Power from the Human Body

Everyone knows the human body is full of energy, well most of ours. Now, if we could just use that energy to power electronics. Touch screens are flooding the market with smartphones, tablets, and computers and will eventually need to be charged. Sungkyunkwan University in Korea is working with Samsung to fix that problem. They are working on a touch screen that can capture power form the user’s finger tips. Combining flexible, transparent electrodes to the touch screens, the research team can make them with energy trapping material to harness our energy to power the portable device. The down fall is the power conversion is small and they still need to find a way to integrate several electrodes and wires in a large arrangement.

Another plug in to the human body is our DNA. Scientists are making attempts to use DNA and enzymes to create a self-powered molecular computer. The computer will be a biochemical that will work just like a living body, creating its own energy and monitoring its own conditions. Scientists try to tap the energy which then is released while the DNA section is broken. When the energy is released it is trapped by an enzyme. The enzyme then cuts DNA input molecule in specific places and free the energy required to power the computer. 

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Cell Phone that Never Dies

One way  we could keep cell phone batteries out of San Antonio’s electronic recycling centers,  is to have a never ending battery life. One of the biggest complaints about cell phones is probably the life of the battery. A cell phone called SpareOne, runs on a single AA battery. The U.S. version of a phone  is compatible with T-Mobile and AT&T  that has included Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA battery, which can hold a charge for a full 15 years! Of course depending on how you use your phone will depend on the talk time  regardless,  it will still provide up to 10 hours. This will hopefully hit the first of this year for only $50.

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MySpace TV

MySpace is the new future for Web TV. According to CEO Tim Vanderhook and co-owner Justin Timberlake, MySpace TV gives you more information about your favorite shows, videos, and artists. It also provides you with real-time engagement with your friends. It plans to steam television content to web-enabled devices such as a TV, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. MySpace has partnered up with Panasonic allowing certain Panasonic televisions capable of accessing web-enabled content.

Paying for your Scraps

Ever feel like you are in the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs? Due to the amount of food that gets thrown out, 40 million tons of food is wasted in the U.S. a year. Even though you may be an avid recycler in San Antonio shouting “Don’t waste, waste!”, you still have to pay the same amount for garbage collection as your non recycler neighbor who doesn’t. In South Korea, food waste management is now charging businesses and residents for the exact amount of food they throw away. With an aggressive disposal management system, companies must now buy specially labeled garbage bags. So the less you throw away, the less you spend. Bins for the food disposal now read assigned cards to  open the lid to dispose of the food. The bin then reads the weight and displays how much to pay.

School Buses Running On French-fry Grease

Can french-fry grease help San Antonio and the planet? In California they found a way. Several hundreds of places are collecting their grease and oil to recycle and reuse into Biodiesel fuel.

Biodiesel is a renewable, non-toxic, and biodegradable fuel that can power diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used to power school buses and emissions have been reduced to 78%! Handfuls of organizations are doing their part and using Biodiesel to power some of their machines.

Wouldn't that be exciting for San Antonio to be able to power city and school buses? Perhaps Sea World, Fiesta Texas, and other amusement parks should use Biodiesel for their equipment!

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Organic TVs

As I search through San Antonio’s directory to get a bigger television, my old eyes don't see like they used to, I came across a story about LG electronics and the possibility of them selling 55” OLED TVs soon. The OLED TV will also feature a 3-D function and web-based services for me to follow my favorite recycling center, Corona Visions, on the big screen. You may have heard about LCDs or LEDs but never OLEDs. You and Mother Nature are in for a treat! OLEDs are devices composed of thin films of organic molecules that create light with the use of electricity. OLEDs are already used and soon to be in such devices as cell phones, PDAs, digital cameras, small TVs, automotive dashboards, billboard-type displays, home and office lighting, and flexible displays. One of the fascinating facts about OLEDs is that they are working on using it in solid devices, that you can actually roll up when you are done with them! Just think about having something like that as a newspaper! Good fun entertainment for you and great for the Earth. This means it gets an A+ from this Prospector.

Identity Theft

During the weekend of October 22-23 five computers containing medical and personal information of more than 3,000 patients were stolen from a Stone Oak physician’s office in San Antonio. On December 5^th letters were sent to the patients informing them that their personal information were kept on the stolen computers and as of December 15^th their information had not been misused yet. The data on the computers were not encrypted. Stone Oak Urgent Care has complied with all federal regulations.

Here at Corona Visions we understand the importance of data protection and hard drives. Computers and fax machine memories are erased using the DOD-5220-22 erase menu, the same standard used by the Department of Defense to thoroughly erase to government specifications. We also have on-site destruction for those who take data protection seriously.