Fine Scientist

Health and death have genetic risk factors. International research has linked ten gene variations to sudden cardiac death (SCD). What is SCD? It is death resulting from an abrupt loss of heart function -- cardiac arrest. Was this perhaps what the first famous poly-marathoner suffered?Recent - The American Heart Association (AHA) says about 850 Americans die each day without being hospitalized or admitted to an emergency room. Most are sudden deaths caused by cardiac arrest. Death occurs within minutes after symptoms appear. Yet this health problem has received much less publicity than heart attack.

Michael Shermer of Michael Shermer: What Will ET Look Like? has inspired me to write a sci fi. Shermer's ET, whether a bipedal primate or not, is attractive for a theme of oceans and humans -- both representing new experiences. An extraterrestrial, you might agree, is also ideal to ask questions to our hero, as suggested by me, to be played by Michael Shermer.

Since 1899, when acetylsalicylic acid was named "aspirin" in Germany, the emphasis has been placed on its properties. There is a new wind on the subject -- a medical cyclone seems to be brewing in the United Kingdom. John R. Patterson and colleagues report their new findings in the Dec. 24 issue of ACS' biweekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Shrinkage is a good thing when you want it to happen. Energy consumption in buildings is a great candidate for shrinkage.  Do you have a building in mind?Two reports (1-2) were published recently to show how to achieve 50% energy savings over the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1-2004 in medium-sized retail buildings and grocery stores. They represent the first technical support documents for commercial retail buildings under the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative. In all cases studied, these design measures were recommended to achieve a 50% reduction in energy consumption:

Los Alamos* says we can make gasoline with CO2 extracted from air -- plus water and energy. Furthermore, economic large-scale production is possible with off-the-shelf equipment and known processes. Result: Green Gasoline. The Los Alamos concept was named Green Freedom, mainly, because it promises freedom from foreign oil by producing gasoline with a carbon-neutral power source. The main steps are:1. Obtain CO2 from the atmosphere 2. Split H2O into H2 and O23. Combine H2 and CO2 to produce methanol4. Convert methanol into gasoline.