First Jet Flight Powered by Algae

Well, I just heard some great news.

Continental Airlines just completed its first test flight with a Boeing 737 that was partially powered by biofuel made from algae! The flight was the first test done so by a US commercial carrier.



Props to Continental!

One of the planes' two engines consisted of a 50-50 mix of biofuel and aircraft fuel.

"The flight from Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport completed a circuit over the Gulf of Mexico, and pilots carried out a series of tests at 38,000ft (11.6km), including a mid-flight engine shutdown.

'The airplane performed perfectly,' test pilot Rich Jankowski told the Houston Chronicle newspaper.

'There were no problems. It was textbook.'"

Textbook baby!

The best part about the test is that the biofuel used is a "drop-in fuel", meaning that there is no modification required for the aircraft to use it. The use of algae is fast becoming the future for biofuel: it grows extremely fast, does not compete with food crops, and is better for the enviroment.

All that is left is to make algae commercially competitive.

Check out the full BBC article here.

To get your algae fix, click here.

Visions of the Future: Biotechnology

Just found this documentary on today's advancements in biotechnology. It covers topics like cloning, genetic engineering, custom-grown organs, life extension therapies. An amazing five part series.

All gathered in one helpful place, via the magic of youtube.

Enjoy.

Brazil's Undiscovered Tribe

These photographs are the first record of a previously undiscovered tribe of people living deep in Brazil's rain forest.

Up until now, there is no record of these people ever having made contact with the outside world, or vice versa.

The men in the photo have painted their bodies with a red-orange paint, and the women have painted themselves black. Is this in response to the plane, which was making its second pass over the area? We can only provide conjecture.

It is amazing to think of all that is yet to be discovered. Just when we think we've got our planet tidilly figured out, something like this comes along. Like the coelacanth, or the rediscovery of the colossal squid, or this tribe furiously defending itself by launching arrows and spears at the plane flying overhead.

This Earth of ours is still full of magic and promise.

Here's the article from the BBC: Isolated Tribe Spotted in Brazil