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Scientists Just Built a CO2-Eating Machine That Runs on Sunlight

Austin Tang — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 14:29:20 +0000

Researchers have developed a reactor that pulls carbon dioxide directly from the air and converts it into sustainable fuel, using sunlight as the power source. Credit: University of Cambridge

Scientists have developed a sunlight-powered reactor that directly captures CO₂ from the air and transforms it into sustainable fuel.

Unlike traditional carbon capture methods, this device requires no fossil-fuel energy, making it a game-changer for the climate crisis. By mimicking photosynthesis, it produces syngas, a crucial ingredient in fuel and pharmaceuticals, with plans to scale up for liquid fuel production.

Harnessing Sunlight for Sustainable Fuel

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a solar-powered reactor that captures carbon dioxide directly from the air and converts it into sustainable fuel using sunlight.

This innovative reactor has the potential to produce fuel for cars and planes, as well as essential chemicals and pharmaceuticals. It could also provide a reliable energy source in remote or off-grid locations.

Unlike traditional carbon capture technologies, which require fossil fuel energy and involve transporting and storing CO₂, this reactor eliminates those steps. Instead, it directly converts atmospheric CO₂ into useful products using only sunlight. The research findings were published today (February 13) in Nature Energy.

The Limitations of Conventional Carbon Storage

While Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has been promoted as a solution to the climate crisis—receiving £22 billion (~$27 billion) in UK government funding—it remains highly energy-intensive. Additionally, concerns persist over the long-term safety of storing pressurized CO₂ deep underground, though ongoing studies are assessing these risks.

“Aside from the expense and the energy intensity, CCS provides an excuse to carry on burning fossil fuels, which is what caused the climate crisis in the first place,” said Professor Erwin Reisner, who led the research. “CCS is also a non-circular process, since the pressurized CO₂ is, at best, stored underground indefinitely, where it’s of no use to anyone.”

Turning a Harmful Gas into Useful Chemicals

“What if instead of pumping the carbon dioxide underground, we made something useful from it?” said first author Dr Sayan Kar from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry. “CO₂ is a harmful greenhouse gas, but it can also be turned into useful chemicals without contributing to global warming.”

The focus of Reisner’s research group is the development of devices that convert waste, water, and air into practical fuels and chemicals. These devices take their inspiration from photosynthesis: the process by which plants convert sunlight into food. The devices don’t use any outside power: no cables, no batteries – all they need is the power of the sun.

From Air to Syngas: The Key Breakthrough

The team’s newest system takes CO₂ directly from the air and converts it into syngas: a key intermediate in the production of many chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The researchers say their approach, which does not require any transportation or storage, is much easier to scale up than earlier solar-powered devices.

The device, a solar-powered flow reactor, uses specialized filters to grab CO₂ from the air at night, like how a sponge soaks up water. When the sun comes out, the sunlight heats up the captured CO₂, absorbing infrared radiation and a semiconductor powder absorbs the ultraviolet radiation to start a chemical reaction that converts the captured CO₂ into solar syngas. A mirror on the reactor concentrates the sunlight, making the process more efficient.

Towards Liquid Fuels and Scaled-Up Solutions

The researchers are currently working on converting solar syngas into liquid fuels, which could be used to power cars, planes, and more – without adding more CO₂ to the atmosphere.

“If we made these devices at scale, they could solve two problems at once: removing CO₂ from the atmosphere and creating a clean alternative to fossil fuels,” said Kar. “CO₂ is seen as a harmful waste product, but it is also an opportunity.”

A Future Without Fossil Fuels?

The researchers say that a particularly promising opportunity is in the chemical and pharmaceutical sector, where syngas can be converted into many of the products we rely on every day, without contributing to climate change. They are building a larger scale version of the reactor and hope to begin tests in the spring.

If scaled up, the researchers say their reactor could be used in a decentralized way, so that individuals could theoretically generate their own fuel, which would be useful in remote or off-grid locations.

“Instead of continuing to dig up and burn fossil fuels to produce the products we have come to rely on, we can get all the CO₂ we need directly from the air and reuse it,” said Reisner. “We can build a circular, sustainable economy – if we have the political will to do it.”

Reference: “Direct air capture of CO₂ for solar fuel production in flow” by Sayan Kar, Dongseok Kim, Ariffin Bin Mohamad Annuar, Bidyut Bikash Sarma, Michael Stanton, Erwin Lam, Subhajit Bhattacharjee, Suvendu Karak, Heather F. Greer and Erwin Reisner, 13 February 2025, Nature Energy.
DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01714-y

The technology is being commercialized with the support of Cambridge Enterprise, the University’s commercialization arm. The research was supported in part by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the European Research Council, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Cambridge Trust. Erwin Reisner is a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge.

