Light barrier used to repel mosquitoes

Marka is working on a project that uses infrared light to form a barrier between humans and mosquitoes, as well as other common insects such as moths and wasps. The theory is that you can use light to form a wall that separates space. In a phenomenon not fully understood, the mosquitoes that are outside the wall seem blocked, as if by a semi-invisible fence.

http://www.gizmag.com/light-wall-repel-mosquitoes/20448/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=eaef247cb7-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email

Sunbox solar power charging system

People who are trekking in the wilderness, stranded at disaster sites or living in developing nations all have one thing in common - lack of access to an electrical infrastructure. Solar charging devices such as the Solio, iCharge and Joos Orange have been designed to meet the needs of some or all of these groups. One of the latest such systems, Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies' Sunbox USB 3.0, is particularly versatile.

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Readers involved in foreign aid might also be interested in Horizon's entrepreneur package. It allows small businesspeople in developing nations to charge ten Sunbox battery packs at once, which can then be rented out to members of the local community.

http://www.gizmag.com/sunbox-usb-30-solar-charging-system/20463/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=3e3b376b61-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email

Gates Foundation funds composting toilet

Enter Marc Deshusses, a Duke University environmental engineer who has envisioned an innovative yet simple waste disposal system designed specifically for Third World countries that can be constructed from everyday items.

According to Deshusses, for less than $100 and a day's work a single family in an undeveloped country can construct a solid waste disposal system that processes the waste, requires no electricity or additional energy and destroys harmful pathogens.

In the system Deshusses is developing, the waste is directed to a chamber, most likely constructed of PVC pipe. Once sealed in the chamber, an oxygen-free, or anaerobic, environment is created and bacteria digest the waste. As a byproduct of this digestion, methane gas is produced. Instead of the methane escaping into the environment, the new approach captures and burns it, creating enough heat to kill the bacteria and viruses most commonly found in effluence.

http://www.gizmag.com/gates-foundation-composting-toilet-duke-university/20422/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=9303c1b310-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email