NEWS

ACCELERATING INTELLIGENCE
Nanomagnet memory and logic could achieve ultimate energy efficiency July 6, 2011 by Editor

The bright spots are nanomagnets with their north ends pointing down (represented by red bar below) and the dark spots are north-up nanomagnets (blue). The six nanomagnets form a majority logic gate transistor, where the output on the right of the center bar is determined by the majority of three inputs on the top, left and bottom. (Credit: Bokor lab, UC Berkeley) Future computers may rely on magnetic microprocessors that consume the least amount of energy allowed by the laws of physics, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have determined. The researchers used nanomagnets to build magnetic memory and logic devices about 100 nanometers wide and about 200 nanometers long. Because they have the same north-south polarity as a bar magnet, the up-or-down orientation of the pole can be used to represent the 0 and 1 of binary computer memory. When multiple nanomagnets are brought together, their north and south poles interact via dipole-dipole forces to exhibit transistor behavior, allowing simple logic operations. Such devices would dissipate only 18 millielectron volts of energy per operation at room temperature, the minimum allowed by the second law of thermodynamics, the Landauer limit. Thats 1 million times less energy per operation than consumed by todays computers, the researchers said.

Ref.: Brian Lambson, David Carlton, Jeffrey Bokor, Exploring the Thermodynamic Limits of Computation in Integrated Systems: Magnetic Memory, Nanomagnetic Logic, and the Landauer Limit, Physical Review Letters, 2011; 107: 010604 [DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.010604]

Comments (1)
July 7, 2011 by Anumakonda In the future, computers, cell phones, laptops and other consumer devices might be able to consume only the smallest amounts of electricity possible under the laws of physics. The silicon-based processors we use today may become obsolete. Electrical engineers at the University of California in Berkeley (UCB) feel that replacing electrical microprocessors with their magnetic counterparts might help improve performance, while at the same time reducing consumption. Such a device would operate at the Landauer limit, the minimum level of energy consumption allowed for a device to operate, as expressed by the second law of thermodynamics. This processor would dissipate just 18 millielectron volts of energy per operation. Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP), India E-mail: anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com

NEWS

ACCELERATING INTELLIGENCE
Magnets with an on and off switch May 30, 2011 by Editor

Applying a voltage to cobalt-doped titanium dioxide causes the carrier density to increase and the electrons act as magnetic messengers, aligning the Co 2+ spins (credit: Igor Zutic, et al./Science) Researchers at Tohoku University added cobalt to titanium dioxide to create a chameleon magnet that can be turned on and off by inducing an electric current. The flowing current causes cobalt ions in the material to align with the same spin, making the material magnetic. When the current stops, the electrons in the material go back to having different spins, making them non-magnetic. Traditional computing devices process information by moving electrons around, generating a substantial amount of waste heat, drawing power and limiting device life. By using electron spin to represent 1s and 0s instead of electrons moving through logic gates, computers could be more efficient, seamlessly integrating memory and logic in the same chip. Ref.: Igor uti and John Cern, Chameleon Magnets, Science 332, 1040 (2011) DOI: 10.1126/science.1205775

Comments (1)
July 7, 2011 by Anumakonda

A major breakthrough in magnetism. Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India E-mail: anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com

NEWS

ACCELERATING INTELLIGENCE
New Magnetic Resonance Technique Could Revolutionise Quantum Computing March 8, 2011
Source: The physics ArXiv blog Mar 7, 2011

[+] Graphic: M.S. Grinolds et al. Harvard University scientists have develop a miniaturized MRI device that could lead to large-scale quantum computers. The did it by placing a powerful magnet at the scanning tip of an atomic force microscope to create a powerful magnetic field gradient in a volume of space just a few nanometers across. That allows them to stimulate and control the magnetic resonance of single electrons in a way that could easily be adapted for quantum computation. Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1103.0546: Quantum Control Of Proximal Spins Using Nanoscale Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Comments (1)

July 7, 2011 by Anumakonda A major achievement in quantum computing through Magnetic Resonance Technique . Congratulations for the fine work Harvard University Scientists. Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India E-mail: anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com

NEWS

ACCELERATING INTELLIGENCE

New microscope produces 3-D movies of live cells March 6, 2011 by Editor

High-speed imaging reveals the surface of a HeLa cell (credit: Janelia Farm) Scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Farm Research Campus have created a microscope that lets researchers see the dynamic inner lives of living cells using a form of high speed imaging called Bessel beam plane illumination microscopy.

