Here's a mix of recent science stories I found interesting.
Unraveling the puzzle of pain
"Today's pain medications are not always providing as much relief as we would like. We hope these early findings will lead to new drugs, and give some hope to people with chronic nerve pain, or pain from inflammation," says Dr. Gerald Zamponi. Read more about his research on pain pathways in the brain here.
Giant microwave turns plastic back to oil
US company Global Resource Corporation is taking plastics recycling to another level - turning them back into the oil they were made from, and gas. Read more here.
Are Hospital ERs Prepared To Handle Disaster?
How prepared are U.S. hospital emergency rooms to handle a public health emergency stemming from natural disaster or pandemic? According to witnesses and Members of Congress at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last Friday (June 22, 2007), not very. More here.
All excerpts are taken from their respective press releases.
Image from Global Resource Corporation
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That Hawk-10 super microwave sounds cool. The first customer says it will generate enough diesel to run itself and a few other machines, so I would mark 1 in the 'net energy gain' column. Now, whether we want all of that carbon transferred into the atmosphere or not is another question. So mark one in the 'I'm not sure' column. But if it really makes available more metal for recycling - aluminum copper and steel - that is another for the 'gain' column. Is the toxicity of these "few leftovers" known? So I guess that puts this technology in a dead heat for me. Wait a minute, I do think it's a cool idea, so let's give it a try!
Thank you for the comment Thomas.
I couldn't find information about the toxicity of these end materials. The article says that the small size of these end materials will result in less landfill occupied-a plus for the environment-but you're right, their toxicity may be a big negative.