• Plant matter could produce more green energy, researchers say

    Renewable energy originating from plant matter could lessen our dependence on fossil fuels, according to new research.  A team of scientists at Michigan State University (MSU) have been able to leverage chemical tools to find a new path toward renewable energy sources and reduce energy costs by using plant matter.  Through a novel "electrocatalytic" process, the researchers used electricity and water to break the strong chemical bonds in biomass or plant matter. By applying this process to lignin, a carbon-rich biomass component that is usually discarded or simply burned as a byproduct of making paper, scientists may be able to produce electricity as well as destroy environmental pollutants.   The findings of their research have been published in the journal Nature Communications.   …

  • The bigger picture: Smallest robotic crab

    Engineers from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, have developed the smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot – a tiny peekytoe crab. Just a half-millimetre wide, the minute crabs can bend, twist, crawl, walk, turn, and even jump. Image credit: Cover Images The researchers also developed millimetre-sized robots resembling inchworms, crickets, and beetles. Although the work is exploratory at this point, researchers believe their technology might bring about micro-sized robots that can perform practical tasks inside tightly confined spaces. The research was published in the journal Science Robotics. Image credit: Cover Images ...

  • How green is the Commonwealth Games?

    The organisers of this year’s Commonwealth Games, taking place in Birmingham from 28 July, say they are meeting a bold ambition: to create the most sustainable Commonwealth Games yet. “Sustainability was set out as an important strategic priority right from the beginning,” explains Jess Fidler, head of sustainability at Birmingham 2022. “Our sustainability pledge sets out the aims and ambitions of the Games across seven pillars, covering social and environmental aspects of sustainability.” The plans detailing how they will achieve this are comprehensive and include several firsts. “We will be the first Commonwealth Games to create a carbon-neutral legacy,” says Fidler. “We will also be the first to measure our social value, and the first to have a dedicated ethical trading manager.” The…

  • Rising oil refiner margins blamed for soaring fuel costs, Competition Authority finds

    The review, which was requested by business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng last month, found that while crude oil prices have been rising over the last year, there has been a “growing gap” between that price and the wholesale price of petrol and diesel. The ‘refining spread’, or the margin charged by refineries on each litre of fuel, was found to have tripled in the last year, from 10p to nearly 35p per litre. Over the same period, the so-called ‘retailer spread’, or the difference between the wholesale price and the price charged to motorists, fluctuated but remained about 10p per litre on average. On the whole, the 5p fuel duty cut appears to have been implemented, with the largest fuel retailers doing so immediately and others more gradually. Significant differences in fuel prices were…

  • Letters to the editor: volume 17, issue 7

    Structures that last through time The April 2022 issue of E&T looked at current and future uses of concrete in construction. Here in Quebec, Canada, cold weather down to -35°C in winter and hot weather up to +37°C during summer has a major and violent impact on concrete structures. The atmospheric humidity, hot-cold cycles and the use of de-icing salt on roads and bridges has also contributed to the rapid degradation of everything made of concrete that is located outside. Bridges, overpasses, sidewalks, buildings, monuments, statues... everything. The quality of concrete was not very high in the past, and some say the new material is much better performing. But still, even today, we can see cracks forming in concrete that was poured just a year ago. In the past decade, after the collapse…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Hands-on gadget review: Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro

    This new watch from the Chinese phone brand offers enhanced dive abilities and more sports and wellness apps than ever, plus the world’s first all-ceramic smartwatch. I tested it in the standard titanium finish, a 46mm watch face that’s 10.9mm deep. That makes it chunky, the size you’d expect from a dive watch historically aimed at men (as if our poor lady wrists can’t cope…). The watch’s large AMOLED colour display is lush, responsive and has a wide viewing angle. Another advantage of the size is that it can accommodate a big battery with a 14-day life (or eight days of heavy use). It’s also available in white ceramic– in fact, that version is the world’s first all-ceramic smartwatch. At the time of writing, this was £200 more expensive than the titanium. The GT 3 Pro Ceramic is a bit…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Solar pasteurisation could provide clean drinking water for those with poor access