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THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) REPORTS THAT ABOUT ONE IN TEN AMERICANS HAVE DIABETES AND MORE THAN 90% HAVE TYPE 2

Austin Tang — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 15:36:25 +0000

Listen to “THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) REPORTS THAT ABOUT ONE IN TEN AMERICANS…” on Spreaker.
THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) REPORTS THAT ABOUT ONE IN TEN AMERICANS HAVE DIABETES AND MORE THAN 90% HAVE TYPE 2. FOR THOSE AMERICANS, FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE WHILE ENJOYING THEIR FAVORITE FOODS CAN BE A CHALLENGE.

THANKS TO A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ABBOTT AND WEIGHTWATCHERS, THERE’S A NEW CONNECTED APP THAT HELPS PEOPLE LIVING WITH DIABETES MAKE HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE CHOICES WHEN IT COMES TO NUTRITION AND MOVEMENT. THROUGH THE WW APP, PEOPLE LIVING WITH DIABETES WHO WEAR A FREESTYLE LIBRE 2 CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITOR WILL BE ABLE TO TRACK AND SEE HOW FOOD AND ACTIVITY IMPACT THEIR GLUCOSE LEVELS WHILE RECEIVING GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT WITH THE WEIGHTWATCHERS DIABETES-TAILORED PLAN.

ww.com/diabetesconnection

JOINING US TODAY TO SHARE MORE IS DR. MICHELLE CARDEL, HEAD OF WEIGHTWATCHER’S CLINICAL RESEARCH AND NUTRITION.

What she does at WW

Michelle is an obesity and nutrition scientist and registered dietitian with a focus on the development and implementation of evidence-based healthy lifestyle strategies for adults and children, particularly those from medically-underserved backgrounds. At WeightWatchers®, Michelle oversees the company’s academic research partnerships and clinical trials, nutrition portfolio, and science communication. In collaboration with fellow scientists and teams across the organization, she plans and executes research studies, then implements and disseminates the findings for WeightWatchers members, the scientific community, and the greater community at large. She also leads the company’s nutrition point of view using the latest in nutritional science, and works across the organization to translate the evidence in member content, programs, and beyond.

Her background

Before joining the WW Science team in 2021, Michelle was an assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine. She was also the founder and director of the University of Florida Obesity Research Alliance, and an associate director for the Center for Integrative Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases. She holds a PhD in nutrition sciences and a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Florida State University. She also holds specialized training in motivational interviewing, acceptance and commitment therapy, implementation science, and is a dedicated advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Throughout her career, Michelle has authored over 70 scientific publications and received numerous honors including the Excellence in Emerging Outcomes Research award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Superior Accomplishment Award for Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of Florida Health Sciences Center, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Outstanding Woman Award and Outstanding Young Alumni Award. She was also awarded Fellow Status for The Obesity Society, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field of obesity. Michelle is a skilled proponent of science communication and has conducted dozens of media interviews, including a recurring segment on nutrition for Channel 9 News in Denver. She’s also highly active on social media in efforts to translate scientific findings to the public.

What brought her to WW

Michelle has focused her career on the etiology, prevention, and treatment of obesity among diverse populations. She is committed to meeting people where they are and using science-backed practices to help them become their healthiest selves. When given the opportunity to join the WW team, she jumped at the chance to channel this passion into real-world application for 4+ million WW members across the globe.

Most exciting part of the job

According to Michelle, it is all about impact. She loves utilizing her science background and collaborating with others to improve the health and wellness of WW members.

Get to know Michelle:

In her free time: Michelle, her husband, and their two young children spend as much time as they can outside. Whether camping, hiking, swimming, skiing, or jumping off a rope swing, they find joy together as a family in the great outdoors.
You might be surprised to learn: Michelle is terrified of heights. In an attempt to overcome that fear, she has bungee-jumped at the highest jump in the world (South Africa) and gone skydiving. That said, she still gets nauseous when looking over a third-story balcony.
The wellness advice she gives her friends: Find what works for you and aligns with your value system. “Nourishing and moving our bodies, doing things that bring joy, and prioritizing sleep and mental health are all ways that we can become the healthiest version of ourselves,” she adds.

#ww #weightwatchers #diabeties #diabetiesconnection #michellecardel #glucose #cdc #centerdiseasecontrol

The post THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) REPORTS THAT ABOUT ONE IN TEN AMERICANS HAVE DIABETES AND MORE THAN 90% HAVE TYPE 2 appeared first on Good News!.

