Author: Ben Debski

British cloaking tool makes tanks disappear

Posted on by Ben Debski

It may sound like a fictitious gimmick best suited to the James Bonds of this world, but a patented system – called Adaptiv – can render vehicles invisible in the infrared spectrum.

Developed by British defence company BAE Systems, the technology uses a matrix of hexagonal pixels with temperature-altering properties. Cameras help to monitor the surroundings and background and then apply the display accurate to that particular scenery on the vehicle. The benefit of the cloaking device can be used for vehicles standing still, but also extends to those on the move. The first vehicle to be made invisible was a Swedish CV90 tank.

Designed to hide tanks from heat-seeking missiles, drones and goggles, engineers at BAE Systems have also conceived a method to provide camouflage in parts of the electromagnetic spectrum other than the infrared mode.

Skyjump record is within reach

Posted on by Ben Debski

World-renowned pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria looks set to beat the world record for the highest skyjump in history after successfully completing a test run from over 13 miles in the air. On his manned test flight for Red Bull, Baumgartner rode inside a pressurised capsule on a 100ft helium weather balloon.

He reached the altitude of 71,500ft before jumping out and reaching speeds of 364mph ∞ freefalling for over three minutes ∞ before pulling his parachute cord and landing safely near Roswell, New Mexico.

The Red Bull Stratos project is aiming to beat the record for the highest free fall held by American Joe Kittinger, who in 1960 jumped from 102,800ft in 1960. Baumgartner is aiming to reach 120,000ft (23 miles) this summer, where he not only expects to break the world record, but also the sound barrier by falling from what is considered the edge of space.

Bank of Montreal leads Canada to recovery

Posted on by Ben Debski

The bank’s profit of $1.1bn for the last quarter was 34 percent higher than that of the same quarter last year. Unusually for the banking world, the corporate services arm of the bank is largely responsible for the bank’s current success.

This ‘throw rug’ division, under which a large number of miscellaneous services such as revenues from securitisation of activities, certain impaired loans and back office operations and technology are classified, doesn’t often get a lot of press coverage. Its sterling profit for the quarter under discussion, however, suddenly has everyone taking a second look at its operations.

Corporate services, with a profit of $223m, accounted for just over 20 percent of the bank’s total profit. This compared favourably with a loss of $110m the same period last year.

An analyst at National Bank Financial, Peter Routledge, said: “there’s a lot of noise going on in these results,” and Brad Smith, an analyst from Stonecap Securities put it even more bluntly: “The results were uninterruptible by anyone other than an accountant who’s got all the information.”

The bank’s CEO, William A. Downe, was more upbeat. He said: “Our focus on customers and investing prudently in the business is serving us well, and this is reflected in both our financial results and the momentum of the bank.”

By excluding ‘unusual’ items, the net income of the corporate services division was only $62m. This can largely be ascribed to the acquisition of lending company Marshall and Ilsley, which helped turn around the previous year’s loss to a profit by adding a net income of $186m to the bank’s coffers.

Structured credit business is another significant component of the corporate services division. This section includes the remnants of a number of ‘special purpose’ investment vehicles that are currently being wound down following the financial crisis. These securitised assets now have to form part of the bank’s balance sheet in terms of new IFRS accounting regulations.

Moving these securitised assets to corporate services boosted the profits of the division by $148 as a result of stronger assets values. While the decision to move these assets away from core services to the corporate services division could be seen as a positive move, it also made it much more apparent that the bank did not do all that well with its core operations once these ‘special investment vehicles’ were removed.

The profits of the domestic retail banking division dropped by 6.7 percent to $446m.
Perhaps CEO Downe was referring to this when he said: “We’re working hard to improve operating leverage and ensure a competitive cost base and direct spending to support our highest priority, our front line employees and every interaction we have with our customers.”

Portugal’s reforms

Posted on by Ben Debski

As a result of the economic crisis and rising unemployment, a growing number of young entrepreneurs are taking their first steps in the production of fruits, vegetables and mainly mushrooms.