    Poor access to safe drinking water is a major issue for around a third of the world’s population, especially for those living in rural areas. Because of the abundant sunlight in many of these regions, solar disinfection technology holds great promise. The researchers studied the pros and cons of five of the most common solar-based disinfection technologies that are applied at their point of use: semiconductor photocatalysis to produce hydroxyl radical, dye photosensitisation to produce singlet oxygen, UV irradiation using LED powered by a photovoltaic panel, distillation using a solar still, and solar pasteurisation by raising the bulk water temperature to 75°C. “It’s really the first analysis based on how much sunlight there is around the globe, and how we can utilise the sunlight for…

  • Tokyo 2020 Olympics paved the way for decarbonised sports events, study says

    The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have demonstrated that major international sports events can significantly reduce their carbon footprint, if organisers are willing to make some changes, according to a new study by Japan's Chukyo University. A team of researchers reached this conclusion after looking at the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on the carbon emissions of last year's Olympic Games – pushed back from their original date of 2020 due to international lockdown measures.  The results showed a dramatic decrease in the competition's environmental impact, compared to that of previous years, and shed light on possible steps that large international events can take in the future to contribute to decarbonisation efforts. Due to the pandemic, the number of inbound event-related personnel…

  • Ukrainian government requests ‘dronations’ to build an army of drones

    The wars of the 21st century are being fought in the sky and with the latest technology, as shown by Ukraine's commitment to build an "army of drones" that will support the country's resistance against the Russian invasion that began in February. With this goal in mind, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has created a global donation initiative called United24. The project calls for international donors to provide funds that the Ukrainian military will use to purchase drones, as well as direct "dronations" of unmanned aerial vehicles. "The 'army of drones' will allow us to constantly monitor the 2,470km-long [1,530-mile] front line and to field an effective response to enemy attacks, using modern technology," said Col Oleksii Noskov, assistant commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Gadgets: Huawei Watch GT 3, Garmin Varia RCT715, Prêt à Pousser Multo and more

    Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro A top-notch watch with enhanced dive abilities and more sports and wellness apps than ever. Available in titanium (for a 14-day battery life) or ceramic (the world’s first ceramic smartwatch). The screen is stunning, like an infinitely customisable high-end watch. From £299.99 huawei.com Read Caramel's hands-on review. Traintrackr London Underground Traintrackr’s gloriously geeky visualisation of live data is more art than journey planner. This London Underground map features 333 RGB LEDs that update ten times a second, thanks to a Wi-Fi connection to live data from Transport for London. The company also makes digital weather maps. £249 traintrackr.co.uk Prêt à Pousser Multo ...

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    E+T Magazine

  • Bees' ‘waggle dance’ inspires robot communication in disaster zones

    A team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Science and the University of Maryland has taken inspiration from honeycomb bees to devise a system of robot communication that can be used in places where the network coverage is absent or unreliable, such as disaster zones or outer space. Imitating the "wiggle dance" that bees use to tell their sisters about the location of nectar-rich flowers, the robots are able to trace a shape on the floor. The shape's orientation and the time it takes to trace tell the second robot the required direction and distance of travel to deliver a package.  The scientists published their findings in a study in Frontiers in Robotics and AI, describing how the team designed a  visual communication system for robots with on-board cameras, using algorithms that…

  • Wastewater analysis tool used for early discovery of Covid-19 variants

    Analysing wastewater is a cheaper, faster and more accurate way for public health officials and researchers to detect rising cases. Bits and pieces of Covid-19 are flushed down toilets and washed down sinks by infected individuals; more copies of the virus found in sewage means more people are sick. But until now, most wastewater analysis methods have lumped all the different variants together as one.   Scientists at Scripps Research and University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have developed a method that allows them to accurately determine the genetic mixture of Covid-19 variants present within a population from just two teaspoons of raw sewage. This allows them to identify new variants of concern up to 14 days before traditional clinical testing. In San Diego wastewater, the group…