Thought for the Day…02/24/22

Austin Tang — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 14:12:22 +0000

We’re just 50 days into 2022, and already…

Nuclear fusion saw another major breakthrough… a ‘huge step’ in the quest for clean energy.

A woman was cured of HIV through a breakthrough stem cell treatment.

MIT engineers created an ‘impossible’ new material… stronger than steel but as light as plastic.

An international team of scientists used supercomputers to unlock a ‘giant leap’ in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

A new ‘game-changing’ carbon capture technology could deliver a step change in our ability to remove dioxide from the air.

Researchers set a new Guinness World Record for fastest-ever DNA sequencing technique… using it to sequence a human genome in just 5 hours and 2 minutes.

A new breakthrough in spinal cord implant ‘could potentially allow paralysed people to walk again’.

A ground-breaking new technology regrew a frog’s lost leg… and it might work on humans too.

Surgeons completed the first-ever heart transplant with a genetically-modified animal heart… saving the life of a 57-year-old and taking a big step towards helping solve the global donor organ shortage.

Biodegradable surgical tape has been invented… making some intestinal fixes as easy as ‘duct tape around leaky pipes’.

James Webb, the awe-inspiring $10 billion space telescope 25 years in the making, took its first images… a huge scientific milestone.

An autonomous drone carrying a defibrillator saved the life of a 71-year-old having a heart attack… a first in medical history.

Researchers in Sweden found a promising way to use solar power to convert carbon dioxide into fuel… using ultra-fast laser spectroscopy.

Just a few of many incredible achievements in the first 50 days of the year.

The world is far from perfect, but we shouldn’t forget that about 90% of all scientists that ever lived are alive today. Never before have we had so many people whose sole purpose of work is to better understand how the world works.

2022 is shaping up to be a remarkable year in science and technology.

#nuclear #fusion #breakthrough #clean #energy #hiv #cure #stem #cell #mit #antibiotic #resistance #scientist #sweden #fuel #technology #dna #humans #science #organ

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Women diagnosed with a certain type of breast cancer face a vastly different outlook than others with the disease.

Austin Tang — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 17:03:17 +0000

Listen to “Women diagnosed with a certain type of breast cancer face a vastly different outlook than others with the disease.” on Spreaker.

While the five-year survival rate for breast cancer has reached 90-percent in recent years, for women with metastatic breast cancer — where the cancer has spread to other parts of the body — that rate is only 28-percent. And when COVID-19 caused delays in routine mammograms, doctors saw a jump in these advanced cases. Here now to talk about the latest developments and why breast cancer awareness needs to happen year-round, is Dr. Ramaswamy (RAH-muh-swah-mee) from The Ohio State University Medical Center.

http://instagram.com/EveryDayforMBC

What should people be aware of in terms of breast cancer screening and COVID-19?

Can you tell us about your experience treating people diagnosed with MBC? What are the biggest unmet needs and how is the treatment landscape changing?

What are some of the major challenges in MBC today?

Why is it so important for women to not delay routine mammogram screenings?

Where can the MBC community go for more information and support?

BIO-Dr. Bhuvana Ramaswamy is a breast cancer oncologist, physician-scientist at the James. She leads the breast medical oncology section and is also the Chair of the Clinical Scientific Review Committee for the James. Her research interests are in drug-resistance and racial disparities in cancer outcomes. Her lab focuses on finding the molecular link between breastfeeding and risk of breast cancer. She was named as one the “top 27 breast medical oncologists” in the nation by Forbes in 2017 and recently received the Mazzaferri-Ellison Society of Master Clinicians Award.

http://instagram.com/EveryDayforMBC

Interview is Courtesy: Seagen

#breast #cancer #disease #metastatic #covid #mammograms #doctors #ramaswarmy #treating #diagnosed #mbc #treatment #screening #community #support #bhuvana #oncologist #drug #scientist #seagen

The post Women diagnosed with a certain type of breast cancer face a vastly different outlook than others with the disease. appeared first on Good News!.

Thought For The Day

Austin Tang — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 14:15:08 +0000

AN AWESOME MESSAGE I CAME ACROSS

URGENTLY NEEDED…
Not BLOOD
But,
An ELECTRICIAN,
to restore the joyful current
between people,
who do not speak
to each other anymore…

An OPTICIAN,
to change the
outlook of people…

An ARTIST,
to draw a smile
on everyone’s face…

A CONSTRUCTION WORKER,
to build a bridge
between neighbors…

A GARDENER,
to cultivate good thoughts…

A PLUMBER,
to clear the
choked and blocked mindsets…

A SCIENTIST
to rediscover compassion…

A LANGUAGE TEACHER
for better communication
with each other…

And Last but not least,
A MATHS TEACHER,
for all of us to relearn how to count on each other…

Spread lots of love, positivity and smiles today. Tomorrow might be too late

Have a wonderful day
??

