• Innovative space exploration projects boosted by new funding

    The projects supported by the UK's Enabling Space Exploration fund c ould revolutionise the ability to journey deeper into space – including travel to Mars – safely and efficiently, the agency said.  They aim to use remote technologies and supplies found in space, to support long-term exploration missions.  One project is creating remote equipment which scientists can use to run experiments on biological models in deep space from Earth, with the goal of  designing medical treatments for astronauts. Other ventures include testing improved systems for recycling breathing gases while in space, and enhanced methods for extracting valuable resources, such as oxygen and metals, from Moon rock. Another one of the projects will look at new nuclear power processes for propulsion. “The concept…

  • Hands-on review: Honor Magic Vs foldable phone

    Samsung released the first prominent foldable device – the Galaxy Z Fold – in 2019 to a decidedly mixed reception marred by concerns over its longevity and an inbuilt screen protector that wasn’t clearly marked as non-removable. This year, the foldable market has attracted the likes of Oppo, Motorola, Xiaomi and Honor, who are all looking to dethrone Samsung. The Magic Vs is Honor’s second stab at such a device, featuring a slimmer frame than its predecessor and a lighter weight. Image credit: Jack Loughran During its reveal at MWC, Honor was keen point out how the two sides of the device’s inner screen meet seamlessly when closed, unlike the Galaxy Fold 4. Indeed, the Magic Vs feels solidly-built and you almost forget it is a foldable when using the outer…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • ‘Perfectly secure’ digital messaging hides sensitive data from prying eyes

    The method can be incorporated into social media and private messaging and could “empower” vulnerable groups, such as dissidents, investigative journalists and humanitarian aid workers, the researchers added. The algorithm applies to a setting called steganography which is the practice of hiding sensitive information inside innocuous content. Steganography differs from cryptography because the sensitive information is concealed in such a way that it obscures the fact that something has been hidden. An example could be hiding a Shakespeare poem inside an AI-generated image of a cat. Despite having been studied for more than 25 years, existing steganography approaches generally have imperfect security, meaning that individuals who use these methods risk being detected. This is because previous…

  • Forgotten funds worth £76m will be used to cover living and energy costs

    The government will use the Dormant Assets Scheme (DAS) to unlock money that cannot be reunited with its owners.  The cash will support people to get out of debt and assist social enterprises with innovative energy-saving solutions.  The DAS will initially release £76m tied up in forgotten bank and building society accounts. Later in the year, the government is expected to unlock an additional £738m from insurance, pensions, investment and wealth management products that have been left unclaimed. The funds will provide no-interest loans for 69,000 individuals struggling with finances via a £45m grant distributed by Fair4All Finance.  Another £31m will be distributed by social investors Access and Big Society Capital and distributed to hundreds of charities, with the goal of retrofitting…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Over 99 per cent of humans exposed to unsafe levels of PM2.5 air pollution

    A study at Monash University in Australia  found that only 0.18 per cent of the global land area and 0.001 per cent of the global population are exposed to levels of PM2.5 below that recommended by the Word Health Organization (WHO). Particles in the PM2.5 size range are able to travel deeply into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs. Exposure to fine particles can cause short-term health effects such as eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, coughing, sneezing, runny nose and shortness of breath. Studies also suggest that long term exposure to fine particulate matter may be associated with increased rates of chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function and increased mortality from lung cancer and heart disease. While daily levels have reduced in Europe and North America in the two…

  • Japan's H3 rocket self-destructs after failed launch

    Japan’s second attempt to launch its next-generation H3 rocket has failed, dealing a blow to the country’s space and national security programmes.  The ¥ 200bn (£1.2bn) rocket self-destructed under officials' orders after the vehicle’s second-stage engine failed to ignite moments after lift-off. The launch was meant to showcase  Japan’s first new rocket in more than 20 years. Powered by a new simpler and lower-cost engine that was partly 3D-printed, the H3 rocket had been hailed as a possible competitor to SpaceX’s Falcon 9.  Video footage of the launch showed clouds of smoke billowing as the 57-metre (187 feet) rocket lifted off without a hitch from the Tanegashima spaceport. However seven minutes into the flight, launch commentators noted that the rocket's velocity was falling. Shortly…

