Category: Science & Technology News

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Alternative Transportation, Science & Technology News

A New Zero-Emission Hyperloop Port Offers Ground Transport at ‘Airplane Speeds’

An artist’s impression of the HyperPort.

By  Chris Young

The HyperPort will allow port operators to transport cargo containers hundreds of kilometers away in mere minutes.

The much-hyped hyperloop is one step closer to becoming a reality with the announcement of HyperloopTT’s HyperPort concept.

HyperloopTT (the letters stand for Transportation Technologies) announced this week that its HyperPort, developed in partnership with terminal operator Hamburg Hafen und Logistik AG, is going into certification design review.

The HyperPort is a “sustainable high-speed cargo and freight solution capable of increasing capacity and efficiency while decreasing pollution and congestion at ports worldwide,” a press statement from the company reveals. 

The long-term goal of both companies is to disrupt the logistics industry global logistics industry, which is estimated to grow to $12 trillion by 2023, according to a report by Freight Waves.

Continue reading… “A New Zero-Emission Hyperloop Port Offers Ground Transport at ‘Airplane Speeds’”
Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

Genetically Engineered Pigs Might Be the Answer for One of the World’s Costliest Diseases

In the U.S. and Europe alone, the disease causes $2.5bn in lost revenue annually.

By  Chris Young  

Researchers at Edinburgh University’s Roslin Institute are genetically engineering pigs to be more resistant to one of the deadliest animal diseases out there, a report by the BBC explains.

The disease in question, called Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), was first recognized in the US in 1987. Symptoms include reproductive failure, pneumonia, and increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial infection, and it can cause pregnant sows to lose their litter.

The disease is responsible for approximately $560 million in lost revenue for farmers in the US each year, according to OiE. According to a press release from the University of Edinburgh, combined with losses in Europe, that number rises to $2.5bn in lost revenue annually. 

The same statement also says that vaccines have so far proven to be largely ineffective against the disease, which is endemic in most pig-producing countries.

Continue reading… “Genetically Engineered Pigs Might Be the Answer for One of the World’s Costliest Diseases”
Movies, Science & Technology News

Mission Possible: Russia races Tom Cruise for 1st film in space

Tom Cruise may be the craziest person in Hollywood, in terms of insisting on performing death-defying stunts in every movie he is in, but he is no Russian. And famously, you can’t beat Russians when it comes to death defiance. This concept once again comes into the public eye as six decades after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth, Russia now stands determined to beat the U.S. in a glitzier affair: the first movie shot in space.

On October 5, one of Russia’s most celebrated actresses, 36-year-old Yulia Peresild, is blasting off to the International Space Station (ISS) with film director Klim Shipenko, 38.

Their mission? Shoot the first film in orbit before the Americans do.

Continue reading… “Mission Possible: Russia races Tom Cruise for 1st film in space”
Housing, Science & Technology News

3D printed house of the future to have AI meals and robots doing washing by 2035

The Future Smart Energy Consumer study looks at how technology and our quest to be more sustainable will change our home lives by 2035 as clever gadgets revolutionise mundane chores and help create a more environmentally friendly lifestyle

By Adrian Hearn

Families could eat meals designed by artificial intelligence and employ robots to do their washing and tidying around their 3D printed homes – in just 15 years, a new report claims.

The Future Smart Energy Consumer study looks at how technology and our quest to be more sustainable will change our home lives in 2035.

Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants could direct security drones around our fully automated properties – investigating issues such as intruders and devices using more power than they should be, indicating an issue.

Hydroponic gardens will be popular, using smart meter enabled settings to control heat and energy use to provide the perfect environment for growing herbs and plants.

And households won’t be caught out with broken down white goods, with energy data patterns from smart meters predicting when washing machines and fridge freezers will fail.

Continue reading… “3D printed house of the future to have AI meals and robots doing washing by 2035”
Science & Technology News, Stem cells

Magnetically-guided delivery of therapeutic stem cells into the brain

A minimally invasive method holds promise for the treatment of neurological disorders and injury. 


by Sue Min Liu 

Iron oxide nanoparticles are incorporated into stem cells to create Cellbots

Korean researchers have devised a way to remotely direct stem cells to specific areas of the brain to promote neural tissue regeneration. They loaded iron oxide nanoparticles into the cells, which are then guided to the target site by an external magnetic source.

The research team, co-led by Professor Hongsoo Choi and Professor Sung Won Kim, report in Advanced Healthcare Materials that incorporating nanoparticles did not interfere with the viability or function of these stem cells, including their ability to differentiate into neurons.

