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Archive for February 7th, 2016
The waterless toilet that turns your poo into power
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2016
Guardian: Human excrement is rife with pathogens, “odorant volatiles” (the chemicals that make it smell) and parasites, but it has something going for it: it’s about 75% water. What’s more, water is the smallest of all its component molecules.
It’s these qualities of our faecal matter that got researchers at Cranfield Water Science Institute thinking about how to make a new kind of toilet that can provide safe sanitation to the 2.5 billion people around the world who do not currently have it.
The result...
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Scientists say climate change fuelled Zika outbreak
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2016
Bloomberg: Climate change may have fuelled the outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in Latin American and make it harder for developing countries to manage future epidemics, researchers said.
Record-high temperatures last year in Brazil, Ecuador and other South America countries created ideal conditions for the mosquito that transmits Zika, which is suspected of causing birth defects, scientists said on conference call with reporters Friday (Feb 5).
The researchers, who cautioned any link between...