The microscope uses an exquisitely thin sheet of light similar to that used in supermarket bar-code scanners to peer inside single living cells and create dazzling 3D movies that make biological processes, such as cell division, come alive. Their work appears March 4 in Nature Methods. Janelia Farm group leader Eric Betzig comments that until recently, microscopes could see objects no smaller than 200 nanometers in size. Several years ago, Betzig and his Janelia Farm colleague Harald Hess invented photoactivated localization microscopy, PALM, which can produce images of objects only 10-20 nanometers in size. Although other researchers, including Janelia Farm Fellow Philipp Keller, have used plane illumination to great effect to study multicellular organisms hundreds of microns in size, the light sheets were still too thick to work effectively for imaging within single cells only tens of microns in size. The new microscope is also exciting because it may be used in the future to improve super-resolution microscopy. PALM and other super-resolution techniques are limited to looking at thin, dead samples, and can be very damaging when looking at live ones. Bessel beam plane illumination microscopy will be a powerful tool for cell biologists, Betzig says, since it noninvasively images the rapidly evolving threedimensional complexity of cells. Adapted from materials provided by Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Comments (1)
July 7, 2011 by Anumakonda Great News. I will be improvement of super-resolution microscopy. Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India E-mail: anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com

NEWS

ACCELERATING INTELLIGENCE
Physicists store information on worlds tiniest computer memory December 17, 2010 by Editor

[+] A phosphorus-doped silicon chip, only 1 millimeter square, used to demonstrate how data can be stored in magnetic "spins" within the centers or nuclei of phosphorus atoms, and then how that data can be accessed and read electronically (C. Dane McCamey, University of Utah) University of Utah physicists stored information for 112 seconds in what may become the worlds tiniest computer memory: magnetic spins in the centers or nuclei of atoms. Then the physicists retrieved and read the data electronically a big step toward using the new kind of memory for both faster conventional and superfast quantum computers. The length of spin memory we observed is more than adequate to create memories for computers, says Christoph Boehme (pronounced Boo-meh), an associate professor of physics and senior author of the new study, published Friday, Dec. 17 in the journal Science. Its a completely new way of storing and reading information. However, some big technical hurdles remain: the nuclear spin storage-and-read-out apparatus works only at 3.2 degrees Kelvin, or slightly above absolute zero the temperature at which atoms almost freeze to a standstill, and only can jiggle a little bit. And the apparatus must be surrounded by powerful magnetic fields roughly 200,000 times stronger than Earths. Yes, you could immediately build a memory chip this way, but do you want a computer that has to be operated at 454 degrees below zero Fahrenheit and in a big national magnetic laboratory environment? Boehme says. First we want to learn how to do it at higher temperatures, which are more practical for a device, and without these strong magnetic fields to align the spins.

