Crystal brings solar energy closer

Crystal brings solar energy closer	29.05.2008
AFFORDABLE solar energy for every household has moved closer to reality thanks to a ground-breaking discovery at the University of Queensland (UQ). Professor Max Lu, from UQ`s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, said researchers were one step closer to the holy grail of cost-effective solar energy. "We have grown the world`s first titanium oxide single crystals with large amounts of reactive surfaces, something that was predicted as almost impossible," Professor Lu said. "The crystals absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity." Prof Lu, who has been working on the project for the past 15 years, said the crystals were a cheaper alternative to solar panels. He expects it to take up to 10 years for the technology to be commercially available. Prof Lu said the crystals could also be used to purify air and water, and expected that to take about five years to commercialise. The work was the result of a long-term international collaboration with Professor Hui-Ming Cheng`s group from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Share this article Digg this Post to del.icio.us Post to Newsvine Post to Facebook Add to kwoff
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05/29/2008		22 charged after police raids
MORE than 20 people have been charged with 66 offences after a police operation on the Sunshine Coast

05/28/2008		Bob Jane`s ex-wife abandons court battle
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05/28/2008		Former teacher admits to child porm
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`We were not involved`

THE parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann have returned to Britain from Portugal, insisting they were not behind her disappearance.

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DNA from blood found in the boot of a car hired by the parents of Madeleine McCann has reportedly matched that of the missing four-year-old British girl.

A report on Sky News UK said Portuguese police had found a full DNA match in the car’s boot, which indicated Madeleine had been inside it.

The car was hired by Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann – who last week were named as suspects by Portuguese police – five weeks after she disappeared from a hotel in southern Portugal on May 3.

Sky News UK cited unidentified sources and authorities would not confirm the information.

Both Kate and Gerry McCann, who returned to England on Sunday, have denied playing any role in their daughter’s disappearance.

It has been suggested that the DNA may have come from Madeleine`s favourite stuffed toy.

Madeleine`s mother Kate McCann carried around the toy, named Cuddle Cat, for months after the disappearance.

"I would have thought Madeleine`s DNA is all over Cuddle Cat, so wherever Cuddle Cat goes, some of Madeleine`s DNA gets left behind," former detective chief inspector Peter Kirkham told Sky News.

A forensic expert said it was possible for DNA to be transferred from an object.

"If I shake hands with someone, for example, then get into my car, it`s likely that their DNA would be transferred into my car," forensic scientist Pofessior Allan Jamieson told Sky.

"If they`ve handled objects that I then pick up and then take into my car, then also that would allow the DNA to transfer into my car."

Earlier British experts had warned warned Portuguese police not to read too much into the forensic evidence gathered so far.

Independent forensic analysts said samples linked to Madeleine might have come from her parents or young brother and sister, amid media reports that the evidence has produced only partial matches with Madeleine.

Other analysts in Britain, where the DNA and other samples are being tested, warned that caution had to be taken over a police sniffer dog search in which a dog found "the smell of death" on possessions of Madeleine`s mother, Kate, reportedly including her bible.

Such smells can be detected after years and Kate and her husband Gerry are both doctors, meaning they may have come into contact with dead bodies in the normal course of their work.

Portuguese police said a prosecutor was due to begin reviewing the evidence yesterday and the case would go to a magistrate before any criminal charges were laid.

Gerry McCann`s sister, Philomena, said last night that the McCanns were braced for quick action against them by the police.

"They were made aware that the Portuguese police may go to prosecutors and to a judge. And the judge will examine any evidence and they may be charged, that is a real possibility," she said.

The McCanns have revealed that during extensive questioning last week they were told that traces of Madeleine`s blood had been found in the holiday home from which she disappeared on May 3, and in a car that her parents rented three weeks later.

The Portuguese media have reported that the police believe Kate accidentally killed her daughter and the couple hid the body before declaring her missing and returned weeks later in the hire car to dispose of the body.

The daily Diario de Noticia reported that tests had found that traces of blood in the back of the hire car had a 78.9 per cent match with Madeleine`s blood.

Allan Scott of the University of Central Lancashire`s School of Forensic and Investigative Sciences warned that cross-contamination needed to be considered.

He said DNA was so sensitive that if two people met in the street and shook hands and then one committed a crime, they could possibly leave the other person`s DNA at the scene.

The Birmingham-based Forensic Science Service, which carried out the tests, declined to comment but newspapers quoted FSS officials as saying the samples tested so far had been too degraded to give conclusive results.

One report claimed the samples fell short of the minimum of 20 points of correspondence with Madeleine`s DNA, which would give a conclusive identification.

Alan Baker, of independent forensic science organisation Bericon, said DNA traces from Madeleine`s parents and siblings, who would share many points, could give such a partial ID.

A request by the McCanns for a British police review has been refused, with Home Secretary Jacqui Smith saying she is satisfied with how Portuguese police have conducted the investigation.
British police officers have said the handling of the crime scene was the worst they had ever seen.
Portuguese police took an hour to arrive and did not treat the apartment as a crime scene for at least 12 hours, leading to fears that evidence was lost or contaminated.

The apartment was not properly searched for two days and journalists, tourists and members of the McCann family were allowed to swarm over the site.

With The Australian