In what could be the first step in revolutionizing how we generate solar power, researchers have cracked the code on cheaply printing solar cells onto paper. Scientists at MIT developed a process similar to laser printing which sprays a layer of solar cells onto plastic, cloth, or paper — without the need for high temperatures or potentially damaging liquids.
The solar cells produced are durable, too; they can function even when repeatedly folded.
Spain celebrated an historic moment for the solar industry earlier this month: Torresol’s 19.9 megawatt solar tower power plant became the first ever to generate uninterrupted electricity for 24 hours straight.
Thanks to a a molten-salt storage system that stores excess heat for later use, the Torresol tower-power plant eliminates one of the main downsides of solar energy.
In one of the videos that most touched her fans, Gretchen Rubin, author of the best-selling book, The Happiness Project, tells the story of how she came to realize that the daily grind of a commute with her daughter may actually be the enchanted life she had always wanted.
A good lesson that teaches us to be grateful and mindful of life’s little pleasures, which may be hiding in “the daily grind”.
Afghanistan, with more than a million orphans, has been called the worst place to be a child. But one woman is trying to improve the lives of Afghan orphans and change the sobering statistics.
The 28-year-old had a turbulent childhood herself, living in refugee camps before returning to her country to found the Afghan Child Education and Care Organization, which creates safe and progressive orphanages.
(READ the story at CNN Heroes – Watch a video from the organization below)
Afghanistan, with more than a million orphans, has been called the worst place to be a child. But one woman is trying to improve the lives of Afghan orphans and change the sobering statistics.
The 28-year-old had a turbulent childhood herself, living in refugee camps before returning to her country to found the Afghan Child Education and Care Organization, which creates safe and progressive orphanages.
Allan Guei won a $40,000 college scholarship in a free-throw competition for top academic students at Compton High School in Los Angeles, which was expected because he excelled on the school’s basketball team. What he did with the money, however, was wholly unexpected, and shows that he excels in his personal life as well.
Already with a full basketball scholarship to Cal-State Northridge, the 18 year-old wanted to help other kids’ dreams come true, and donated all the money to the seven other finalists.
Allan Guei won a $40,000 college scholarship in a free-throw competition for top academic students at Compton High School in Los Angeles, which was expected because he excelled on the school’s basketball team. What he did with the money, however, was wholly unexpected, and shows that he excels in his personal life as well.
Already with a full basketball scholarship to Cal-State Northridge, the 18 year-old wanted to help other kids’ dreams come true, and donated all the money to the seven other finalists.
The Republic of South Sudan rang in its status as the world’s newest country this weekend with a series of spontaneous and orchestrated celebrations of what President Salva Kiir called “a dream come true.” Joy and reverence rippled through the crowds as they listened.
“We were bombed, maimed, enslaved, treated worse than a refugee in our own country, but we have to forgive, although we will not forget,” Mr. Kiir said in his speech to the masses, a couple hours after he took the oath of office as the first elected president of the South Sudan.
The best part of Derek Jeter’s 3000th hit is Christian Lopez, the fan who caught the baseball and gave it back, modestly saying it was the New York Yankee who earned it.
Any time someone does the right thing, it’s worth noting. When I’m feeling tempted to cut corners, to cheat a little, to not tell the truth, I’m going to think of Lopez as an example to follow.
Tech designs to come out of the space shuttle program have permeated just about every aspect of our lives.
Many of the iconic NASA products (Tang, Teflon, Velcro) weren’t actually designed for or by NASA at all. But there are plenty of NASA innovations in all areas of life, from heart pumps and rescue equipment, to improved car tires, osteoporosis treatment and baby formula. Read about ten discoveries that originated in the Shuttle program, which sent up its last ship on Sunday.
An ancient bead necklace, terra cotta tablets from ancient Babylonia depicting Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, and posters of deposed leader Saddam Hussein were among artifacts that U.S. officials returned to the Iraqi government on Thursday.
The repatriation of the relics — some as old as 4,000 years — is the latest in an ongoing mission by the FBI.
An ancient bead necklace, terra cotta tablets from ancient Babylonia depicting Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, and posters of deposed leader Saddam Hussein were among artifacts that U.S. officials returned to the Iraqi government on Thursday.
The repatriation of the relics — some as old as 4,000 years — is the latest in an ongoing mission by the FBI.
Emotions ran high at the final launch of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle program which brought out hundreds of thousands to Florida’s “Space Coast” to witness the historic spectacle.
Tears and cheers were in abundance during Atlantis’s perfect lift-off, which carried a crew of four and a multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station.
The STS-135 astronauts are: Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim.
(WATCH the video from Reuters)
The world’s largest express transportation company continues to bolster its fuel efficiency with a significant expansion this summer of lower polluting, energy efficient vehicles.
While doubling the fleet of all-electric vehicles to 43, FedEx is also adding more hybrid-electrics, light composite vehicles and upgrading over a tenth of its conventional vehicle fleet to more energy-efficient models.
Prince William and Kate stopped in Slave Lake, an Alberta town ravaged by forest fires. They toured the town and attended a gathering of residents at a nearby school, to listen to many of their stories — a bright spot for the Canadian town which had been reduced to rubble.
Prince William and Kate stopped in Slave Lake, an Alberta town ravaged by forest fires. They toured the town and attended a gathering of residents at a nearby school, to listen to many of their stories — a bright spot for the Canadian town which had been reduced to rubble.
Viewed at a magnification of over 250 times real life, tiny grains of sand are shown to be delicate, colorful structures as unique as snowflakes.
When seen well beyond the limits of human eyesight, the miniature particles are exposed as fragments of crystals, spiral fragments of shells and crumbs of volcanic rock, thanks to Professor Gary Greenberg from University College London.
Screening for colon cancer has increased in 49 of the 50 United States and, as a result, deaths are down, with 32,000 fewer people dying from the disease in one year.
A federal report released on Tuesday insisted that with expanded testing even more lives could be saved. Colon cancer remains the nation’s second most deadly cancer
Investor Warren Buffett gave a gift of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation worth about $1.5 billion (19.34 million shares), boosting their efforts around the world to fight disease.
Buffett plans to transfer the majority of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and this gift represents the fifth installment.
(READ the AP article on CS Monitor)
Five years ago, an Evergreen High School custodian was in the middle of bankruptcy when he won the Washington State Lottery’s Quinto game — 3.4 million dollars.
But he still lives in a tiny house in Seattle with his wife and in-laws, and drives to work in the same car.
The high school track team is where Tyrone Curry splurged, buying them a new state-of-the-art track.
WATCH the video below, from TODAY, or READ the story at NBC…
