Science & Technology News – Page 310

3D Printer, Agriculture, Food, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News

Novameat’s 3D-printed ‘steak’ looks gross, but could it save the planet?

November 27, 2018

Does your mouth water at the prospect of a nice juicy steak? How about a nice juicy 3D-printed steak, made using a paste composed of vegetable-based materials like rice, peas, and seaweed? That’s what a new Spanish startup, Novameat, is working hard to bring to market.

“I developed the first 3D-printed plant-based beefsteak while I was working as a postdoc researcher in tissue engineering, and assistant professor at the UPC university in Barcelona,” founder Giuseppe Scionti told Digital Trends. “I was lucky … because this city is a great hub for both 3D printing companies and world-renowned restaurants.”

Continue reading… “Novameat’s 3D-printed ‘steak’ looks gross, but could it save the planet?”

China, Science & Technology News, Solar Energy, Solar Power

The world’s largest floating solar plant is finally online

November 26, 2018

This massive power plant is taking energy to a whole new level.

The world’s largest floating solar power plant is now online in China. Built by Sungrow, a supplier of PV inverter systems, the 40MW plant is now afloat in water four to 10 meters deep, and successfully linked to Huainan, China’s grid. The placement was chosen in large part because the area was previously the location of coal mining operations; and, as a result, the water there is now mineralized and mostly useless. The lake itself was only formed after years of mining operations, the surrounding land collapsed and created a cavity that was filled with rainwater.

Continue reading… “The world’s largest floating solar plant is finally online”

Agriculture, Biotech, Farming, Food, Genes, Science & Technology News

Next generation of biotech food heading for grocery stores

November 23, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — The next generation of biotech food is headed for the grocery aisles, and first up may be salad dressings or granola bars made with soybean oil genetically tweaked to be good for your heart.

By early next year, the first foods from plants or animals that had their DNA “edited” are expected to begin selling. It’s a different technology than today’s controversial “genetically modified” foods, more like faster breeding that promises to boost nutrition, spur crop growth, and make farm animals hardier and fruits and vegetables last longer.

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has declared gene editing one of the breakthroughs needed to improve food production so the world can feed billions more people amid a changing climate. Yet governments are wrestling with how to regulate this powerful new tool. And after years of confusion and rancor, will shoppers accept gene-edited foods or view them as GMOs in disguise?

Continue reading… “Next generation of biotech food heading for grocery stores”

Biotech, Business, Employment, Hot Issues, Science & Technology News

Alarm over talks to implant UK employees with microchips

November 20, 2018

Trades Union Congress concerned over tech being used to control and micromanage.

Britain’s biggest employer organisation and main trade union body have sounded the alarm over the prospect of British companies implanting staff with microchips to improve security.

UK firm BioTeq, which offers the implants to businesses and individuals, has already fitted 150 implants in the UK.

Continue reading… “Alarm over talks to implant UK employees with microchips”

China, Internet, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News, Shopping

Alibaba just had the biggest online shopping day of all time, nearly tripling every company’s 2017 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales combined

November 19, 2018

Alibaba founder Jack Ma. Marcos Brindicci/Reuters

Alibaba made e-commerce history on Sunday, with $30.8 billion in sales over the last 24 hours as part of the company’s massive Singles Day celebration.
The $30.8 billion in generated sales is a significant increase from 2017, when customers spent $25.3 billion.
For comparison, total online sales on Black Friday reached $5 billion in 2017, according to Adobe Analytics data. Cyber Monday sales last year reached about $6.6 billion.

SHANGHAI, China — Alibaba just made e-commerce history.

With the company’s massive Singles Day celebration on 11/11 — November 11 — coming to a close, Alibaba reports that customers spent $30.8 billion online over the last 24 hours. That is a significant increase from the $25.3 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) Alibaba shoppers spent in 2017.

Continue reading… “Alibaba just had the biggest online shopping day of all time, nearly tripling every company’s 2017 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales combined”

Science & Technology News

“Remarkable” decline in fertility rates

November 18, 2018

There has been a remarkable global decline in the number of children women are having, say researchers.

Their report found fertility rate falls meant nearly half of countries were now facing a “baby bust” – meaning there are insufficient children to maintain their population size.

The researchers said the findings were a “huge surprise”.

And there would be profound consequences for societies with “more grandparents than grandchildren”.

Continue reading… ““Remarkable” decline in fertility rates”

AI, Alzheimer's Disease, Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare, Science & Technology News

Deep learning algorithm detects Alzheimer’s up to six years before doctors

November 17, 2018

A new algorithm significantly outperformed human clinicians in predicting which patients would go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

A powerful new deep learning algorithm has been developed that can study PET scan images and effectively detect the onset of Alzheimer’s disease up to six years earlier than current diagnostic methods.

