World Bank: Scrap biofuel subsidies to curb food costs
12 Jun, 2011
The World Bank, WTO, and other agencies have wisely come out against biofuel subsidies. Most of these subsidies go to corn-based biofuels, which drive up the cost of food worldwide and offer minimal environmental or energy policy advantages. My comments: Instead of subsidizing ineffective or…
R e a d M o r eAnti-Ghrelin Vaccine to Fight Obesity
12 Jun, 2011
Ghrelin is a hormone that helps regulate body weight and metabolism. Higher ghrelin levels lead us to expend less energy and to eat more in an attempt to conserve resources. Now a group in Portugal has shown that it’s possible to immunize mice against ghrelin,…
R e a d M o r eBMW Powered Twin-Rotor Hoverbike
12 Jun, 2011
Want. BMW Powered Twin-Rotor Hoverbike | Gear Patrol.
R e a d M o r eFarmers Were Genetic Breeders 10,000 Years Ago
10 Jun, 2011
From New Scientist: “Chinese rice farmers 10,000 years ago were early pioneers of modern genetic breeding. Like modern breeders they seemed to realise that shorter plants would produce higher yields, and unwittingly selected for mutations in a gene that shrinks rice stems: the…
R e a d M o r eViolence Among Primates (including Bonobos)
10 Jun, 2011
New Scientist reviews Among African Apes, a set of field diaries by Martha Robbins and Christophe Boesch that explode the myth of peace and tranquility among other primate species, including the much-revered bonobos. One small sample: We also meet Volker, an ambitious young bonobo the…
R e a d M o r eSolar Cheaper than Coal in 3-5 Years? GE and First Solar Think So
9 Jun, 2011
The news is carrying two stories in the last two weeks pitching solar as potentially cheaper than current electrical rates in the next 3-5 years. First, in an interview with Bloomberg, GE’s global research director Mark M. Little said that their thin film solar PV…
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