Come ‘Here’!

A pointed index finger can mean many things. It can direct our attention to something, show us which way to go, or demand silence. It all depends on context—the situation in which it is used. This is what philosophers refer to as ‘indexicality’. And yes, you guessed it, the word ‘indexicality’ comes from the name of that particular finger.

Birdy from ‘Here’ game
Wessel the cat from ‘Here’ game

At the University of Malta’s Institute of Digital Games, Prof. Stefano Gualeni has been playing around with this concept. Featuring the voice acting talents of independent game developers Emily Short and Pippin Barr, Gualeni has created a video game called Here, designed for players to engage with (and get confused by) the concept of indexicality. 

Here’s gameplay poses the question of what it means when we say ‘here’ in a game world, and how many meanings of ‘here’ can exist side-by-side in a video game. It uses the trope from Japanese Role Playing Games of going on quests to retrieve bizarre items from classic locations. Spooky caves and castles are all part of the repertoire of locations that players can explore. But then, where do you go if ‘here’ is your instruction? What if ‘here’ isn’t where you think it is? What if you’re supposed to go upside down instead?   

To try the game yourself, visit www.here.gua-le-ni.com

Author: Cassi Camilleri

Green heat, green power

At face value, renewable energy seems the smartest choice for a cleaner tomorrow. But when green energy cannot be stored, what do we do during scorching summer afternoons and cold winter nights? Cassi Camilleri speaks to Prof. Joseph Cilia and his team to find out more about the innovative solution they are developing.

The movement towards sustainability has been ramping up over decades. Now, it feels like it has reached fever pitch. Headlines are hogged by the latest scary statistic on air, land, or sea pollution. People are rallying, demanding that new measures be implemented to reduce waste and clean up our streets. Despite this call, real advances on these issues always manage to find themselves obstructed by seemingly ‘rational’ arguments.

For one, renewable energy isn’t as reliable and cheap as fossil fuels. Overhauling the status quo is expensive and requires significant effort, both of which make people frown. Solar power depends on the sun, wind power depends on wind, both of which are quite unpredictable. But while this is true, it shouldn’t even be considered an issue. We live in a country on the receiving end of 550,000 GWh of solar energy annually, while we need only 3,484 GWh to cover all energy consumption. Let that sink in.

Of course, I hear your concerns about the quantity of solar panels needed to harvest that energy—Malta is so small and built up. But in reality, only 28% of our island is built up, and just 7% of the remaining land would be required to meet the total energy demand. So yes. There are solutions to our energy woes. And those solutions need to be combined to create the best results.

Thanks to support from Abertax Kemtronics and MCST (Malta Council for Science and Technology), Prof. Joseph Cilia and his team of researchers (Department of Industrial Electrical Power Conversion, University of Malta [UM]) have found that houses with a normal-sized photovoltaic system can supply more than 100% of the total energy they need during summer. During winter, that figure falls to 50%. To manage this drop, energy can be supplied through other sources. Enter the Micro-CHP.

A small combined heat and power (CHP) machine provides seasonal energy in two forms: electrical and thermal. It consists of a standard internal combustion engine coupled with a generator that produces electrical energy. The thermal energy resulting from the engine and exhaust is then recovered using water heat exchangers and reused to heat the house and domestic water.

While similar systems already exist, most are geared towards industrial applications. The rest cost, on average, around €15,000—pricing a large cross-section of society out. The system Cilia and his team have developed makes use of a grid PV system, combined with battery energy storage, a heating and cooling heat pump load, a CHP machine, and LED lighting. It is also an easy-to-install, plug-and-play solution that fits into your current setup, as opposed to a complex installation that would force everything to change with it. By the end of it, the team’s CHP will cost the consumer around €8,000.

Their study of Maltese households showed that in a typical medium-sized household, energy needs vary substantially. The energy fluctuations for a typical Maltese household are usually about 500 kWhr between the summer and winter seasons. In this case, storing this energy in a battery is not feasible. What is feasible is simply making more efficient use of the LPG gas tank that most people already have and use at home. If one wants to be renewable, one can also use ethanol or methanol to operate the CHP, which, if used in combination with a heat pump, can easily reach an efficiency of 150% to 180% in heating mode.

Added to this, the team’s system is unique compared to others on the market. It is connected directly to the main electricity supply, tapping into it whenever the system needs support, while not using mains electricity when enough energy is being produced by the system itself.

The system is scalable due to the plug-and-play concept the system is based on. It can be upgraded as more and more savings are made on electricity bills. ‘The idea is to provide a cost-effective solution that even low-income households can afford,’ says Cilia. This can not only trigger a widespread use of energy generation and storage for domestic use, but also turn consumers into suppliers of their own energy needs. Gone are the days of being dependent on the grid.

 Author: Cassi Camilleri

Project A Smart Micro Combined Heat and Power System financed by the Malta Council for Science & Technology, for and on behalf of the Foundation for Science and Technology, through the FUSION: R&I Technology Development Programme.

