Category: Science & Technology News

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Electric Automobile, Science & Technology News

Aptera solar electric car with ‘1,000 miles’ of range gets $4M in backing, more than 7,000 preorders

By Fred Lambert 

Aptera, a startup aiming to bring to market a solar- and battery-powered electric car with “up to 1,000 miles” of range, received $4 million in backing and more than 7,000 preorders.

This is Aptera’s second go. The company was created in 2006 with the aim of bringing to market a super-efficient three-wheeled vehicle.

Unfortunately, the project didn’t work out, but the original founders recently decided to revisit the project after having launched a different successful company in the electrification space.

Last year, Aptera relaunched with the unveiling of a new updated battery- and solar-powered version of its super-efficient three-wheeler design.

It claims a range of up to 1,000 miles and achieves that by making the vehicle extremely lightweight, with three wheels and a drag coefficient (Cd) of only 0.13.

With that kind of efficiency, it can achieve 250 miles of range on a fairly small battery pack, resulting in a vehicle starting at just $25,900.

Buyers can also configure the Aptera with a battery pack that extends the range to 400 miles for $29,800, 600 miles for $34,600, and 1,000 miles for $44,900.

Continue reading… “Aptera solar electric car with ‘1,000 miles’ of range gets $4M in backing, more than 7,000 preorders”
DNA, Science & Technology News

CRISPR Offers the Potential to Live Forever, But to What End?

By Matthew Bacher

Due to the unique consequences of the pandemic, we are able to catch a glimpse of a potential future. One where we sit, plugged into our computers, devoid of physical human connection. What will society look like after the pandemic? Will we continue to stay isolated? Surely advancements in technology have played key roles in prolonging our lives, allowing us to continue to “work” and “socialise,” but to what end? With these newly emerging technologies are we destined to live forever, in a suspended state, in front of the glow of our 4k computer screens? Will gene editing technologies be used to keep us alive forever so that we can binge watch infinite Netflix shows, send meaningless emails and scroll through social media feeds?

Continue reading… “CRISPR Offers the Potential to Live Forever, But to What End?”
Employment, Science & Technology News

Skill set workers need for the future job market

By Abdullah Shibli

As we fight to overcome the damages done by the Covid-19 pandemic and restart and recalibrate our economies, this is a golden opportunity to ask what we can do to prepare ourselves better for the next decade. One thing is certain. New technologies will emerge more rapidly now that we know how to adapt to a major catastrophic event such as the all-devouring Covid-19 virus and how to fight back. Innovative approaches to working and living will make the world in 2030 a different one than the one we had envisaged before the pandemic. And we all need to adapt to this new world. Bangladesh’s challenge is to transform our education programmes and skills development infrastructure to deliver the talents needed for an innovative, digitised, and post-agricultural economy in the forthcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Bangladesh’s progress in manufacturing exports is comparable only to that of China and Vietnam. The apparent contradiction, however, lies in the fact that Bangladesh made such progress without any rapid structural transformation of the economy. Despite a very high share of manufacturing exports in total merchandise exports, the export basket of Bangladesh remained highly concentrated around low value-added and low-complexity products.

In the next decade, the largest challenge will be faced by women both in industrialised and emerging economies. Women hold jobs in areas that are predicted to grow, such as registered nurses and personal care aides—possibly accounting for 58 percent of new job growth. At the same time, women hold a large portion of shrinking jobs, like office clerks and administrative assistants, customer service, food service, and community services.

Continue reading… “Skill set workers need for the future job market”
Automobiles, Science & Technology News

There aren’t enough computer chips to power modern cars

A lack of computer chips means that car companies have not been able to meet production demand.Image: REUTERS/Andreas Gebert 

Sean Fleming Senior Writer, Formative Content

  • Global car sales fell in 2020.
  • A shortage of computer chips is compounding poor sales by holding up production.
  • That could cost the industry $60 billion.

Besides reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the motor sector now faces another major challenge – it can’t get all the computer chips it needs.

Modern cars are reliant on technology. There’s software that monitors engine performance and emissions, cruise-control that automatically adjusts to keep pace with the speed of the vehicle in front, alarms that are triggered by straying out of lane – not to mention bluetooth connectivity, parking sensors, keyless entry and a host of safety features.

And that’s just in a conventional car. Self-driving and semi-autonomous cars are even more tech-laden.

Continue reading… “There aren’t enough computer chips to power modern cars”
Military, Science & Technology News

THOR – The Microwave Weapon Designed To Countervail Drone Swarms

By Kris Osborn – Warrior Maven

(Washington D.C.) The Army and Air Force are collaborating on prototype directed energy weapons designed to jam, dismantle, take-out or simply stop attacking drones, bringing emerging technologies to the increasingly high-risk base defense mission.

The weapon, which uses high-powered microwave technology to disable the “electronics” in drones and counter “multiple targets” at once, is believed to be capable of stopping the much discussed and very serious threat posed by drone swarms.

The prototype Tactical High Power Operational Responder (THOR), a new weapon developed by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), is a large microwave dish housed in a 20ft-long shipping container transportable on a cargo plane, an Air Force report explains.

The Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office is now working to build upon progress made by the AFRL to develop the weapon as a directed energy solution able to complement the direct-target technology afforded by precision laser weapons.