The success with which the Portuguese government auctioned off short-term government bonds in mid-February has raised expectations that the country might just be able to avoid being contaminated by the Greek turmoil.

Lisbon was able to raise €3bn by issuing short-term Treasury Bills in February. This was its largest debt auction since the country agreed to an EU rescue package.

Yield on the 3-month, 6-month and 12-month Treasury Bills were lower than at previous auctions and the size of the offer has had to be raised twice to meet strong demand.
The public debt manager at Banco Carregosa, Felipe Silva, said: “the clear tendency is that investors are attributing less risk to Portuguese debt.”

The yields on 10-year bonds issued by the Portuguese government soared to an unprecedented 17 percent two weeks earlier, raising fears that Portugal, like Greece, would be forced to apply for a second EU bailout.

These rates have, however, fallen back since. Many Portuguese economists are not quite convinced that the country would be able to return to the long-term debt market within 18 months as envisaged by the EU and the IMF. The Portuguese economy went through a deep recession in 2011 leading many analysts to give gloomy predictions for the country’s future.

The country’s economy minister, Álvaro Santos Pereira is adamant though that Portugal will not have to renegotiate the terms of its €78bn rescue package. He said: “we are focused on staying the course in terms of fiscal consolidation and economic reforms. We are working to the deadlines that have been agreed.”

In comments that were clearly meant to distance Portugal from what happened in Greece, Pereira said that his country was “driving ahead with economic reforms.” The latest example of a series of structural reforms implemented by the government includes a new competition law which eradicates the country’s largest barriers to competitiveness: a slow-moving justice system, an inflexible labour market and licensing laws that are overly bureaucratic.

The government also plans to amend its industrial licensing law to turn it into one of the most advanced in Europe. In terms of the new law 98 percent of activities would be exempt from licensing. Bankruptcy legislation will also undergo ‘sweeping reforms’ to replace the current system where it often takes years to wind up companies.

Portugal has recently approved major changes to the labour market. In terms of the new legislation, dismissed workers would be paid compensation well below the average in the rest of Europe. With previous legislation dismissed workers were paid three times the European average.

The new law also allows employers to send employees home during slack periods and to demand from them to work additional hours during peak times without getting paid extra. Bank holidays and other days off have also been cut with about 10 days per year without any increase in the remuneration of workers.

NIC to promote better Iraq

Posted on by Ben Debski

The Republic of Iraq’s National Investment Commission (NIC), established in 2006, was set up in order to encourage international investment in the country and to make the process of establishing new business in Iraq as simple as possible. However, while there are plenty of investment opportunities to be found in Iraq, a degree of post-war instability is among the factors that can deter investors. Attracting international investment in Iraq is a top priority for the country, as funds are needed to take on the massive task of rebuilding the country. By 2014, the National Investment Commission hopes to encourage more than $80bn in investment both internally and externally.

The Chairman of Iraq’s NIC, Sami Al-Araji told The Economic Times, “Our message to the world is that we are open for business – there are huge opportunities.” This is one of the key messages that the commission wishes to send to foreign investors and it is true that there are a number of investment opportunities available.

Although the NIC is keen to attract foreign investment into a large number of areas in Iraq’s economy, two of the major opportunities are in oil and housing. Iraq has one of the largest oil reserves, ranking third in the world for the quantity of oil available, and hopes that this will be a key area to attract foreign businesses. Another opportunity lies in housing. The population of Iraq requires millions of new homes and in a country that still retains some instability and uncertainty about its future, housing can offer investors the chance to invest in a project that can yield rewards in a short amount of time.

Recent meetings have led the NIC to be optimistic that Korean company, Hanwha Korean Co. will soon make a significant investment in Iraq’s housing sector.

