Science

Editor's note: This is the final installment of a four-part series. Read part 1, "Plotting the next Silicon Valley -- you'll never guess where;" part 2, "New Silicon Valley in the Andes: Promise and paradox;" and part 3, "Riding shotgun with the man behind an Andean Silicon Valley."

In the previous installments of this series on Ecuador's plan to build its own hub of research and innovation on par with the likes of Silicon Valley and South Korea's Incheon, I've focused on the big dream and the big possibilities.

It's time for a reality check to round things out.

First, let's review the plan for Yachay, the name chosen for the Ecuadorian government's planned "City of Knowledge" already under construction at a rural location in the country's northern Andean highlands. It all starts with a university that Rene Ramirez, Ecuadorian minister of higher education, science, technology, and innovation, hopes will one day be on par with the likes of Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or the California Institute of Technology.

"We want Yachay to be part of that international network of knowledge development, putting Ecuador in a good position globally," Ramirez told me when I visited him in Quito. … Read more

Scientists cite as a major driver of climate change the large amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere that's created by the burning of fossil fuels. They spend day after day trying to figure out a way to generate power for the world's populations, but at the same time leave a smaller carbon footprint.

Now, researchers at the University of Georgia say they've hit upon a way to take the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and turn it into useable industrial products. The impact of such a discovery is potentially huge.

The goal is to remove the CO2 directly from the air and turn it into biofuel -- not only helping power the world, but hopefully taking down global temperatures at the same time.

The researchers essentially have created a microorganism that acts like a plant that removes the carbon dioxide from the air and turns it into something we can use. During photosynthesis, plants utilize sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide from the air to create their food source. This would behave in a similar fashion. … Read more

Editor's note: This is the third part of Crave's four-part series on Ecuador's attempt to become Latin America's hub for science, technology, and innovation. Read part 1, "Plotting the next Silicon Valley -- you'll never guess where," and part 2, "New Silicon Valley in the Andes: Promise and paradox."

QUITO, Ecuador--Right now, I'm one of the final things standing between Ramiro Moncayo and a vacation he's been waiting to take for years. It's just a few days before Christmas, and needless to say, he is very excited about the couple of days he is about to spend with his family on a holiday getaway.

Moncayo is the project manager for Yachay, the ambitious planned city that the equally ambitious government of Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa has been trying to shove into existence for a few years now.

Since taking office just a half decade ago and with the help of a fountain of oil revenues, Correa and company have modernized the nation's highways, created the third-fastest growing economy in Latin America, and more than tripled the number of Ecuadorian citizens connected to the Internet, according to the president's office.

Next up on the industrialization to-do list: Ecuador plans to create the first top-tier research university in Latin America and surround it with all the facilities and human capital needed to make this developing nation, which is roughly the size of the state of Colorado, a global player in science, technology, and innovation. (There is, however, some reason for skepticism, as I mention in part 2 of the series.) … Read more

Forget those old stereotypes of scientists as gray-haired men in laboratories wearing bottle-cap glasses. Rapper Coma Niddy tells the world that it doesn't matter who you are, as you too can be a scientist. He does, however, say you have to be curious and never give up.

The video was produced as part of a PBS Digital Studios project, and Comma Niddy is science educator who raps on everything from nanotechnology to dark matter. … Read more

Editor's note: This is part 2 of an exclusive four-part Crave series on Ecuador's plans to transform itself into a new hub of science, technology, and innovation. Read part 1, "Plotting the next Silicon Valley -- you'll never guess where."

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, Ecuador--There's a small group of solar panels set up next to a giant tortoise hatchery that's currently under renovation here. It wasn't many decades ago that these remarkable gentle giants -- which never stop growing and can live to be 150 and the size of a kitchen table -- didn't need help from humans to survive in their native habitat.

Ironically, it is the other species humans brought with them to this remote volcanic Pacific archipelago that have endangered these tortoises. Dogs, pigs, goats, rats, and even ants all prey on young tortoises here, making it virtually impossible for them to survive their first few years in the wild. Instead, they're raised in facilities like this one near the Charles Darwin Research Station.

There's plenty more paradox to be found on the Ecuadorian mainland. … Read more

When you drop molten glass into cold water, you get a curious object: a Prince Rupert's Drop, shaped like a teardrop with a long, wiggly tail. What's so curious about the Prince Rupert's Drop is that you can hit the bulb as hard as you like with a hammer, throw it against the wall, and yet, even though we think of glass as fragile, it will not break.

That is, until you hit the sweet spot. If you damage any part of the tail, just a tiny bit, the entire drop explodes outward in a stunning display.

Although the drops have been around for centuries, the reason for this strange behavior has only been discovered recently -- and it can be seen by watching the glass explode in slow motion. That's what YouTube science educator Destin of Smarter Every Day has done. … Read more

QUITO, Ecuador--Imagine it's 2023. Things have shifted in the world of technology, and I'm not just talking about the elimination of the standard-transmission vehicle in favor of autonomous transport. Companies in Asia, the United States, and Europe still produce many of the world's major innovations in everything from energy efficiency and biotechnology to IT and consumer electronics, and many of those products are still made in China.

But there's also a new player on the scene that wasn't registering on anyone's radar in the tech world just a decade ago.

In this particular vision of the future, a small but rapidly growing number of innovations are born, nurtured, produced, and sent to market from a tiny but vivacious country sandwiched between the Pacific and the Amazon -- Ecuador. … Read more

To date, my method for banishing the dreaded earworm is to sing a song I actually like in an attempt to "trump" whatever piece of pop fluff is driving me batty. Apparently scientists at Western Washington University, led by psychology professor Ira Hyman, have discovered a much better way.

The trick, it seems, is to solve puzzles -- sudoku, for example. But by far the most effective puzzle was five-letter anagrams. … Read more

We're not quite sure what a next-generation condom would look like (gesture control? a tiny touch screen?), but we may find out sooner rather than later if the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation succeeds in its new quest.

The foundation is seeking new ideas that improve on condom design, which it describes as having seen "very little technological improvement in the last 50 years." The winning proposal gets a cool $100,000, and could potentially earn more in additional funding.

The foundation suggests that if a redesigned condom could enhance a sexual experience and not detract from it, more men would use one, therefore reducing disease transmission, unwanted pregnancies, and so on. The request also seeks ideas "that increase ease-of-use for male and female condoms, for example better packaging or designs that are easier to properly apply. In addition, attributes that address and overcome cultural barriers are also desired." … Read more