OK, I'll buy the first part, you can't heat water quickly enough for on-demand use such as a shower, as it would require unreasonably high current, even if the electric water heater was 100% efficent. I've done the math on that.
You must be really bad at math, because I had a shower one hour ago using the on demand electrical heater that's been in my apartment for some 15 years. And it was set to "1", because the water is too hot to shower with on the "2" setting.
You can't heat water up quickly enough with conventional resistance-based electric elements, as it would require huge amount of electricity.
In a lot of countries (like Germany where I live) on demand electric waterheaters (called continous flow heaters) are very common, especially in apartments buildings where there is no central water heating. They work well, and from the (very old) model I have in my apartment you get hot water in less than 30 seconds. Modern units can be set to a fixed water temperature and hold this even with changes in the amount of water flowing.
Also, as another poster pointed out already, those units do not use up any more energy than other technologies would to heat the same amount of water.
have to read and understand anything handwritten by the students who will be educated at that school. If they can still write with a pen at all, after a few years of laptop only homework. Not that I've written anything more than sticky notes by hand in the last few years, but at least one does not forget how to if you learned it in school. Umm, I hope... *goes to search a pen*
The barcode sequence will only be a means of identifying the species, not to find new ones or do taxonomy on them. The first connection between the sequence and the actual animal will be done by traditional taxonomy, because there is of course currently no other way do differenciate between many species than by the help of a specialist for the group. But once this is done, if I find the beetle (or something) again, I can identify the species by myself with a PCR and sequencing, and don't have to mail it to a specialist who counts some bristles under the microscope for hours. It's about exchanging the really hard do interpret morphology with sequence data as a means of identification.
Currently cytochome oxidase I seems to be the gene favored by many. My boss and two colleagues of mine returned today from the London barcoding meeting, and on their poster they proposed a different locus (ribosomal sequence) that looks promising. They said quite a few researchers were interested in their primers, since the COI ones seem not to be as universal as the people who push the locus would like...
No, it is defenately sequence data that will be used. DNA fingerprinting works using microsatellites, those evolve way to fast to do phylogeny with them, they are used to identify individuals. The random primer method (like AFLP) is really hard to get standardized to get consitent results with, and I would think it is extremely hard to identify tens of thousands of species by banding patterns on some gel. The term 'barcode' does not really imply something to do with stripes...
This has nothing to do with cloning animals, the basis of identification is only small piece of the DNA (like the one gene, COI, that is currently in the discussion, although the primers suck). At least for this project, the complete DNA of the organisms is not needed, or kept. But I seem to remember a project that had the aim of freezing DNA of all kinds of animals.
...actually finding and agreeing on the locus (piece of DNA) to use for this. It has to be present in all species, i.e. in gnat and cow and jellyfish, but also has to be variable enough to be able to differenciate between, for example, the Tennesse gnat and Alabama gnat. The main problem is that the locus must contain two regions to the right and to the left of the sequence of interest that must be highly invariable. This is necessary so that the same PCR primers can be used to amplify the sequence in most species. The amplification step is necessary for sequencing.
If you look at one of the pictures at 40x magnification, you can very clearly see the borders between the tiles, there seems to be no panorama software or similar involved. I'm not sure this would qualify as one big picture...
I remember someone from the medical field mention what they often do when there are bacteria in an operating room that are resistant to one or many desinfectants: They open the window for some time. The competition kills most oft the resistant bacteria. This is competition with many different species of bacteria though, not just one. The resistant species/strain is only successful in the very special niche of an enviroment of desinfectants, if you open it for all kinds of species it's likely die out.
Hence, it's probably not a good approach for a treatment, you could never *completely* (to the last cell) outcompetition one strain with another of the same virulent species.
The power of waves is also being used in some countries. While it doesn't generate as much power as tidal dams do, it still makes sense for smaller coastal towns, because the plants are not too expensive. They basically work by building a large (concrete) tube a few neters into the water right at the coast. As the water rises and falls with each wave, air is pushed out of and sucked into the other end of the tube, where a turbine is installed that generates power with an air current in both directions. Obviously, another disadvantage is having the ugly plants right on the shore. Infos and other methods of using wave power here: http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy_transport/atlas/h tmlu/wavint.html
Wouldn't it be the easiest to sell the PC cheaper via the website, or rather more expensive via the retailers? Or will the retailers not play that game, because obviously many people would look at the PC in the store and buy online...
And I bet Bush is signing a document right now that grants the Pentagon millions of dollars to invent a gene modified strain of bacteria that selectively degrades terrorists.
Sounds like me someone doesn't really know a virus from a bacteria. A virus does not have a metabolism, hence it can not 'break up' an oil spill. I like science fiction, but not if the authors leave the science part out of it, and replace it with 'words that sound cool'.
