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Researchers Create Composite That Converts Engine Heat to Electricity in Cars

Being able to harvest engine heat from cars and redirect it into charging batteries or powering supplementary systems is likely the best way to improve efficiency in next-generation hybrid cars, according to a team of scientists from the University of Manchester.

As Phys.org reported Aug. 4, about 70% of the energy that cars currently generate through fuel consumption is lost to heat. A thermoelectric material — one that can generate an electrical current from heat — would therefore allow cars to become much more efficient. Already, hybrid vehicles are much more efficient than gas-powered cars (which allows owners to recoup their investments, given that hybrid vehicles cost 15-20% more, on average).

Previously, most of the thermoelectric materials available were highly toxic and only worked at temperatures higher than those produced by cars. But the team’s new research has found that adding graphene to a composite material would allow cars to convert heat to usable electricity and reduce global carbon emissions from vehicles.

“Our findings show that … introducing a small amount of graphene to the base material can reduce the thermal operating window to room temperature, which offers a huge range of potential for applications,” lead researcher Ian Kinloch told Phys.org.

The composite still doesn’t allow for total heat capture, he said, but it’s a start. “The new material will convert 3-5% of the heat into electricity. That is not much but, given that the average vehicle loses roughly 70% of the energy supplied to it by its fuel to waste heat and friction, recovering even a small percentage of this with thermoelectric technology would be worthwhile,” he explained.

The team’s findings have been published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

Fuel efficiency is becoming increasingly important in hybrid and completely gas-powered cars alike, especially as the government has imposed new efficiency goals on the auto industry. By 2015, any manufacturers selling vehicles on the U.S. market will have to achieve an average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon.

Interestingly enough, however, consumers don’t seem to be willing to pay more for higher-efficiency vehicles, according to recent comments from Forrest McConnell, last year’s president of the National Automobile Dealers Association.

But an executive for electric car maker Tesla says that’s a short-sighted view. Diarmuid O’Connell, vice president of business development, recently commented at an auto event in northern Michigan that automakers need to be focused on attaining even higher efficiency than the government is mandating.

“We’re living in a time of cheap gasoline, but this is probably an ephemeral event,” he cautioned.

Droughts Affecting Trees Ability To Absorb Harmful Gases

New research shows that trees that are affected by droughts take two to four years to recover, hindering their ability to absorb harmful carbon dioxide from the air. The data concludes that areas with frequent droughts will see higher amounts of harmful chemicals such as carbon dioxide in the surrounding atmosphere.

Until recently, scientists assumed trees and other plant life would be able to quickly recover after a drought. The new study, which was conducted by Northern Arizona University researchers, shows that these assumptions are incorrect. By examining tree ring data, the researchers found that many trees take a while to return to their normal growing pattern after a long drought.

Trees are the longest-living organisms on Earth. Each year, trees are responsible for absorbing about one quarter of the carbon dioxide that is emitted by humans. When a tree’s growth is stunted, it loses much of its ability to photosynthesize, limiting the tree’s ability to store the harmful gas.

“This really matters because future droughts are expected to increase in frequency and severity due to climate change,” says William Anderegg in a study by Princeton University. Anderegg goes on to say that the frequent droughts can make it impossible for trees to recover, greatly limiting their ability to absorb the increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The study was done on trees in a semi-arid ecosystem, which is only one type of tree. More research is being planned for other species of trees, such as trees found in tropical areas. However, Anderegg predicts that droughts will also have lasting effects on these types of trees as well.

Scientists suggest that the effect that droughts have on tree recovery can reduce the amount of carbon storage capacity in certain ecosystems by over 1.6 metric gigatons over the next century. This information has not yet been factored into current climate model predictions, suggesting that global warming researchers may have underestimated the severity of climate change in the future.

A New Species Of Cockroach Might Be Heading For Florida

Environmental scientist Marc Minno was looking through some paperwork at his office in Live Oak, Florida, when a small bug fell out of a folder he was holding. Upon further examination of the bug, Minno discovered it was actually a cockroach. However, this bug was not the typical solid brown color of Florida’s native cockroach species.

The cockroach Minno discovered had black wings with hints of yellow around the edges, and an orange-red body. Having never seen this type of cockroach in Southern Florida, Minno did some research on the bug and found it to be a pale-bordered field cockroach, originally found in Central America, Texas, and the Caribbean.