One of the NIC’s major efforts to gain investment was seen at the 2009 Invest Iraq Conference, held in London, where a range or investment proposals and opportunities were presented to officials from countries around the world.  Since the conference, Iraq has received a significant amount of foreign investment.

One of the greater success stories in 2011 came from US investments, as the amount American business and investment in Iraq quadrupled over the course of the year to reach more than eight billion dollars. American investors and businesses are particularly interested in Iraq’s oil, housing and automotive industries. Despite recent successes, there are still many problems faced by businesses in Iraq, including high security costs and unclear regulation.  However, the commission’s One Stop Shop initiative provides a single contact point to help simplify bureaucracy for investors from around the world.

South Africa extends nuclear power expansion

Posted on by Ben Debski

Part of the South African economic recovery involves increasing the availability of electricity throughout the country so that businesses have the basic component of modern life available to them. As part of the vision, the country has created an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) that was outlined in 2011 with medium- and long-term goals for the expansion of the electric supply in the country.

As a nation with little in the way of hydropower generation possibilities, the IRP outlines the potential for wind and solar generation, some of which has already begun or is under construction. Although deemed a controversial choice for many countries – particularly after the events at Fukushima – nuclear power remains a viable energy option. The South African IRP outlines a plan to bring 9.6 GW of new nuclear capacity online by 2023.

Currently, the country generates five percent of its electricity through two nuclear reactors (Koeberg 1 & 2).  The Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA) serves as the “anchor for nuclear energy research and development and innovation,” according to the country’s finance minister.

A Revised Draft Environmental Impact Assessment was submitted in May last year regarding location possibilities for the new reactors; Thyspunt was the site proposed, but with a few conditions. Among these conditions is recognition that the location is identified as a “Cultural Landscape” and excavation permission is still pending from the South African Heritage Resource Agency. Two cooling water disposal alternatives exist that need to be evaluated and a new transport route has to be built that will accommodate the heavy machinery and loads associated with the site. However, none of the issues raised in the Environmental Impact Assessment appear to be issues that can bring the proposal to a halt.

Since Japan’s Fukushima power plant partial meltdown, concerns have been raised regarding the overall safety of nuclear power. One of the more vocal opponents has been Kyle Thiermann, filmmaker and pro surfer, who has concerns about the “massive amounts of sand” that will be moved into the ocean, which he feels will decimate the squid industry in that location. Another concern voiced by Thiermann is that wave quality may suffer.  Jeffrey’s Bay hosts surfers from around the world, and if the ocean floor changes, so may the waves.

The government has not commented on details about the proposal. Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said recently “no directive has been given on the issue of the nuclear programme.” She also said that the Environmental Impact Assessment is still being considered and no decision regarding either the Assessment or a final location for the plant has been made yet.

For now, the differing outlooks regarding nuclear power are making their points known.  Economic independence, jobs, environmental considerations and tourism will all factor into the eventual decision, but the official announcement is still forthcoming.

Brain project gets scientists thinking

Posted on by Ben Debski

Markram’s Human Brain Project (HBP) is an attempt to use a supercomputer to simulate everything known about the human brain. At a recent meeting of the Swiss Academy of Sciences in Bern, Markram met with resistance at every turn, even from fellow scientists.

The academy awards a €1bn grant to the project it views as most promising or with the most potential and Markram’s HBP is one of six finalists. He postulates that the nearly 60,000 papers per year published on brain science are not doing as much to advance knowledge as his project could, simply because his programme studies the entire brain, while the vast majority of peer-reviewed papers focus on one specific area or group of cells. His HBP would create models to “explore how neural circuits are organised and how they give rise to behaviour and cognition; among the deepest mysteries in neuroscience.”

The main peer pressure seems to be coming from those who oppose, not so much the scope of his project, but the cost. Rodney Douglas, of the Institute for Neuroinformatics (INI), which is based in Zurich, has stated that he believes “variance in bioscience” would be threatened if nearly all the research money were directed into Markram’s single project.