...but all kinds of other stores might think about selling see-once discs. For them it makes sense, they just have to sell the DVDs like everything else, and not worry about having to set up a return desk with someone checking IDs and making sure that the discs are returned one time, or at all.
So your local supermarket or gas station could start to make profit off video "renting" without the need to invest money in it first.
What's the point with cutting the cover and putting clear plastic in when I can already see the drive through the Saran wrap?
There would be even a better effect if the wrap moves in the air of the spinning drive!
So, define evolution as you think it is still taking place. One good example might be the malaria/sickle cell anemia case, but as the article states, most supportes of the therory say that it does not (yet) apply to third world countries.
In Europe or the US, there are no examples like that, or at least none that would shift the chances of individuals to have children toward those with a resistance gene.
Another point is the social evolution that is mentioned in a few comments. Does that really count as evolution, since it still is highly controversial if character and intellect are really genetically determined traits, to say the least.
Even inherited diseases will soon be gone, but not because of natural selection / evolution, but because of man-mande pre implantation diagnostics and family tree analysis.
Counting the number of users that try to get the program to run with a pirated code or whatever doesn't work. You would have to count the customers only that would have bought it without the option to get the program for free.
I think the biggest part of people that download pirated software would not buy it for the regular price, because they just want to try the program out or just need it once. The company that sells the software would never see their money anyway.
Someone will have to win in the next years, and that will either be the record compaies or the consumer.
If the record companies want to win, it will take them a lot of effort, technical and legal. They will have to find a way to close all sharing services and/or find a way to copy protect CDs that actually works. But we all know how hard that will be, with sharing (p2p)networks popping up everywhere. Especially when computers and the usage of digital music like mp3 will catch on even more among the population as computers and networks in general will spread (I guess in a few years even your fridge can play mp3s you have on the main computer in your house).
Imagine what will happen if the record companies finally have to give up due to lack of money/customers. Many artists will not be able to contine to make a living off their music. But some will, through the sale of concert tickets, and sponsors. Those will continue to make their music as the do know, but I guess many 'middle-class' bands, who now can live on their music through CD-sales, will not continue, because they will no longer have the money to professionally produce their music, and devote all of their time to it.
And if your mother/girlfriend/wife tries to get you to stop playing and to wash the dishes, you just turn towards her with the openly spinning CD and...well, go wash the dishes.
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You must be really bad at math, because I had a shower one hour ago using the on demand electrical heater that's been in my apartment for some 15 years. And it was set to "1", because the water is too hot to shower with on the "2" setting.
In a lot of countries (like Germany where I live) on demand electric waterheaters (called continous flow heaters) are very common, especially in apartments buildings where there is no central water heating. They work well, and from the (very old) model I have in my apartment you get hot water in less than 30 seconds. Modern units can be set to a fixed water temperature and hold this even with changes in the amount of water flowing.
Also, as another poster pointed out already, those units do not use up any more energy than other technologies would to heat the same amount of water.
have to read and understand anything handwritten by the students who will be educated at that school. If they can still write with a pen at all, after a few years of laptop only homework.
Not that I've written anything more than sticky notes by hand in the last few years, but at least one does not forget how to if you learned it in school. Umm, I hope...
*goes to search a pen*
The barcode sequence will only be a means of identifying the species, not to find new ones or do taxonomy on them. The first connection between the sequence and the actual animal will be done by traditional taxonomy, because there is of course currently no other way do differenciate between many species than by the help of a specialist for the group.
But once this is done, if I find the beetle (or something) again, I can identify the species by myself with a PCR and sequencing, and don't have to mail it to a specialist who counts some bristles under the microscope for hours.
It's about exchanging the really hard do interpret morphology with sequence data as a means of identification.
Currently cytochome oxidase I seems to be the gene favored by many. My boss and two colleagues of mine returned today from the London barcoding meeting, and on their poster they proposed a different locus (ribosomal sequence) that looks promising.
They said quite a few researchers were interested in their primers, since the COI ones seem not to be as universal as the people who push the locus would like...
No, it is defenately sequence data that will be used. DNA fingerprinting works using microsatellites, those evolve way to fast to do phylogeny with them, they are used to identify individuals.
The random primer method (like AFLP) is really hard to get standardized to get consitent results with, and I would think it is extremely hard to identify tens of thousands of species by banding patterns on some gel.
The term 'barcode' does not really imply something to do with stripes...
This has nothing to do with cloning animals, the basis of identification is only small piece of the DNA (like the one gene, COI, that is currently in the discussion, although the primers suck). At least for this project, the complete DNA of the organisms is not needed, or kept. But I seem to remember a project that had the aim of freezing DNA of all kinds of animals.
...actually finding and agreeing on the locus (piece of DNA) to use for this. It has to be present in all species, i.e. in gnat and cow and jellyfish, but also has to be variable enough to be able to differenciate between, for example, the Tennesse gnat and Alabama gnat.
