Tuesday, October 19, 2010
In-vitro fertilization
David's podcast
32 years ago, Robert G Edwards developed technology called in-vitro fertilization. In this process, egg cells are fertilized by sperm outside the body, and then placed into the uterus of a woman in hopes of a successful pregnancy. After 4 million successful births, Edwards is being rewarded with the Nobel Prize for Medicine at the age of 85. While this was a breakthrough in science, it was met with more controversy than acclaim, as people considered this procedure unnatural and immoral. Today, this procedure is rather common and accepted. But now, the thing to worry about is how far people will take this power. Advances in IVF technology could lead to more than the creation of life, but rather the designing of life, through genetic engineering. This new idea is being received in the same way Edwards’ idea was 32 years ago. The thought that this could lead to a superhuman race has sparked another controversy.
Written and recorded in Room 1 Gregory Hall
32 years ago, Robert G Edwards developed technology called in-vitro fertilization. In this process, egg cells are fertilized by sperm outside the body, and then placed into the uterus of a woman in hopes of a successful pregnancy. After 4 million successful births, Edwards is being rewarded with the Nobel Prize for Medicine at the age of 85. While this was a breakthrough in science, it was met with more controversy than acclaim, as people considered this procedure unnatural and immoral. Today, this procedure is rather common and accepted. But now, the thing to worry about is how far people will take this power. Advances in IVF technology could lead to more than the creation of life, but rather the designing of life, through genetic engineering. This new idea is being received in the same way Edwards’ idea was 32 years ago. The thought that this could lead to a superhuman race has sparked another controversy.
Written and recorded in Room 1 Gregory Hall
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Environment Saver at UIUC
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| Floating telescoping weir skimmer/ Photo by Hsin Yu Chang |
Due to the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, oil spills have become one of the more prominent issues throughout the world. However, you might not know that one of the most efficient solutions lies here at UIUC campus.
The floating telescoping weir skimmer, developed by Tim Lindsey, who is associate director in Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, is believed to be able to clean about 100 barrels of polluted water a day. Students in the class Science and the Media got to take a look at the model of this new invention while taking their field trip to the ISTC.
“It is certainly a better alternative than the chemical dispersant they are using right now,” said Rebecca, one of the students in the class.
The floating skimmer works similar to a vacuum. It sucks polluted water in and separates oil from the water by using a purification system Lindsey invented previously to separate oil from industrial cleaning liquid. This invention is able to solve mass environmental disasters caused by oil spills or industrial waste and therefore caught the eyes of the public and sponsors. Lindsey mentioned that he already got funding to build a full size prototype. Unfortunately, the students were not able to see the actual prototype; however, they got to tour around the research laboratory in ISTC.
The mission of ISTC is to help companies to be more sustainable. The researchers in ISTC usually go through the industrial operations and find out how the companies can be less wasteful. They also research and invent tools such as the floating telescoping weir skimmer to solve problems created by industry or the problems within the operating system. For example, Lindsey just helped a company to cut down their usage of water. “They think water is cheap, but they did not think about the true cost of ‘using water’ which includes the energy to process water to be used. Using water is actually very expensive,” said Lindsey. Visit http://www.istc.illinois.edu/ for more information about ISTC.
Illinois Sustainability Technology Center
On Sept. 23, 2010, the JOUR199 discovery class went to the Illinois Sustainability Technology Center to learn about what the center does. According to the ISTC website, the staff members “identify and implement energy efficiency opportunities in industrial, commercial, institutional, and government sectors.” Basically, companies ask the people at ISTC to evaluate their buildings and procedures to determine the amount of waste they are producing. Then, the employees at ISTC will give suggestions about how to minimize the output of waste. The center has been given many awards, including the Sustainable Electronics Initiative. The man who gave the tour, Dr. Tim Lindsey, has been the recipient of a P2 Champion. This means that he has an “outstanding impact on implementing pollution prevention.” The ISTC encounters many challenges when it comes to downsizing the amount of waste 
people produce. One growing concern is e-waste. When people purchase new products, their older models are left sitting around out of use or are thrown away. Only about 15% of electronic parts are recyclable, leaving the rest to waste. Also, most products do not have interchangeable parts, so when an object breaks, it must be replaced completely. Finding new ways to reuse the e-waste is a current task at the ISTC. One way they are tackling this problem is by starting a competition challenging University of Illinois students to create “appealing, useful products from e-waste.” It has since grown to a global competition.
people produce. One growing concern is e-waste. When people purchase new products, their older models are left sitting around out of use or are thrown away. Only about 15% of electronic parts are recyclable, leaving the rest to waste. Also, most products do not have interchangeable parts, so when an object breaks, it must be replaced completely. Finding new ways to reuse the e-waste is a current task at the ISTC. One way they are tackling this problem is by starting a competition challenging University of Illinois students to create “appealing, useful products from e-waste.” It has since grown to a global competition.The ISTC works hard to reduce the amount of waste people and companies produce. They can give advice on how to make a building “green” while it is still being planned and designed. The center also has multiple seminars a month on how to incorporate sustainable technology in everyday use. To learn more about the ISTC , you can visit their website at http://www.istc.illinois.edu/.
By: Maggie McPhillips
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