Science & Technology News – Page 125

20 jobs that will start to disappear in the next 5 years

January 30, 2021

We’re set for some massive jobs and skills displacement over the coming years, thanks to the adoption of various technologies, particularly AI and automation.

The World Economic Forum runs extensive research across the changing job requirements and skills demands of employers in order to determine where some of the major shifts will be.

In 2018, this research led them to make a bold prediction that they reiterated again in 2020: that is that by 2025 “the average estimated time spent by humans and machines at work will be on parity based on today’s tasks.”

In 2020, they predict that 85 million jobs may be displaced by massive shifts in how labour is divided between humans and machines by 2025.

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

Farming, Science & Technology News

This stunning light display could make crops more sustainable

January 29, 2021

The display highlights the surprising science behind how light design can help plants grow.

BY LILLY SMITH

When you think of twinkling lights at night, you probably imagine sparkling cityscapes rather than fields of rural farms.

Not so with Studio Roosegaarde’s latest project, Grow. Founder Daan Roosegaarde and his team swathed over 215,000 square feet of leek crops in undulating red, blue, and UV LED light. They activate the lights at night, giving the field the appearance of glowing creatures at the bottom of the ocean instead of a farm. The agency calls it an “homage to the beauty of agriculture,” but it also highlights the surprising science behind how light design can help plants grow

Science & Technology News, SpaceX

ELON MUSK’S SPACEX IS CONVERTING OIL RIGS INTO SPACEPORTS FOR MARS-BOUND STARSHIP

January 29, 2021

SpaceX has acquired two oil rigs stationed in the Gulf of Mexico (Getty Images)

By Anthony Cuthbertson

Private space firm previously said it is ‘actively developing the technologies…with the ultimate goal of enabling human life or mars’.

SpaceX has acquired two offshore oil rigs that it is in the process of converting into spaceports for its Mars-bound Starship spacecraft, according to reports.

The rigs, renamed Deimos and Phoibos after the two moons of Mars, cost $3.5 million (£2.6m) each after the previous owner filed for bankruptcy, Spaceflight’s Michael Baylor reported.u

The oil rigs were confirmed by aerospace and launch photographer Jack Beyer, who posted photos of their transformation to Twitter on Tuesday.

Work on the rigs is taking place in the Port of Brownsville near SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas where the Starship craft is being developed.

Elon Musk, Science & Technology News

Elon Musk’s project to bring satellite internet to Latin America

January 29, 2021

Starlink is the initiative that the great businessman has among his plans, it consists of providing satellite internet to countries that are part of Latin America.

The Starlink project , developed by Elon Musk , aims to bring satellite internet to Latin America . In fact, on the same day it received a license from the National Communications Agency (Enacom) to start operations in Argentina . This was determined in the legislation already announced in the official gazette in December 2020.

To achieve connectivity and internet access in places where there are none, it is intended to use the network of more than 42 thousand satellites that would orbit around the Earth. This initiative is already in trials and tests in the United States and Canada, where it operates at a monthly price of 99 dollars plus the 499 dollars for installation equipment, but seeks to expand to Latin America, taking its first official steps in Chile and Argentina.

Driverless vehicles, Science & Technology News

Milton Keynes to trial 5G drones, robots and driverless shuttles

January 28, 2021

By Christopher Carey

The trials will be hosted at the Stadium MK sports arena on the outskirts of the city.

Milton Keynes Council has secured more than £4 million (US$5.4 million) in funding, including £2.3 million from the government, to create and test mobility services using 5G technology.

Trials will include the use of driverless shuttles and road vehicles for moving people and goods, autonomous surveillance vehicles and drones for enhancing security, and robots and drones for goods delivery and hospitality use. E-scooters could be included in the trials in future.

The initiative, which builds on a £10 million investment by the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP), industry and academic partners, will be hosted at the Stadium MK sports arena on the outskirts of the city.

Speaking to Cities Today, Brian Matthews, Head of Transport Innovation, Milton Keynes Council, said: “The trials will be designed to provide useful input into thinking how visitors move around the venue, which includes an arena, a large hotel, restaurants and a retail complex.

Science & Technology News, Virtual Reality

Audi’s New Virtual Office Program Sure Looks Like the Second Coming of Second Life

January 28, 2021

IT’S LIKE A EUROPEAN OEM SIMULATOR, IF YOU WORK AT AUDI AND ARE INTO THAT SORT OF THING.

BY HAZEL SOUTHWELL

Audi likes to pride itself on innovation—few car companies don’t—and in these trying, socially distant times, that can mean effectively developing a system where employees recreate themselves as The Sims and wander around a virtual office.

