Carrot, Turnip, Parsnip, the Nano-Dream of Economist & Bikers Alike

Fly fishing rods of the new biocomposite, curran - Scots Gaelic for carrot, are now available. Curran is made of resin mixed with nano-sized carrot fibres. The patent for it is here. CelluComp, Ltd. is the manufacturer. Curran exhibits faster damping and has a lower density, than carbon fibre, plus it's moldable.

Meanwhile, over on A Canadian Econoview, an economist's imagination runs wild over the possibilities of getting around in vehicles made of carrots and turnip, and the then potential need for a central carrot governing body and strategic carrot reserve. :) And on the UK site, Bike Biz, they are excited by the potential end of what they're calling a "carbon fibre famine", due to biocomposites made from assorted root vegetables which cellulose fibre could be made of to mix with the resin to form the curran nano-bio-composite. They have added parsnips to the other two veggies. I'd like to add the humble rutabaga to the potential list.

OTOH, this might be bad for world food prices of these comestibles. Look at what's happened to vanilla once the whole aromatherapy-based body product thing took off. The price has gone way up because the demand is so high.

Tea vs. Cortisol, Tarantula Travel + Nano WC's

This week's show features remastered rebroadcasts of 3 of the last year's reports:

You can click the link at the side to listen live! ----------}

Some species of spider have been found to have silk spinning organs not just in the regular place - on their bellies, but also on their feet. Researchers say this may change what is known about spider evolution. Plus, a British study into the relaxing effects of black tea and how it reduces and ameliorates levels and effects of the stress hormone cortisol. And a bathroom that cleans itself is now possible thanks to Aussie experimenets with nano-particulate coatings for surfaces, that are self-cleaning and that kill e.coli. Good news for hospitals and other places.

Curran, Material of the Future?

Two UK scientists specializing in biocomposite materials have invented a hi-tech material made partly of carrots. They call it Curran ('curran' means carrot, in Scots Gaelic) & they say it is versatile and could be used to make everything from car parts, to fishing rods to warships to engineering components.

David Hepworth and Eric Whale met while attending the University of Reading, where they both got their doctorates. They formed their company, CelluComp, in 2004.

They say that Curran could be a bio-friendly alternative to glass and carbon fibre. Currantly :) there is a global shortage of carbon fibre.

The novel material is made by extracting nano-fibres from carrots which are them mixed with hi-tech resins. This gives a substance which can be moulded into various shapes & sizes, from the stiff to loose, and with variable lightness.

The first product from CelluComp made of carrot-plus-resin material is the Just Cast fishing rod.

They won a SMART award, a Scottish entrepreneurship prize and are based in Burntisland, Fife.

Nanomaterials + Your DNA, etc.

(Ottawa) This week's show features a piece on the brewing 'Copyfight': the music industry vs. listeners and artists and how it may change how much you pay to hear music on your IPod or cell phone.

And research shows how one kind of tiny carbon molecules, nanoparticles known as buckminsterfullerine (a.k.a. 'buckyballs') can get stuck in your DNA and cause it to fall apart. Oh, but we wish we were kidding.

Plus, the UN is after developed nations to get on board the climate change protocol train. You think Kyoto's targets are high? Wait till you hear what the UN's climate change expert wants to set things at. Carbon credits and more.

All on this week's show, featuring music by Alberta band "Ground", track 10 from their 2003 album.

I don't know who the Carbon Credit Review thinks they are but they're ganking posts from all manner of media outlets and labelling them as "original posts by Carbon Credit Review" - >even this very post! as well as such luminaries as the Australian Broadcast Network, and God only knows what other mainstream media giants. This reporter for CKCU-FM is waitin' for da US or UK or Aussie lawsuit! They gotta rewrite that copy - I'm pretty sure it's actionable in the US anyway. They have their comments section disabled, too. Nasty!