As for obtaining an electrical readout of data held within atomic nuclei, nobody has done this before, he adds. Two years ago, another group of scientists reported storing so-called quantum data for two seconds within atomic nuclei, but they did not read it electronically, as Boehme and colleagues did in the new study, which used classical data (0 or 1) rather than quantum data (0 and 1 simultaneously). The technique was developed in a 2006 study by Boehme, who showed it was feasible to read data stored in the net magnetic spin of 10,000 electrons in phosphorus atoms embedded in a silicon semiconductor. The new study puts together nuclear storage of data with an electrical readout of that data, and thats whats new, Boehme says. The study was led by Boehme and first author Dane McCamey, a former research assistant professor of physics at the University of Utah and still an adjunct assistant professor. His main affiliation now is with the University of Sydney. Other co-authors were Hans van Tol of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Fla., and Gavin Morley of University College London. The study was funded by the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the National Science Foundation, the Australian Research Council, Britains Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, a British funding agency led by Prince Philip. Electronic and Spintronic Memories Modern computers are electronic, meaning that information is processed and stored by flowing electricity in the form of electrons, which are negatively charged subatomic particles that orbit the nucleus of each atom. Transistors in computers are electrical switches that store data as bits in which off (no electrical charge) and on (charge is present) represent one bit of information: either 0 or 1. Quantum computers a yet-unrealized goal would run on the odd principles of quantum mechanics, in which the smallest particles of light and matter can be in different places at the same time. In a quantum computer, one quantum bit or qubit could be both 0 and 1 at the same time. That means quantum computers theoretically could be billions of times faster than conventional computers. McCamey says a memory made of silicon doped with phosphorus atoms could be used in both conventional electronic computers and in quantum computers in which data is stored not by on or off electrical charges, but by up or down magnetic spins in the nuclei of phosphorus atoms. Externally applied electric fields would be used to read and process the data stored as spins just what McCamey, Boehme and colleagues did in their latest study. By

demonstrating an ability to read data stored in nuclear spins, the physicists took a key step in linking spin to conventional electronics a field called spintronics. Spin is an unfamiliar concept to comprehend. A simplified way to describe spin is to imagine that each particle like an electron or proton in an atom contains a tiny bar magnet, like a compass needle, that points either up or down to represent the particles spin. Down and up can represent 0 and 1 in a spin-based quantum computer. Boehme says the spins of atoms nuclei are better for storing information than the spin of electrons. Thats because electron spin orientations have short lifetimes because spins are easily changed by nearby electrons and the temperature within atoms. In contrast, the nucleus sits in the middle of an atom and its spin isnt messed with by whats going on in the clouds of electrons around the nucleus, McCamey says. Nuclei experience nearly perfect solitude. Thats why nuclei are a good place to store information magnetically. Nuclear spins where we store information have extremely long storage times before the information decays. The average 112 second storage time in the new study may not seem long, but Boehme says the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) in a modern PC or laptop stores information for just milliseconds (thousandths of a second). The information must be repeatedly refreshed, which is how computer memory is maintained, he adds. How to Store and Then Read Data in the Spins of Atomic Nuclei For the experiments, McCamey, Boehme and colleagues used a thin, phosphorus-doped silicon wafer measuring 1 millimeter square, and placed electrical contacts on it. The device was inside a supercold container, and surrounded by intense magnetic fields. Wires connected the device to a current source and an oscilloscope to record data. The physicists used powerful magnetic fields of 8.59 Tesla to align the spins of phosphorus electrons. Thats 200,000 times stronger than Earths magnetic field. Then, pulses of near-terahertz electromagnetic waves were used to write up or down spins onto electrons orbiting phosphorus atoms. Next, FM-range radio waves were used to take the spin data stored in the electrons and write it onto the phosphorus nuclei. Later, other pulses of near-terahertz waves were used to transfer the nuclear spin information back into the orbiting electrons, and trigger the readout process. The readout is produced because the electrons spins are converted into variations in electrical current. We read the spin of the nuclei in the reverse of the way we write information, Boehme says. We have a mechanism that turns electron spin into a current. Summarizing the process, Boehme says, We basically wrote 1 in atoms nuclei. We have shown we can write and read [spin data in nuclei], and shown that the information

can be repeatedly read from the nuclei for an average of 112 seconds before all the phosphorus nuclei lose their spin information. In a much shorter time, the physicists read and reread the same nuclear spin data 2,000 times, showing the act of reading the spin data doesnt destroy it, making the memory reliable, Boehme says. Reading out the data stored as spin involved reading the collective spins of a large number of nuclei and electrons, Boehme says. That will work for classical computers, but not for quantum computers, for which readouts must be able to discern the spins of single nuclei, he adds. Boehme hopes that can be achieved within a few years. Adapted from materials provided by the University of Utah

Comments (2)
July 7, 2011 by Anumakonda Once it was macro then micro and now nano,tiny,thin is the order of the day. Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India E-mail: anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com

circle of blue

Reporting the Global Water Crisis

Peter Gleick: When Beliefs Conflict with Facts

Sunday, 03 July 2011 08:10 Representative Jim Costa and the California Drought Last week, the Pacific Institute released a comprehensive assessment of the actual impacts of the 2007-2009 California drought. There is a lot of myth, misunderstanding, and misrepresentation swirling around about how the drought affected California agriculture, jobs, and the environment. Our report sets the record straight using real data, not political spin.