  • Cheap charcoal filters could greatly improve in-car air quality

    In a report by WM Air, the West Midlands Air Quality Improvement Programme at the University of Birmingham, the research team demonstrated that charcoal filters, which typically cost around £10-£20, can effectively remove NO2 from the air within vehicle cabins. NO2 is a common air pollutant that can aggravate diseases such as asthma and increase the risks of respiratory infections. Traffic emissions are a dominant source of NO2, so road users inside vehicles are exposed as air circulates into vehicle cabins from outside through open windows and ventilation systems. While ventilation systems do currently filter air, this is typically via a pollen filter. These prevent tiny particles and pollen getting inside the vehicle, but they have little effect on gases such as NO2. The activated carbon…

  • View from India: Aqua Calling

    Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister (CM) of Karnataka, has announced to the media that the coastal region of the state in south-west India has the potential to be one of the top attractions of the country. The CM recently unveiled the Seven Wonders of Karnataka, organised by the Karnataka Tourism Department. Selected and shortlisted from 5,000 nominated places, the final list is: Hirebenakal Rock Tombs, Hampi, Gomateshwara, Gol Gumbaz, Mysore Palace, Jog Falls and Netrani Island. The seven places fall into categories like land, water, forests, mountains, vastu [principles of building design], science, history, tradition and heritage. The focus is on the marina. And why not, as the state has 350km of coastal area, 10 different weather zones, 400km of the Western Ghats, a rich biodiversity…

  • Hands-on review: Moog Moogerfooger audio plug-ins

    The original hardware Moogerfooger pedals were some of the last designs by Bob Moog himself, along with his engineering team, and were first released in the late 1990s through to the early 2000s. The Moogerfooger effects pedals drew on the same principles as the original Moog modular synthesisers that had made the company name famous worldwide in the preceding decades. The pedals were something of a response to the changing musical landscape of the times, with their classic guitar foot pedal housing and circuitry and behaviour adapted to process a wide range of signals and inputs, including guitar, bass, synth and voice.   Built to the same high standards as other Moog products, the pedals were brilliant and beautiful, but expensive to buy at the time – and that still hasn't changed today…

  • UK flood damages will rise dramatically if climate change pledges not met

    Researchers from the University of Bristol and water risk modelling firm Fathom used assessed future flood hazards, based on the most recent Met Office climate projections. Its findings show the forecasted annual increase in national direct flood losses, defined as physical damage to property and businesses, due to climate change in the UK can be kept below 5 per cent above recent historical levels. This scenario can only be achieved if all countries fulfil the climate pledges they signed up to at COP26 and that countries such the UK, which made further net-zero commitments, actually achieve these on time and in full. If these are not collectively met, the annual cost of flooding in the UK over the next century could grow by between 13 and 23 per cent, depending on different levels of…

  • View from Brussels: Brakes on EU engine ban

    “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” can now be misattributed to the internal combustion engine as well as Mark Twain after the events of last week, following a particularly underhanded u-turn by Berlin and Rome. Last year, the European Parliament and Council of the 27 EU member countries agreed on new engine standards that will gradually decarbonise the car sector and eventually lead to a de facto ban on petrol and diesel engines in 2035. It took a lot of negotiating but the deal was eventually struck behind closed doors, aided in no small part by several of the industry’s biggest players like Volkwagen, Volvo and General Motors, among others, saying that they are already planning to stop making new ICEs. In Brussels, new rules are generally set using the following process…

