Creating inorganic life?

Scientists in Scotland are undertaking pioneering research to create life from inorganic chemicals.

All life on earth is based on organic biology - in the form of carbon compounds - but the inorganic world is considered to be inanimate.

A team from Glasgow University has demonstrated a new way of making inorganic chemical cells.

The aim is to create self-replicating, evolving inorganic cells which could be used in medicine and chemistry.

The project is being led by Professor Lee Cronin from the university's College of Science and Engineering.

Useful applications

 

He said: "What we are trying do is create self-replicating, evolving, inorganic cells that would essentially be alive. You could call it inorganic biology." 

Professor Cronin's team has demonstrated a new way of creating inorganic chemical cells.

These can be compartmentalised by creating internal membranes that control the passage of materials and energy through them, meaning several chemical processes can be isolated within the same cell - just like biological cells.

Researchers say the cells, which can also store electricity, could potentially be used in all sorts of applications in medicine, as sensors or to confine chemical reactions. 

The research is part of a project by Prof Cronin to demonstrate that inorganic chemical compounds are capable of self-replicating and evolving - just as organic, biological carbon-based cells do.

Prof Cronin believes that creating inorganic life it is entirely feasible.

He added: "The grand aim is to construct complex chemical cells with life-like properties that could help us understand how life emerged and also to use this approach to define a new technology based upon evolution in the material world - a kind of inorganic living technology. 

"Bacteria are essentially single-cell micro-organisms made from organic chemicals, so why can't we make micro-organisms from inorganic chemicals and allow them to evolve? 

"If successful this would give us some incredible insights into evolution and show that it's not just a biological process. It would also mean that we would have proven that non carbon-based life could exist and totally redefine our ideas of design."

 by "environment clean generations"

Better Wind Turbines From Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Polyurethane

Carbon nanotube-reinforced polyurethane could make for lighter and more durable wind turbine blades.

In the effort to capture more energy from the wind, the blades of wind turbines have become bigger and bigger to the point where the diameter of the rotors can be over 100 m (328 ft). Although larger blades cover a larger area, they are also heavier, which means more wind is needed to turn the rotor.

The ideal combination would be blades that are not only bigger, but also lighter and more durable. A researcher at Case Western Reserve University has built a prototype blade from materials that could provide just such a winning combination.

The new blade developed by Marcio Loos, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, is the world's first polyurethane blade reinforced with carbon nanotubes. Using a small commercial blade as a template, Loos manufactured a 29-inch (73.6 cm) blade that is substantially lighter, more rigid and tougher than conventional blades. Rigidity is important because as a blade flexes in the wind it loses the optimal shape for catching air, so less energy is captured.

Working with colleagues at Case Western Reserve, and investigators from Bayer Material Science in Pittsburgh, and Molded Fiber Glass Co. in Ashtabula, Ohio, Loos compared the properties of the new materials with that of conventional blades manufactured using fiberglass resin.

"Results of mechanical testing for the carbon nanotube reinforced polyurethane show that this material outperforms the currently used resins for wind blades applications," said Ica Manas-Zloczower, professor of macromolecular science and engineering and associate dean in the Case School of Engineering.

Comparing reinforcing materials, the researchers found that the carbon nanotubes are lighter per unit of volume than carbon fiber and aluminum and had five times the tensile strength of carbon fiber and more than 60 times that of aluminum.

Meanwhile, fatigue testing showed the reinforced polyurethane composite lasts about eight times longer than epoxy reinforced with fiberglass, while delamination fracture tests showed it was also about eight times tougher.

The performance of the material was even better when compared against vinyl ester reinforced with fiberglass, another material used to make wind turbine blades. Fracture growth rates were also a fraction of that found for traditional epoxy and vinyl ester composites.

Loos and her team are now working to determine the optimal conditions for the dispersion of the nanotubes, the ideal distribution within the polyurethane and the ways to achieve both.

by "environment clean generations"