New biofuel cell 'could be key' to latest medical implants
17th September 2010
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Researchers in France believe fuel cells could form a crucial component of the next generation of medical implants.
A new product known as a glucose biofuel cell was shown to produce energy by making use of the glucose and oxygen available in bodily fluids.
The new development incorporates a unique arrangement of two graphite discs, each containing special enzymes, which are connected with platinum wires.
Glucose and oxygen enters a dialysis bag covering the device, with the enzymes reacting to generate a current which flows out of the fuel cell through wires encased in tubes.
Study co-author Serge Cosnier, from the Universite Joseph Fourier in Grenoble, explained that the system could be used to treat conditions such as diabetes.
"In the future we are expecting to develop, for instance, implantable biosensors able to monitor the level of glucose to control the insulin pump," he said.
"The injection of insulin will be more efficient if the glucose level is detected continuously."
According to the study, a larger version of the biofuel cell could easily operate a pacemaker, while also being much smaller than the batteries currently used in them.
Mr Cosnier also noted that it could help to operate artificial organs and aid Parkinson's and Alzheimer's sufferers by controlling chemicals in the brain such as dopamine, adrenaline and glutamate.
Meanwhile, Dr Rafael Yuste, from the University of Columbia, claimed this week that ruthenium-based caged compounds could "greatly advance" research in various fields of biology.
Source:
Implanted Fuel Cell Powered by Rat's Body Fluids (15/09/10)
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Platinum Today News
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Platinum Today News
by Ardent Listener » Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:10 am
All posts by the person known here as Ardent Listener are for your edification and amusement only and are not intended to provide investment, medical, legal, tax advice or any other advice or counsel and nothing posted here should be considered to be so.
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Ardent Listener - Founding Member
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Re: Platinum Today News
by Ardent Listener » Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:12 am
China's auto sales growth continues as US demand flounders 21st September 2010
China's passenger car sales to dealerships rose again in August as the world's largest auto market continued to experience high demand.
Figures published by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers suggested that wholesale deliveries rose by 18.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 1.02 million units.
The increase can largely be attributed to greater discounts at showrooms as dealers attempted to clear inventories and attract consumers after sales growth began to slow in April.
Furthermore, the government announced halfway through the month that it was expanding the number of vehicles eligible for its fuel-efficient model buyer subsidies.
Overall vehicle sales increased by 16.1 per cent to 1.3 million, backing up the body's recent decision to boost its full-year forecast from 15 million to 16 million.
The China Automotive Technology and Research Center also suggested that retail deliveries of cars, sport utility and multi-purpose vehicles surged by 59 per cent to 977,320.
Ford, which is one of the Detroit-based 'Big Three' automakers, revealed that its sales in China totalled 44,047 units, representing a rise of 24 per cent from August 2009.
The company is looking to expand throughout Asia and has suggested that 70 per cent of its growth in the next decade could be thanks to higher sales in the continent.
Meanwhile, in the US, which is the world's second-largest auto market, a seasonally-adjusted annual sales rate of 11.5 million vehicles was recorded.
This represents a rise from the 11.3 million total for the second quarter but is still substantially lower than in August 2009, when the 14 million barrier was broken.
This decline can be explained by the end of the country's 'Cash for Clunkers' scrappage incentive scheme, which brought about a short-term sales boom.
However, it has been described as the worst August performance for 28 years, with General Motors (GM) reporting a fall of 25 per cent to 185,176 units.
Toyota, the world's largest automaker, saw sales of its Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands drop by 34 per cent, while Ford sold 157,503 vehicles for its three main brands, a decrease of 11 per cent from the same period 12 months earlier.
"Consumers are being very cautious about where they spend their money. On big-ticket items, they're undertaking those very carefully," Emily Kolinski Morris, a senior economist at Ford, told Bloomberg.
The one positive note in the US sales data was the performance of Chrysler, which saw a rise of seven per cent to 99,611 vehicles - its fifth straight month of year-on-year improvements.
In India, passenger car sales again reached record levels in August, boosted by economic growth and new models released by automakers such as Nissan and Volkswagen.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers revealed that overall domestic sales increased by 33 per cent to 160,794 units, while passenger vehicle sales were up 34 per cent to 204,227.
Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest automaker, posted a 24 per cent sales gain, with Tata Motors seeing a 32 per cent rise, and Mahindra and Mahindra clocking a 29 per cent leap.
According to Bloomberg, India, which is one of the rapidly emerging auto markets, has now experienced 19 consecutive months of year-on-year sales growth.
"The second half of the year is a better period for the auto sales due to the festive season," Vaishali Jajoo, Senior Auto Analyst at Angel Broking, told Reuters.
"Looking at the festive seasons coming in, dealers start stocking up. We can see that in the next month as well. The economy has also picked up and normal monsoon will also have a positive impact on rural sales."
Moving to Japan, car sales were found to have improved by 46.7 per cent from a year earlier to 290,789 units, representing the 13th straight monthly increase.
Toyota, Honda and Nissan all enjoyed strong months in their domestic market, posting rises of 43.3 per cent, 61.3 per cent and 44.6 per cent respectively.
Elsewhere, Germany's motor vehicle department, KBA, revealed that new registrations in Europe's largest auto market reached 20,885 units in August.
This represents a decline of 27 per cent from the same month in 2009, when consumers were taking advantage of the last funds available in the popular scrappage scheme.
But even without this distortion, registrations in the eight months to August were down 9.6 per cent to 1.9 million in comparison to the equivalent period in 2008.
However, the export picture was far more positive in the country, with German automakers reporting a 12 per cent rise to 252,200 units, according to the VDA group.
"German automakers drove out of the valley of the crisis faster than many expected," said VDA President Matthias Wissmann.
"Our robust position in global markets has proven once again to be a strategic advantage."
In the UK, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed that 55,305 new cars were registered, representing a decline of 17.5 per cent from August 2009.
The fall was widely expected among auto industry officials as a result of the end of the country's scrappage scheme and the ongoing fragility of the economic recovery.
But despite admitting the challenges ahead, the SMMT claimed that more than two million new cars will be sold in the UK this year, which would be 1.2 per cent higher than the total for the previous 12 months.
"The industry enjoyed a better-than-expected first half of the year and, despite the difficulties, SMMT is forecasting that new car registrations will close just ahead of 2009 figures," said Chief Executive Paul Everitt.
There was a similar picture elsewhere in Europe, with France, Italy and Spain all suffering sales drops as their scrappage schemes were either phased out or concluded.
In France, registrations were down by 9.8 per cent from a year earlier, with the figure falling to 14 per cent when the effect of an extra working day in August was mitigated.
Spain witnessed its lowest monthly sales volume for more than 20 years, with registrations slumping 24 per cent to just 44,578 vehicles.
And in Italy, car sales declined by 19.3 per cent to 68,718 units - the fifth consecutive decrease and also the fewest number of cars purchased in a month for 17 years.
"The Italian market is in a coma," automotive thinktank Centro Studi Promotor told the Wall Street Journal.
"Since the political situation would rule out, at least for the time being, a new round of car sales incentives, the outlook for 2010 is strongly negative."
And finally, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa confirmed that new vehicle sales in the country rose by 36.9 per cent in August to 46,377 units.
Dean Stoneley, Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service at Ford's South African division, said he expects the upward trend to continue in the remainder of the year.
"The impending CO2 emissions tax levied by government from September appears to have had at least one positive result," he told Engineering News.
"South African consumers have bought more new cars during August than any other month in the past two years."
