All those billions of plastic bottles you're drinking your designer water and energy drinks out of could be recycled into a biodegradable plastic that could replace the cellophane in food packaging, Science News reports. The trick is to heat the plastic so it breaks down into constituent parts, including an acid. Feed the acid to the right kind of microbes and they turn it into a new, biodegradable plastic.
Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com
Barack Obama and John McCain have provided answers to 17 questions related to healthcare and medical research posed by a group promoting health care as a higher national priority. Science News reports several similarities in the candidates' responses to questions from Research! America, of Alexandria, VA. Both believe in funding for the National Institutes of Health, support stem cell research, and let in more foreign workers with medical skills. The site links to the complete set of answers, and is seeking answers from third party candidates such as Ralph Nader and Bob Barr.
Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com
Chemists at Brandeis University in Massachusetts have found a way to separate fluorine from carbon compounds, opening the door to eliminating one of the most potent types of greenhouse gas. Science News reports that, so far, the scientists only have a proof of their concept, but hope to develop it into a practical process for breaking up hydrofluorocarbons. The volume of HFCs is much lower in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, but they trap more heat and do not break down easily.
Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com
The candidates will reportedly respond to a list of 14 broad questions, such as: "What steps, if any, should the United States take during your presidency to protect ocean health? "
Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com
Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com
Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com
The idea is based on the notion of social networks - popularly known as six degrees of separation, the phenomenon that allows you to connect any actor to Kevin Bacon in only a few steps - and relies on vaccinating people who act as "nodes," who connect one circle of people to another.
Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com
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