• Streaming music services now represent 80 per cent of all listening

    In a new report, the body said that streaming has transformed the music industry and was largely delivering “good outcomes” for consumers. However, it warned that market changes could harm consumer interests, for example if the balance of power changed and labels and streaming services began to make sustained and substantial excess profits. Recorded music revenues reached £1.1bn in 2021 despite fixed monthly subscription fees that have been falling in real terms. Access to a wide range of music from all eras also means that older songs can more easily get a new lease of life and find new audiences. Some 86 per cent of streams in 2021 were for music over a year old. The report also found that digitisation has made it easier than ever for many more artists to record and share music and…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Death by space debris now a real possibility, scientists say

    As space travel becomes more and more commonplace, scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have identified a real risk of people on Earth being killed by falling space debris.  A new study, published in Nature Astronomy, has estimated the chance of falling rocket and satellite parts getting through the Earth’s atmosphere and hurting people, over the next ten years. Using mathematical modelling of the inclinations and orbits of rocket parts in space and the population density below them - as well as 30 years’ worth of past satellite data - the authors estimated where rocket debris and other pieces of space junk land when they fall back to Earth. The findings of the study show that there is a 1 in 10 chance of one or more casualties from space debris occurring over the next…

  • Southern Co-op accused of using ‘Orwellian’ facial recognition in stores

    Privacy rights group Big Brother Watch made the accusation against the firm, which operates a network of convenience food stores, funeral homes, burial grounds and a Starbucks coffee franchise across the south of England. It has filed a legal complaint with the Information Commissioner which claims that the use of the biometric cameras “is infringing the data rights of a significant number of UK data subjects”. The legal complaint outlines how the system, sold by London-based surveillance firm Facewatch, “uses novel technology and highly invasive processing of personal data, creating a biometric profile of every visitor to stores where its cameras are installed.” The supermarket chain has installed the controversial surveillance technology in 35 stores across Portsmouth, Bournemouth,…

  • HS2 makes first tunnel breakthrough with 2000-tonne boring machine named Dorothy

    The tunnelling work is part of the in-construction London to Birmingham high-speed railway line. This section is the first of 64 miles of intricate tunnels that will built as part of Europe’s largest infrastructure project. The 10m-wide machine spent around 8 months underground creating the tunnel, before breaking through at Long Itchington Wood in Warwickshire late last week. Named after Dorothy Hodgkin, the first British woman to win the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1964, Dorothy is one of HS2’s 10 custom-built tunnel boring machines and was manufactured in Germany by Herrenknecht. Her operation required around 400 workers, adding to the over 25,000 jobs created through HS2 so far.   HS2 minister Trudy Harrison said: “This is, quite literally, a ground-breaking moment - demonstrating…

  • MPs decry ‘outdated’ energy bill support for vulnerable homes

    A "massive" insulation drive needs to be launched urgently, in order to bring down the cost of energy bills and support low-income households, said the UK Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.  MPs that form part of this select committee have described the government's current energy bill support scheme as "outdated" and accused energy regulator Ofgem of being “negligent” in its response to the rise in energy prices.   “Once again, the energy crisis is racing ahead of the government,” said Darren Jones, the chair of the committee. “To prevent millions from dropping into unmanageable debt, it’s imperative that the support package is updated and implemented before October, when the squeeze will become a full-on throttling of household finances and further tip the economy towards…

  • Hands-on review: Acer ConceptD 7 SpatialLabs Edition

    The way we see in three dimensions is fascinating: our eyes see two slightly different images and our brains combine them to get stereopsis: a 3D view of the world. Around one in twenty people don’t have stereopsis, but most still use two eyes – the brain comparing the two images – to perceive depth, they just don’t combine the two into a single 3D image. To be effective, 3D TVs and cinema screens must present your eyes with two different images. So far, they’ve done this with glasses. One popular sort uses polarised lenses; these are the lightweight, battery-free glasses you get in cinemas and with some TVs. The other sort - ‘active shutter’ 3D glasses - use liquid crystal to opaque each lens, alternating so fast you can’t perceive it, in sync with the screen displaying two different images…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Charity calls out ‘scandalous’ sewage discharge into New Forest National Park

