Turn PET Bottle into PET Aerogel

                                                                                                                   By Florence Huang

When we are outside, we can get bottled water or any other drink easily from a convenience store. After we finish the beverage, we recycle the bottle. If we could gather all the recycled bottles from around the world, how many plastic bottles would we get? It might be millions and billions of them. If we can make good use of such a large amount of plastic bottles, we might do more than saving our earth. We may also make our lives better.

Researchers from National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a technology that make the world’s first polyethylene terephthalate (PET) aerogels from recycled plastic. The research team of NUS spent two years developing a simple, cost-effective, and green method that can turn PET bottles into a piece of A4-sized PET aerogel.

According to the researchers, the PET aerogel is a soft, flexible, durable, and extremely light material; while working with certain chemicals, it shows even more features that serves various purposes: great thermal insulation, strong absorbing capacity, only to name a few. These features can be applied to heat or sound insulation in buildings and to oil-spill cleaning. It also makes for excellent material for lightweight coats for firefighters. When it is made into carbon-dioxide absorption mask, it helps firefighters during fire rescue. They no longer need to wear the heavy masks they used to wear.

The researchers promised sustainable work and attempts to find out more features of the PET aerogel, to seek more possibilities of its application, and to develop products based on their finds.

Plastic is toxic and non-biodegradable. It means that the plastic we used mostly end up deep in the sea or buried under ground. This will cause serious environmental problem. If the researchers find out more means of its application in the future, the aerogel technology may well encourage people to recycle plastic bottles and other plastic products. Most important of all, such recycling when comes true can help us reduce the effect of plastic pollution.

The Wonderful Green Valley By the Sea in Keelung

                                                                                                                      By Bamboo Chen

If you are planning on visiting a beautiful place near Taipei, Wangyou Valley (望幽谷/忘憂谷) will be an excellent sight to head for. A lot of the tourists going to Keelung likes to go nowhere else but the Miaokou Night Market (廟口夜市), Keelung Harbor, or E-Square, the newly opened shopping mall. However, there are many sightseeing spots near the mountains or by the sea in the landscape-boasting city. One of many spots is the Wangyou Valley, which is likely to be the most popular.

Wangyou Valley has most scenic trails in northern Taiwan. The Chinese name “Wangyou” has two meanings: one is that this is a valley with a magical view which endows the viewer with a peaceful mood; the other means that it is a relaxing place where the visitor can leave all worries behind.

From the moment you enter the valley, a V-shaped green valley comes in sight along with the blue coastline. Walking on the trail, visitors will see giant stones with grass on top, the sea in various shades of blue, and the nearby Keelung Islet (基隆嶼). Below the hills are some spectacular landforms on the seashore caused by sea and wind erosions. There people linger to enjoy the view or to have fun with water. There is no questioning about why some people call this place a fairy land. It is true that oftentimes visitors are so overwhelmed by the wonderful sea views and the soothing sea breezes around this place that all mundane worries seem petty and trifling.

It takes about one hour to hike through the Wangyou Valley Trail, but most people spend a longer time stopping from time to time for its scenery and pictures. For a pleasant visit without missing out too much, here are a couple of suggestions for people who are interested in Wangyou Valley. Since there are no trees or bushes to give shade on the windy hills, it is best to avoid visiting Wangyou Valley at noon during summer when the scorching sun can hurt you. Besides, in case of getting sunstroke, it is important to rest and hydrate yourself between long walks.

Wangyou Valley is located in Badouzi Coastal Park in Keelung. Both trains and buses run regularly from Taipei City to facilitate your visit. After passing the National Museum of Marine Science & Technology (國立海洋科技博物館), you need to allow no more than 15 minutes to reach the trailhead which is on the small cliff of the ridge. Wangyou Valley is definitely a perfect option for a short visit on the weekends.

The Legend of Queen: Freddie Mercury

                                                                                                                   By Florence Huang

When all the instruments were set, a man with an iconic mustache, wearing a white vest and tight jeans came out. He walked to the center of the stage with his special movement. He made everyone screamed, shouted, and whistled. He is Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, also regarded as one of the greatest singer in history.

A 20 minutes live concert for Live Aid in 1985, everyone agrees that Queen had the most mind-blowing show. Some people said it might be the greatest live concert on stage, and will never be forgotten. The person that made Queen the most popular band since the 70s is Freddie Mercury himself.

In the early days of Freddie’s musical career, he followed a band named Smile. In 1970, Smile’s lead singer left the band, and Freddie seized the opportunity to become part of the band. Just like Freddie said, “I’m not going to be a pop star. I’m going to be a legend!” Freddie changed the band’s name into Queen, started to sing in the band with his recognizable voice, and established various music styles. All of a sudden, the band started to get attention from everywhere.