The post Thought For The Day appeared first on Good News!.

A neo-renaissance, leading-edge consciousness scientist and conceptual designer –Dr. Elliott Maynard, and his book Transforming the Global Biosphere.

Austin Tang — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 17:32:40 +0000

Listen to “What does peace mean to Elliott Maynard?” on Spreaker.

Listen to “A neo-renaissance, leading-edge consciousness scientist and conceptual designer –Dr. Elliott Maynard, and his book Transforming the Global” on Spreaker.

Dr. Elliott Maynard is a neo-renaissance, leading-edge consciousness scientist and conceptual designer who walks his talk, lives his dream and is driven to share this information with the world. His background spans the fields of Global Ecology, Coral Reef Ecology, Oceanography and Tropical Rainforest Biology. He earned a Ph.D. in Consciousness Research, and has served on the faculties of Adelphi University and Dowling College in New York.
He is a Certified Professional Consultant to Management (CPCM) and has been active in the corporate world as Founder, President and Technology Director for several corporations. He has been active in the Aerospace Technology Working Group (ATWG), the Humanitad International Leadership Foundation, the U.S.Psychotronics Association and the World Future Society. Elliott also serves on the editorial board for the Kepler Institute for Space Philosophy. In addition to his work as a world futurist, lecturer, author, educator and global ecologist, Elliott is an accomplished artist, sculptor, musician, underwater photographer and documentary filmmaker.Because of his unique abilities to bring future concepts into the present and integrate them into the existing social structure, he is often referred to by some of his colleagues as “The Human From the Future.”
WWW.ARCOSCIELOS.COM

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Your Pot Habit Is Contributing to a Guacamole Crisis

admin — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 21:45:08 +0000

As California faces severe water shortages and farmers let their groves go fallow, a study finds that marijuana growers are sucking streams dry.
News on Wednesday that California’s snowpack has hit a record low of just 6 percent of normal means next-to-no spring runoff will flow into streams and reservoirs that supply water to the cities and farmers who feed much of the nation.
But before you light up a (legal) marijuana cigarette to take your mind off impending doom, consider this: With every puff you take, you could be making the epic drought even worse.
A new study finds that pot growers in the Northern California weed belt are diverting 100 percent of the water in some streams to irrigate their cash crops.
“Last summer, we went out and picked a handful of streams in the study area, and we looked at real-time stream flow,” said Scott Bauer, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Four out of those five streams went dry.”
A Humboldt County, California, pot farm.
That means no water for endangered salmon and other wildlife, not to mention people. Some avocado growers, for instance, are letting their groves go dry because of water shortages and the high price of irrigation. In other words, kiss your guacamole goodbye.
Agency scientists focused on illegal pot operations in Humboldt County, the epicenter of California’s marijuana industry. Greenhouses dot the hillsides, and the pot plants inside are thirsty: Each uses about six gallons of water per day, compared with the 3.3 gallons wine grapes consume.
Wildlife officials started receiving calls about stream diversion in 2009, said Bauer, who is based in the Humboldt town of Eureka. “A number of us started going out with game wardens called out to grow sites and our focus was to document the environmental damage,” he said.
The scientists noticed significant problems—stream diversion, hillsides graded to make level growing fields, and dirt being dumped into waterways.
“We started to realize this was a real problem,” said Bauer.
In 2012, as the drought began to take hold, the researchers used Google Earth to count all the plants and figure out how many are in greenhouses, and to compare the number of plants with stream flow data.
They chose four areas, all surrounded by forests, and all with streams containing endangered salmon. The scientists estimated that the growing operations were using between 138,200 and 191,265 gallons of water a day. People in Northern California, for comparison, use an average 172 gallons of water per day per person.
Marijuana growers were taking 100 percent from three of the streams studied and 25 percent of a fourth stream.
Those streams aren’t just picturesque—they’re critical to the survival of the coho and Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.
Will there be a movement for sustainably grown pot?
“I think if people understand what’s going on, hopefully they’ll asking questions about how green is their product,” Bauer said. “If they’re concerned about our state’s natural resources, they should be asking those questions. Is this something that isn’t harming California’s resources?”

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