    The charity River Action submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Environment Agency, which revealed that in 2021 raw sewage was discharged into the two principal river catchments of the New Forest - the Lymington and Beaulieu Rivers - on more than 250 occasions and a total period of just under 1,900 hours. The most frequent sewage discharges over this period in the National Park have occurred at Brockenhurst Wastewater Treatment Works on the Lymington River and Lyndhurst Wastewater Treatment Works on the Beaulieu River, accounting for over 50 per cent of total discharges. The chairman of River Action, Charles Watson, has written a letter to the CEO of Southern Water expressing his “deep concern” over the uncovered data. He said it was “simply scandalous” that New Forest wetlands…

  • Digital expansion halted by global fibre shortage

    Europe, India and China are three of the regions heavily impacted by the shortage of fibre-optic cables, which is expected to delay several state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure projects.  The surge in demand for these materials and the supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have led to fibre costs rising by as much as 70 per cent since March 2021. While a fibre-kilometre was priced at $3.70 at the time, companies are now paying up to $6.30 for the same amount, according to market intelligence agency Cru Group. “Given that the cost of deployment has suddenly doubled, there are now questions around whether countries are going to be able to meet targets set for infrastructure build, and whether this could have an impact on global connectivity,” stated…

  • Why digital identity will make or break the Metaverse

    Many brands, including Coca-Cola, Nike and Disney, are creating experiences in the Metaverse , yet the virtual space remains a rather nebulous concept. It’s far from fully understood, even to the most eager stakeholders, and there’s a long way to go before the potential applications of virtual worlds come into focus. Caitlyn Ryan, EMEA VP of Meta’s Creative Shop, has defined the Metaverse as “a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with people who aren’t in the same physical space as you.” In summary, it’s an immersive platform where people can collaborate, socialise and become part of a shared experience. With reports suggesting that the total value of the Metaverse is forecast to hit $36 bn by 2025 , it’s no surprise that business leaders are keen to understand its true…

  • EU countries push back against plans to cut gas demand

    Diplomats from the 27 EU member states are currently negotiating the EU's proposals to cut down the use of natural gas throughout the bloc by 15 per cent from August 2022 to March 2023.   However, several European governments are seeking exemptions to this plan and have raised concerns regarding the size of the target and the European Commission's ability to make the plan binding by declaring  a gas supply emergency. In a proposal drafted by the Czech Republic, which currently chairs EU country meetings, EU countries have argued that compulsory targets should take into account each state’s dependency on Russian gas as well as the amount they have managed to funnel into storage. Moreover, the countries have requested that countries that have an additional supply of gas - such as Spain…

  • Biodegradable silk process developed to replace microplastics

    Some microplastics are intentionally added to a variety of products, amounting to an estimated 50,000 tons a year in the EU alone. The EU has already declared that these added, nonbiodegradable microplastics must be eliminated by 2025, so the search is on for suitable replacements, which do not currently exist. The microplastics widely used in industrial products generally protect some specific active ingredient (or ingredients) from being degraded by exposure to air or moisture, until the time they are needed. They provide a slow release of the active ingredient for a targeted period of time and minimise adverse effects to its surroundings. The materials used today for such microencapsulation are plastics that persist in the environment for a long time and with no currently available substitute…

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    Extreme weather, cyberattacks, and epidemics place tremendous strain on healthcare facilities. While it may not be possible to predict the next catastrophic event, it is possible to plan for it. Download this eGuide to explore the solutions that can help prepare for and respond to unforeseen events - without disrupting the delivery of critical services. You will learn: How to ensure 24/7 power availability for healthcare facilities How to keep critical infrastructure cybersecure How to select the right solution for end-to-end resilience for future-ready healthcare facilities Download free whitepaper

