Science & Technology News – Page 202

Automation, drones, Environment, Great New Product, Science & Technology News

Helicopter drone is made to drop bombs on forest fires

March 30, 2020

The QilingUAV JC260, loaded up and ready to go

One of the good things about drones is the fact that they can safely be flown in conditions that would prove hazardous for crewed aircraft. That’s where the JC260 unmanned helicopter comes in, as it’s designed to fight forest fires.

Created by Chinese manufacturer QilingUAV, the JC260 can be equipped with two of the company’s retardant-filled “fire extinguishing bombs.” Dropped separately or in unison, each of the bombs can reportedly cover a flaming forest area of 50 cubic meters (1,766 cu ft).

Lift is provided by two sets of counter-rotating rotor blades, measuring 3.6 m (11.8 ft) in diameter. These are powered by two 34-hp water-cooled gasoline engines, taking the aircraft to a claimed cruising speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). One tank of gas should be good for a flight time of three to four hours.

Continue reading… “Helicopter drone is made to drop bombs on forest fires”

Analysis, Coronavirus, Healthcare, Science & Technology News

A new FDA-authorized COVID-19 test doesn’t need a lab and can produce results in just 5 minutes

March 29, 2020

There’s a new COVID-19 test from healthcare technology maker Abbott that looks to be the fastest yet in terms of producing results, and that can do so on the spot right at point-of-care, without requiring a round trip to a lab. This test for the novel coronavirus causing the current global pandemic has received emergency clearance for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and will begin production next week, with output of 50,000 per day possible starting next week.

The new Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test uses the Abbott ID NOW diagnostics platform, which is essentially a lab-in-a-box that is roughly the size of a small kitchen appliance. Its size and that it can produce either a positive result in just five minutes or a negative one in under 15 mean that it could be a very useful means to extend coronavirus testing beyond its current availability to more places including clinics and doctor’s offices, and cut down on wait times both in terms of getting tested and receiving a diagnosis.

Continue reading… “A new FDA-authorized COVID-19 test doesn’t need a lab and can produce results in just 5 minutes”

Coronavirus, Employment, Food, Science & Technology News, Shopping

Instacart is hiring 300,000 grocery shoppers

March 29, 2020

The company will provide with paid sick leave in case they’re diagnosed with COVID-19.

Instacart plans to hire an additional 300,000 “full-service” contractors to help it deliver groceries to people during the coronavirus pandemic. With so many individuals and families stuck inside as a result of social distancing measures and shelter in place orders in states like California, Instacart says order volume has increased by 150 percent over the last few weeks, with people buying more per cart as well.

The company currently operates in about 5,500 cities across the United States and Canada. Instacart’s plan will see it hire broadly in states like California and New York. In the former, for instance, it plans to bring on approximately 54,000 new full-time shoppers. In other states like Texas and Florida, it will hire thousands of new contractors as well, and provide them with paid sick leave if they’re diagnosed with COVID-19 or need to self-isolate.

Continue reading… “Instacart is hiring 300,000 grocery shoppers”

Analysis, Automobiles, Electric Automobile, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News

Total emissions from EVs undercut ICE cars in 95% of the world

March 29, 2020

A new study claims that EVs are better for the environment than gasoline-powered vehicles in 95 percent of the world

Comparing the eco-credentials of electric cars and their gasoline-powered counterparts isn’t as simple as counting the carbon emissions coming (or not) from the tailpipe. New research is claiming to have settled the debate once and for all by taking all factors into account, including the production of, and electricity generation for, EVs and found that they are better for the climate in 95 percent of the world.

While there is no debate that EVs pollute less once they are actually on the road, some argue that the CO2 generated during the manufacturing of EVs and in the generation of the electricity to charge them actually outweighs that produced by cars with internal combustion engines (ICEs). The thinking is that while renewables can play a part of the energy mix, EV owners still need to rely heavily on coal- and gas-fired power plants to keep their cars charged and running.

