beethoven. beethoven is for. beethoven is for. over is for. beethoven 202250th anniversary year on do you. get. into tomorrow today the science show on d w coming up. could this tower be a solution to the problem of renewable energy storage. we meet a scientist who is searching for new antibiotics from microorganisms.

and put. our faraway solar system neighbor was a planet and then it wasn't what happened. but 1st let's take a look at our planet's sun wind and water are almost inexhaustible sources of energy here on earth and we have the technology to tap into them we're moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energies that much is clear but what's unclear is how to reliably store that energy. it's a problem that urgently needs solving as more and more of our electricity in the future will come from renewable sources. a swiss engineer has come up with an interesting concept. petrecki has a vision he wants to build a gravity assisted battery to compensate for the fluctuating nature of solar and

wind energy if it works it'll be able to store millions of times more energy than a conventional household battery. vision is a system for storing large amounts of energy so we can increase the sheriff energy is in the grid. or right now it's about 30 to 35 percent that's the limit because the sun doesn't shine constantly what we need is a more economical and efficient storage system. and this is what his batteries will look like towers 60 to 120 meters high made of hundreds of cement blocks built around the 6 armed crane when there's excess energy in the grid it will power electric motors which move the crane arms to lift and stack the $35.00 ton blocks. now the battery is charged. when electricity is needed the blocks are let down again generators in the crane

arms turn the potential energy of the stat blocks into electrical energy which is returned to the grid this leaves the tower discharged. to try to cement blocks essentially function the way the water in a pumped storage hydroelectric plant but with the advantage according to the inventors that the towers can be built on any terrain and are cheaper. we can store the energy very cheaply because we use existing technology like motors and generators mechanical systems that have been around for a. 100 years. this seemingly simple idea has garnered quite a lot of attention after progressive steam presented the concept at an energy storage developers conference in the us microsoft founder bill gates mentioned the company to his millions of followers he wrote wind and solar won't reach their potential until we vastly improve energy storage there are some exciting companies

working in this space like bill gross and then his energy vault. tweet from bill gates made is known around the world but that wasn't the only factor but after the official presentation there was a lot of interest on the part of many different investors. helped of course. here in southern switzerland the vision is actually taking shape start up as well financed thanks to a generous investment from japan softbank and tata power india's biggest electricity provider has ordered the tower. the one here is a prototype andrea has yet to prove that the idea really works because although the concept sounds simple it's quite complicated to put into practice.

the most difficult part is the intelligence software that controls the crane autonomously it has to grasp the concrete blocks on reposition them without vibrations and without any human involvement. once completed this small scale prototype will have the chance to prove itself as a future technology for energy storage. making the switch to renewables is a project that will be with us for years to come. but at the moment most headlines are about the new coronavirus. and late 2019 a hitherto unknown corona virus strain appeared in the city of will happen in china it soon spread to other countries again and again virus outbreaks threaten the health of communities and pressure researchers to develop vaccines. that's the case with many pathogens. here's a little a.b.c.

about viruses. some $3.00 to $5000.00 species of viruses have been classified worldwide scientists believe that millions more have yet to be identified. viruses are often transmitted by droplet infection they microscopic parasites that are neither really dead nor align. they are not made of cells don't carry out metabolic processes and can't replicate outside of the host when viruses enter the body meaning when we become infected they insert their genetic material into the host cells the virus hijacks the cells in order to reproduce. when the host cell dies thousands of new viruses are released and the process starts all over again. in contrast to freeloading viruses bacteria don't need a host to reproduce and they perform generally beneficial functions in our bodies

when we are infected with pathogenic bacteria we can beat them with antibiotics. well not necessarily the problem is that bacteria are increasingly developing resistance to antibiotics. back to your reproduce by shell division every so often there's a replication or such random mutations can drive evolution by natural selection usually there of little consequence the mutated bacterial form eventually dies out in some cases however a mutation can result in resist. to antibiotics and when antibiotics are used the bacteria with. the antibiotic kills most of the bacteria but the mutated bacteria are unaffected. bacteria survive and multiply. the use of antibiotics leads to a population of resistant bacteria. in hospitals

antibiotics are prescribed to many patients and that increases the chances that a resistant strain of bacteria will emerge and patients sometimes bring resistant bacteria with them when they're hospitalized those super bugs are often washed into the waste water system and into the environment. on crops in domestic animals. it's a vicious cycle. antibiotics are also used in large quantities in livestock farming that also promotes the rise of resistant bacteria which end up in the environment. new bacterial strains can spread around the world quickly even within days to combat the rise of superbugs we need to understand how they spread and we need to develop new drugs to combat them.

