These guys still claim to see them: http://www.lookingatnothing.com/?p=366

Indeed, I interviewed a group investigating the pentaquark at SPring-8. This was posted on my blog here: http://www.lookingatnothing.com/?p=366

The "chemical" DNA, however...

Because it is impossible to get funding for nuclear energy research these days. No money, no research.

The best trick against the steering wheel locks I've seen is to cut through the steering wheel, bend the wheel, slide off the lock, bend the wheel back. You have to replace the steering wheel if you want to resell it, but you got a car!

Works for every steering wheel lock.

B.

No brownouts or blackouts for the last 1.5 years here (north of Tokyo), I assure you! (and before that in the 60Hz-half of Japan).

Well, nuclear reactor designs may have improved, but the newer designs are not being built. So we are stuck with the old ones.

Not energy saving (at which they are quite bad, as I can see living here), but burning coal is why they only need 2 power plants.

Bull. They admit the comfort women, it was even explicitly mentioned in an ill-posed statement by the mayor of Osaka.

Well, you are allowed to question, but we (nuclear scientists) hope that you know what you are talking about and bring something insightful comments to the table.

I agree, in fact, I couldn't agree more.

A few years I heard that a Dutch metalworks factory (aluminium plant?) has an interesting arrangement with NUON, an energy company. NUON will provide cheap electricity to the metalworks factory if there is energy from their turbines. The factory can then make a decision to run at odd (but cheap) hours. That sounded smart to me.

There are some interesting numbers coming out of the research (I believe we are at a few percent now), but lifetime, printability and base chemical cost are still to be improved before we have a viable organic solar cell. With the money being poured into that field, I suspect that may take five to 20 years but I am no longer very connected with that field.

I agree. Let's get the funding back, fire the beancounters, get the press out of the sensationalist mindset and let's get back to science.

Cheers!

Funny, as I have colleagues researching alternatives to using rare earth metals in solar cells, as well as colleagues searching for better alternatives to rare earth metals in wind turbines (dysprosium being a rather expensive one). I do not come empty-handed though, I have a reference: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-rare-earth-metals.html

That reference says explicitly that rare earth metals are used in solar cells. But I suppose my colleagues and my reference are "just completely wrong".

Your second paragraph is an ad hominem and a "wisdom of the crowds" statement. So many people believe in Homeopathy, so it must be true. But I guess that is typical for anti-nuke Slashdot crowds.

I suppose it was not clear I was joking. Let me put on a slightly more serious note:
- anti-nuclear activism has caused a massive drop in support for further development of this technology, so much that research money in the field is almost nonexistent. Furthermore, they have prevented construction of newer replacement power plants of improved designs to replace the old with the result that the old are kept alive longer risking more catastrophic failures rather than graceful shutdown and dismantling. Lastly, they have prevented (in collaboration with the government on that aspect) development and construction of breeder plants which would reduce the waste problem by a whopping 99%. There are breeder plants around, but not enough and some are idle due to political pressure. Very lastly, fear of all things nuclear has also shut down research reactors for making neutrons, at least in Japan, seriously hindering many fields of science (biology, materials science, ...)
- Wind is an option, but we have to get away from the idea of 24/7 power. If there is wind, there is power. Too many people here in Japan scream for renewables but are unwilling to change their energy consumption (and poor, poor insulation) and energy expectations. Change that mindset and I'll be rooting for wind.
- Solar is not a good option as solar cells require rare earth metals. As was recently said at a conference, it is impossible to power even Australia with just solar cells: as soon as you've produced enough cells you have depleted all earth resources of several rare-earth metals. That just leaves the rest of the world without solar power.
- Nuclear fusion is hypothetically interesting, but funding is very scarce for this field which slows down progress by decades. Nuclear fusion scientists are now fighting for money to exist as opposed to actually doing science.

So, we're not out of the woods yet.