In his research, Minno found that the species was relatively new to Florida, and the United States as a whole. Many new species find their way to Florida every year, such as the Burmese python or the Argentine tegu lizards. Yet some of the species that arrive on Florida’s shores are categorized as invasive, and can threaten the local ecosystem by attacking the native species.

After his initial research, Minno donated the roach to the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, where extensive research will be done to find out more about the species. While there is no current indication that the bug will be harmful to Florida’s ecosystem, cockroaches are known to spread nearly 33 different kinds of germs. Currently, there is not much known about this species, its behaviors, or what it eats.

Minno believes that more of these roaches will begin to appear in Florida due to changes in the climate, which have caused other species such as butterflies to alter their migration patterns. He believes that the appearance of the pale-bordered field cockroach is due to similar reasons, and will continue as climate change continues to push their migration patterns to the North.

Better Business Bureau Issues Scam Warning

Although many companies use sweepstakes promotions as cost-effective advertising strategies, many out there are dubious of such contests, and for good reason, too. They’re pretty popular. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Report, there were over 100,000 complaints against lottery and sweepstakes scams in 2014. More recently, the Better Business Bureau has issued an alert warning of a Mega Millions scam that’s going around.

This latest con is a twist on a classic lottery scam. The premise is that a real life Mega Millions winner is just giving away some of his fortune, when in actually, it’s a scammer who’s going after victims’ hard earned money.

It works simply. The con artist sends out emails that look like they’ve come from Harold Diamond, a retired principal who this past winter won the largest Mega Millions jackpot in New York lottery history. According to the missive, “Diamond” is giving away some of his fortune to five randomly selected winners, and the victim is one of those lucky few who’ve been chosen to receive $1 million.

Here’s the catch. To collect the money, the victim emails the “lawyer” of “Diamond,” and mentions a verification code number, which is to prove that the victim is the official recipient. The lawyer will then ask that the recipient to pay taxes and/or other fees in order to receive the money, which will obviously never come.

The con is a classic scam that draws on current events. The fact that there’s a real live lottery winner named Harold Diamond adds credibility to the premise, making the scam more effective.

In order to avoid becoming a victim of such a ploy, the BBB advises that people look for certain clues. If it asks for money, it’s a scam. No one should ever have to pay to participate in a sweepstakes. If it’s a contest that wasn’t ever entered, it’s a scam. There’s no way to a sweepstakes without entering. If it’s a foreign lottery, it’s a scam. The only legal lotteries in the United States are the official state-run lotteries.

Girl Suffering From ‘Werewolf Syndrome’ Can’t Afford Treatment

Women care a lot about hair. One recent survey even that 44% of women find it troublesome when men’s eyebrows, nose hair, or ear hair is left untouched, 71% prefer men to trim their back hair, and 53% think that men should trim their chest.

Fortunately for them, women don’t have to worry about so much body hair removal, unless of course they suffer from a disease called Hypertrichosis, as eight-year-old Xiao Ling does.

Hypertrichosis, also known as Ambras syndrome or Werewolf syndrome, causes Xiao to grow an abnormal, excessive amount of hair all over her body, including her face. Because of the condition, from which she’s suffered since birth, Xiao is often teased. She doesn’t swim, or even wear shorts or dresses, for fear of the negative reactions she’ll get.

Now, she’s asking for help from charities so that she can pay for a laser treatment to cure her condition.

Hypertrichosis is so rare that there are only 34 recorded cases. It isn’t typically an illness in and of itself, but is rather a response to a more serious medical problem. The underlying cause is a genetic mutation in which cells that normally switch off hair growth in unusual areas — such as the forehead and eyelids — allow hair to grow.

However, doctors aren’t entirely sure what’s wrong in Xiao’s case.

Although there’s no actual cure for the condition, the abnormal hair caused by hypertrichosis can be removed through such treatments as bleaching, trimming, shaving, plucking, waxing, chemical treatments, or electrosurgical epilation.

Laser hair removal treatments are considered the most effective way to get rid of the abnormal hair. These treatments, however, are exorbitantly expensive — and Xiao’s family just doesn’t have the money.

The Internet is Making You Sad, Phone a Friend Instead

If you ask a member of generation Generation Z what it means to make a meaningful personal connection, many will tell you that these kinds of connections are made predominantly online. Over the past decade or so, our relationship with technology has changed drastically. With the advent of smartphones, users can simply log on and connect with other users from anywhere from down the street to across the globe. Using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, teens feel they are able to make meaningful connections with their peers, and form bonds through these digital avenues.

