A Window that Washes Itself

Yesterday I read this very interesting piece of info on Eurekalert. A window that washes itself is now a distinct possibility.

Tel Aviv University researchers have made a breakthrough in assembling peptides at the nano-scale level that could make this futuristic vision come true. The research began as an attempt to find a new cure for Alzheimer's disease.

The scientists have not manufactured the actual material but are developing a basic-science technology that could lead to self-cleaning windows and more efficient energy storage devices in just a few years. Coated with the new material, the sealed outer windows of skyscrapers may never need to be washed again. It can repel rainwater, as well as the dust and dirt it carries.

Details of the research appears in the latest issue of journal Nature Nanotechnology

Leading Climate Change Scientist Arraigns the Copenhagen Summit on climate change

I read this good piece of writing on Copenhagen summit on climate change in Times Online. Here is a gist of what I read.

Dr James Hansen acclaimed as the grandfather of global warming has branded the Copenhagen summit on climate change next week as a farce. Dr Hansen is the director of Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Earth Institute in New York. His was one of the first voices to raise the alarm about rising global temperatures in the early 1980s. His predictions are coming amazingly true.

Dr Hansen says the conference is seeking a counter-productive agreement to limit emissions through a “cap and trade” system. He told The Times that “They are selling indulgences there. The developed nations want to continue basically business as usual so they are expected to purchase indulgences to give some small amount of money to developing countries. They do that in the form of offsets and adaptation funds.” “The fundamental problem is that fossil fuels are the cheapest form of energy. As long as they are, they are going to be used,” he said. “It’s remarkable. They refuse to recognise and address the fundamental problem and the obvious solution.”

Dr Hansen continues “We are going to have to move beyond fossil fuels at some point. Why continue to stretch it out longer? The only way we can do that is by putting a price on carbon emissions. The business community and the public need to understand that there will be a gradually increasing price on carbon emissions. The world must be prepared to abandon coal unless its emissions are captured and embrace a new generation of nuclear power”

Gift Ideas from Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy works for you and future generations through great science and smart partnerships in nature conservation. The organization is working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than one million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide.

Here are some gift gift ideas from Nature Conservancy that will help protect some of the world's most precious habitats for future generations.

Top 5 Green Holiday Gifts:

Adopt an Acre – in the US or abroad:
http://adopt.nature.org/

Plant Trees in the Atlantic Forest, each tree is just $1
http://adopt.nature.org/plantabillion/brazil/gift.html

Adopt a Coral Reef
http://adopt.nature.org/coralreef/

Help Save the Northern Jaguar
http://my.nature.org/gifts/jaguar.html

Give the Gift of Clean Water
http://my.nature.org/gifts/water.html

View all available eco-friendly holiday gifts at: http://www.nature.org/giftguide

Smallest Orchid in the World Discovered

Dr Lou Jost, an American botanist has discovered the world’s smallest orchid in the Cerro Candelaria reserve in the eastern Andes of Ecuador. Dr Jost, who works for the EcoMinga Foundation, is one of the world's leading orchid hunters.

The discovery was quite accidental. The orchid was hidden among the roots of a larger plant. The orchid is just 2.1mm wide. The petals of the flower are just one cell thick and transparent.

More than 1,000 orchid species have been discovered in Ecuador in the past century.

Dr Jost has also recently discovered a group of 28 types of orchid of Teagueia genus evolved in a mountainous area the size of London. Discovery of 28 closely related orchids in such a small patch of land has been described as a botanical equivalent of Darwin's finches by the scientists.

New Method for Counting Birds Developed

It was fascinating to read about this new acoustic technique developed by , Deanna Dawson of the US Geological Survey and Murray Efford of the University of Otago, New Zealand, for counting birds. The acoustic technique gives a more accurate estimate of bird numbers than using nets to capture birds.

Deanna has worked out a way of using recordings of birdsong to accurately measure the size of bird populations. The technique involves innovative combination of sound recording with spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR). Sound spreading through a forest or other habitat leaves a ‘footprint' and the size of the footprint depends on how quickly the sound attenuates.

The new technique can also be used to measure hard-to-reach populations of marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins.

The findings have been published in the latest issue of the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology.

Back in Kochi

Hi,
I am back in Kochi after attending the 5th World conference on Mountain ungulates. The conference was a revelation. The present status of mountain ungulates worldwide was discussed threadbare by the leading lights of conservation. I stand benefited immensely from the proceedings of this wonderfully organized conference. Hats off to the organizers.

Fascinating Mating Habits of Seahorses

Did you know that Seahorses are the only species in which males truly become pregnant?

The other day I read a fascinating piece on the mating habits of Seahorses in Guardian UK.
Seahorses inhabit a wide stretch of the oceans. It is a misconception that they are restricted to warm azure waters of equatorial shores.

As mating prelude Seahorses greet each other with a nose-to-nose caress. Then they wrap their tails around a single blade of grass and begin a seductive dance, spiraling round and round each other. The first time a seahorse couple meets, this gentle courtship carries on for hours, days even. Then a short hollow tube emerges from the female, which she pushes into an opening in her partner's belly and the female shoots an egg-laden liquid into the male. The male then sways and wiggles his body, settling the eggs into position where they will remain for the next few weeks, growing in a protected internal pond.

So what makes them the male of the species if they get pregnant?" The simple answer is sperm.

If you want to read the full story click here