isyulli: CSIRO

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Selasa, 17 Mei 2011

Australian Moths and Butterflies Are Barcoded

Australian moths and butterflies are being barcoded. There are 10,000 species in Australia and 65 per cent of them have been coded, 28,000 specimens in all. They are not flying around with a tag on them. DNA is analyzed then recorded with an image of a specimen in a barcode system.

The database is a combined project by the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) and CSIRO's Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC). It is the first time such a system has been used to categorize a group of insects in a country. This is the beginning. Plans are in train to record most organisms worldwide.

The technology has been used to determine if wrongly named fish are being sold. It will be used to identify dangerous pests coming into Australia. Species will now be more effectively categorised in research.

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http://www.technorati.com/blogs/
http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com

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Science

Minggu, 17 April 2011

Cat Danger

"Aren't you afraid I might fall down that crack?"

http://vistacomputersolutions.blogspot.com/

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Funny Animal Photos

Potential Future Disaster From Nanotechnology

There is danger from future widespread use of nanotechnology. It is seen as the new savior to save the world from food shortages and so on. But like bio-fuel production it could do more harm than good. CSIRO is calling for more study of nanotechnology. This is despite the fact that no country has yet examined safety issues involved with it.

Nanotechnology creates "micro-fine" products that have no safe disposal system. If they get into the environment there is not telling what damage they could do.

Risks are seemingly endless: use by terrorists; environmental damage; self-reproduction (goo everywhere); even the future of Mankind on this planet could be under threat.

Once a material has been modified or a new nano-product created it becomes a permanent structure. It must be chemically altered to make it safe. A nano-substance is not inert. It will act on the environment if it can. At the moment there are no restrictions. Developers can do what they wish. Let's hope regulations are put in train before a disaster occurs.

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Science

Jumat, 18 Maret 2011

Fuel From Enzymes Feeding on Plant Waste

There is hope yet that people will reduce their use of fossil fuel. CSIRO is working with universities to make biofuels from enzyme interaction with plant waste. The product will be low-emission. It will not divert resources from food production because only unwanted plant material will be used.

The mere growing of food crops will balance out the carbon dioxide pushed into the environment by using such fuels. Growing plants absorb carbon dioxide thus keeping it out of the atmosphere. More profit for the farmer from this by-product is a good thing because it will encourage planting of more crops.

With oil running out it is paramount to find other ways of creating fuel. Enzymes that will do this have been identified by CSIRO. The research body's target sector is transport, freight movers. Trucking causes a third of the toxic gases emitted into the environment.

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Kamis, 16 Desember 2010

New VHF Broadband From CSIRO

CSIRO continues its groundbreaking work in broadband technology. After taking US based computer manufacturers to court to make them pay for Wi-Fi developed by CSIRO, work goes ahead on wireless broadband.

The new system uses ordinary VHF antennas already on rooftops. Smithton in Tasmania is the town chosen for project testing. Terminals were set up on six farms, the furthest one being 8.2 km away from the transmitter. Phone, the Internet and video were tested. A speed of 12 megabits per second was achieved using just one TV channel. VHF channels are soon to be phased out with free to air television moving to UHF.

The new broadband is very efficient. Where television had broadcast using 40 kilowatts per channel, wireless Internet worked perfectly with 3-watt. The technique of "beamforming" was used: multi-user input and spacial division multiplexing output. Work still has to be done to improve downloading capability.

Such an Internet system is of paramount importance to Australia. With such a large country and a low population fiber optics to everyone is not possible. CSIRO is concerned about mobile services getting too much of the VHF band when TV eventually ends. There is not much doubt, however, that successful wireless broadband would be given priority by any government.

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Selasa, 13 Juli 2010

Reserves Are Not Working: Extinctions Continue

Australia's slaughter of wildlife continues despite warnings from CSIRO. Nearly half of Australian mammals will end their existence very soon. Zoologist Fred Ford said 11 extinctions have occurred in recent years in the south-eastern forests of Australia. The reserve system is not working. They are just for show. Plants are doing well because they are surviving outside and inside reserves. Nothing is being done to protect small native mammals.

Reserves are havens for introduced feral animals and invasive weeds. Rangers are not being trained to look after the endangered species. Money should be allocated more efficiently. With all the money put into reserves there must be more positive outcomes.

Native animal need to be researched and the data must be analyzed. Records should be kept to formulate action. An astounding 65 per cent of reptiles in Australia have been discovered in the last 35 years. The public has not been adequately informed of this.

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