The new research was carried out by scientists at the University of Exeter, University of Cambridge and University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and found that while there are exceptions, electric vehicles are generally better for the climate in the vast majority of places.

Continue reading… “Total emissions from EVs undercut ICE cars in 95% of the world”

Coronavirus, Healthcare, Historical Perspectives, Medicine, Science & Technology News

The coronavirus isn’t alive. That’s why it’s so hard to kill.

March 28, 2020

This novel coronavirus is a sneaky variety similar to those that have been responsible for the most destructive outbreaks of the last 100 years.

Viruses have spent billions of years perfecting the art of surviving without living – a frighteningly effective strategy that makes them a potent threat in today’s world.

That’s especially true of the deadly new coronavirus that has brought global society to a screeching halt. It’s little more than a packet of genetic material surrounded by a spiky protein shell one-thousandth the width of an eyelash, and leads such a zombie-like existence, it’s barely considered a living organism.

But as soon as it gets into a human airway, the virus hijacks our cells to create millions more versions of itself.

There is a certain evil genius to how this coronavirus pathogen works: It finds easy purchase in humans without them knowing. Before its first host even develops symptoms, it is already spreading its replicas everywhere, moving onto its next victim. It is powerfully deadly in some, but mild enough in others to escape containment. And, for now, we have no way of stopping it.

Continue reading… “The coronavirus isn’t alive. That’s why it’s so hard to kill.”

Coronavirus, government, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

What should the government spend to save a life?

March 28, 2020

Economists have a way of measuring the cost of protecting people from COVID-19.

Economists have done the math.

The staggering economic toll of the new coronavirus is becoming abundantly, unavoidably clear. On Thursday, a Department of Labor report showed that a record-shattering 3.3 million people applied for initial unemployment claims last week. And with entire industries shuttered for the foreseeable future, economic output will almost certainly shrink dramatically.

As economic forecasts grow darker, talk of tradeoffs is getting louder: Is protecting Americans from COVID-19 really worth all this disruption and economic pain?

On March 22, before President Trump floated the idea of reopening the economy by Easter, against the recommendations of his own public health experts, he tweeted, “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.” Other politicians, meanwhile, rejected the idea that economic costs should be a factor at all. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo dismissed Trump’s push to get the economy moving again, saying, “No American is going to say, ‘accelerate the economy at the cost of human life.’ Because no American is going to say how much a life is worth.”

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Coronavirus, drones, Human Behavior, Humor, Science & Technology News

Man “walks” dog with a drone while in quarantine

March 28, 2020

This is some next level problem solving

As preventative measures against COVID-19 are increasing around the world, more and more folks are staying inside. This is especially fantastic news for pets. They have no idea what’s going on, but suddenly their humans are home all the friggin’ time. Literally pet heaven.

However, stricter lockdown rules mean those pets are in danger of becoming just as bored and stir crazy as their owners. Just because pets can’t contract or infect humans with coronavirus, (the strains that affect humans and animals are completely different) pet owners are still under strict social distancing orders and cannot all congregate in the same place. So no more human-run dog daycares, no more pet playdates, no more busy park visits.

Continue reading… “Man “walks” dog with a drone while in quarantine”

Energy, Engineering, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

Long narrow wires carry heat with little resistance

March 28, 2020

Smooth-walled wire traps high energy phonons, low energy phonons carry heat.

Tiny wires may boost heat flow.

Getting rid of heat is one of the central challenges with modern technology. It doesn’t matter whether the technology is a high-end server CPU or some pathetically anemic processor in a no-brand set-top box—someone has had to think about thermal management. One of the central issues in thermal management is thermal resistance, a material’s tendency to limit the flow of heat. The thicker a material, the larger the temperature gradient required to achieve the same amount of cooling because the thermal resistance increases with thickness.