If that seems bleak (and it does, there’s no way around it) then it’s not intended that way. Audi Spaces was built by Audi Akademie to create more natural and spontaneous interaction, allowing employees to be in a virtual office together in some capacity without the direct intensity of a video call.

Employment, Science & Technology News

8 fields seeing real growth in remote jobs: Some pay more than $75,000 per year

January 28, 2021

By Gili Malinsky

SENIOR TAX ACCOUNTANTS MAKE AS MUCH AS $78,000, ACCORDING TO INDEED.

2020 brought a lot of changes to the workplace as employers worldwide tried to grapple with the social distancing and health protocols of the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 4 in 10 (43%) HR professionals saw remote-work flexibility to be the top change within organizations, according to an October-November 2020 Monster survey of 3,100 recruitment and HR professionals from around the world. That priority is reflected in the array of positions now increasingly offered as remote jobs.

Jobs board FlexJobs recently highlighted career categories where remote job listings have grown by more than 25% since March 2020. Read on for eight career categories with growing remote work opportunities according to the site, including popular job titles and their average annual salaries, organized from highest to lowest growth.

Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News

EV Startups Rivian and Cruise Raise a Staggering $4.7 Billion in New Funding

January 27, 2021

The electric vehicle race is heating up.

By MARTIN LERMA

Tesla may be king of the electric vehicle, but billions are being pumped into the category to (finally) give it some serious competition.

Earlier this week, two of the newest players in the EV race got a serious boost. Amazon- and Ford-backed Rivian revealed that it has raised $2.65 billion in new investments. Meanwhile, GM’s Cruise imprint signed a long-term strategic partnership with Microsoft, for which the tech giant helped raise $2 billion, according to a statement. This financial injection is reflective of the increasing interest from the public in the once niche segment of the automotive industry.

With its latest capital courtesy of T. Rowe Price, California-based Rivian has raised a healthy $8 billion since the start of 2019, which puts current valuation at $27.6 billion, according to Reuters.

Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

New gene therapy to delay ageing, extend lifespan

January 27, 2021

Scientists in Beijing have developed a new gene therapy which can reverse some of the effects of ageing in mice and extend their lifespans, findings which may one day contribute to similar treatment for humans.

The method, detailed in a paper in the Science Translational Medicine journal earlier this month, involves inactivating a gene called kat7 which the scientists found to be a key contributor to cellular ageing.

The specific therapy they used and the results were a world first, said co-supervisor of the project Professor Qu Jing, 40, a specialist in ageing and regenerative medicine from the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

“These mice show after 6-8 months overall improved appearance and grip strength and most importantly they have extended lifespan for about 25 per cent,” Qu said.

The team of biologists from different CAS departments used the CRISPR/Cas9 method to screen thousands of genes for those which were particularly strong drivers of cellular senescence, the term used to describe cellular ageing.

Blockchain, Science & Technology News

BMW, Ford back development of vehicle ‘birth certificates’ built on the blockchain

January 27, 2021

The solution will track a car throughout its sales history, clamping down on mileage tampering and fraud.

By Charlie Osborne

BMW, Ford, and major technology companies have indicated their support for a new blockchain project to assign “birth certificates” to vehicles.
Announced on Tuesday, the initiative is focused on developing technologies able to track a car from its manufacture and beyond, including when the vehicle has changed hands, its maintenance history, and records of mileage and any past damage.

The developer of the system, the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI), says that this could stop second-hand sellers from misleading buyers, could wipe out the use of tools including roll-back odometers, and could “better track and protect vehicles’ true identities.”

Automobiles, Science & Technology News

Nissan’s New Pod Concept Turns Remote Working into a Dream

January 26, 2021

By Fabienne Lang

The company unveiled its office van concept that lets you work from anywhere.

Remote working just became a lot cooler thanks to Nissan. The Japanese car company unveiled its NV350 van on YouTube last week, and it’s been specially refurbished to house a remote office pod.

With remote working becoming part of regular life lately, Nissan has smartly jumped on the bandwagon to offer an alternative for those who can’t stand working from home — or who simply want a change of scenery.

The van allows people to work from anywhere, but it’s sadly only a concept at this stage.

Augmented Reality, Science & Technology News

Swiss Startup Reboots Virtual Meetings with Holograms

January 26, 2021

After almost a year of staring at each other’s living rooms or other spaces in virtual meetings due to the coronavirus pandemic, members of a Swiss startup have come up with a new idea: sending holographic emissaries to a virtual meeting space.