The research is part of a new wave of work using machine learning technology to identify subtle patterns in complex medical imaging data that human clinicians are unable to pick up. Continue reading… “Deep learning algorithm detects Alzheimer’s up to six years before doctors”

Alternative Transportation, Aviation, Law Enforcement, Science & Technology News

Dubai Police start training on flying motorbikes

November 17, 2018

(CNN) — The flying motorbike is back in Dubai — and you could see the police riding one in the not-too-distant future.

A year after California-based startup Hoversurf showcased its hoverbike at tech expo GITEX in the white and green livery of the Dubai Police, the company has returned with a new model and evidence its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle might be, well, taking off.

Making good on a deal signed in 2017, Hoversurf has now gifted Dubai Police its first serial production unit of the S3 2019 Hoverbike and has begun training officers to fly it.

Brigadier Khalid Nasser Alrazooqi, general director of Dubai Police’s artificial intelligence department, described the eVTOL vehicle as a first responder unit used to access hard to reach areas. He said he aims to have hoverbikes in action by 2020.

Continue reading… “Dubai Police start training on flying motorbikes”

Big Problems, communication, Famous Inventor, Internet, Science & Technology News

The father of the internet wants to save the web from itself

November 16, 2018

Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the Internet, sits in front of a 1994 computer displaying his creation.

Twenty-nine years ago, as the architect behind the web’s first browser and server, Tim Berners-Lee built the internet. ”I imagined the web as an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information, access opportunities, and collaborate across geographic and cultural boundaries,” he wrote in a 2017 open letter. But, he says, he’s become “increasingly worried” about new online trends, like lack of privacy, the spread of misinformation, and lack of transparency in online political advertising. Over the last decade, Berners-Lee’s focus has become saving the internet from itself, and now he’s recruiting companies, governments, and citizens to join his cause.

Berners-Lee’s non-profit the World Wide Web Foundation studies internet accessibility and usage, and details the barriers to a free and open internet, like harassment, privacy infringement, and cost. For instance, a recent study found that over 2 billion people live in places where internet is prohibitively expensive to access. And today, Berners-Lee announced a “Contract for the Web,” which lays out principles for using the internet ethically and transparently for all participants.

Continue reading… “The father of the internet wants to save the web from itself”

Climate Change, Ecological Products, Global Warming, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News

‘LarvalBot’ underwater drone will reseed coral reefs damaged by climate change

November 15, 2018

Since August 2018, the Great Barrier Reef in the ocean off Australia has had a special protector — an autonomous underwater drone called RangerBot that has monitored the status of the reef and protected the corals from the predatory crown-of-thorns starfish. But now researchers at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia have announced that the RangerBot has a new mission: it is to be rechristened “LarvalBot” and will be repurposed to spread coral babies.

Scientists have collected hundreds of millions of coral spawn from the surviving corals of the Great Barrier Reef which have not yet succumbed to coral bleaching. These spawn are then reared into baby corals in special floating enclosures, and once they have grown large enough to survive on their own, they are delivered by the LarvalBot to a designated location in the reef. If necessary, many coral larvae can be distributed at once in a “larval cloud” that can blanket an entire damaged area of a reef. This technique is called larval restoration and may be reef’s best hope for the future.

Continue reading… “‘LarvalBot’ underwater drone will reseed coral reefs damaged by climate change”

Amazon.com, Clothing, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News, Shopping

A growing number of people are getting rich selling T-shirts online – with no overhead, no inventory, and no investment

November 12, 2018

Nearly every night after dinner for eight straight months, Glen Zubia brewed a cup of coffee, turned on heavy metal music, and made T-shirts.

On Mondays he did research, scouring the Internet for funny slogans, like the one where Santa Claus asks, “Where My Ho’s At?”

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays he designed in Adobe Illustrator. On Thursdays he saved his creations in the correct image format—a process that takes longer than you’d think—and on Fridays and Saturdays he uploaded them to Amazon.

Then, sending up a prayer that they’d sell, he started all over again.

Continue reading… “A growing number of people are getting rich selling T-shirts online – with no overhead, no inventory, and no investment”

cutting edge, Ecological Products, Green Friendly, Inventions, Science & Technology News

Can mushrooms be the platform we build the future on?

November 11, 2018

Ecovative thinks it can use mycelia, the hair-like network of cells that grows in mushrooms, to help build everything from lab-grown meat to 3D-printed organs to biofabricated leather.

Can mushrooms be the platform we build the future on?

When the first bioreactor-grown “clean meat” shows up in restaurants–perhaps by the end of this year–it’s likely to come in the form of ground meat rather than a fully formed chicken wings or sirloin steak. While it’s possible to grow animal cells in a factory, it’s harder to grow full animal parts. One solution may come from fungi: Mycelia, the hair-like network of cells that grows in mushrooms, can create a scaffold to grow a realistic cut of meat.

Continue reading… “Can mushrooms be the platform we build the future on?”