Hailing a new era for ocean literacy

Prof. Alan Deidun

The Maltese Islands, despite their miniscule terrestrial extent, have always managed to punch way above their weight when it comes to aquatic matters. Hosting the International Ocean Institute, the Islands also have a pivotal role in the formulation of the Law of the Sea through the Maltese representative to the United Nations, Arvid Pardo. The ‘father of the law of the sea’, as he is affectionately known, delivered a prophetic speech to the UN General Assembly on November 1st, 1967. He described the sea as ‘the common heritage of mankind’, a phrase which still resonates to this very day, and which is enshrined within Article 136 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Europe’s seas are currently being assessed more than ever for their potential, as Blue Growth (the long term strategy to support sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors as a whole) gains greater traction throughout the continent. We are plumbing our seas to greater depths in the search for elusive minerals, cures, genetic resources, energy sources, and a plethora of other untapped assets. In the race to unlock more of the ocean’s secrets, ocean literacy assumes a compelling role—to revise the paradigm of human impacts on our ocean so far. In fact, in the history of human exploitation of the ocean, we first exerted deleterious impacts on the ocean environment, only to become aware of those impacts and resort to ocean literacy to generate further awareness, control, and change.

The challenge now is to anticipate developments. A precautionary approach is needed to soften impacts when venturing into unchartered grounds. Some might label this utopic, I prefer to call it ‘foresight.’ For us to reach this stage, governments and institutions must invest heavily in ocean literacy to ensure more responsible use and treatment of that 70% of our planet. It is imperative for potential investors to have a grounding in ocean literacy principles, with the aim of paralleling the considerable success being had introducing ocean literacy concepts within school curricula and initiatives across Europe.

We are gearing up towards the International Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Proposed by UNESCO last June  at the Ocean Conference in New York, it will span from 2021 until 2030. The considerable number of abstracts submitted for the European Marine Scientists Educators Association (EMSEA) Malta conference, now approaching the 70 mark, is testimony to the profile that EMSEA has managed to achieve since its establishment a decade ago. It also confirms the status that ocean literacy now holds across the European continent and beyond. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Author: Prof. Alan Deidun
Read more here: http://www.emsea.eu/

Shifting power dynamics in genomic research

 

Donation of human tissues has been at the core of medical research in Europe since religious restraints were relaxed towards the end of the Middle Ages, making this altruistic act socially and morally acceptable. Altruism is the key word—the individual donates their tissues for the greater good: for the advancement of science, the extension of boundaries of medical knowledge, and for the potential to deliver better medical care. The individual donating their tissues or blood does so with no expectation of return or personal gain, and hands over sample ownership to the scientific community in confidence that ethical use will be made of it.

Many would assume this is still the case… but is it? Genomic research has opened up new and exciting avenues for medical research that have the potential to dramatically transform the way medical practitioners strategically select treatment regimes. Personalised medicine is no longer a pipe dream, it is clearly in the cards—the pack has been dealt, and the game is well underway.

The game-changer here is the genome. The established practice of donors passively handing over their samples of blood or tissues for research is impacted by the fact that DNA is in focus here. Their DNA.

Dr Gillian M. Martin

Should this make any difference? Some argue that the fundamental process of donating for the greater good, with no consequent active involvement, is still the cornerstone of the process. There are, however, important shifts in the current social and cultural context that impact the researcher-donor dynamic. Two of these are of particular relevance here. The first is knowledge: the accessibility (via the web) of information about the research process, its impacts and applications, have led to the burgeoning new field of citizen engagement in research. Genomic research, in particular, attracts participants who are personally motivated in the process, with research into genetically linked diseases offering hope for their relatives and future generations. The second shift is that of rights over personal data. Individuals’ rights to the control of their personal data are to be entrenched in the General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018. This EU regulation will sanction a process that is already clear in practice: the trend for individuals to demand control over the ways their personal data are used and stored.

This is where the detached and passive sample ‘donor’ exits stage left, and the research participant takes the limelight. Cynics might claim that nothing much has changed. Samples are collected with consent and research continues, but there is an exciting difference in the dynamics involved. The participant now has the potential to remain engaged by using a process of web-based consent. The various versions of this eConsent or ‘dynamic consent’ that are now available offer the participant and researcher a real-time channel of communication which enables optimum use and reuse of the sample and the accompanying personal data that make it so valuable. The biomedical samples now come with persons digitally-attached: individuals who actively engage in the research process by offering flexible consent via web-based tools. When pooled and stored within biobanks, these samples offer a viable source of DNA with real potential for wide use in research.

Within this scenario, ethicality is enhanced as banked anonymised samples can be used to their full potential and shared, with consent, within the research community. In this way doing justice to the individual participant’s key motivation: to advance scientific knowledge for the benefit of future generations.

Author: Dr Gillian M. Martin