  • Eutelsat proposes merger with UK-owned OneWeb for satellite launches

    Eutelsat said the combined firm would be the first multi-orbit satellite operator offering both low-Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit communication services and would be “uniquely positioned” to take advantage of the satellite connectivity market. OneWeb commenced launches of its satellite constellation – a network of more than 650 LEO satellites designed for internet services – in February 2019. The UK government bought a stake in the firm in 2020 when it entered bankruptcy after failing to raise the requisite capital to complete the build and deployment of the remaining 90 per cent of the network. The purchase was seen as a means to expand the UK’s space industry, following its withdrawal from the EU and its Galileo project. The OneWeb service is finally expected to be fully…

  • Bowel cancer diagnosis set to improve with ‘gamechanger’ €6m AI project

    Bowel cancer is the second most-common cause of cancer death in Scotland, with around 1,600 people dying of the disease each year. The current detection method involves inserting an endoscope, a thin flexible tube with a camera on the end, into a patient’s colon which then travels around the large bowel allowing doctors to check for cancer. The new procedure being developed by the research team - known as a Clinical Capsule Endoscopy (CCE) – utilises an artificial intelligence-assisted ‘smart pill’ containing cameras (pictured below) which, once swallowed by a patient, records images of the intestines as it passes through.   At present, images captured by the capsules are reviewed by trained doctors, but AI offers the potential to safely and ethically speed up the process, make it more…

  • China launches science laboratory into space

    Last night, the Wentian lab module was launched from the Wenchang space base in the tropical island province of Hainan on Sunday, with a view to expanding China's positioning within the space research sector.  The module docked successfully with the Tiangong station’s main Tianhe living module at 3.13am on Monday (8.13pm on Sunday BST), after 13 hours of flight, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The Wentian is the heaviest single-module spacecraft currently in space, according to the state-owned Global Times. Its name means ' Quest for the Heavens'.  China space station / CMS Image credit: CMS   The 23-tonne lab has been designed for science and biology experiments and is only one of the two modules that will form the final laboratory. The second

  • View from India: 5G spectrum up for auction

    The bidders for the spectrum are Reliance Jio Infocomm; Adani Data Networks Ltd; Vodafone Idea Ltd, and Bharti Airtel Ltd. Reliance Jio has made an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 14,000 crore. Adani Group has made EMD of Rs100 crore. Bharti Airtel has contributed Rs 5,500 crore as EMD, while Vodafone Idea has contributed Rs 2,200 crore. EMD is indicative of the quantity of airwaves a company can bid for in the auction. Looking at the deposit amounts, Reliance Jio appears to be bidding the most aggressively. The auction will be held for spectrum in varying frequency bands. The low-frequency band is represented by 600MHz, 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz and 2300MHz; the mid-frequency band by 3300MHz, and the high-frequency band by 26GHz. Payments for the spectrum can be made in…

  • Sprayable coating prevents spread of pathogens including Covid-19

    The spray works by repelling viruses and bacteria through an air-filled barrier as well as killing pathogens through microscopic materials if the layer becomes damaged or submerged for extended periods. It uses a combination of plastics strong enough to be considered an alternative to bullet-proof glass. A 2020 study showed that Covid-19 could survive for up to 28 days on surfaces such as mobile phone screens and banknotes. The coating provides a reliable alternative to standard disinfectants, which are becoming less effective and require regular reapplication, and is safer than existing alternatives to disinfectant, the researchers said. Testing has shown it has no harmful side effects and more stable potency – unlike the next most promising non-disinfectant agent that kills bacteria…

  • Book review: ‘Sweet Stakeholder Love’ by Sigi Osagie

    It was the great American statesman Benjamin Franklin who said that in this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes. Of course, he wrote that at the end of the 18th century. Had he been considering the position today, and had he been in possession of Sigi Osagie’s latest book, he may well have extended his list of certainties to include stakeholders. This is because, as Osagie says in the thoroughly engaging ‘Sweet Stakeholder Love’ (EPG Solutions, £11.97, ISBN 9781838489205), this is a category of management challenge that faces you, whichever way you turn. Stakeholders are everywhere, everyone has them, and if you don’t know how to deal with them you won’t realise your full potential as a manager. Osagie, who is a leading expert on effectiveness in procurement and…

