The world leader in diamonds, DeBeers, says they expect the demand for diamonds, specifically rough diamonds to grow to record highs. The news comes on the heels of high demand for rough diamonds in the emerging markets of India and China.

With the global economy so volatile, some investors are looking at diamonds, as well as other precious metals and gems as a sort of safe-haven for their investments. Unlike some investments, you can hold precious metals and gems in your hand, making it appealing for those worried about their money.

Diamond demand in the United States is also increasing, at a rate of about 9% for the year, exceeding previous expectations.

Experts say that with investors increasingly passing up bonds and other stocks, gold and diamonds are seen as a way to diversify and shore up an investment portfolio.

Since the beginning of the year, diamonds have been a consistent performer as far as pricing is concerned. The steadily rising prices are seen as a result of less new mines being created. Lower cutting center inventories is also seen as a factor, in addition to the increasing demand for supply.

Diamond industry experts are also saying that diamond pricing and demand should continue to increase thanks to demand from buyers in China and India, with many buyers looking at the gems as investments but also as a status symbol of new found wealth. Demand in both China and India is predicted to grow by at least 10% year-to-year, possibly for the next 10 years.

The DeBeers company says they have produced over 35 million carats of diamonds in 2011, with nearly 40 million carats being sold,  both to investors and consumers.

Smart cities will be springing up to replace many cities and towns that were decimated by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan.

Area governments, with the help of corporations and other organizations are exploring options for creating eco-friendly, forward thinking smart cities.

The focus of Japan’s smart cities will be on using safer renewable energy, efficient water treatment and more efficient housing.

Corporations that are working on the project include Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsui.

Hitachi is exploring more efficient methods to power its factory in Ibaraki.

Japan is already enacting plans for some of the world’s largest solar and wind power plants, with Mitsui and Softbank planning to build plants on lands that were devastated and cleared by the tsunami.

The hard hit town of Rikuzentakata in Iwate is already exploring options for building mega plants for solar power generation and a massive storage plan for the solar power.

The city of Sendai, also hard hit by the earthquake, has plans to build a mega solar plant on fields that were previously used for farming.

In addition to more efficient energy usage and power generation, the building and maintenance of the plants will create badly needed jobs in the areas.

Gold futures were seen as trading lower today, with some opting to take profits due to the recent all-time highs and strengthening dollar. Overall gold losses were muted today, thanks to the EU debt problems which are taking priority.

Some firms reported that gold weakened because of margin calls in other markets, which caused some to take money out of gold investments.

However, lower gold prices may not last long, with no shortage of people waiting to buy gold at perceived bargain prices.

Some investors expect gold to rocket once again, should the U.S. stock market become bearish.

In London, gold was nearing $1850. While many expect gold to reach above its previous high should the market slow again. In all, gold was down about $12 today in September 12^th market trading.

In European trading, gold futures were also affected by the stronger U.S. dollar, with December delivery rising .47%, making it down over $20, down to just under $1840 an ounce.

December silver futures rose .77%, falling over 60 cents, reaching just above $41 an ounce. October platinum futures fell nearly $30, making platinum just over $1807 an ounce.

The European debt problems also had an effect on crude futures, pushing them down to $86 a barrel for October delivery of sweet and light crude oil.

Two winners of the Nobel Prize have learned of a fundamental formula that would improve features of grapheme-made devices to use as photodetectors in upcoming high-speed visual communications.

Both scientist Kosta Novoselov, University of Manchester profession, and scientist Andre Geim, a University of Cambridge professor, learned that combining metallic nanostructures with graphene, they were able to harvest light 20-fold. This combination sets the path for improvements in high-speed Internet and other kinds of communications.

What they showed was this: by shining light onto two close-in-space metallic wires atop of graphene, electric power is generated. Essentially, it’s a simple solar cell. Thus, for applications, graphene-based technologies can be significantly faster (perhaps even 100 times faster) than communication rates in the quickest Internet cables. This is due to graphene’s inimitable nature of electronics, high velocity and high mobility.

There has been a drawback to the practical applications and these promising devices, which is currently their extremely low efficiency. Graphene is the world’s thinnest material and it soaks in just three percent of light without any contribution to electrical power.

However, the researchers dealt with problems of combining graphene and tiny metallic structures, which are placed on top of graphene.

These alleged plasmonic nanostructures have radically boosted the optical electrical field graphene feel and successfully concentrated light inside the one-atom dense carbon layer. The light-harvesting piece of the graphene was increased by 20 times thanks to the plasmonic enhancement. There was no sacrifice in speed. Thus, further improvement is likely to see greater efficiency.

Plasmonics expert Dr. Alexander Grigorenko said graphene seems like a possible companion for plasmonics. He said the researchers expected plasmonic nanostructures would improve the effectiveness of graphene-constructed devices. However, the dramatic improvement was a surprise, he said.

Novoselov said graphene production technology changes every day, which has an instant effect on two things:

- Kind of stimulating physics

- Possible applications’ range and viability

There are many electronics companies who believe graphene is the next step for devices, which boost its chances even more.

Graphene is an innovative two-dimensional material that’s perceived as a monolayer of carbon atoms sorted into a hexagonal lattice. It’s got several distinctive properties and is being used or considered in various new technologies.

UK scientists are hoping to change the way people protect their skin from harmful UV rays from the sun. As of right now, sunscreen is the surefire way to protect the skin. However, a sunscreen pill is being manufactured that could give users weeks of sunscreen protection.

The better sunscreen secret may be found under the world’s oceans and seas. Researchers are looking to rein in the natural defense of coral against the sun and create a pill for humans to use.