where ever bacterial colonies are trying to survive and thrive like in soil. and ordinary clump of soil is brimming with bacteria and fungus they compete with their neighbors for resources and space. the microbes have a secret weapon in their arsenal they produce chemical substances that can sweep away the competition. these anti-microbial compounds or antibiotics are of great interest to researchers they isolate the micro. organisms grow them in the lab and extract the antibiotics they produce. in a screening process disease causing bacteria. then samples of the soil and. added to the culture. the bacteria grow on the plate except where they encounter an anti-microbial agent that they're vulnerable to known as

a zone of inhibition. that's evidence that the substance is preventing bacterial growth in the zone one day it could be the basis for a new drug. effects of drugs could come from a place like this and. mangrove considered to be one of the most productive habitats on the planet protecting coastal areas from erosion and providing homes to countless species including a diversity of micro-organisms. there the object of studies by young scientists from indonesia. she's currently working at a research institute in germany. the development of new antibiotics is a race against time most antibiotics were derived from substances produced by the microorganisms at the helm of. research in germany semi auto yana is studying

sediment from to isolate bacteria that produce antibiotic substances the samples come from a nature conservation area in indonesia. the microorganisms in this house have adapted to that tidal environment to thrive in the sediment and brackish water they've evolved to produce a variety of. compounds. for the drugs that also urgently needed. the world needs new antibiotics. a growing number of pathogens or developing resistance to the antibiotics used in medicine today. well that's because so many antibiotics are being overused and misused. but.

the biologists have been trying to find as many microorganisms as possible that produce antibiotic substances and no work is paid off she's already isolated 28 previously unknown species mostly mixo bacteria. and bacteria produce a large variety of antibiotic substances. some of them can even produce compounds that are effective against malaria or viruses. and. the mixer bacteria found among grove ecosystems have also tried to the attention of biologists you all think. he believes that indonesia which is home to about one 5th of the world's mangrove ecosystems could be a rich source of useful microbes. the research is still in its infancy but sadly octavian this project is a promising start then you has done

a very interesting work with this looks a bit to realize that this is a special group of bacteria we are. working on and she has isolated a number of novel specious and characterized them and is now on to states that she can look for bioactive compounds which are produced by a unique are by crawling missiles indonesia since having a huge and wide biodiversity and especially in the field of microland isms this biodiversity is not investigated. 70 octavian as initial findings showed that the mix of bacteria among grove swamps include many recipe she's. the bioactive compounds they produce will be screened to see if they have hunting microbial properties which could. the rise of super bugs that have become a global health crisis.

yes sir prescott oh my god we were very surprised to find that nearly every species we identified was a rare one. we only read about them in books or online but here we've been able to work with them directly but i'm very proud that indonesia has so much potential. 70 october yana will soon complete her project at the helm on center then she plans to return home to indonesia where she'll continue her work on mixer bacteria and the mission to find new antibiotics . the next recourse is about a far away planet or none planet. piers it was discovered 90 years ago this insatiable find the same year disney named a cartoon doug after the 9th planet in the solar system recently nasa sent

a mission past few so which took some spectacular pictures that's futile is doug back in traverse city if you're in tanzania sent in a question about that. why is pluto no longer a planet. for 76 years pluto was known as the 9th planet in the solar system far out in space orbited our central star the sun pluto was the tiniest of the planets until 2006. then the international astronomical union the i you held is general assembly in prague and demoted pluto to dwarf planet it was a controversial decision which angered many astronomers the american astronomer clyde tombaugh discovered pluto in 930 and it was famed as the 1st planetary discovery in the u.s. . 'd in 2015 many spikes and through that masses new

horizons program might restore pluto status as a planet the spacecraft flew past it and took sensational photos. that revealed a complex and dynamic landscape with 3000 meter high mountains of frozen water juice of frozen methane and possibly even volcanoes spewing ice and it has an atmosphere and it's still not a planet even though it all gets the sun just like the remaining 8 planets know because the new definition of a planet includes a criterion that pluto does not fulfill. the i use as a planet has to quote clear the neighborhood around its orbit that means it's sweeps up other. material in the vicinity to become the dominant object in it's all the tools on. the earth has done that as have the other 7 planets in our solar system but pluto failed to make the grade. why out there in the

region of its orbit there are many other minor planets known as the transnet to me and objects some of them quite similar to pluto like the even more massive eris it was discovered in 2005 and ultimately led to pluto's downfall. clue showdowns to feel the other 2 criteria for planet showed. that it all gets a star and has enough mass to take on a nearly round shape that at least makes it a dwarf planet oh well it remains an absolutely fascinating world the far reaches of the song system. on the internet you'll find plenty of calls for peter to be returned to the pantheon of planets. we've picked out to particularly interesting theories

in support. rock legends brian may who has a doctorate in astrophysics is strongly pro puto. this list object was discovered and named to planets before he was born. and at the time he says planets with thought to be roughly spherical objects that always had the sun that makes pierce so a classical planet for him end of story. nasa administrator jim dryden star in a green. the way it should define a planet is based on its intrinsic values not the values the cost of a change like orbital dynamics just so when i think. about pluto and what we got back to new eyes and here's what we know. studio has an ocean under its surface. pluto has complex organic compounds on it surface pluto has