  • Indonesia to incentivise EV sales

    The incentive programme will cover sales of 200,000 electric motorcycles and 35,900 electric cars, said industry minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. It will also cover the conversion of 50,000 combustion engine motorcycles. The incentives will start from March 20 2023, aiming to attract investment from industry giants such as Tesla, senior cabinet minister Luhut Pandjaitan said. The two ministers did not disclose the budget set aside for the programme, but said 7 million rupiah (£379.31) will be disbursed to producers and retailers for each new motorcycle sold and for each converted into an electric bike. "We are finalising negotiations with two big global car producers," Pandjaitan said, without revealing the names of the carmarkers. "We hope this new policy will make our position much…

  • Solar roofs harness sunlight to power crop growth in greenhouses

    The emerging field of agrivoltaics tries to make use of the same tracts of land for both solar power generation and agriculture simultaneously. Researchers from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering in Los Angeles have been augmenting semi-transparent organic solar cells with a layer of a naturally occurring chemical called L-glutathione to extend the solar cells’ lifetime. Organic solar cells typically have a much shorter lifespan than traditional technologies, as they rely upon carbon-based materials which degrade over time when exposed to sunlight. The chemical addition was found to not only extend the lifetime of the cells but also improve their efficiency, while still allowing adequate sunlight to reach plants in a greenhouse prototype about the size of a small dolls house. …

  • UK ‘science superpower’ ambition supported by £360m fund

    The government has launched its plan to cement the UK’s place as a science and technology superpower by 2030.  The new ‘ Science and Technology Framework ’ is the first major piece of work from the newly created Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Its goal is to "challenge every part of the government to better put the UK at the forefront of global science and technology this decade".  The new plan is backed by an initial set of projects, including a £250m investment in artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology and engineering biology, as well as the publication of a new review of UK research by Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute. The government also pledged to ensure that researchers have access to the “best physical and digital infrastructure…

  • Government urged to insulate Britain’s historic buildings

    Retrofitting the UK’s historic buildings would support 290,000 jobs and boost the UK economy by £35bn as well as slashing Britain’s carbon emissions, a new report has found.  The 'Heritage and Carbon' report was  published by the National Trust, Historic England, the Crown Estate and property companies Peabody and Grosvenor, which are calling on the government to implement a national retrofit strategy for these sites.  The organisations said an extra 105,000 workers, including plumbers, electricians and carpenters, were needed to make historic buildings more energy-efficient, more than double the number currently working on the issue. At the moment, around a quarter of all homes and a third of commercial buildings are considered to be “historic”, as they were built before 1919.  This…

  • UN members sign ‘historic’ agreement to protect the world’s oceans

    UN secretary-general António Guterres described the deal as a “breakthrough” after nearly two decades of talks which began in 2004.   “This action is a victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends facing ocean health, now and for generations to come,” he said. Referred to as the ‘High Seas Treaty’, the legal framework would place 30 per cent of the world’s oceans into protected areas, put more money into marine conservation, and covers the use of marine genetic resources. The treaty is considered to be crucial for addressing crises including climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.  It is an update on the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was adopted in 1982, and laid down rules governing the use of the oceans and their resources…

  • 60 miles of electrification is ‘no regrets’ way to get diesel trains off key freight routes

    The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport – CILT(UK) – has released a detailed map and strategy for electrifying rail freight operations by the mid-2040s. Currently, a mere 10 per cent of British freight trains are hauled by electric locomotives, while a handful of short unelectrified sections force freight trains to be diesel-hauled for long distances ‘under the wires’. Electrifying these ‘infill’ sections would allow around two million train miles a year to be decarbonised, according to CILT. This is equivalent to taking around 80 million diesel HGV miles off Britain’s roads each year. It's estimated that the initial 60 miles of infill electrification would cost around £50m a year over two years – less than the cost of one road scheme – and represent a ‘no regrets’ project. …

