Science News

A New Approach to Cleaner Water

With potent and volatile bacteria such as E.Coli and Giardia lamblia in the world's drinking water, the scientific community is developing new ways for effective water purification techniques. The presence of coliforms like E.Coli in drinking water can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea and even death. Researchers at the Sandia National Laboratories have created a new coagulant, a substance used for water purification, that substitutes a gallium atom in the center of an aluminum oxide cluster. The discovery has led to the creation of an effective decontaminant that creates a strong bond with waste matter and has a longer shelf life than those of other water purification products currently on the market. The Sandia Advance coagulant material is effective in removing bacterial, viral, organic and inorganic contaminating substances from river water that have the potential to infiltrate the world's drinking supply.

A New Approach to Cleaner Water

With potent and volatile bacteria such as E.Coli and Giardia lamblia in the world's drinking water, the scientific community is developing new ways for effective water purification techniques. The presence of coliforms like E.Coli in drinking water can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea and even death. Researchers at the Sandia National Laboratories have created a new coagulant, a substance used for water purification, that substitutes a gallium atom in the center of an aluminum oxide cluster. The discovery has led to the creation of an effective decontaminant that creates a strong bond with waste matter and has a longer shelf life than those of other water purification products currently on the market. The Sandia Advance coagulant material is effective in removing bacterial, viral, organic and inorganic contaminating substances from river water that have the potential to infiltrate the world's drinking supply.

An Unconventional Immunological Approach to Treating Malaria

An international network of scientists from Singapore, The Netherlands, and France has developed a unique method of immunization that can provide key information on how to prevent Plasmodium falciparum from infecting humans. This parasite is the cause of malaria, a disease that kills an average of one million people per year. The results were recently published in the July 30 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Bird's Eye View....

How do birds know which direction to go during migrating season? While different theories exist to explain this phenomenon, the exact reason had yet to be confirmed. A new study, published in the October issue of Nature, shows that European robins use their eyes to detect magnetic field, as there are magnetic sensing cells in the eyes and a visual center in the brain to process the signal. The author of the study, Henrik Mouritsen from University of Oldenburg, Germany, believes that the result can potentially improve conservation efforts for migratory birds.