a multilayer atmosphere and pluto has its own moves i'm here to tell you as the nasa administrator. i believe pluto is a planet. in peril but is right why are they allowed to leave you maybe some questions aren't easy to answer but that shouldn't stop you asking them send us your science question as a video text ovoid smell if we enter it on the show we'll send you a little surprise as a thank you come on just ask. you'll find more science stories on our website and to get in touch on twitter and facebook. our planet has a problem with garbage we asked you on facebook what's the situation like in your country do you separate your garbage do you recycle. ranch on rights

that there are a lot of initiatives on garbage processing in india many municipalities now separate their garbage including the one where he lives. andrea says that households in romania usually don't recycle you can take the garbage to recycling bins yourself but they're usually not close by. the noto posts that imperiled why they are flooded with garbage that's not recycled he sees that as one reason for widespread dengue fever. retrying it's that the university of the south pacific and lao kala fiji has been specifically for plastic bottles where they go after that it's not clear maybe. they're really used in the factories that produce them. and in a post from nigeria brown says garbage isn't recycled there but burned which is

very hazardous for the environment and people who live in the rivers tend to discharge their waste into the water. thanks for your comments. clearly the problem of waste is huge and it could get bigger a study by the world bank forecasts that the amount of garbage will increase by 70 percent by the year 2050 that would be an incredible 3400000000 tonnes. figures like that show that we have to take action rice where we live our next report takes us to the brazilian capital where garbage is the subject of a university course back to basics. with this patch of land near the capital brasilia used to be the biggest landfill site in latin america in 2018 but dump was closed on the 60 meter high mountain of garbage was covered with. construction waste is still being dumped there of oh

that's illegal. the national waste policy aims to eradicate landfills and promote recycling. but there are still 2 and a half 1000 open landfill sites across the country. lucy often and it worked here as a waste picker for 20 years she supported her 4 children by selling anything of value she found the family lived in a shanty town right next door at 1st she was very much against the closure of the dump she had little faith in the city authorities pledged to provide jobs for some 750 trash because in new recycling facilities but now that's where she works and she's changed her mind. you know compensate he will say i never thought i might one day have a real job me a simple waste picker with no rights and no social insurance. and now i work here

i even have an office. if only i paid a little better it would be perfect as you say i am ice she and her colleagues now belong to a co-operative that operates one of the recycling facilities what they are depends on how much trash they sought lucy often and is a supervisor she makes sure the work is done properly. and that at the bottom of it how much. faffing nice there to come there aren't enough people working on the conveyor belt a lot of recyclable material gets through then we have to check it to make sure things don't end up in residual waste that don't belong there if i see that happening i put more people on at the end of the belt i met the process is set to become more efficient with the help of some students from the university of brasilia until recently that professor apollo says so does race gomes was deputy director of the municipal sanitation off already he helped restructure brazilians

waste management systems. come up with about everybody is collecting something different she sorting out glass bottles she's sorting out the plastic bottles further along somebody is pulling out the cardboard i'm afraid it's possible the process could be made more efficient if the positions were switched around that's something we need to test this tell us. but not all the trash delivered here to be sorted can be recycled much of it has to be disposed of. the aim of the program is to increase the proportion of waste that can be recycled. everything that can be stored and soldiers returned to the production chain to the recycling at district if it doesn't end up being dumped so we're saving the cost of taking it to the landfill. extending the lifespan of that site and reducing emissions. professor paolo's race has organized across disciplinary seminar at the university. students from various fields are working on

developing sustainable waste management solutions. one approach is to make waste sorting more efficient another is to focus on technology trucks sensors logistics others aim to raise environmental awareness how can the public be involved more closely in the waste recycling process than use the program bring students together with representatives of the municipal sanitation authority the recycling cooperatives and also commercial enterprises. the university of brasilia setting up a postgraduate program in waste management. among brazil cities the capital has taken the lead into valid thing a sustainable waste management strategy waste sorting and collection have just been expanded across the city to see if a non there is optimistic about her future will now be more waste the liver to her co-operative to sort and that means she and her colleagues will soon be earning

more. that's it for today on the next program a research project in iraq there is studying insect colonies his like bees why are they endangered and how can they be risky and join us for more on tomorrow or today next week see you then by.

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the. odd. place. this is day dubliners live from bustling germany announces sweeping restrictions to stem the spread of coronavirus the government by. religious gatherings around all this not essential shops to close countries already shops schools and partially closed its borders thompson i'm going to matthew is expected to address the nation shortly also on the program. president of being your commission i propose is that closing the blocks external forces to slow the spread of the virus a civil form the liar is calling for a 30 day found on all nonessential travel.