byproduct
Latest
Whiskey byproducts turned into biofuel, scientists prove they have a sense of humor
Did you know that gasoline was originally considered a waste byproduct of kerosene production? Seriously, people would take crude oil, refine the kerosene out of it, and dump the rest. Working along similar lines of harnessing what had heretofore been considered useless, researchers at Edinburgh Napier University have come up with a way to turn leftovers from whiskey distillation into a biofuel. Using the spent grains (or "graff") and liquid from the copper stills (called "pot ale"), they've been able to produce biobutanol -- a fuel that's 30 percent more efficient than ethanol and, importantly, compatible with gasoline-fired vehicles without the need for engine mods. We honestly had to check the calendar to make sure it wasn't the beginning of April, but the university says its next stop is taking this thing to market. More power to them.
Addiction therapists trying to help addicted in the game
Britain's Telegraph newspaper has news about addiction therapists joining the game themselves, specifically to find and seek out players who might meet the definition of addicted to World of Warcraft. They're actually looking for official Blizzard support, too. I'm not sure how much help you can actually provide by chatting with a player in the game ("Hello, it looks like you've been online for the last 16 hours, are you addicted?"), but they want to do it. Dr. Richard Graham wants to launch a program by the end of the year that includes some in-game outreach, and even he agrees that it'll be tough sell. Then again, maybe the guy just wants to play some WoW for free: "While a psychiatrist may excel in what they do in the real world, they're probably not going to be very good at playing World of Warcraft. We may have to work at that if we are going to get through to those who play this game for hours at end." Right. "Work.".