According to a recent report by the BBC, a King’s College London research team went to Great Barrier Reef in Australia to examine several samples of the Acropora coral, an endangered species. The researchers’ goal is to amalgamate the protective components of the coral. These components have not only protected the coral but the fish that eat off of it. They’ll first design a lotion version to test on skin. And, in time, develop a tablet form of sunscreen protection.

Human testing, according to the BBC, could start very soon.

There’s a strong possibility that the pill could be designed to also protect your eyes, not just your skin. The UK’s The Guardian reported the pill could be out within five years.

Using the seas to learn about clues for a better sunscreen is not a new notion. Scientists have learned how the natural antioxidant known as astaxanthin, which is seen in red ocean animals and plants, can reduce the damage from the sun. Based on the research, skin cancer patients can particularly benefit from it. There is a supplement form available; however, it’s recommended that persons use sunscreen along with it and limit their time outdoors in the sun.

Genetically modified corn from Monsanto that has been built to resist the western corn rootworm is giving rise to superbugs, says new research from Iowa State University.

The genetically modified corn is not supposed to be planted year after year, so as not to give the western corn rootworm the chance to adapt to the corn. However, many farmers have ignored recommendations by the biotechnology behemoth Monsanto and planted the corn several years in a row. These farmers noticed that their corn became infested with the worms, which they call “superbugs”. Superbugs are a term for pests that have adapted to resist whatever type of plants or pesticides that were designed to kill them or keep them away from crops.

Researchers at Iowa State University are worried that these superbugs could begin to have an effect on crop yields, and therefore cause an increase in corn prices. With corn in such high demand as animal feed, fuel and food, rising corn prices could have a significant economic impact.

Corn’s current pricing and high demand leads many farmers to risk the infestation of superbugs and plant successive year crops anyway.

To solve the problem, Monsanto is recommending farmers plant different types of their genetically modified corn instead of the same type year after year.

Mortgage companies are seeing huge increases in people refinancing their mortgages, thanks to all-time lows in mortgage rates. Some mortgage companies have reported tripled business in recent weeks as homeowners rush to lock in the historic low rates.

The historic low rates are seeing many homeowners opting to change their 30 year mortgage to a 15 year or even 10 year mortgage.

In addition, the Obama administration is hoping that a new plan to help with mortgage refinancing will give the economy a boost.

With mortgage rates at an all-time low, the administration is considering a plan for government backed refinancing. The plan would boost the economy giving over $80 billion to homeowners to spend. The plan is said to be a cost-effective way to help the economy, and more effective than other types of stimulus. It would not add to the national debt and would also help to reduce homeowner defaults and foreclosure rates.

The plan may also help to boost the beleaguered real estate industry, increasing home buying across the board.

According to a new report, teachers at public schools in the U.S. spent over $1 billion out of their own pockets to buy school supplies for their students in the school year dating 2009 to 2010.

The report by the National School Supply and Equipment Association surveyed over 300 K-12 public school teachers. The report says that the teachers each spent more than $350 of their own money buying school supplies and other materials for their students.

Teachers typically bought:

• Software
• Educational games
• Teaching aids
• Paper
• Pencils
• Glue
• Art supplies
• Craft supplies

However, expenditures by public school teachers were down compared to previous years, including a previous high of over $550 per year in the school year 05-06.

Over 90% of public school teachers said they spent out of their own pocket on school supplies, spending an average of nearly $1000 each for the school year 09-10, while parents spent an average of less than $20 for school supplies for each child.

Nearly half of teacher require parents to purchase or provide school supplies for their students.

A team of astronomers have discovered a planet that may consist of diamonds. The planet is about  thousand light years away from earth or about 38,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers.

The planet is orbiting a neutron star in our galaxy. The planet is speculated to be more dense than any other planet discovered to this point. The planet consists of mostly carbon with some oxygen, and the carbon is typically crystal in structure, ie. diamond, leading the astronomers to speculate that the planet is made of mostly diamond. Its total mass is a bit more than Jupiter, however, the diamond planet has a density about 20 times that of our universe’s largest planet. Helium and hydrogen are likely not present, due to the density.

The planet may be a what’s left of a massive star that no longer has its outer layers, likely due to the dead star which it orbits.

A neutron star, or pulsar, is a small dead star about 12 miles around, which may rotate hundreds of times each second. These stars typically emit rays of radiation. The diamond planet orbits once every 2 hours.

The diamond planet has been monitored by astronomers in Hawaii, the UK and Australia.

Astronomers speculate that the planet could look like a crystal planet, with diamond cropping everywhere.

Late mortgage payments are increasing due to the slow economic climate. In the second quarter of 2011, the amount of late mortgage payments made by homeowners rose to its highest number in the last year. Experts say the rise is due to the numbers of unemployed homeowners.

According to a report released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association, the percent of overdue mortgage payments rose to nearly 4%. In addition, the percent of mortgage loans that were past due by at least 2 months rose to nearly 1.4%.

On the bright side, foreclosures have dropped for the second quarter in a row. The rising delinquency rate may be a sign that foreclosures will once again see increases in the coming months.

The Labor Department says that unemployment rates have risen to a US average of 9.1% in the second quarter, while jobless claims reached an 8 month high in April 2011.

Experts say that the delinquency and foreclosure rates very much mirror the state of the jobs market. Overall mortgage delinquencies are at nearly 8.5%, up from 8.3% in the previous quarter.

A glut of foreclosures is bringing delays to the overloaded court system, with a large backlog of foreclosures waiting to be finalized.

Inventories of foreclosed homes fell slightly in the first quarter of 2011. New foreclosure rates also fell slightly.

Finance behemoths JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have lessened US GDP forecasts, signaling slower economic growth than anticipated.