These data and facts apparently conflict with Representative Jim Costas political position or his basic beliefs (needless to say, this isnt unique to Rep. Costa; many of his colleagues have the same problem with climate change science a much longer discussion). After our report came out he posted a note to his constituents (the 20th Congressional District) on his House of Representatives webpage, entitled The Pacific Institute is Wrong. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Peter Gleick is president of the Pacific Institute, an internationally recognized water expert and a MacArthur Fellow.

As the famous physicist Richard Feynman said If [your belief] disagrees with experience, its wrong. Thats all there is to it. Congressman Costas beliefs about the links between the drought and the economic problems in his district, heartfelt though they may be, simply disagree with experience. Worse, his post makes it clear that he has not read the report or understood the data that it presents. Here are a few examples. Representative Costa says: The report claims that these [environmental] regulations had a minimal impact on our water supply because they accounted for only 25 percent of the problem. The Pacific Institutes source on this matter was the Congressmans own legislative research branch, the Congressional Research Service (CRS): Restrictions on water deliveries resulting directly from federal and state regulations, or imposed by courts interpretation of those rules, are estimated to range roughly from 20% to 25% of total water delivery reductions for 2009, depending on the time period used for estimating annual deliveries. The remaining 75%-80% of 2009 water reductions, according to the Department of the Interior, are due to lack of run-off (i.e., drought) and other factors. In the absence of the current three-year hydrological drought, it is unlikely that the existing regulatory water delivery restrictions would have created controversy of a similar magnitude. [From CRS (Cody et al. 2009)] Representative Costa says: the report minimizes the painful effects of the drought on our livelihoods. Data are data. The report uses federal and state agency data to actually quantify impacts on Central Valley livelihoods. Data do not minimize, however they can demonstrate

when something is minimal. The pain in the Central Valley is real; but the cause is not water shortages. The facts show that the real employment disaster in the region is in construction and other sectors not linked to water supply. Yet our report repeatedly acknowledges that poverty remains a very serious problem in the Valley: The drought played an important role in highlighting the very real and chronic poverty in the San Joaquin Valley Communities within the San Joaquin Valley have had the highest levels of unemployment and poverty in the state for decades, in both wet and dry years (CRS 2005). And, even when water supplies improved substantially in 2010, unemployment in every San Joaquin Valley county went up, not down. Again, quoting from our report: Policies to improve conditions in the area should focus on identifying and addressing the factors that have led to long-term economic hardship in the region. Our analysis actually reports significant job losses in the Central Valley, though they were concentrated in non-agricultural sectors: The drought period coincided with the foreclosure crisis and a national and global recession. From 2005 to 2009, unemployment almost doubled statewide from 5.4% to 11.3%. Michael et al. (2010) found that over the same time period crop production and agricultural support jobs declined by 1.5% (2,500 jobs) to 2.3 % (3,750 jobs) in the San Joaquin Valley. The U.S. Census data, however, indicates that many employment sectors saw far greater declinesThese conclusions are strengthened by EDD [California Employment Development Department] data, which finds that over a longer time period (2003-2009) agricultural employment throughout the Central Valley gained slightly (2%) while natural resources, mining, and construction jobs fell by 44% and employment in the trade, transportation, and utilities sectors fell by 46%. Representative Costa says: this report ignores the facts that the Valleys water supply is unreliable and that growing the food for a booming population across the globe is in our nations vital interest. We dont ignore these problems; we highlight them. The report focuses on these very points in agreement with Representative Costa: Project contractors (or those that receive Delta water from water projects) may not receive 100% of their contractual allocations even in normal years. This is due to the fact that the federal and state water projects were never fully completed and contractual allocations were larger than actual resource availability could guarantee. And, In situations of shortage there is also a hierarchy of contracts whereby some contractors receive more of their contract water than others, leading to highly varied drought impacts.