  • ‘Porosity’ of Moon’s crust reveals history of celestial bombardment

    The Moon was routinely pummelled by massive asteroids and comets during the creation of the solar system around 4.4 billion years ago and it still get hits by celestial objects today, albeit less frequently. This period of intense bombardment ended around 3.8 billion years ago, leaving behind a heavily cratered face and a cracked and porous crust. The team has shown through simulations that, early on in the bombardment period, the Moon was highly porous - almost one-third as porous as pumice. This high porosity was likely a result of early, massive impacts that shattered much of the crust. Scientists have assumed that a continuous onslaught of impacts would slowly build up porosity. The team found that nearly all the Moon’s porosity formed rapidly with these massive impacts and that the…

  • Tougher criminal penalties proposed for ‘downblousing’ and porn deepfakes

    The Law Commission of England and Wales said the reforms would make it easier to prosecute those who take or share sexual, nude or other intimate images of people without their consent. The recommendations would also update the law to cover more modern forms of abuse that are currently not offences, including “downblousing” which is currently not criminalised in the same way as "upskirting". As well as extending and simplifying the law, under the reforms, all victims of abuse would receive lifetime anonymity in the hope that it will help empower victims to report and support prosecutions. Commenting on the reforms, professor Penney Lewis, the Law Commissioner for Criminal Law, said: “Sharing intimate images of a person without their consent can be incredibly distressing and harmful for…

  • MI5 and FBI warn of China’s desire to ‘steal’ Western technology

    The heads of the FBI and MI5 intelligence agencies have delivered an unprecedented joint address raising alarms about the “game-changing” threat posed by Chinese espionage.   The FBI's Christopher Wray and MI5's Ken McCallum shared a stage for the first time at the MI5 headquarters in London to warn an audience of industry CEOs and senior figures from universities about the dangers posed by China's reported desire to obtain Western technology to acquire a competitive gain.  “The Chinese government is set on stealing your technology - whatever it is that makes your industry tick - and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market,” Wray said in the speech. “Maintaining a technological edge may do more to increase a company’s value than would partnering with a Chinese company…

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    E+T Magazine

  • Apple devices to get ‘Lockdown Mode’ with extra defences against spyware

    'Lockdown Mode' will be introduced later this year in updated versions of iOS and MacOS. Apple believes it could be particularly useful for human rights advocates, political dissidents and other targets of sophisticated hacking attacks. “Apple makes the most secure mobile devices on the market. Lockdown Mode is a ground-breaking capability that reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting users from even the rarest, most sophisticated attacks,” said Ivan Krstić, Apple’s head of security engineering and architecture. “While the vast majority of users will never be the victims of highly targeted cyber attacks, we will work tirelessly to protect the small number of users who are. That includes continuing to design defences specifically for these users, as well as supporting researchers…

  • Offshore wind price hits record low in renewables auction

    The UK government has announced 11 gigawatts of winning bids for various renewable technologies at a record-low price, s ecuring a record amount of renewable power in its flagship auction scheme. The auction process has secured almost the same amount of green energy as the previous three rounds combined, which amounts to 14 per cent of the UK’s total current electricity capacity and is enough to power around 12 million homes, according to officials. Almost two-thirds of the auction were awarded to  offshore wind, as five projects secured 7GW of new capacity. At £37.35 per megawatt-hour, it is the lowest cost of all renewable technologies and significantly cheaper than the current cost of electricity, which has been trading at over £150/MWh for much of this year. The previous record low…

  • Shapeshifting microrobots capable of brushing and flossing teeth

    A shapeshifting robotic microswarm could one day act as an all-in-one toothbrush, rinse and dental floss solution. The technology, developed by a multidisciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania, could potentially offer a new and automated way to perform the mundane but critical daily tasks of brushing and flossing. The system that could be particularly valuable for those who lack the manual dexterity to clean their teeth effectively themselves. The building blocks of the microrobots are iron oxide nanoparticles that have both catalytic and magnetic activity. Using a magnetic field, researchers could direct their motion and configuration to form either bristle-like structures that sweep away dental plaque from the broad surfaces of teeth, or elongated strings that can slip between…

