INTERVIEW TO GONÇAL RIBAS

Natàlia and I have done an interview in to Gonçal Ribas  who works into the IGC CST Pirineus ( Institut Geològic de Catalunya, Centre de support territorial Pirineus).

What does the CST do?

In this centre we do activities of divulgation for students, enterprise technician, geologists and engineers too. For example in the build of a bridge we can proportionate them information about the sediment. This is more related with the social part.

As activities of research and development, geologic cartography, geothematic cartography, the sun science, geologic engineer, geophysics, hydrogeology, geologic patrimony, land slaves prevention, geologic risks, seismology and control and measure of nets, those are all of the activities that we work.

Which are your objectives?

It is necessary to mark the support with the lands slaves prevention, whereas others geological risks of the own zones of the mountain. It’s foresees to do research projects and development and to establish pilot areas, in collaboration with universities, research centres and another private and public institutions.

The Pyrenees CST wants to be a reference centre and a support for professionals, for university centres or for educative which need to dispose about resources and installations suitable for their formation tasks and the study of the zone.

Why the CST was build here?

As a consequence of the process of collision between Iberian plate and the European’s one the Pyrenean area has made folds and mantles which deformed materials from the area.

The central part of the mountain range is build with former Palaeozoic rocks. The topography of the Prepyrenean is more vigorous, made up basically for Mesozoic and Palaeogene rocks which are younger than the ones before.

The rocks which form the superior south-Pyrenean mantle are the old mud, sand and loose stone that were deposit on sediment basins, where almost all of them were under sea level. These rocks not only preserve animal and plant remains which lived in those past environments, besides they preserve the original sediment form.

As a result of everything Pyrenees have a dimension and suitable conditions for the study and the comprehension of lots of geologic structures which are similar to other ones in different parts of the world, especially the ones in Texas.

We could say Conca de Tremp is like a book, where there are all the rocks of million years ago in a relative low layer deep.

Was there any other option in Catalunya to build this centre?

We would say yes, in 2009 when it studied the possibility to build a centre like this. There were other places but the advantages that this zone has, done easily the edification of the centre in Tremp.

Currently, how many geologists work here?

We are 6 superior technicians.

What kind of instruments do you use? 

When we go to de field to do cartography we take
magnifying glass, a little stereoscope to see the threedimensional air photos, compass, hammer, tape measure, Jacobs rod ( to mesure the long parts of the rocks), GPS, etc. There are others disciplines which we also work and which require field utensils more sophisticated like the case of the geophysics or geotechnical works.

But, concerning about inside of the IGC CST Pirineus, now we have a machine which have been financed for Repsol, that we have collaboration agreement which is called Multi Sensor Core Logger (The MSCL are a kind of machines used to do laboratory trials where it can hitch different types of sensors as a result of get different physic properties of the materials. The fields of his application concern the Engineering, Geotechnical, Geology, geology risks, Hydrogeology, seismology, environment, etc...)

Concerning about the seismology, is the basin of Tremp a place where there are many earthquakes?

Here, it’s a zone which there is constants microseisms because the Pyrenees is the results of the continental drift of the Iberian plate least the Mesozoic era and his final collision with the European plate least the Cenozoic era, but they don’t exceed the degree 2, therefore we can’t perceive them. Sometimes, as the Sort’s seism with degree 3 in which there are a minor movement of tables, glass... We answered some calls.

What are the “Emmagatzematge geologic de CO2”? Has got any risks?

The geological stock up is a measure useful to reduce the CO2 of the atmosphere. However it’s in development, some countries like Norway has already developed this system. It consists about the injection of CO2 into some rocks which has specific properties that doesn’t let the CO2 escapes. In this studies the collaboration of chemists, physics, biologists, geologists, etc, is fundamental.

Risk? Yes, always that the nature is modify there is a risk but there are also a cautious studies about the results and this depends of the pressure, the amount, etc. The result of this injection is microseisms.

In the other hand, it exists the ethic part. These studies and measures has a huge economic and energetic cost. It could set out the investment of these costs into the reduction and consciousness-raising about the CO2 emissions.

Why did you choose the profession of geologist?