Continue reading… “THOR – The Microwave Weapon Designed To Countervail Drone Swarms”
Science & Technology News, Virtual Reality

Virtual reality-style goggles that ‘see’ through skin to fix face tumours and spare patients from disfiguring paralysis

By Pat Hagan

  • The goggles reveal the exact layout of delicate nerves surrounding growths
  • Around 30 UK patients have already benefited and thousands more may follow 
  • They are being trialled by experts at University College London Hospital

Virtual reality-style goggles that let doctors ‘see’ inside the body can spare patients with facial tumours from disfiguring paralysis.

Continue reading… “Virtual reality-style goggles that ‘see’ through skin to fix face tumours and spare patients from disfiguring paralysis”
Elon Musk, Science & Technology News

Elon Musk Promised Starlink Internet Speeds of 1 Gbps. Will It Happen?

Starlink internet speeds are rising, but will the 1 Gbps promise come true?

By  Brad Bergan

In the last year, Elon Musk’s SpaceX went from having lifted 242 Starlink satellites to a total beyond 1,000 as it establishes its constellation of broadband internet-providing satellites, designed to include people who lack equitable options for paid internet access around the world.

Elon Musk has claimed Starlink will provide internet speeds of 1 Gbps, and while recent reports have shown impressive download average rates of 110 megabits per second (Mbps) with uploads of 20 Mbps, this is still a long way from 1 Gbps. Will Musk’s promise of 1 Gbps really happen?

Continue reading… “Elon Musk Promised Starlink Internet Speeds of 1 Gbps. Will It Happen?”
Bitcoin, Science & Technology News

Bitcoin uses more electricity than Argentina, Norway, study finds

Ross Andersen

TORONTO — As the price of bitcoin skyrocketed over the last year, so has the amount of energy used to mine the cryptocurrency, prompting concerns about its environmental impact.

Despite the currency’s value having seen a recent decline, the energy used to harvest it has soared to a point where its annual carbon footprint is equivalent to or more than several countries including Argentina and Norway, according to an analysis published by Cambridge University.

Mining the cryptocurrency requires a deep energy-intensive process that uses extensive electrical infrastructure and complicated math algorithms in order to verify transactions. Upon solving any given calculation the miner is subsequently rewarded with a bitcoin.

“Rising bitcoin prices make mining more attractive, as the potential reward increases in value. As a result, new mining hardware will get added to the network and lead to increasing electricity consumption overall,” according to the report.

Although it’s unclear how much energy bitcoin actually uses, the study says that it consumes about 129.09 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year. The more bitcoin that is mined, the more energy that is consumed.

Continue reading… “Bitcoin uses more electricity than Argentina, Norway, study finds”
Futurist, Science & Technology News

Google Director Of Engineering: This is how fast the world will change in ten years

Michael Simmons

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Futurists from the 20th century predicted that labor saving devices would make leisure abundant. According to the great economist John Maynard Keynes, the big challenge would be that…

“For the first time since his creation man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem — how to use his freedom from pressing economic cares, how to occupy the leisure, which science and compound interest will have won for him, to live wisely and agreeably and well.”

— John Maynard Keynes (1930)

Fast forward almost a century later.

Things didn’t quite go as expected. This quote from a modern researcher captures the current ethos:

“Rather than being bored to death, our actual challenge is to avoid anxiety attacks, psychotic breakdowns, heart attacks, and strokes resulting from being accelerated to death.”

— Geoffrey West

Rather than inhabiting a world of time wealth, we’re inhabiting a world of time poverty. Rather than feeling the luxury of time freedom, we’re feeling the burden of constant hurry.

What happened?

How did things turn out the exact opposite of what we were expecting?

More importantly, will the pace of life keep accelerating? And if it does, what are the implications (ie — can most people even cope)? What should we be doing now as knowledge workers to prepare for this future?

So, I spent over 100 hours reading the top 10 books related to these questions across the disciplines of sociology, technology, physics, evolution, business, and systems theory.

Continue reading… “Google Director Of Engineering: This is how fast the world will change in ten years”
Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

South Korea’s fertility rate falls to lowest in the world

The nation’s capital Seoul logs the lowest birth rate of 0.64

South Korea’s fertility rate fell to the lowest in the world last year, data showed on Wednesday, February 24, as uncertainty over the coronavirus discouraged couples from marrying and having children.

The number of expected babies per South Korean woman fell to 0.84 in 2020, dropping further from the country’s previous record low of 0.92 a year earlier, the official annual reading from the Statistics Korea showed.

That is the lowest among over 180 member countries of the World Bank, and far below 1.73 in the United States and 1.42 in Japan.

Continue reading… “South Korea’s fertility rate falls to lowest in the world”
Science & Technology News, Video

MyHeritage’s deepfake tool animates ancient photos and it’s as weird as it sounds

By Mehreen Kasana

The genealogy service is using artificial intelligence-powered tools as a marketing campaign to drum up new subscribers.

Nostalgia sells and marketers know it. People like to fantasize about a past they think was better than it likely was — and wonder what it might have been like for their relatives who lived through it. To capitalize on this, a genealogy-tracking service called MyHeritage has launched an AI-powered tool it calls Deep Nostalgia which animates old photos of users’ family members, whether deceased or otherwise. 

Several users of the service have taken to Twitter to share animated images of their great grandparents, reanimated, and exhibiting various facial expressions. The style of each video is almost the same: the subject moves their eyes around and then tilts their head a little, as if trying to recall something in answer to a question, before returning their gaze to the viewer. But then, it’s early days for the service, and odds are it’ll get a lot more flexible eventually.

Continue reading… “MyHeritage’s deepfake tool animates ancient photos and it’s as weird as it sounds”