Besides his band members, another important person who was always by the side of Freddie is his beloved, Mary Austin. Freddie and Mary got married for a few years and they divorced. Freddie came out that he was bisexual, but Mary was convinced that he was pretty much a homosexual, but still struggling with his sexual identity. Regardless, Mary remained an important person in Freddie’s life, who was always supportive and believing in him. Just like he said, “The only friend I’ve got is Mary, and I don’t want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that’s enough for me.”

In 1991, Freddie died from complications of AIDS, of pneumonia. Just 24 hours after he released a formal statement that revealed he had lived for years with HIV. Before he died, he was still recording and producing new songs. His death is one of the most mournful events in the 90s. He once said, “I always knew I was a star, and now the rest of the world seems to agree with me.” After his death, everyone misses his unique and powerful voice. All we can do is to appreciate Queen’s music, to know him better through his music, and to be thankful for his music, stardom, and legend.

S.T.Eye: STI-Sensing Color Condoms

                                                                                                                          By Shan Chien

Can you imagine that the function of condoms is not only preventing from venereal disease (called V. D., diseases transmittable through acts of sex), but also detecting the V. D.? A group of teenage boys from the UK propose the concept of color-changing condoms that can detect the sexually transmitted infection (also known as STI.).

It’s always embarrassing for people to go to doctors for examining whether they have V.D. And it’s why Daanyaal Ali, Chirag Shah, and Muaz Nawaz these three boys come up with the idea of STI-sensing color condoms, nicknamed S.T.Eye by the same three. The idea and the product thereof won them the TeenTech Awards, awards that encourage teenagers to delve into science, engineering and technology.

When the S.T.Eye condom has contact with a V.D.-infect body, the condom would glow in one of the four different colors. Each color corresponds to a particular kind of V.D.: green for chlamydia, yellow for herpes, purple for human papillomavirus (HPV), and blue for syphilis. If the condom has no color-changing, it means there is nothing being detected.

This novel invention must be convenient for some people. However, it is now still at the conceptual stage because it still takes time to make these glowing condoms come true, which needs to go through lots of tests to make sure the additive that makes the condom glow would do no harm to the human body.

Some people believe when people are sexually aroused, they may easily ignore the glowing condom. Still, with the convenient Internet, the idea of glowing condoms finds its way to Asia. However, parents in Asia seem worried ,confused, and wondering why these 13-year-old boys know how to use a condom. Asian parents think it is too precocious. Is it really too early for a teenager to know about sex or to receive sex education? 

Last but not least, though the color-changing condoms could sense the VD, it can only suggests that you may have the potential of having V.D. To know more specific and accurate result, people still need to have a comprehensive examination in the hospital. Better safe than sorry!

Students Fly Rainbow Pride Flag at SHU

                                                                                                                      By Bamboo Chen

A rainbow flag, a symbol of gay pride, appeared as the façade of the centered building on campus of Shih Hsin University (SHU) after the referendum on marriage equality reforms in November 2018.

After the elections and referendum, people who support same-sex marriage were disappointed by the results. Their hopes have been overtaken by anxiety and fears as Taiwan votes on marriage equality mounted by anti-gay rights opponents. Therefore, students from the Graduate Institute of Gender Studies at SHU decided to put up a rainbow flag hanging down from the said building on campus.

On Thursday, November 29th, the group of students used six large strips of cloth in different colors to make a rainbow flag and attached them to one side of the centered building, the She-Wo Building. People passing by would surely stop for the eye-catching view and mostly take a selfie with the flying colors of the LGBT pride. On December 3rd, the school asked the students to take down the flag for they did not submit their application for demonstration or public display of symbolic language. But the students soon put the flag back on the following day and filed an application immediately the day after.

The students said that they want to the rainbow flag up there to be seen until the end of the semester. They hope to show their support to gay community, the spirit of love, and mutual  respect among people around the world. They asserts that they will not give up until the day when gender equality is truly achieved. However, the flag was taken down again on December 14th. The school disapproved their application and asked them to take the flag down after their meeting with the students. The school explains that now there are no relevant regulations and hanging flags or anything on buildings at will may leave others with a negative impression of SHU.

Despite many difficulties, the group of students who launched to hoist the gay-pride flag are still striving for their right to speech and symbolic language. They invite everyone at SHU to wear or to bring something that stands for the symbol of gay pride to show their support before the school offers its agreement. Although when the flag will be put up again remains an unknown question, it is certain that people who believe in love and equal rights are making their efforts in their own ways.

African Swine Fever—Why Should We Keep It from Taiwan?

                                                                                                                          By Shan Chien

Recently, people must have been hearing about African swine fever, on radio or TV, informing us that China is now one of the epidemic areas so that the government bans pork products from china, via import-export channels or individual flights. However, does anyone know what it is?