As a matter of fact geology was my second option, I don’t enter into the career that I would like but I think that If you put some other as a second option is because both are related and because both likes you too. I chose it because I love the nature and work for the preservation of her.

Do you like to work here?

I was born here, I love my land and yes, I love this work. 

Natàlia Boneta and Maribel Gasa

Hydrogen(Guillem Coll Soro and Mario Georgiev Valov)

Nowadays the enviorment is very contaminated and for that reason the world needs to start to use new souce of energy which is 100% natural and clean, and it doesn't have to derive from the petroleum which the world is extracting with very fast temps,(for more information about  the fast explotation of petroleum click:peak oil
The hydrogen is very common in the nature and it's very easy to found it because it's almost everywhere especially in the water.
Positive things:
-Easy to get
-It can totally substitute the petroleum
-Very big eficiency
-Clear natural energy
There are not very negative things about the petroleum but probably the biggest is that it's very difficult to get it and apply it any kind of material or kind of transport  and the second is the  transport which  is also vey big problem because it's gas and requires special attention.

The hydrogen is a source of energy which is still in it's first bases of development.The transport branch especially the car producers is the most important branch which is in stage of development of the hydrogen as a fuel  and very big companies are starting even to apply it in their products.But the petroleum is not only used in the cars it's used in almost every material like plastic.We decided to make this article about the hydrogen because it's obvious that the petroleum is not endless and very fast we have to substuite it with hydrogen.

INTRODUCTION TO IMMUNOLOGY

We are surrounded by millions of microorganisms. Nowadays we know that lots of those microorganisms aren’t dangerous for us, even some of them had been adapted to living being organisms and live in their skin, respiratory ducts ... those microorganisms are called normal flora, and they are very important for human live.

In the other hand, we find a kind of microorganisms called pathogens microorganisms or germs. Those microorganisms get into living being’s organism and develop some harmful effects, which are the cause of an infectious illness. That illness will result mortal if there wasn’t a continue fight of immune system’s elements.

DEFENSIVE UNSPECIFIC MECHANISMS

All the organisms have mechanism that difficult or don’t let the germs invade our organism. There are two defensive systems: the unspecific that are constituted by the skin or secretions, and the specifics represented by the immune system.

In the unspecific defensive system the microorganisms have to cross  two different kinds of   barriers : the primary and secondary  barriers.

The primary barriers are those which we can find in the entire organism, like the skin or the secretions.  When the microorganisms are able to cross the primary barrier it is said that the secondary barrier. This defensive mechanism acts inside the organism it is build by the blood cells called phagocytes and the immune system. The phagocytes are different kinds of white blood cells which are able to attack the germs; phagocytes eat the germs and then their liposome, cellular organelles that are able to eat every microorganism. Usually phagocytes destroy those microorganisms, however sometimes the phagocytes are destroyed by them.

IMMUNE SYSTEM

The immune system is a group of organic elements like cells, organs and protein molecules presents in  blood... that with different mechanisms constitute the organism’s defence of microorganisms potentially dangerous.

This system has the capacity to detect those microorganisms and develop different mechanism to neutralize and destroy them.  

Graphene

The material of the future

What is graphene?

Is a substance composed of pure carbon, with atoms arranged in a regular hexagonal pattern similar to graphite. His structure is a planar sheet of carbon atoms, that stay densely together in a crystal lattice.   

Graphene is found in many materials such as graphite, which is a build-up of graphene lattice.

How to get graphene?

It is very difficult to obtain graphene because we are talking to a molecular level and need a large equipment.

What characteristics does it have?

It is an amazing material because it has a lot of qualities, is flexible, strong, fine and impressive conductivity.

These qualities are what revolutionized the world as we know it. Just imagine having fully flexible TV screens and not be broken or have a small screen that could do big.

What applications do you have?

Graphene would improve the telephony, the world of computer creating very powerful xips, the world of technology and the biomedicine with elaboration of new vaccines.

Graphene with nanotechnology will revolutionize the next decade, approaching a science fiction world, a world that costs to imagine.