California produces approximately 400 different agricultural commodities, supplying about half of the fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts consumed by Americans. California also provides food for the international market, accounting for 15% of the nations total agricultural export. Representative Costa says: I walked through fallowed fields that once grew food for our families and the world. I spoke with folks I represent standing in lines at food banks that stretched for blocks. I met face-to-face with countless people who were unable to find jobs or provide food for their families. We walked those fields too, and talked to farmers, irrigation districts, and workers. And one fact stands out: even in one of the highest-grossing agricultural regions in the world, in wet or dry years, high unemployment rates and poverty levels have been the norm for decades and are only equivalent to the Appalachian region of the United States. Quoting from a January 19, 2004 Fresno Bee Pablo Lopez article (before the drought and legal restrictions on moving water through the Delta): On a cold January day, farmworkers stand on street corners in Mendota, hoping for work. Parents and children wait in line for free bags of groceries at the Westside Youth Center Heres why: Of the estimated 841,400 people living in Fresno County, about 343,000 people, or 41%, go hungry or worry about finding their next meal. Representative Costa says: Finally, the report falsely claims that the coping strategies and extraordinary measures our famers employed during the drought left the Valley unharmedThese short-term strategies were essential, but they cost us much of our groundwater supply and will not be sufficient for the next, possibly longer, drought on the horizon. This statement, as much as any of the others, shows that Representative Costa simply failed to read our report, choosing instead to issue ideological statements. If he had read it, he would know that once again, were in agreement. Indeed we make this very argument in our report: some of the response strategies such as groundwater mining were short term fixes that would not provide water security in the face of a longer or more severe drought. In order for California to become more resilient to future drought conditions, it will be critical to shift from crisis-driven responses to development and enactment of long-term mitigation measures. All of the sectors that we examine in this report (agriculture, energy, and the environment) are highly vulnerable to future droughts and should develop more comprehensive drought planning and mitigation measures to reduce the potential for human, environmental, and economic harm. If Representative Costa would like to have a discussion about real actions that could be taken to help his constituents face the realities of Californias water challenges and the inevitability of future droughts, we would welcome such a discussion. Weve been

having them with his constituents and farming communities around the state. The pain and suffering in this region should not be used as a political pawn by local representatives, but should inform genuine efforts to determine the root causes of poverty and to begin to honestly address them. Peter Gleick

1 Comment
Dr.A.Jagadeesh July 7, 2011 at 3:22 am Excellent article on impacts of the 2007-2009 California drought. Your analysis is outstanding Dr. Peter Gleick. Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India E-mail: anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com

Israeli Data Company Makes a Splash in the Water Industry (And Keeps the Drops in the Pool)
Wednesday, 29 June 2011 06:30 TaKaDu uses algorithms to save water, energy, and money for utility companies around the globe. By Brett Walton Circle of Blue Located in an arid region of northern Chile, Antofagasta is a city in transition. Fueled by a mining boom in the nearby Atacama Desert, the citys population has grown by 20