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious viral disease among swine. ASF can be transmitted through direct contact with infected animals, food scrapes, manure, and pork products. ASF only works on swine, that is to say, PEOPLE WON’T BE INFECTED!! Symptoms on swine include fever, loss of appetite, lack of energy, abortions, and internal hemorrhage that is visible on the ears and flanks. There is no treatment for this disease and the fatality rate is almost 100%. Once been infected, swine would die within 10 days.

If people won’t be infected, then why should we be afraid of its coming? Though people won’t contract ASF, the virus can survive in frozen (0 °C~-18°C) pork for 1000 day, in cooled (5 °C) pork for 100 day, and even in processed pork products it can survive for almost 140 days; thus, we see how tenacious the virus is. Once the pork product with ASF comes to Taiwan, the local swine would be easily infected and killed especially by our food scrapes.

If you still don’t consider it a serious issue, then you must do from now on. People should think about the consequences of a great number of dead pigs, which means great damage of swine farming and huge drop of pork supply. It would not only influence our daily meal but also have a great impact on the swine industry and on whoever earns a living by farming swine. 

In conclusion, to protect our daily diet and swine industry, it’s our responsibility to say no to ASF pork products.

An Introduction to Cryptocurrency

(photo source: "So You Want to Get Started in Cryptocurrency." Popular Mechanics. By Alexander George. <https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a18930173/start-bitcoin-cryptocurrency/>. This photo is taken intact from the aforementioned source and is therefore subject to immediate removal upon notice.)

Davide Demarchi*

     Since November 2017 following by a price surge, which reached 2000% (from 1.000$ to 20.000$) in late December, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies dominated the headlines all across the world. Previously associated with black markets and the deep web, in the last 2 years, cryptocurrencies have attracted a huge amount of capitals, going from 7 billion USD of total market capitalization in 2015, to almost 17 billion in 2016, and touching the all-time-high of 830 billion in December 2017. This 8 years’ constant uptrend have generated a huge hype around this market, but what are cryptocurrencies?

     Bitcoin was first announced in 2008 and implemented in 2009 by someone, under a mysterious name of Satoshi Nakamoto. It was the first Peer-to-Peer electronic cash system. And the underlying technology, the blockchain, which is a distributed server in which every node (A.K.A. computer connected with the network) runs a full register of the transactions and the balances, updating in real-time. This system prevents the possibility of manipulations or being controlled by a single actor. This concept had flown under the radar of mainstream attention for 8 years, but it still created a fertile environment for programmers and developers to create new projects starting from the same ideas.

     Along with Bitcoin, which is the main cryptocurrency, mostly for the fame instead of its technological superiority, many other cryptocurrencies have popped out for the last of 2 years. In many cases, those cryptocurrencies use Initial Coin Offering (ICO) to gain capitals from investors. ICO is the crypto version of an Initial Public Offering, which stocks are substituted with newly created coins or tokens. With the ICO formula, new projects were able to collect 107 million in 2016 and 1.7 billion in 2017 for their development.

     But with great possibility comes great risk: as an unregulated market, any kind of behavior is possible: manipulation or pump-and-dump schemes happen every day. With over 1500 coins currently being developed, there are every kind of project: from legitimate ones like Ethereum, that rapidly became the second largest currency; to suspicious Ponzi schemes. Bitconnect is the most clamorous scheme which reached a market capitalization of almost 3 billion before it crumbled in front of 2 cease-and-desist orders from U.S. authorities and it is now facing various class actions from scammed investors.

     As many observers pointed out the situation in this particular market is similar to the early 2000’s Dot-com bubble. With dozens of new coins being created every month, in many cases without clear project beneath the coins, it is really easy for newcomers to be taken by the hype and end up with the pockets full of useless coins. At the same time, it is undeniable that we are facing a modern technology with many possibilities of usages. The blockchain is being experimented by many enterprises, institutions and even governments. For example, Sierra Leone held the first elections regulated by the blockchain this year. Most of the projects we see now are still embryonal, almost certainly, some of them will become trustworthy and well-established companies in the future.

    Investing in any market is risky and the possibilities to lose a part or all the investment is always there, so keep in mind the following two simple but effective recommendations: First, never invest more than what you can afford to lose; and second, do your own researches, you would not throw your money away, so do not put them into something you do not believe. And let’s hope to see you millionaires in the near future.

* Davide Demarchi is E-Power's Guest Correspondent of the Year (2018). Born in Imperia, Italy. Graduated from the University of Genoa in International Diplomatic Studies. Currently learning Chinese in National Chengchi University in Taipei. Interested in international relations, strategic studies and crypto currencies. Believes that pineapple on pizza is a blasphemy.