But are these connections truly “meaningful,” or are they doing more harm than good?

According to a recent study conducted by Ottawa Public Health, teenagers who spend more than two hours per day on the internet are more likely to experience psychological threats and suicidal thoughts, and more frequently struggle from mental health issues.

Within the United States alone, over $100 billion is spent annually on medical costs associated with mental health.

According to Huffington Post, Ottawa researchers feel that while the study necessarily doesn’t provide causation, it showed that the correlation ran both ways. Namely, teens who struggle with mental illness are more likely to spend more time online, and when individuals spend time online, their excessive use of social media leads them to feel alone, heightening feelings of poor mental health.

What many of these teens really need, researchers say, is face-to-face interactions and support from health care providers, family, and friends.

In fact, a recent study conducted at the University of Rochester suggests that people with a great deal of friendships and social activity at age 20 and 30 were more likely to have positive mental health in their 50s, as compared to individuals who didn’t cultivate friendships.

In the study, 100 University of Rochester students were tracked for over 30 years, during which the participants answered questions about social life, work life, relationships, and general interactions.

The study suggests that meaningful personal relationships and a healthy social life contributes to positive mental health.

While teens may use social media to connect with others, their search for companionship may lead to further feelings of isolation and sadness.

Perhaps it’s time to turn off the screens and look to our friends and family for emotional support.

This $32 Device Can Open Virtually Any Garage Door

Many of us rely on the convenience of wireless garage door openers and car remote controls almost every day. There’s no better feeling than being able to open your car or garage from several feet away with the simple press of a button.

However, these same wireless controls may be giving hackers and burglars an easy way into our homes and cars.

Samy Kamkar, the security researcher who in June discovered a way to hack into garage door openers with a children’s toy, recently built a $32 device capable of intercepting and stealing the wireless codes responsible for opening keyless garages and car doors.

According to an August 10 Gizmodo article, Kamkar’s RollJam device works not through code-cracking or decryption, but through deception.

When placed in the vicinity of the targeted home or car, the RollJam — a tiny, easily-hidden gadget — mysteriously prevents the victim from unlocking the garage or car door on the first attempt. On the second try, the victim is able to successfully unlock the garage or car door, but only because the RollJam is sending the code it captured to the door. Once the device has this code, the RollJam can open that door at any time in the future.

Because the RollJam can be left running for days, hackers would be able to steal the security codes of our car and garage doors with stunning convenience and ease. The ease with which hackers can gain entrance to garages is troubling, especially when about 82% of homes in the U.S. have a two-car garage or larger — and nearly everyone these days drives a car with a remote-controlled lock system.

Kamkar said that his device can break into “Nissan, Cadillac, Ford, Toyota, Lotus, Volkswagen, and Chrysler vehicles, as well as Cobra and Viper alarm systems and Genie and Liftmaster garage door openers,” and that he “estimates that millions of vehicles and garage doors may be vulnerable.”

To make cars and garage doors more secure, Kamkar explained, manufacturers will need to develop car door and garage door openers whose codes time out after a short period of time. The security of our homes and vehicles depends on it, he said.

Bison Hate Selfies: Attacks in Yellowstone are on the Rise

In the last year, according to an estimate from Yahoo!, people took more than 880 billion photos — and it’s a pretty sure bet that a lot of these photos were selfies.

After all, what’s better than taking a good ‘ol vacation selfie, particularly when you’re somewhere as beautiful as Yellowstone Park?

The national landmark spans three states, from Wyoming to Montana to Idaho, and boasts over 3,000 square feet of natural wonders such as geysers, mountains, and valleys.

For a snap-happy tourist, the place is practically teeming with Instagram-worthy shots.

But if you see a bison, you might want to think twice about getting too up-close and personal for a photo op.

One Mississippi woman learned this the hard way. After spotting a pack of bison in the park, the 43-year-old woman snapped a selfie of her and her daughter with the bison in the background.

When most people don’t like a photo of themselves, they just ask you to delete the photo.

Unfortunately, the bison responded by attacking the woman, overtaking her and flinging her into the air.

According to the Washington Post, the woman was hospitalized and is currently being treated for minor injuries.

The Washington Post reports that this recent incident brings the tally up to the fifth bison attack in Yellowstone Park this year.