percent over the last decade to more than 360,000. Chilean statistical agencies predict that the population will push 500,000 by 2020. With traditional water sources exhausted, the regional supplier, Aguas de Antofagasta, is investing heavily in desalination. The Pacific Ocean already provides more than 60 percent of the utilitys water supply, and, by 2014, the Antofagasta will become the first city in South America to rely solely on desalinated water. But the utility is not only worried about creating fresh water from sea water, but also how to make sure that all of that water reaches its intended destination. Currently, Antofagastas distribution system loses 23.5 percent of its supply to leaks, which, according to the World Bank, is a performance measure just under the global average of 30 percent loss. For Aguas de Antofagasta, however, the water waste cuts much deeper: the company squanders significant amounts of energyand money desalinating and pumping water that customers never see. To improve the systems efficiency and service quality, Aguas de Antofagasta has turned to TaKaDu, a small technology start-up based in Israel. After a brief trial period, the two companies officially announced a contract on May 18. Not A Water Company Founded in 2008 and employing 35 people, TaKaDu brings a different sensibility to the water sector. We really do not consider ourselves a water company, said Guy Horowitz, vice president for marketing, in an interview with Circle of Blue. The people who founded the company are from the telecommunications industry. Our foundation is in information technology. As is the trend for water aid organizations, TaKaDu uses its IT background to search for patterns in data that signify something is amiss with the water supply system. Early detection catches small problems before they turn into big ones, preventing a pipe leak from becoming a much costlier break. TaKaDus service requires the installation of no additional equipment, though it has more appeal in areas where the water distribution system has a high sensor density, since more data makes identifying smaller leaks easier. TaKaDu offers a software solution that works with the data already collected by the utilitychunks of information on flow rates, water pressures, and sensor readings. (Water infrastructure monitoring, as TaKaDu calls it, oversees the water distribution system, not the water used by customers.) Data is uploaded to remote servers and analyzed to establish a baseline water-use profile. TaKaDus algorithms and mathematical models sift new data as it comes in to identify anomalies in real time.

By using the software, Aguas de Antofagasta hopes to reduce water loss by 3.5 percentage points within three years, saving 1.7 million cubic meters (450 billion gallons), according to the companys general manager Marco Kutulas. Kutulas told Circle of Blue via email that the predicted electricity savings of 7,000 megawatt-hours per year represent 10 percent of the companys annual use. Because new water sources are more expensive to develop, utilities like Aguas de Antofagasta are looking to make better use of what they have. And there is a rising supply of data mavens who want to do just that. Weve identified a new niche, Horowitz said. Water is a scare resource, but it hasnt received a lot of attention and innovation from investors. Small Company with Global Ambitions The companys global ambitions are evident in its name, which Horowitz said is a nonsense word selected precisely because, as far as the company knows, it doesnt mean anything. TaKaDu serves water utilities in Israel, Australia, Europe, and now Chile. Its largest client is Thames Water, which serves close to 9 million water customers and 14 million sewer customers in London. Horowitz said, in the next few weeks, the company will be announcing a contract with an even larger utility. These new contracts come on the heels of some prestigious global recognition. Last fall, TaKaDu won a technology award from the World Economic Forum (WEF) and a sustainability award from the International Water Association for its Thames Water project. It is also a member of the Smart Water Network Forum, a club for spreading the gospel about how data management can improve water systems. Brett Walton is a Seattle-based reporter for Circle of Blue. Reach Walton at brett@circleofblue.org.

1 Comment
Dr.A.Jagadeesh July 7, 2011 at 3:26 am

Marvelous. Israel is well known for its water research and irrigation techniques. Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India E-mail: anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com

Solar at Risk?
Policy stalemate undermines future
Bill Opalka | Jul 07, 2011

Solar power has the biggest project pipeline of any energy source in the country. So why is the industry worried about the future? I spoke to Arno Harris, CEO of Recurrent Energy, a utility scale solar developer based in California that also has operations in Canada and Europe. Solar developers are excited about the future but policy gridlock means much of its recent progress could be undercut by Washington gridlock in a matter of months. The initial victim is the ability to finance projects. First, the good news. Its an interesting in that theres more solar in the pipeline than weve ever seen in the past. The proportion is astounding, Harris said. That would be 30 gigawatts of utility scale projects in advanced permitting, according to a study by the American Public Power Association. We have this tremendous buildup of projects because of declining costs and the policy in play. In order for theme to make it to completion to operating assets, they need pass through the gauntlet of permitting and finance, he added.