Except when it doesn’t. If the heat is carried by ballistic phonons, thermal resistance stays constant.

Continue reading… “Long narrow wires carry heat with little resistance”

Coronavirus, government, Money Talk, Science & Technology News, Uber

For the first time, Uber drivers and other gig workers qualify for unemployment insurance as part of the Senate’s $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill

March 27, 2020

A protester outside Uber’s office in Massachusetts.

The Senate’s $2 trillion coronavirus economic bailout bill includes help for gig-economy workers, like Uber and Lyft drivers, who have seen their livelihood dissolve during the coronavirus crisis.

For the first time, these workers would qualify for unemployment insurance.

They would also qualify for the additional four months of extra payments this bill would provide to everyone who collects unemployment.

It isn’t clear exactly how much money a month drivers, contract workers, and freelancers could get, but they should qualify for a weekly payment equivalent to if they were a laid-off full-time employee.

The maximum weekly amount varies by state, but the extra unemployment insurance would add up to a maximum of $600 more a week.

Continue reading… “For the first time, Uber drivers and other gig workers qualify for unemployment insurance as part of the Senate’s $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill”

Automation, Coronavirus, Robots, Science & Technology News

Coronavirus pandemic could prove ‘tipping point’ for robots looking after humans, scientists and experts say

March 27, 2020

A hotel in China used a robot to deliver food to people in coronavirus quarantine ( XHN )

Robotics experts say AI and machines could save lives by performing the ‘dull, dirty and dangerous’ jobs

The development of robots to save lives and reduce human exposure to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak could lead to a new era of robotic human helpers, researchers have said.

Robotics professor Henrik Christensen from the University of California San Diego, was among a group of leading experts who outlined how robots could be used to combat the coronavirus pandemic by doing the “dull, dirty and dangerous” jobs.

“Already, we have seen robots being deployed for disinfection, delivering medications and food, measuring vital signs, and assisting border controls,” the scientists wrote in an editorial in the journal Science Robotics.

Continue reading… “Coronavirus pandemic could prove ‘tipping point’ for robots looking after humans, scientists and experts say”

Automation, Automobiles, Batteries, Electric Automobile, Science & Technology News

Volkswagen’s latest robot makes charging your electric vehicle as easy as charging your phone!

March 27, 2020

With the world’s population under quarantine, nature is showing signs of coming back to life, literally! With reports coming in globally – dolphins in the ports of Cagliari, China seeing clear blue skies to even fishes swimming in clear canal water of Venice, it is obvious that when humanity makes a true effort to save the world, nature responds! But present circumstances kept aside, how easy is it to make such eco-friendly changes to our infrastructure that can affect the population on such a global scale? This is one of the questions the designers at Volkswagen plan to resolve with their latest creation – the Mobile Charging Robots!

Continue reading… “Volkswagen’s latest robot makes charging your electric vehicle as easy as charging your phone!”

Aviation, Coronavirus, Science & Technology News, Transportation, Travel

The rich are scrambling to escape COVID-19 on private jets

March 26, 2020

As air travel becomes more restrictive around the globe, the ultra-wealthy are becoming more desperate to get to where they want to be for the crisis.

Small countries are taking extreme measures to halt international travel in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. Those accustomed to private jet travel are used to demanding what they want and getting it. As a result, private jet flights escaping from and running to resort countries, such as those in the Caribbean, are currently in high demand—and they do not always occur under the most lawful of circumstances.

The most wealthy among us are trying to get around flight bans with private jet flights as they are desperate to get into or home from Caribbean countries, many of which have partial or full international travel bans. Those with complete bans include Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. Partial international travel bans are in effect for Belize, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Venezuela. These countries are home to many affluent expatriates. The money some of them spend on private jet flights is staggering. One round trip to Europe in a Gulfstream 550 jet from the United States with five passengers can easily cost the client six figures.

Continue reading… “The rich are scrambling to escape COVID-19 on private jets”