  • Competition authority investigating alleged anti-competitive behaviour by Amazon

    While some of the products on Amazon’s Marketplace are supplied through its own retail business, a large proportion are supplied by third-party sellers. Amazon provides services to these sellers, including those that are essential to make sales, such as matching sellers with consumers or handling some of the logistics. The CMA investigation will consider whether Amazon is abusing its position as an e-retailer and distorting competition by giving an unfair advantage to its own retail business or sellers that use its services, compared to other third-party sellers on the Amazon UK Marketplace. It will look at how Amazon collects and uses third-party seller data as well as how it sets criteria for who gains its preferred 'Buy Box' or 'Prime' labels. Sarah Cardell, general counsel at the…

  • UK plans to boost domestic energy security with focus on low-carbon tech

    The package will include extra support for the deployment of low-carbon technologies at scale such as carbon capture, usage and storage, and hydrogen. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said the plan would allow Britain to secure a ‘first mover advantage’ in capturing some of the global market share for these technologies and could help prop up the UK’s flagging economy. The Energy Security Bill also includes measures to further the deployment of heat networks and drive down the cost of electric heat pumps. Heat network consumers typically pay a lower price for their heat than those on an individual gas boiler, while replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump can reduce a home’s energy use by well over 50 per cent. Ofgem will also be appointed to oversee regulation…

  • Hacker claims to have stolen data on one billion Chinese citizens

    An anonymous internet user, identified as 'ChinaDan', posted on the hacker forum Breach Forums last week offering to sell more than 23 terabytes of stolen data from the Shanghai police database, including names, addresses, birthplaces, national IDs, phone numbers and criminal case information regarding one billion Chinese residents. In an anonymous post, the hacker asked for 10 bitcoin, worth around $200,000 (£168,000) for the complete file. "In 2022, the Shanghai National Police (SHGA) database was leaked. This database contains many TB of data and information on Billions of Chinese citizen," the post said. The Shanghai government and police department did not respond to requests for comment on Monday, and news outlets have been unable to check the veracity of the post, or contact the…

  • Plans for UK's first Plastic Park approved

    It is expected that the £165m park will recycle 367,500 tonnes of plastic, helping to slash carbon emissions on the road to net zero. Peel NRE, part of Peel L&P, are behind the blueprint, which will feature innovative processing and treatment technologies to make the most of up to 367,500 tonnes of mixed recyclables and plastic every year. The consent will also see a hydrogen refuelling station developed at the Plastic Park, with the overall scheme set to create 147 new jobs. Richard Barker, development director at Peel NRE, said: “It’s great to get unanimous backing for the Plastic Park – a UK first that will underpin the circular economy in the North West. “It’s imperative we deliver creative solutions to the UK’s plastic problem. This project clusters recycling technologies in one…

  • EU approves ‘global first’ digital legislation

    The European Parliament has given its stamp of approval to two landmark rules that aim to rein in the power of tech giants such as Alphabet unit Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft.  With the passing of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU is creating what it describes as  a "rulebook" for online platforms, with the goal of creating "a safer and more open digital space, grounded in respect for fundamental rights". While the DSA focuses on targeting content deemed illegal in Europe, making platforms responsible for its removal, the DMA aims to curb anticompetitive behaviour and keep "gatekeepers" from suppressing market competition.  The fines for non-compliance can reach up to 6 per cent of annual global turnover for DSA breaches, and as much as…

  • Twitter sues Indian government over content removal orders

    Twitter has filed a suit in the Karnataka High Court in Bangalore, India, challenging a recent government order for the company to remove content and block dozens of accounts. The decision has escalated the social media company’s fight against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive to acquire more control over the content published on social media platforms.  Twitter complied with the order, made under India's information technology law, but immediately sought judicial relief. According to the lawsuit paperwork, Twitter has alleged that New Delhi had abused its power by ordering it to arbitrarily and disproportionately remove several tweets from its platform, some of which “pertain to political content that is posted by official handles of political parties”, the social media giant stated…

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