As the projects move down the list, however, solar drops to number four when listed as projects awaiting construction, at 6.2 gigawatts. Thats where the financing challenge appears. Its really frustrating problem because theres a tremendous amount of interest in solar projects, in particular the utility scale projects, because the credit is really strong, the terms are strong, and the underlying technology risk is well understood, Harris said. But worldwide credit markets and they are worldwide; go to any renewable energy finance conference and half the audience seems to be comprised of Europeans have billions to invest in clean energy, with the United States seen as the largest solar market bar none. But with about three times as much demand as the available supply in the tax equity markets -- $9 billion in projects in a pool of $3 billion of tax equity the competition is fierce and capital cost high. In the relative short run, Congress could extend some of the programs that have worked in recent years, like the 1603 Treasury grants in lieu of production tax credits. Congress may be unwilling in the current budget climate, but some fixes could be helpful. One policy making the rounds is the refundable investment tax credit to solve the liquidity problem. Another would be to move toward whats used in oil and gas, a master limited partnership for solar. What that would allow is the millions of individual investors who have an interest, but cant write a $20 million check to participate by investing in a fund, Harris said. A convoluted and inefficient system has grown up around the industry, with Congress only willing to extend existing programs at the last minute. Thats why 1603 was so different, but that is only a temporary fix. "In the longer term it makes a heckuva lot of sense to move away from tax credits because markets dont seem to be working, Harris said. But that requires a policy discussion that is only now just beginning. In the meantime, the tax equity market exists, for better or worse. Theres a chance we could blow it if we dont get the policies right, Harris said. If so, Canada and Europe are poised to pick up where weve left off.

Comments

Solar has great future when Efficiency goes up - Jul 7, 2011 - 6:03 AM Good Editorial. Solar PV is still uneconomic in many countries because of its limited efficiency. Unless CSP,Improved materials for solar cells like Gallium Arsenide, Gallium Phosphide,Tandem,Organic Polymer come to the market Solar is a far cry especially in the developing countries. Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP), India Wind Energy Expert E-mail: anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com

naturenews
Published online 5 July 2011 | Nature 475, 19 (2011) | doi:10.1038/475019a News

Mosquitoes score in chemical war

Growing resistance is threatening global malaria-control efforts. Declan Butler

Key weapons in the fight against malaria, pyrethroid insecticides, are losing their edge. Over the past decade, billions of dollars have been spent on distributing longlasting pyrethroid-treated bed nets and on indoor spraying. Focused in Africa, where most malaria deaths occur, these efforts have greatly reduced the disease's toll. But they have also created intense selection pressure for mosquitoes to develop resistance. "Data are coming in thick and fast indicating increasing levels of resistance, and also of resistance in new places," says Jo Lines, an entomological epidemiologist and head of vector control at the Global Malaria Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO now intends to launch a global strategy to tackle the problem by the end of the year. Pyrethroids are the mainstay of malaria control because they are safe, cheap, effective and long-lasting. Alternatives such as organophosphates and carbamates are available for indoor spraying, although they cost more and are less effective. But pyrethroids are the only insecticides approved by the WHO for use in bed nets. "We have lots of our eggs in the pyrethroid basket," says Robert Newman, director of the Global Malaria Programme.

Click for larger image

The international community has been slow to respond to the threat despite warnings, says Janet Hemingway, director of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK, and chief executive of the non-profit Innovative Vector Control Consortium, a publicprivate venture set up in 2005 to develop new insecticides and monitoring tools. "A number of us had been banging the drums, saying: 'As soon as you scale up you are going to get resistance.'" But Lines says that the malariacontrol community felt too many lives were at stake to let the threat of resistance stand in the way of massively scaling up the bed-net and spraying campaigns. Teasing out the impact of resistance on the success of malaria-control interventions is difficult because so many other factors influence their outcome. More systematic and more sophisticated monitoring of resistance is also vital, says Lines. The best