  

3D PRINTING

3D Printing, it's a process in which a machine, a printer, makes a 3D structure solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model that anyone have in his computer. A materials printer usually performs 3D printing processes using digital technology. Since the start of the twenty-first century there has been a large growth in the sales of these machines, and their price has dropped substantially.
The technology is used in jewelry, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, and many other fields.

We can divide the process in three parts: the first one is the modeling, in which we introduce in the computer the shape of the object. The second process is the printing onf the shape with the printer. And the  last one is the finishing, in which we review if whathas gone is good or worng.

THE POSSIBLE’S AIDS CURE

The last July the XIX International conference about the AIDS closed with a lot of optimism. There, the possibility of the recovery of AIDS was announced because of two men with the illness were cured after subject into a medulla bedding to treat the cancer.

Before the bedding, which saves them their lives, both patients receive a mild chemotherapy that didn’t affect the process. Then, the medics detected immediately the AIDS after the operation but with the time, the bedding cells replaced the patient’s own lymphocyte. 

One patient was subjected to a medical monitoring for almost two years and one for three and a half years and the medics checked that "there is no trace of the virus" in their blood.

The doctors responsible of the study request for caution and they are very cautious about this new preview. An attitude shared by activists in the fight against AIDS, but this doesn’t prevent them being very optimism: “"The important thing is that science is telling us that it is possible to cure HIV, beyond this method can’t be generalized because, obviously you can’t subject all the affected into a medulla bedding. Now, what its need to do is to investigate for a less treatment for the patients.” says one of the activists.

However, the most important thing that we mustn’t forget it’s that the AIDS cure is very close.  

Energetic resources

The energy is probably the most important material thing that we have. If the power fails, people will turn into the chaos but, which is the origin of this energy? Is the way that we get energy the most correct? Here we are going to see it.

The energy can be classified in two big groups, the conventional energies and the alternative energies. Both are the mix of the availability and the impact in the environment.

Conventional energies are those which are renewable and no renewable energies, which are traditionally used and which have a big impact on the environment.

Alternative energies are those which are renewable and which have a little impact in the environment.

Conventional energies
1.   Coal energy
Coal is the most important fossil combustible in the world. Mainly is formed by the decomposition of organic material.
The coal was fundamental in the industrialization.
The coal energy increases the pollution and the higher temperatures in the planet. It also causes acid rains.
 
2.   Petrol and natural gas energy
Both energies are relatively recent but currently are two of the most used in the world.
The petrol is formed, generally, in the sea by the plankton whose accumulate into the sea floor.
The natural gas is mainly formed when the temperature which the petrol is increase so, some of the petrol evaporates and becomes gas.
The petrol causes a lot of pollution in every process of refinement. However the natural gas not much as petrol.
 
3.   Nuclear energy
It’s the most polluting energy that exists.
It’s origin by the collision of the subatomic parts of a radioactive element. The energy that it releases is the big part of the energy that we use in our houses.
The impact that this energy can do in the environment is alarming. The radioactive elements which are used on these collisions are too dangerous for people and for the earth.
 
4.   Hydraulic energy
The humanity has always used this kind of energy. To get hydraulic energy it is necessary the current of the water and that’s all. The impact that these centrals do in the environment is only social and ecologic.
 
Alternatives energies
1.   Aeolian energy
The human race has been using this kind of energy for hundreds of years. It’s formed only by the strength of the wind.
When there are so many wind turbines, we call the place where they are “aeolian park”. The only impact that it causes is visual.
 
2.   Solar energy
It’s one of the best renewable energies. We get the energy using solar plates. There are subtypes of how we use this energy like the warm energy and the photovoltaic energy.
It’s too clean and inexhaustible too, so it’s perfect.
The only impact that it causes is visual.
 
 
3.   Waves energy
It is too similar to the hydraulic energy but instead of use the current of water, it uses the strength of the waves and the tide.
It’s too clean and economic too. Lots of countries with coast use this type of energy.
 
4.   Biomass energy
We obtain this energy by the burn of organic material from the earth. The energy that becomes is called bioenergy.
It can be a little bit polluting because of cremation of the organic material; it releases CO2 to the atmosphere. However, it’s one of the most used.