Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
USGS report is no surprise: Cape Cod’s groundwater is vulnerable to rising sea levels
Cape Cod is vulnerable to rising water tables and, in some areas, groundwater inundation as a result of rising sea levels, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study. Groundwater inundation occurs when the water table reaches or exceeds land surface. The...
Weaving fabric from carbon nanotubes can take you to Jupiter
Nanocomp, the Merrimack (formerly Concord) firm that makes carbon nanotubes and turns them into yarn and fabric with interesting properties (strong, light, conducts electricity, absorbs some radio and microwave signals), is enjoying some attention because its fabric...
Twenty years ago it was Riven; yesterday it was Pokemon Go
One of the staples of journalism is the "localizer" - taking a bigger story and telling it through local people. Yesterday I, like about 5,000 other reporters, did a localizer about Pokemon Go, the GPS-based smartphone game that had scores of people wandering the...
UNH: Toxin from algae blooms may be hurting loons
By UNH News Service: A harmful neurotoxin produced by cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae blooms, in New Hampshire’s fresh water lakes, which has been linked to ALS in humans, may be contributing to the decline of the state’s Common Loon population, according to...
‘Stringing messenger clamp and methods of using the same’ and other NH patents
By Targeted News Service Recent patents issued to companies and individuals in New Hampshire include: iFusion Technologies of Georgetown, Texas, has been assigned a patent (9,375,321) developed by three co-inventors for “medical implants with increased...
Floating concrete (?!?) pays off for Maine’s floating offshore windpower project
“Right now, it’s fair to say that the Maine project will be the first floating wind turbine in the United States,” said Walter Musial, manager of the offshore energy program at the federal government’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. That's...
Why did Vermont exempt cheese from GMO-labeling law: Money? Science? Uncertainty?
Vermont's GMO-labeling law, which kicked in July 1, is probably going to be overridden by a less stringent federal law, although that's not certain yet. But as UnDark magazine notes in this fine piece (which, as is semi-obligatory these days, contains several...
Why is Manchester airport (like many, many others) struggling? It’s complicated
This is more business-y than geeky, but on the assumption that we all like to understand hidden complicated mechanisms that make everyday events occur (a working of definition of what makes a geek), may I suggest you read this article from Bloomberg about why regional...
Prices for sunscreen vary by 3,000% (plus, they wash off more than they say they do)
More than one-third of sunscreens commonly purchased on Amazon don’t meet guidelines from the American Academy of Dermatology, researchers have found. (Here's the paper) The most common failings was lack of water or sweat resistance, meaning they wash off more quickly...
GraniteGeek On The Air: The extremist-video-spotting edition
Want to hear me talk about this week's GraniteGeek column with NHPR's Peter Biello? Then this is the place to click. (Poor Peter had to stop and help me pronounce Hany Farid's name correctly. Spelling I can do - pronunciation, not so much.)
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