Earlier in June, an Australian man turned his back on a bison to take a photo of himself and the massive beast, and the animal charged. Although he was flung into the air, the man managed to come out of the ordeal relatively unscathed.

Another incident occurred in May, when a Taiwanese exchange student turned her back to take a group photo with nearby bison as the backdrop. The bison, which was six feet away from her, ultimately attacked, piercing the poor girl in the buttocks.

While the bison attacks are clearly an issue, the solution is simple. Tourists need to keep their distance from the massive creatures. Park rangers at Yellowstone recommend remaining at least 25 yards away from bison at all times.

Nature Valley Thinks Granola Will Save the Children

According to a recent viral video campaign, technology is all but consuming America’s youth. In the video, three generations of people were interviewed, and asked what their favorite childhood activities were. Twinkling, whimsical piano plays as the older generations recount their wholesome childhood hijinks of building forts, fishing in the creek, and dodging black bears. Ah, youth.

Predictably, the youngest generations’ answers aren’t as wispy and romantic as their elders’. Rather, the children seem to be terrifyingly attached to the digital world, reporting that they use their phones and tablets up to five hours each day. With a naive smile on her face, one little girl reports, “I would die without my tablet.”

At the end of the video, the parents watch the children answer with shock, expressing their grief for a generation lost to the mind numbing evils of technology. As screen turns dark, Nature Valley asks us to “rediscover nature”, presumably with a shockingly green foil wrapped granola bar in hand.

In some ways, Nature Valley is onto something. With a third of all children in the U.S. considered overweight, childhood obesity is now considered an epidemic in America. This is attributed to not getting enough physical activity, and a diet filled with processed, sugar-filled foods.

Sure, children could stand to get outside more and fill the daily recommended 60 minutes of activity. And of course everyone in America can stand to cut refined sugars and carbohydrates from their diet. It just seems a little counter-intuitive when these recommendations come from a company whose “all natural” products are teeming with high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, and high maltose malt syrups–three ingredients that definitely aren’t natural.

In fact, studies show that these highly processed ingredients contribute to childhood obesity, and lead to a myriad of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Talk about a lost generation, huh?

What’s the Deal with the ‘Guaca Bowle’ on Jeb Bush’s Campaign Website?

Super PACs may be one of the most popular ways for Presidential candidates to raise large sums of money, but Republican candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush seems to have another idea: selling really expensive swag online.

While most of the items on Jeb2016.com have something to do with the campaign, including t-shirts, buttons, and rally signs, the most baffling item of all is unbranded: the Guaca Bowle.

The “Bowle” is designed to look like a molcajete, which is a sort of mortar and pestle often used for making foods like guacamole. Seeing as Jeb and his wife Columba, who is from Mexico, are apparently guacamole enthusiasts, it almost makes sense that the second-oldest Bush sibling would want to sell one.

But not only does the Guaca Bowle have no branding to indicate it’s part of Jeb’s campaign — the black plastic bowl also sells for a whopping $75.

Most people have probably seen such bowls used for salsa or guac in their favorite Mexican restaurants.

Mexican cuisine enthusiasts can buy real (or close to it) molcajetes for less from brands like Williams-Sonoma and Lenox, both of which market high-priced cookware.

In fact, one restaurant supply website sells the imitation molcajetes for $35.99… for a case of 24. Oddly enough, they look exactly the same as the one in the Jeb! store and would only cost about $1.50 per bowl — an amazing savings of $73.50!

Campaign advertising is often competitive, and by the time election season gets into full swing, attack ads dominate every commercial break on TV. One survey stated that 37% of consumers report looking at outdoor ads and business signs most of the time or every time they see one, so Presidential candidates have to look for other means to attract voters.

But the unbranded and substantially overpriced Guaca Bowle is something of a head-scratcher. So far it’s been lampooned all over the internet and on Comedy Central’s @midnight, and Vox.com has referred to it as the “mockajete” and an “abomination.”

Yet perhaps most disappointingly of all, Bush’s website gives this disclaimer: “Jeb’s secret guacamole recipe not included… yet.” It also takes about three weeks to ship.

This week hasn’t been a good week for Bush, who is the brother of former President George W. Bush and son of former President George H.W. Bush. He took part in the Republican Presidential debates on Aug. 6 and was asked about his gaffe earlier in the week, where he claimed that the U.S. may not “need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues.”