Hasta La Gadget!

Nearly one billion people live without access to clean drinking water. But if one South Africa research team’s work pans out, this may be a concern of the past.

Researchers are conducting a final round of tests on a new nanotech-based filter that can make nearly any water source safe for humans to drink. And best of all, these filters cost only pennies to produce, bringing access to clean drinking water to the poorest of the poor.

The teabag-like filters are filled with active carbon granules made from nanofibers treated with biocide, which will kill waterborne bacteria, rather than just filtering it out.  Each filter can clean up to a liter of the most polluted water and make it drinkable.

The filters were designed by Eugen Cloete, the chair of Stellenbosch University’s Water Institute. Originally, the filters were designed for use on large-scale projects. However, researchers have since shifted their attention to the creation of smaller, easy-to-use filters that could be used in conjunction with something as simple as a plastic bottle. Small, portable filters are a far more efficient (and affordable) method of providing clean drinking water to rural and undeveloped areas than large-scale infrastructure projects.

The filter is currently undergoing testing by the South African Bureau of Standards. If all goes well, Cloete and his team hope to start production by the end of the year in conjunction with the UN and various NGOs who have shown interest in the project. 

Scientist recently released several batches of genetically-modified sterile male mosquitoes into the wilds of the Cayman Islands. This test release aims to reduce the overall population of the famously mosquito-rich isles by allowing the sterile Romeos to mate with the local females, thus reducing offspring in subsequent generations.

This test is specifically being employed to fight Dengue Fever, a potentially fatal mosquito-born disease that causes 50 million cases every year. There is no treatment or vaccine.

The altered mosquitoes were created by British-based Oxitec Limited. From May through October, scientists released various waves of blank-shooting mosquitos into a 40-acre region of the islands. By August there had already been an 80% decrease in the mosquito population as compared to adjacent control areas.

Sounds good, right? But not everyone agrees.

“If we remove an insect like the mosquito from the ecosystem, we
don’t know what the impact will be,” said Pete Riley, campaign director
of GM Freeze, a British non-profit group that opposes genetic
modification.

“Mosquito larvae might be food for other
species, which could starve if the larvae disappear. Or taking out adult
mosquito predators might open up a slot for other insect species to
slide in, potentially introducing new diseases.”

IMHO while there have been no long-term research on the effects of
genetically-modified products, there has also been no concrete scientific proof of
adverse effects. Furthermore, local governments around the world already take steps to use (often toxic) pesticides to control mosquito populations and the ecosystems haven’t so much as blinked.

I’m a big fan of the book and movie Jurassic Park–but we shouldn’t allow it to effect public health policy without concrete scientific proof to tell us otherwise. Work like this could potentially save lives and livelihoods.

image via

In 2003, LA-based graffiti writer, publisher, and activist TEMPT1 was diagnosed with the degenerative neuromuscular disease ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease). The disease has left him almost fully-paralyzed, except for his eyes. He has since teamed up with the Not Impossible Foundation and Graffiti Research Labs to create the Eyewriter, an open-source project that will allow users to control what a machine draws using only the movement of their eyes.

I’ve never been a huge fan of graffiti art, but knowing that an image like this was created only using the movement of an eyeball is beyond impressive.

Eyewriter 2.0 made its debut at the recent 2010 Cinekid festival in Amsterdam. The technology combines the Eyewriter software with the ROBOTAGGER, an industrial arm that is able to replicate human-like marks on a huge scale. (Video after the jump)

The Eyewriter project not only aims to develop this technology as a low-cost communication tool for those whose physical bodies may otherwise be impaired, it is also a shining example of how a group of artists, hackers, and assorted techno-folk can create an impressive piece of technology outside of a corporate setting.

And that’s hopeful for so many reasons.

The “mystery missile” that captured the attention of–and generally terrified–the country was, in fact, not a missile. Not according to the government, at least. The Defense Department addressed public concerns today, stating that, while it still isn’t quite sure what cause a missile-like plum of smoke off the coast of Los Angeles yesterday, it’s pretty sure that it wasn’t a missile.

Says CBS News,

The Pentagon is still not sure what that was in the sky off the coast of California — except that it was not a missile fired by the U.S. or some other country, reports CBS News Pentagon correspondent David Martin.

Reassuring? Sort of… The whole thing will likely continue to be a bit unsettling until we get an explanation about what actually caused that giant contrail–preferably not something involving billionaire Tony Stark.

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner crew was forced to make an emergency landing this week, after the smoke from an electrical fire filled the cabin. The test flight out of Yuma, Arizona was scheduled to land in Harlingen, Texas, opting instead to touch down Laredo, Texas.

According to Wired, the fire affected on-board power, the cockpit displays, and the auto throttle. The test plane, aircraft ZA002, has already flown more than 560 hours for a total of 179 flights.

This particular flight was testing a nitrogen generation system aimed at decreasing the possibility of fuel tank explosions. Boeing is still looking into the exact cause of the incident.