global briefs Floating Solar Catching Some Rays on the Water
Solar panels currently generate only about 1 percent of our nation’s energy needs, but new research from the fed- eral National Renew- able Energy Laboratory shows that installation of “floatovoltaics”— floating, electricity-
generating photovoltaic panels—on only one-fourth of our manmade reservoirs would generate about 10 percent of U.S. energy needs without taking up valuable real estate. Floatovoltaics cost less to install than traditional, land- based solar panels because there’s no need to clear land or treat soil, and research shows that the natural cool- ing effect of the water below can boost the solar panels’ power production by up to 22 percent. Of the approxi- mately 100 current floatovoltaic installations, only seven are in the U.S., mostly at wineries in California and water treatment facilities. About 80 percent are in Japan, where limited land and roof space make water-based solar panels especially suitable.
Tiny Flossers
Miniature Robots May Become Dental Technicians
A team of engineers, dentists and biologists from the University of Pennsylvania has developed a micro- scopic robotic cleaning crew that can precisely and non-invasively remove plaque buildup. Instead of the time-consuming and often unpleasant scraping with mechanical tools to remove plaque from teeth, a dentist could deploy either of two types of robotic systems— one designed to work on surfaces and the other to operate inside confined spaces. Robots with catalytic activity could destroy biofilms, the sticky amalgama- tions of bacteria enmeshed in a protective scaffolding, which would reduce the risk of tooth decay, endodontic infections and implant contamination. The work was published in Science Robotics.
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