Named Cellbots, the nanoparticle-containing stem cells were created using human stem cells harvested from the folds of tissue inside the nose — nasal turbinates — that are usually discarded after surgical procedures to alleviate nasal obstructions.

“Considering the frequency of this type of surgery, sufficient amounts of stem cells could be obtained for clinical trials. Characteristics of stem cells derived from nasal turbinate — including proliferative and differentiation potential, and immunophenotype — are not affected by passage number or the donor’s age, whereas other types of stem cells can be,” said Choi.

Continue reading… “Magnetically-guided delivery of therapeutic stem cells into the brain”
Science & Technology News, Trending

Demographics and the Future of South Korea

South Korea is bracing for a momentous demographic shift that could be a bellwether of how other countries around the world will deal with aging populations in the decades to come.

By CHUNG MIN LEE,  KATHRYN BOTTO

How long can South Korea retain its global economic and technological competitiveness? Will the country maintain credible deterrence and defense postures well into the future? Are existing socioeconomic inequalities likely to worsen with worsening demographic trends? These questions lie at the heart of South Korea’s demographic trajectory.

South Korea’s ability to comprehensively address its demographic transition will affect every facet of its well-being, international image, national security, and even potential post-unification dynamics. This compendium examines various dimensions of South Korean society and the country’s geopolitical influence in light of its unprecedented demographic changes, which are already underway.

Continue reading… “Demographics and the Future of South Korea”
Medicine, Science & Technology News

Life in 2050: A Glimpse at Medicine in the Future

By 2050, the ways in which we watch our health, seek medical advice, get treatment, and what we’re treated for will change dramatically.

By  Matthew S. Williams

Welcome back to the “Life in 2050” series. In previous installments, we looked at how technological advancements, climate change, and changes in the geopolitical landscape will alter the nature of warfare, economics, living at home, education, transportation, and space exploration (in two installments) in the coming decades.

Today, we will look at how these same changes and advancements will revolutionize medicine by the middle of this century. As with all the other aspects of life we’ve explored, this revolution is already well underway, but will accelerate dramatically as we get closer to 2050. This will present new opportunities for healthier living, but also new hazards.

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AI, Science & Technology News

The AI that fashion is using to reinvent itself

Retailers have turned to AI to replace photoshoots and predict what people will want to buy and wear in the future

Julie Bornstein spent two years quietly building AI shopping app THE YES to launch it in March 2020. Then the pandemic struck – and changed what people were wearing. “Right now, we’re in a heavy comfort zone,” Bornstein says. The pandemic has meant demand for tracksuit bottoms and work-from-home clothing is high. But as vaccines allow people more freedom, trends are expected to reverse.

THE YES is part of a new wave of companies using AI to personalise how people shop online. It pulls items of clothing from brands and retailers’ websites and shows them in a feed within the app. Think of it like a clothing version of Tinder: if users like the dress being shown, they tap “yes”. If they’re not interested, they tap “no”. But, unlike Tinder, it can improve the items it shows over time by using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Every like and dislike is fed back to the underlying machine learning models to inform each personalised feed of items users can then buy, and no two people’s recommendations are the same. “AI is simply the ability to understand consumer behaviour and act on it,” says Bornstein, the former chief operating officer of personal styling service Stitch Fix. “The problem with e-commerce is that the infrastructure doesn’t exist to do that today. You need to rebuild the tech stack.”

Continue reading… “The AI that fashion is using to reinvent itself”
drones, Science & Technology News

Manufacturing drone wings with locust wing capabilities

by Bob Yirka

3D printed locust-inspired forewing preparation process from left to right: actual locust forewing, finalized 50 μm PVC reinforced forewing prototype (CF-PETG-1), venation pattern mould, 3D printed forewing exoskeleton, and the measured average profile thickness. Credit: Royal Society Open Science

A team of researchers from the University of Lincoln in the U.S. and Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Guangzhou University, both in China, has developed a way to manufacture drone wings with locust wing properties, allowing drones to glide for long distances. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group describes how they developed their technique and how well it worked when tested.

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Aviation, Science & Technology News

All roads lead to flying cars by 2030

Cars could be taking to the air towards the end of this decade, according to Michael Cole, chief executive for European operations at world-leading South Korean automaker Hyundai.

Addressing a conference organised by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a trade association for the UK motor industry, Cole said that Hyundai has made some “very significant investments” in urban air mobility.

However, it will take some time before these plans get off the ground, he said.

Continue reading… “All roads lead to flying cars by 2030”