sida.org.sg

• …purify your drinking water with a stick of charcoal…
• …Japanese have been doing it for centuries…
• Binchotan—a carbon made from tree branches—is renowned for its ability to soften water and absorb impurities, including chlorine.
• The manufacturer recommends refreshing the charcoal after three months by boiling it for 10 minutes

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204652904577195082476753016.html?KEYWORDS=binchotan

Article taken from Today (http://www.todayonline.com) on 16 Jan 2012

• IBM, the world’s biggest computer-services provider, gained 6,180 patents last year
• Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) was second, its growth outpacing IBM, and Canon Inc. replaced Microsoft as third.Panasonic Corp. (6752) moved up to No. 4 and Toshiba Corp. (6502)advanced to fifth spot.
• Samsung, based in Suwon, South Korea, gained 4,894 patents last year, while Canon won 2,821. Microsoft dropped to sixth place in the rankings, while Intel fell to 16th from eighth.
• There were eight Asian and two U.S. companies in the top 10.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/ibm-wins-most-patents-for-19th-straight-year-beating-samsung.html

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_748702.html

• Researchers and students have come up with a stackable fish farm that is among the first such in the world.
• The method uses 1 sq m, connected cubes filled with water to rear fish on land….
• The cubes can be stacked up to four levels….
• ….now produces up to eight tonnes of fish a year, but this can be ramped up to 36 tonnes…..

• A 3D printer is being used to create “bone-like” material which researchers claim can be used to repair injuries.
• The researchers say doctors should be able to use the process to custom-order replacement bone tissue in a few years time.
• Their breakthrough came when they discovered a way to double the strength of the main ceramic powder – calcium phosphate – by adding silica and zinc oxide.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15963467

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/ANN/Story/STIStory_736021.html

http://www.biomalaysia.com.my/2011/

Discover 2 new Expos!

Photo Exposition – euREKA 48 researchers under the microscope

Research in Brussels will be present through the photo exhibition ‘Eureka, 48 researchers under the microscope’: 40 specialists who are active in all kinds of research domains, a mix of qualification degrees, from lab assistant, Egyptologist, to paediatrician and economist (no, no, research doesn’t exclusively take place in sterile laboratories!).

At last: sophisticated, pure, funny at times but ever monochrome portraits that reveal photographer Denia Zerouali’s mastery of the portrait.

http://www.brussels-innova.com/expo-60th.aspx