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How Artificial Leaf Heals Itself
A new artificial leaf that can produce energy using only water and sunlight is now able to now heal itself.
The man-made leaf, created by scientists at MIT led by Daniel Nocera, mimics the ability of natural plants to produce energy through photosynthesis. Their “leaf” is made of low-cost silicon and coated with hydrogen-oxygen catalysts designed to initiate chemical reactions. When introduced to water, the leaf’s catalysts break down the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The gas that rises out of the water can then be used in fuel cells to produce energy.
And the leaf is constantly improving. Nocera announced this week at the 245th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans that the leaf is now capable producing energy from dirty water. Previous iterations of the leaf required pure water since bacteria in dirty water formed a film on the leaf that disabled energy production.
But a new, nonsmooth surface stops the formation of that film and now users don’t need to track down pure water, a development that is particularly exciting since the group believes the leaf has great potential for developing countries where pure water may be hard to come by.
An integral part of the leaf’s ability to use bacteria-contaminated water is its newly developed ability to self-heal, which was also presented at the meeting. When exposed to water bacteria, the catalyst coating on the leaf breaks down to create a rough surface that prevents the formation of the film. Later, the catalyst is able to reassemble and continue to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen.
“This is a nice property as it could mean that a robust compound could be built — ideally one that survives well in rough or remote conditions,” Dan Kammen, co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment, told TechNewsDaily.
Nocera and his team have been striving to create a power source that can be used in remote areas that lack traditional sources of energy. The new artificial leaf has brought them one step closer to reaching that goal.
But some researchers in the field have their doubts. “I work in rural Africa, and the benefits of this design may be useful, but it is far from clear,” said Kammen, who was not involved in the project. “While this is an elegant design in the lab, dramatic cost declines in solar cells due to innovations and massive production efforts in China have already changed the game dramatically with huge price declines in solar. As a result, solar is already spreading rapidly across rural Africa.”
But the artificial leaf could be useful in other ways. Kammen believes that, if converted to an affordable spray or laminate, Nocera’s work could have far-reaching implications for use in urban environments where roof surfaces could house photovoltaics and contribute a significant amount of renewable energy to the grid. “In the U.S., one-third of our electricity needs [could be provided through roof areas],” said Kammen. “If these cells were cheap enough and flexible enough for urban surfaces, then they could be a player in an already rapidly expanding solar industry. The industry needs new innovative players. This could be one.”
Source: http://www.technewsdaily.com/17722-artificial-solar-leaf-becomes-more-advanced.html
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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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