EPA issues final rule for testing, disinfection of onboard airline water to eliminate bacteria

September 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Engineers have observed and tracked the movement of E. coli in a liquid medium, which is similar to that of a kayak paddle.

September 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a research aimed at improving the quality of water in space, University of Utah chemists have developed a two-minute water quality monitoring method that just started six months of tests aboard the International Space Station (ISS). "Now they bring water back on the space shuttle and analyze it on the ground.

September 11th, 2009 Calif. lawmakers race to get deals on key billsSACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers have left it to the final day of their regular legislative session to grapple with key issues facing the state.

September 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Lost Orphan Mine below the Grand Canyon hasn't produced uranium since the sixties, but radioactive residue still contaminates the area. Now a study is examining how sulphate-reducing bacteria can convert radioactive metal to inert substances.

August 26th, 2009 Surviving the dreaded tarmac delayATLANTA — You're tired, hungry, have a cranky baby on your lap and all you want to do is get off the plane, but you can't because it's been on the tarmac for hours waiting to take off. While such delays are rare, they can be more common during the hot summer due to thunderstorms and, this year, because of fewer flights to get you to your destination if your flight is canceled.

August 21st, 2009 Southwest Airlines to provide onboard Wi-FiDALLAS — Southwest Airlines is on its way to providing in-flight Wi-Fi access on all of its aircraft. The airlines and Internet Wi-Fi service provider Row 44 have plans to roll out the program in the first quarter of 2010.

August 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has found that a popular method of disinfecting water with sunlight, used in more than 30 countries worldwide, may be far less effective in real-world settings than it is in the lab. An estimated 1.8 million people die every year from diarrheal diseases, mainly by drinking or coming into contact with dirty water.

August 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An international team of researchers from China and the US has determined that a process that cleans wastewater and generates electricity can also remove 90 percent of salt from brackish water or seawater. Clean water for drinking, washing and industrial uses is a scarce resource in some parts of the world.

July 30th, 2009 DUBAI - The Emirates Airline, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has become the world's largest operator of Boeing 777 planes with the arrival of its 78th aircraft of 777-300ER series configured for long distance journeys, WAM news agency reported Thursday. Emirates, which still awaits the delivery of another 28 Boeing 777s, is also the only airline to operate every model of the 777 family that include Boeing 777-200s, -200ERs, -200LRs, -300s, -300ERs and freighters.

June 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new microbiological study of reusable shopping bags, scientists have warned of the risks that unclean reusable bags can have on human health. The study was commissioned and funded by the Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC), a Canadian industry group which promotes responsible use and recovery of plastic resources.

May 10th, 2009 Wi Fi slow to become ubiquitous onboard airlinesATLANTA — Major airlines are scrounging for every dollar now that fewer people are flying amid the economic downturn, yet the carriers have been slow to install in-flight wireless Internet access across their fleets that could generate millions in fees. Cost, technology and passengers' willingness to pay for the service are issues some of the carriers are dealing with.

April 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - A Congress MP from Delhi, which is usually water starved in summer, is thinking out of the box and hoping it will translate into votes in the Lok Sabha polls. Krishna Tirath is contesting from Northwest Delhi, reserved for candidates from the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes community.

April 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Chemical disinfectants used to make water safe to drink react with organic material in it, and yield toxic consequences, say researchers. Michael Plewa, a geneticist at the University of Illinois, points out that disinfection by-products (DBPs) in water are the unintended consequence of water purification.

March 31st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the UCL Eastman Dental Institute have developed a new tool to combat hospital-acquired infections- antibacterial coating that is activated by light. The research team, led by Zoie Aiken, have tested the new coating with antibacterial properties, and found that it could kill 99.9 percent of Escherichia coli bacteria when a white hospital light was shone on its surface to activate it.

March 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have solved the mystery of arsenic-poisoning crisis in Asia, by discovering how arsenic enters the groundwater below the Himalayas. Thousands of people in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Myanmar and Vietnam die of cancer each year from chronic exposure to arsenic, according to the World Health Organization.