Sources:
U.S.A.: Analysts see August auto sales down from 2009 (27/08/10)
Toyota, Honda Lead Increasein Japan's Car Sales on Government Subsidies (01/09/10)
Maruti Suzuki India August Vehicle Sales Rise to Record on Economic Growth (01/09/10)
Asia automakers post robust Aug sales (01/09/10)
Passenger Car Sales in China Increase 59.3% Last Month to 977,300 Units (01/09/10)
U.S., Europe auto sales tumble as subsidies fade (01/09/10)
Car Sales Drop in France, Italy, Spain (01/09/10)
U.S.A.: GM, Ford Sales Slump as 'Nervous' Buyers Stay Away (01/09/10)
Indian auto cos see 20-30 pct rise in Aug sales (01/09/10)
Domestic sales rise for Asian carmakers (01/09/10)
German car sales dive on scrappage anniversary (02/09/10)
German car exports up 12 percent in August (02/09/10)
German Car Sales Slow (02/09/10)
Ford's China, India Sales Rise 37% in August as Automaker Expands in Asia (02/09/10)
South Africa: Carbon tax sees August sales jump, Naamsa warns of job losses due to strikes (02/09/10)
UK car sales suffer sharp decline (06/09/10)
Car Sales in India Rise 33% to Record on Nissan, Volkswagen's New Models (09/09/10)
China's August Passenger-Car Sales Growth Accelerates (09/09/10)
© Adfero Ltd
http://www.platinum.matthey.com/media-r ... 74400.html
China's passenger car sales to dealerships rose again in August as the world's largest auto market continued to experience high demand.
Figures published by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers suggested that wholesale deliveries rose by 18.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 1.02 million units.
The increase can largely be attributed to greater discounts at showrooms as dealers attempted to clear inventories and attract consumers after sales growth began to slow in April.
Furthermore, the government announced halfway through the month that it was expanding the number of vehicles eligible for its fuel-efficient model buyer subsidies.
Overall vehicle sales increased by 16.1 per cent to 1.3 million, backing up the body's recent decision to boost its full-year forecast from 15 million to 16 million.
The China Automotive Technology and Research Center also suggested that retail deliveries of cars, sport utility and multi-purpose vehicles surged by 59 per cent to 977,320.
Ford, which is one of the Detroit-based 'Big Three' automakers, revealed that its sales in China totalled 44,047 units, representing a rise of 24 per cent from August 2009.
The company is looking to expand throughout Asia and has suggested that 70 per cent of its growth in the next decade could be thanks to higher sales in the continent.
Meanwhile, in the US, which is the world's second-largest auto market, a seasonally-adjusted annual sales rate of 11.5 million vehicles was recorded.
This represents a rise from the 11.3 million total for the second quarter but is still substantially lower than in August 2009, when the 14 million barrier was broken.
This decline can be explained by the end of the country's 'Cash for Clunkers' scrappage incentive scheme, which brought about a short-term sales boom.
However, it has been described as the worst August performance for 28 years, with General Motors (GM) reporting a fall of 25 per cent to 185,176 units.
Toyota, the world's largest automaker, saw sales of its Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands drop by 34 per cent, while Ford sold 157,503 vehicles for its three main brands, a decrease of 11 per cent from the same period 12 months earlier.
"Consumers are being very cautious about where they spend their money. On big-ticket items, they're undertaking those very carefully," Emily Kolinski Morris, a senior economist at Ford, told Bloomberg.
The one positive note in the US sales data was the performance of Chrysler, which saw a rise of seven per cent to 99,611 vehicles - its fifth straight month of year-on-year improvements.
In India, passenger car sales again reached record levels in August, boosted by economic growth and new models released by automakers such as Nissan and Volkswagen.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers revealed that overall domestic sales increased by 33 per cent to 160,794 units, while passenger vehicle sales were up 34 per cent to 204,227.
Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest automaker, posted a 24 per cent sales gain, with Tata Motors seeing a 32 per cent rise, and Mahindra and Mahindra clocking a 29 per cent leap.
According to Bloomberg, India, which is one of the rapidly emerging auto markets, has now experienced 19 consecutive months of year-on-year sales growth.
"The second half of the year is a better period for the auto sales due to the festive season," Vaishali Jajoo, Senior Auto Analyst at Angel Broking, told Reuters.
"Looking at the festive seasons coming in, dealers start stocking up. We can see that in the next month as well. The economy has also picked up and normal monsoon will also have a positive impact on rural sales."
Moving to Japan, car sales were found to have improved by 46.7 per cent from a year earlier to 290,789 units, representing the 13th straight monthly increase.
Toyota, Honda and Nissan all enjoyed strong months in their domestic market, posting rises of 43.3 per cent, 61.3 per cent and 44.6 per cent respectively.
Elsewhere, Germany's motor vehicle department, KBA, revealed that new registrations in Europe's largest auto market reached 20,885 units in August.
