Archive - Sep 2010

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The oldest man in the world has celebrated his 114th birthday with a slice of cake and few pearls of wisdom.
Walter Breuning gave a short speech telling the guests at a small gathering on Tuesday what they all wanted to know - the secret of living a long life.

But for anybody who thinks you can have such a good innings without effort, they are in for a surprise.

Hard work, according to Mr Breuning, is the key to living a long time, and he should know. The pensioner held down a management job until he was 99, meaning he has spent longer working than some people have lived their whole lives.

His other advice was to watch what you eat, which has caused him to cut down to two meals a day.

He also tells those younger than him to be kind to others. ‘When you help someone else, you're actually helping yourself even more,’ he said.

Mr Breuning was born on September 21, 1896 in the rural town of Melrose in Minnesota. He moved to Great Falls, Montana in 1918, where he has stayed ever since. He worked for more than 50 years for the Great Northern Railway, saw some 20 U.S. Presidents come and go, lived in three centuries and survived two World Wars - although he served in neither because he not called up or was considered too old to fight, one of his few regrets.

World's oldest man marks 114th birthday in U.S.
Walter Breuning urged people to rely on their faith in a speech he delivered in Great Falls on his 114th birthday Tuesday. Breuning is verified by two groups as the world's oldest man.  read more »

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The Trouble With Trash
It's been 53 years and over 4,500 launches since the dawn of the space age, and Earth's orbit is a junkyard. Our orbit is littered with spent rocket stages, lens caps, broken-up satellites, frozen urine, the odd glove, bits of foil, and the tool kit dropped by astronaut Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper during a spacewalk in 2008. You name it; the low Earth orbit has probably got it.

Millions of pieces of this space debris orbit the globe at break-neck speeds, and the spacecraft that pass through orbit are in jeopardy from even the smallest objects. But while the problem is evident, the solution remains elusive. Will Earth's orbit forever resemble a scene from WALL-E? Many scientists have now turned their attention to cleaning up the clutter.

Every satellite that goes up to orbit is the pride and joy of some company, lab, or nation. But once it has outlived its purpose, it's nothing but junk.  read more »

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Interview: “Blood Dolphins” Star Lincoln O’Barry

Ric O'Barry has been a leader against the cruelty inflicted upon dolphins since his days working with them during the 1960s television series "Flipper." One of the areas of the world that O'Barry, along with his son Lincoln, have targeted over the past few years is Taiji, Japan where a spot called "The Cove" became the basis of an Academy Award-winning 2009 documentary about their efforts to stop the slaughtering of dolphins. With their new three-part Animal Planet mini-series, "Blood Dolphins," the O'Barrys pick up where "The Cove" left off with the team again trying to save the lives of innocent dolphins from senseless slaughter. Besides Taiji, the men travel to the Solomon Islands, which has been labeled one of the worst areas in the world for killing dolphins for profit. Our Jim Halterman talked with Lincoln O'Barry earlier this week about the dangers of bringing cameras to further document the dolphin trade as well as how one part of the dolphin - its teeth - is viewed in some regions as more valuable than actual currency.

Jim Halterman: Your dad has been involved with saving dolphins for decades and now you're involved with his activism. Was this never a question that this was your path in life?  read more »

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Scottish scientists develop whisky biofuel - By-products from distilling process could be used to power cars and even aviation, according to researchers in Edinburgh

It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "one for the road". Whisky, the spirit that powers the Scottish economy, is being used to develop a new biofuel which could be available at petrol pumps in a few years.

Using samples from the Glenkinchie Distillery in East Lothian, researchers at Edinburgh Napier University have developed a method of producing biofuel from two main by-products of the whisky distilling process – "pot ale", the liquid from the copper stills, and "draff", the spent grains.

Copious quantities of both waste products are produced by the £4bn whisky industry each year, and the scientists say there is real potential for the biofuel, to be available at local garage forecourts alongside traditional fuels. It can be used in conventional cars without adapting their engines. The team also said it could be used to fuel planes and as the basis for chemicals such as acetone, an important solvent.

The new method developed by the team produces butanol, which gives 30% more power output than the traditional biofuel ethanol. It is based on a 100-year-old process that was originally developed to produce butanol and acetone by fermenting sugar. The team has adapted this to use whiskey by-products as a starting point and has filed for a patent to cover the new method. It plans to create a spin-out company to commercialise the invention.  read more »