surveillance data (see 'Resistance on the rise'), although useful, do not give a complete picture of where resistance is emerging and how prevalent it is, he says. Malaria-control programmes often lack insect-resistance monitoring, and detection of all forms of resistance is not easy. Quick, cheap tests can pick out gene mutations that help the mosquitoes' nerve cells withstand pyrethroid attack. But other forms of resistance, which depend on increased levels of mosquito enzymes that can destroy pyrethroids before they reach their target, require more complex tests to detect (H. Ranson et al. Trends Parasitol. 27, 9198; 2011). But uncertainties about the extent of resistance or its impact are "no excuse for inaction", says Newman, arguing that the proposed WHO strategy needs to be urgently implemented, and also rolled out preemptively in places where resistance has yet to be detected. The WHO's plan will recommend, for example, that control programmes rotate insecticides sprayed indoors, using pyrethroids one year and a different class the next. This would be more costly and less effective than relying only on pyrethroids, however, so control programmes may be reluctant to adopt this measure. Lines says that new combinations of insecticides also need to be developed, so that mosquitoes resistant to one would be killed by the other. In areas where pyrethroid bed nets are used, a different class of insecticides should be used for wall spraying, he adds. Ultimately, entirely new classes of insecticides particularly those that can be applied to bed nets are needed to alleviate the dependence of malaria-control efforts on pyrethroids. For indoor spraying, some longer-lasting and more costeffective non-pyrethroid insecticides should be available by next year, Hemingway says, although developing wholly new classes will take five to seven years. Repurposed agricultural insecticides might also act as a stopgap were resistance to pyrethroids to develop rapidly. Research targeting mosquito control is "grossly underfunded" compared with that on malaria drugs and vaccines, she adds, which is why control efforts have had so few options to call on

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#25039 There are many plants which are used as natural insecticides including mosquitos as repellents: o Achillea alpina (mosquitos) alpha-terpinene (mosquitos) Basil Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Callicarpa americana (Beautyberry) Camphor (moths) Carvacrol (mosquitos) Castor oil (Ricinus communis) (mosquitos) Catnip oil (Nepeta species) (nepetalactone against mosquitos) Cedar oil (mosquitos, moths) Celery extract (Apium graveolens) (mosquitos) Cinnamon (leaf oil kills mosquito larvae) Citronella oil (repels mosquitos) Oil of cloves (mosquitos) Eucalyptus oil (70%+ eucalyptol), (cineol is a synonym), mosquitos, flies, dust mites Fennel oil (Foeniculum vulgare) (mosquitos) Garlic (Allium sativum) (rice weevil, wheat flour beetle) Geranium oil (also known as Pelargonium graveolens) Lavender (repels insects) Lemon eucalyptus (Corymbia citriodora) essential oil and its active ingredient p-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD) Lemongrass oil (Cymbopogon species) (mosquitos) East-Indian Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) Marigolds (Tagetes species) Marjoram (Spider mites Tetranychus urticae and Eutetranychus orientalis) Neem oil (Azadirachta indica) (Repels or kills mosquitos, their larvae and a plethora of other insects including those in agriculture) Oleic acid, repels bees and ants by simulating the "Smell of death" produced by their decomposing corpses. It is a 400 millions years old natural mechanisms helping to sanitise the hives or to escape predators Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) (mosquitos, fleas), but very toxic to pets. Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) (mosquitos)

Pyrethrum (from Chrysanthemum species, particularly C. cinerariifolium and C. coccineum) Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) (mosquitos) Spanish Flag (Lantana camara) (against Tea Mosquito Bug, Helopeltis theivora) Tea tree oil Thyme (Thymus species) (mosquitos) Yellow Nightshade (Solanum villosum), berry juice (against Stegomyia aegypti mosquitos

In the olden days Municipalities in India used to have a program to spray Kerosene in ponds and open canals which are breeders for mosquitos. When Kerosene spreads it forms a layer which does not allow sunrays to enter and as such prevent mosquito breeding. People put the dried leaves of neem made as powder (Azadirachta indica)and put them on natural coal fire and the smoke repels the mosquitos. The more chemical used are Mosquito mats, liquid evoporation, Mosquito coils smoke, putting ointment on the skin etc., 2011.7.7 9:05:16 AM Posted by: Jagadeesh A