This represents a decline of 27 per cent from the same month in 2009, when consumers were taking advantage of the last funds available in the popular scrappage scheme.
But even without this distortion, registrations in the eight months to August were down 9.6 per cent to 1.9 million in comparison to the equivalent period in 2008.
However, the export picture was far more positive in the country, with German automakers reporting a 12 per cent rise to 252,200 units, according to the VDA group.
"German automakers drove out of the valley of the crisis faster than many expected," said VDA President Matthias Wissmann.
"Our robust position in global markets has proven once again to be a strategic advantage."
In the UK, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed that 55,305 new cars were registered, representing a decline of 17.5 per cent from August 2009.
The fall was widely expected among auto industry officials as a result of the end of the country's scrappage scheme and the ongoing fragility of the economic recovery.
But despite admitting the challenges ahead, the SMMT claimed that more than two million new cars will be sold in the UK this year, which would be 1.2 per cent higher than the total for the previous 12 months.
"The industry enjoyed a better-than-expected first half of the year and, despite the difficulties, SMMT is forecasting that new car registrations will close just ahead of 2009 figures," said Chief Executive Paul Everitt.
There was a similar picture elsewhere in Europe, with France, Italy and Spain all suffering sales drops as their scrappage schemes were either phased out or concluded.
In France, registrations were down by 9.8 per cent from a year earlier, with the figure falling to 14 per cent when the effect of an extra working day in August was mitigated.
Spain witnessed its lowest monthly sales volume for more than 20 years, with registrations slumping 24 per cent to just 44,578 vehicles.
And in Italy, car sales declined by 19.3 per cent to 68,718 units - the fifth consecutive decrease and also the fewest number of cars purchased in a month for 17 years.
"The Italian market is in a coma," automotive thinktank Centro Studi Promotor told the Wall Street Journal.
"Since the political situation would rule out, at least for the time being, a new round of car sales incentives, the outlook for 2010 is strongly negative."
And finally, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa confirmed that new vehicle sales in the country rose by 36.9 per cent in August to 46,377 units.
Dean Stoneley, Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service at Ford's South African division, said he expects the upward trend to continue in the remainder of the year.
"The impending CO2 emissions tax levied by government from September appears to have had at least one positive result," he told Engineering News.
"South African consumers have bought more new cars during August than any other month in the past two years."
Sources:
U.S.A.: Analysts see August auto sales down from 2009 (27/08/10)
Toyota, Honda Lead Increasein Japan's Car Sales on Government Subsidies (01/09/10)
Maruti Suzuki India August Vehicle Sales Rise to Record on Economic Growth (01/09/10)
Asia automakers post robust Aug sales (01/09/10)
Passenger Car Sales in China Increase 59.3% Last Month to 977,300 Units (01/09/10)
U.S., Europe auto sales tumble as subsidies fade (01/09/10)
Car Sales Drop in France, Italy, Spain (01/09/10)
U.S.A.: GM, Ford Sales Slump as 'Nervous' Buyers Stay Away (01/09/10)
Indian auto cos see 20-30 pct rise in Aug sales (01/09/10)
Domestic sales rise for Asian carmakers (01/09/10)
German car sales dive on scrappage anniversary (02/09/10)
German car exports up 12 percent in August (02/09/10)
German Car Sales Slow (02/09/10)
Ford's China, India Sales Rise 37% in August as Automaker Expands in Asia (02/09/10)
South Africa: Carbon tax sees August sales jump, Naamsa warns of job losses due to strikes (02/09/10)
UK car sales suffer sharp decline (06/09/10)
Car Sales in India Rise 33% to Record on Nissan, Volkswagen's New Models (09/09/10)
China's August Passenger-Car Sales Growth Accelerates (09/09/10)
© Adfero Ltd
http://www.platinum.matthey.com/media-r ... 74400.html
All posts by the person known here as Ardent Listener are for your edification and amusement only and are not intended to provide investment, medical, legal, tax advice or any other advice or counsel and nothing posted here should be considered to be so.
-
Ardent Listener - Founding Member
- Posts: 4983
- Joined: Tue May 02, 2006 10:00 am
2 posts
• Page 1 of 1
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