Markram, however, is undeterred; he sees the potential for his project as almost unlimited. Scientists would be able to “experiment” with the virtual brain by subjecting it to all manner of tests. Radiation, tests with new drugs and disruption of processes via mechanical or other injury are just some examples. If programmed like a true human brain, scientists could observe the before, during and after effects on the brain and any recovery that the brain was able to make on its own.

Also, a virtual brain would be likely to be capable of learning in much the same way as a true human brain. Language, cognitive abilities, decision-making and more could all be observed in a safe environment and the data recorded. Of course, some scientists say that we will not understand any more from a virtual brain than we do from a human brain, but of course a true human brain does not have a supercomputer attached to it.

Markram’s science lab looks more like a computer laboratory, with nary a test tube to be seen; but what is hidden beneath the surface is potential. “This will, when successful, help two billion people annually who suffer from some type of brain impairment,” claims Markram. From Alzheimer’s to strokes, bullet wounds to concussions, the potential is vast. An artificial neocortical column has already been created and Markram’s team has been given the go-ahead to do further studies. If he is awarded the €1bn, it is hard to tell what else might be awarded.

Drug development company challenges industry

Posted on by Ben Debski

New pharmaceutical company Aurelia Bioscience, has recently been launched by three former AstraZeneca scientists. Eyeing the possibilities available for new clinical research organisations (CROs) as large pharmaceutical corporations divest themselves of their former in-house drug development division, they have created a new opportunity for many displaced scientists. Their new facility is located very near a former Astra Zeneca plant in Loughborough and in fact may employ some of the people who used to work at the now-shuttered plant.

The pharmaceutical industry is currently going through a tectonic restructuring, with many of the largest companies looking to downsize and slim their operations. As in AstraZeneca’s case, research and development is often the first to go, especially if the company already has large amounts of fast-selling drugs in its pipeline. Such is the case for AstraZeneca, which manufactures Nexium, Seroquel and Crestor, among others. Outsourcing, primarily to smaller, specialised companies, seems to be becoming the order of the day.

Some of the services that Aurelia Bioscience plans to offer include screening equipment and technology development, bioassay development; label-free phenotypic assay approaches and high throughput compound screening. Investment monies have already been directed into the operation and the experienced leadership in the fledgling company have already built a bio-screening platform. Drug discovery is already underway and the management team has been augmented with the addition of Dr Tony Flinn, FRSC, who was previously the CEO of Onyx Scientific, Ltd.

Dr Flinn, along with original founders Kevin Hart, Garry Allenby and Kathy Dodgson, provide a broad range of experience and abilities, along with nearly a century’s worth of pharmaceutical experience. Branding themselves as a niche bioscience CRO, specialising in pre-clinical drug discovery, they now offer their expertise and facilities to other smaller companies needing research assistance. With a broad array of cutting-edge equipment, Aurelia Bioscience offers the perfect place for small and mid-sized companies to put their drug discovery dreams into action.

Offering Fee for Service, Drug Discovery Projects and Instrument and Reagent Development, Aurelia Bioscience offers smaller pharmaceutical companies products and services they can purchase only as they need them. Cell culture services, phenotypic screening and biochemical screening are just some of the other services offered.

Having turned “lemons into lemonade,” Aurelia Bioscience’s new facility is also starting to re-energise the area around the old AstraZeneca plant. With the rise in unemployment due to the reduced number of highly skilled jobs after AstraZeneca left, this new facility may very well serve to attract other new businesses to the area. A close working and physical relationship with the Aurelia Bioscience facility would certainly facilitate the development and discovery process for a smaller, niche pharmaceutical company.

Aurelia Bioscience is positioned firmly at the forefront of emerging science and technology and is an excellent example of the way drug development and discovery is likely to be headed.