  • Diversity must be at the heart of equitable AI development

    People often think of artificial intelligence as just code – cold, lifeless and objective. In important ways, however, AI is more like a child. It learns from the data it is exposed to and optimises based on objectives that are established by its developers, who in this analogy would be its ‘parents’. Like a young child, AI doesn’t know about the history or societal dynamics that have shaped the world to be the way it is. And just as children sometimes make strange or inappropriate remarks without knowing any better, AI learns patterns from the world naively without understanding the broader sociotechnical context that underlies the data it learns from. Unlike children, however, AI is increasingly being asked to make decisions in high-stakes contexts, including finding criminal suspects…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Apple and Amazon bet on healthcare as Big Tech realm expands

    Big Tech seems to have targeted the healthcare sector, as two of its biggest players pledge their commitment to invest in the industry.  On Wednesday, Apple published a nearly 60-pages-long report outlining the company's health features and partnerships with medical institutions to highlight its commitment to "science-based technology" and Apple's vision to double down on health-related features as part of its future expansion. Some of the features that reportedly show the company's "pioneering" healthcare offering include sleep monitoring and fitness classes, as well as atrial-fibrillation detection and cycle tracking applications. Apple also is working on technologies such as glucose and blood pressure monitoring that are expected to go live soon. Currently, the iPhone and Apple Watch…

  • La Palma telescope observes the collisions of dead suns

    The Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO), led by the University of Warwick and built in Spain's La Palma island, is expected to bring forth a new era of gravitational wave (GW) science. The GOTO project consists of multiple wide-field telescopes on a single mount, which allows it to map large source regions in the sky to detect gravitational waves, and learn about their cause: the collisions of dead suns, scientifically known as neutron stars. The crashes between these types of stars are thought to be the origin of most of the heavy metals in the universe including gold and platinum, billions of years ago. With the new addition to the telescope, scientists are expected to be able to witness this process and observe stars "being smashed together and observe the rich material…

  • UK to build second-largest magnet refinery outside China

    The country is looking to diversify critical mineral supplies away from dominant players such as China, with a multi-billion pound investment in the sector.  The new  rare earths refinery facility will be built by Pensana in Saltend, North Yorkshire, and it will process the critical minerals used in magnets, a key component for manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs).  The facility is backed by the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, an £850 million programme to electrify Britain’s automotive supply chain. It will make the UK "one of the only places in Europe to have the facility to refine the rare earth oxides used in the creation of magnets", the government has said, adding that it expects the facility to create 126 new and skilled jobs in the area. Currently, China provides…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • £1.5m cash boost from government to help aviation recruitment

    The sector has been suffering from severe staff shortages in recent months which has forced airports to cut the number of flights that can take off per day over the busy summer period. While Covid-19 restrictions significantly dampened demand for flights over the last two years, Gatwick recently said it had already seen over 10 million passengers travel through the airport in the first six months of this year compared to just 6.3 million across the whole of 2021. As part of the new government funding, £700,000 has been allocated to the ‘Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund’, which will fund outreach programmes and events to educate young people on the career opportunities on offer in aviation. The scheme will see government working with the industry on a new campaign to increase the number…

  • Molecular-sized motor created from DNA

    The tiny machine made of genetic material self-assembles and converts electrical energy into kinetic energy. The nanomotors can be switched on and off and the rotation speed and rotational direction can also be controlled. The researchers used what is known as the DNA “origami method” to construct the nanoscale molecular rotary motor. Several long single strands of DNA serve as a basis to which additional DNA strands attach themselves as counterparts. The DNA sequences are selected in such a way that the attached strands and folds create the desired structures. “We’ve been advancing this method of fabrication for many years and can now develop very precise and complex objects, such as molecular switches or hollow bodies that can trap viruses. If you put the DNA strands with the right sequences…

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