume of gasoline, says New Scientist. The device was designed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. They say it could overcome the main limitation of batteries planned for electric vehicles - that they can't pack enough power to give the car the same traveling range as gasoline does.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: electric vehicles, fuel cell, New Scientist, University of Massachusetts

Web Pick: A New Way to Think About Miles Per Gallon

June 23, 2008 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The way we think about fuel efficiency could be undermining our ability to actually figure out how much a car can save us in gas costs, researchers at Duke University suggest.

New Scientist reports that a study found that people think doubling the miles per gallon of a compact car has the same effect on overall fuel consumption as doubling it in an SUV: that is, going from 10 to 20 mpg saves five gallons per 100 miles, while going from 25 to 50 mpg saves only two. The scientists want to flip the Environmental Protection Agency's standard on its head, from miles per gallon to gallons per (100) miles, which they say would make the picture clearer. In this case, 100 miles in the more efficient compact would "cost" 2 gallons, as opposed to 5 gallons in the more efficient SUV.

posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Tags: Duke University, EPA, mpg, New Scientist