China rare earth row rages on

Posted on by Ben Debski

The complaint, the first in the World Trade Organisation’s history to be jointly filed by the three economic powers, centres around the export of 17 rare earth minerals which are used to make a wide range of technological commodities, including LED lights, magnets and batteries. China produces and controls 97 of the world’s rare earth, and was ruled to have illegally restricted exports of a variety of rare earth products (including the valued minerals magnesium, zinc and bauxite) in a WTO verdict earlier this year.

However, despite assurances at the time from Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin that “China will export rare earths based on WTO rules”, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht issued a statement asserting that the EU believes that China “has made no attempt to remove the other export restrictions”, and this left them “no choice but to challenge China’s export regime again”. President Obama also entered the fray, stating that it was in both UK and US interests to “take control of our energy future”, and that they could not “allow that energy industry to take root in some other country because they were allowed to break the rules”.

The trio asserted that the quotas China has imposed on exports equate to rigid protectionism, which the WTO explicitly seeks to expunge. Beijing, however, has stated that the quotas exist to ensure that environmental damage is not caused as a result of mining for rare earth minerals, and has denied the allegations leveled at them.

The WTO’s Director-General, Pascal Lamy, sought to play down the significance of the dispute, saying it was predictable that disagreements would arise between WTO mainstays such as the US and new members like China – and that “headlines about trade wars” were “not reality”.

How new nanotechnology converts heat into power

Posted on by Ben Debski

Researchers at the Centre for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest  have developed a new technology referred to as Power Felt. It consists of a thermoelectric device which can generate an electric current by using nothing else but body heat.

Power Felt consists of microscopic carbon nano-tubes which have been embedded in flexible plastic fibres. The end result feels quite similar to most synthetic fabrics. The system utilises the difference in temperature between your body temperature and the temperature of your environment to create an electrical charge.

Corey Hewitt, a graduate student at Wake Forest, says: “We waste a lot of energy in the form of heat. For example, recapturing a car’s energy waste could help improve fuel mileage and power the radio, air conditioning or navigation system.”

He added that, while there were huge opportunities hidden in the field of thermoelectrics, it still remained a relatively underdeveloped technology.

Potential uses of the new technology include using Power Felt to cover motor car seats which will then generate electricity which can boost battery power. Another possible application is to place it under roof tiles to lower electricity and gas bills.

The director of the Centre for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, David Carroll, said: “Imagine it in an emergency kit, wrapped around a flashlight, powering a weather radio, charging a prepaid cell phone; Power Felt could also provide relief during power outages or accidents.”

One of the major hurdles that prevented the widespread use of thermoelectrics for everyday devices has been the high cost of these applications.

Ordinary thermoelectric devices utilise a compound by the name of bismuth telluride to convert heat into power in products such as CPU coolers and mobile refrigerators. The cost of this material can be as high as $1,000 per kg.

This is where Power Felt could revolutionise the industry one day: once it reaches the point of mass production it could cost as little as $1 for a thermoelectric cell phone cover made from Power Felt.

At present about 140 nanowatts of power can be generated by using stacked layers in the fabric.  The team is researching a number of different ways to make these nanotube layers even thinner so they can add more of them to increase the power output.

Although it’s still a long way before Power Felt will appear on supermarket shelves, researchers are confident about its ultimate success. They already envisage jackets with Power Felt linings to preserve body heat and even iPods running solely on the power generated by the owner’s body heat.

The university is currently involved in discussions with investors with the aim of manufacturing Power Felt commercially.

BBSRC: Man-made photosynthesis possible

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To replicate photosynthesis in a laboratory might sound like sound fiction – but researchers at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) think it’s far from impossible.

However brilliant the process of photosynthesis in nature is, scientists have for a long time known that it is not very efficient. In fact, its efficiency is in the region of one percent.

This is why scientists are now devoting their time to try and find a way to create an ‘artificial leaf’ that could improve on the natural process of photosynthesis and provide future generations with liquid energy derived from solar power.

The chief executive of the BBSRS, Professor Douglass Kell, says funding for this research is vital. He adds: “We are facing global challenges in food and energy security that must be addressed. Improving photosynthesis within plants, or externally using synthetic biology, would bring huge benefits.”