The main problem is that the locus must contain two regions to the right and to the left of the sequence of interest that must be highly invariable. This is necessary so that the same PCR primers can be used to amplify the sequence in most species. The amplification step is necessary for sequencing.
If you look at one of the pictures at 40x magnification, you can very clearly see the borders between the tiles, there seems to be no panorama software or similar involved. I'm not sure this would qualify as one big picture...
And you only have to stitch four of those to get an even larger world's biggest picture!
...the Bombardier engineers just read his book, drew a nice sketch, and thought up some numbers to go with it.
>They'll never notice that you've taken them out.
>Micrrowave your cash today!
Yeah, great idea, and with the silver strips in the bills you'll have twice as many after microwaving, too!
I remember someone from the medical field mention what they often do when there are bacteria in an operating room that are resistant to one or many desinfectants: They open the window for some time. The competition kills most oft the resistant bacteria. This is competition with many different species of bacteria though, not just one. The resistant species/strain is only successful in the very special niche of an enviroment of desinfectants, if you open it for all kinds of species it's likely die out.
Hence, it's probably not a good approach for a treatment, you could never *completely* (to the last cell) outcompetition one strain with another of the same virulent species.
The power of waves is also being used in some countries. While it doesn't generate as much power as tidal dams do, it still makes sense for smaller coastal towns, because the plants are not too expensive.h tmlu/wavint.html
They basically work by building a large (concrete) tube a few neters into the water right at the coast. As the water rises and falls with each wave, air is pushed out of and sucked into the other end of the tube, where a turbine is installed that generates power with an air current in both directions.
Obviously, another disadvantage is having the ugly plants right on the shore.
Infos and other methods of using wave power here:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy_transport/atlas/
Wouldn't it be the easiest to sell the PC cheaper via the website, or rather more expensive via the retailers?
Or will the retailers not play that game, because obviously many people would look at the PC in the store and buy online...
And I bet Bush is signing a document right now that grants the Pentagon millions of dollars to invent a gene modified strain of bacteria that selectively degrades terrorists.
Sounds like me someone doesn't really know a virus from a bacteria. A virus does not have a metabolism, hence it can not 'break up' an oil spill.
I like science fiction, but not if the authors leave the science part out of it, and replace it with 'words that sound cool'.
Umm, those on the left are the wash basins, you know, to wash the blood off your hands...
...but all kinds of other stores might think about selling see-once discs. For them it makes sense, they just have to sell the DVDs like everything else, and not worry about having to set up a return desk with someone checking IDs and making sure that the discs are returned one time, or at all.
So your local supermarket or gas station could start to make profit off video "renting" without the need to invest money in it first.
What's the point with cutting the cover and putting clear plastic in when I can already see the drive through the Saran wrap?
There would be even a better effect if the wrap moves in the air of the spinning drive!
So, define evolution as you think it is still taking place. One good example might be the malaria /sickle cell anemia case, but as the article states, most supportes of the therory say that it does not (yet) apply to third world countries.
In Europe or the US, there are no examples like that, or at least none that would shift the chances of individuals to have children toward those with a resistance gene.
Another point is the social evolution that is mentioned in a few comments. Does that really count as evolution, since it still is highly controversial if character and intellect are really genetically determined traits, to say the least.
Even inherited diseases will soon be gone, but not because of natural selection / evolution, but because of man-mande pre implantation diagnostics and family tree analysis.
Counting the number of users that try to get the program to run with a pirated code or whatever doesn't work. You would have to count the customers only that would have bought it without the option to get the program for free.
I think the biggest part of people that download pirated software would not buy it for the regular price, because they just want to try the program out or just need it once. The company that sells the software would never see their money anyway.
If they would sell a simple add-on device for it, you could power your cell phone bye eating beans...
Someone will have to win in the next years, and that will either be the record compaies or the consumer.
If the record companies want to win, it will take them a lot of effort, technical and legal. They will have to find a way to close all sharing services and/or find a way to copy protect CDs that actually works. But we all know how hard that will be, with sharing (p2p)networks popping up everywhere. Especially when computers and the usage of digital music like mp3 will catch on even more among the population as computers and networks in general will spread (I guess in a few years even your fridge can play mp3s you have on the main computer in your house).
Imagine what will happen if the record companies finally have to give up due to lack of money/customers. Many artists will not be able to contine to make a living off their music. But some will, through the sale of concert tickets, and sponsors. Those will continue to make their music as the do know, but I guess many 'middle-class' bands, who now can live on their music through CD-sales, will not continue, because they will no longer have the money to professionally produce their music, and devote all of their time to it.
And if your mother/girlfriend/wife tries to get you to stop playing and to wash the dishes, you just turn towards her with the openly spinning CD and...well, go wash the dishes.