One of the most eminent scientists currently working in this field is the University of Glasgow’s Roger Cogdell.

According to Cogdell utilising the energy from the sun for everyday use is not that easy. One way of capturing the energy from the sun is by using solar panels. This process is, however, intermittent and it is difficult to store the energy.

Their research is therefore focused on developing a more efficient process by which the energy of the sun can be captured and stored for later use.

He explains: “We are working to devise an analogous robust chemical system that could replicate photosynthesis artificially on a grand scale. This artificial leaf would create solar collectors that produce a fuel, as opposed to electricity.”

The scientists hope to utilise a chemical process similar to photosynthesis in order to achieve this.  Their research is currently focussed on using synthetic biology to duplicate the process of photosynthesis.

Professor Howard Griffiths from the University of Cambridge is involved in similar research. He hopes to improve the efficiency of photosynthesis by developing an artificial system that used an enzyme called RuBisCO.  In nature this enzyme is a key element that allows plants to convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into high-energy molecules, such as sugar.

Some plants have developed mechanisms that function like ‘biological turbochargers’.  They optimize the process of photosynthesis by concentrating carbon dioxide around the enzyme.  This boosts production and growth.

Griffiths explains: “By combining algal and plant photosynthesis to improve photosynthetic efficiency we would see an increase in agricultural productivity for the production of food and renewable energy.”

Why is this type of research so important? Artificial photosynthesis might one day provide humanity with vital fuel for its transportation systems. Since the process does not compete for arable land, it will have no effect on our food supply.

UK’s Bribery Act fails to fulfill expectations

Posted on by Ben Debski

The UK Bribery Act directly affects UK criminal law, and is utilised to combat bribery-related offences in the UK and beyond. It outlines criminal penalties for people who either promise or deliver a bribe, agree to or receive a bribe, or bribe foreign officials. Besides penalties for individuals, commercial entities may also be charged under the Bribery Act if one of their personnel is involved in a bribery transaction and the company or organisation fails to prevent the event from occurring. Even non-UK businesses that do business in the UK can be charged and/or convicted under the Bribery Act.

If convicted of any actions included in the Act, the penalty can be as much as ten years imprisonment, and the fines that can be levied are unlimited. Property of an individual or organisation can be confiscated, and company directors can be disqualified if convicted.  Critics point out that bribery is an accepted practice in much of the world, and that this legislation may put UK businesses at a disadvantage in many markets.

Although guidance and interpretation of the Act had not been published yet, October 2011 saw the first conviction under the Bribery Act. Munir Patel, a clerk at the Redbridge Magistrates Court, was convicted of accepting £500 to alter speeding convictions on the court’s records. Several of the people who paid the bribes are also under indictment and may eventually be convicted. They include three other court officials, as well as several motorists.

Whilst the extraterritorial effect of the legislation is being debated, the reach of the Bribery Act is not unique. The US has similar legislation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which is similar in many ways. The FCPA, however, does allow ‘facilitation payments’, which many companies insist are necessary to do business in developing nations. The Bribery Act does not. Given the strong ties between UK businesses and those in India, where bribery is common, many people foresee this legislation becoming something that can affect the day-to-day operations of many multinational organisations.

Guidance from the UK Ministry of Justice has noted that the effect of the Act on businesses will differ depending, in large part, on the size of the business and how much overseas traffic that business has. The ministry suggested that a company-wide risk assessment was the best first step for many organisations, as well as training for all employees involved in any kind of business dealings where company money will change hands with government officials or decision-making employees of another company.

With the Bribery Act making it clear that corporate officers can be held liable for the actions of others in their employ, it is critical that all employees understand the seriousness of this legislation. Under the Bribery Act, all the prosecution has to do is show that organisational systems to prevent bribery may have been inadequate; proving that that the systems were actually adequate falls to the company.