  • AI could detect Alzheimer's disease from brain scans

    Artificial intelligence (AI) could help clinicians identify patients who would benefit from the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.  The team at MGH used deep learning a type of machine learning and artificial intelligence that uses large amounts of data and complex algorithms to train models and improve detection of the brain disease.  The AI was trained on  brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs) collected from patients with and without Alzheimer’s disease who were seen at MGH before 2019. Next, the group tested the model across five datasets – MGH post-2019, Brigham and Women’s Hospital pre- and post-2019, and outside systems pre- and post-2019 – to see if it could accurately detect Alzheimer’s disease based on real-world clinical data, regardless of hospital and time. Overall, the…

  • Polluted seawater worsens inland air quality, study finds

    Contaminants such as bacteria, viruses and chemical compounds in polluted coastal waters transfer to the atmosphere in sea spray aerosol formed by breaking waves and bursting bubbles. Researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego studied the impact of untreated sewage being diverted into the Tijuana River, which lies on the US-Mexico border, and flows into the ocean in south Imperial Beach in San Diego. “We’ve shown that up to three-quarters of the bacteria that you breathe in at Imperial Beach are coming from aerosolisation of raw sewage in the surf zone,” said lead researcher Kim Prather. “Coastal water pollution has been traditionally considered just a waterborne problem. People worry about swimming and surfing in it but not about breathing it in, even though…

  • Hands-on review: Proscenic A9 air purifier

    "Inhale pure. Live pure". That's both the promise and the core remit of this air purifier from Proscenic. Concerned about PM2.5 particles in your home? The A9 has got your back. The issue of a build-up of deleterious particulate matter in our homes has become more of a pressing concern lately, now that post-pandemic many of us are spending way more time than we ever did in the same rooms at home, breathing and rebreathing the same air. Seriously, our homes are potentially dangerous places! The airborne particles given off daily by cooking, lighting scented candles and incense, smoking and other noxious sources are all a cause for health concern. Of course, you can't see all these tiny demon particles, but they'll definitely be there and they'll be working their way into your lungs. Without…

  • UK seen as ‘toxic’ for satellite launches, industry tells MPs

    The UK government is being urged to redirect funding earmarked for space projects to hospitals, as investors lose trust in the country's space industry.  Senior figures at Welsh satellite maker Space Forge have spoken to the Parliamentary Science and Technology Committee about regulatory delays and "jarring" interactions with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).  “Quite frankly, it costs us more to license our satellite for launch than it did to launch it,” Joshua Western, the company's chief executive, told MPs.  Space Forge was hoping to become the first company to successfully bring a satellite back down to Earth following VirginOrbit's Start Me Up mission . However, Space Forge lost its satellite after a   dislodged fuel filter on the LauncherOne rocket caused an engine to overheat…

  • US presents national cyber-security strategy

    The US's new cyber-security strategy aims to "rebalance the responsibility to protect the cyberspace" away from individuals and placed onto large corporations.  At the same time, the US government plans to accelerate efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Defense Department to disrupt the activities of hackers and ransomware groups around the world.  The Biden administration also expressed their intent to work with Congress on legislation that would impose legal liability on software makers whose products fail to meet basic cyber-security safeguards, officials said. For years, the US government has relied on companies voluntarily reporting intrusions in their systems and regularly patching their programs to fix newly discovered vulnerabilities.  The new National Cybersecurity…

  • Satellites used to track global ‘greening’ to understand climate change impact

    North Carolina State University researchers coupled the satellite imagery with field sensors to estimate worldwide changes in plant leaf growth due to global warming. “As we work to anticipate the future climate, a big question is what’s going to happen to vegetation, one of the largest stores of carbon on earth?” said Josh Gray, a co-author on the study. “We know temperatures will rise and the growing season will be longer in most places, but there are a lot of unknowns about how that will affect how carbon is cycled between plants and the atmosphere. Our new results allow us to be more confident about what those changes will be.” In addition to changing the timing and length of the seasons, climate change has also meant new plant growth in some areas. However, changes in the climate…

  • Concerns over driverless car safety rose significantly in 2022

    An annual survey from the American Automobile Association (AAA) found that while there is still a high level of interest in partially-automated vehicle technology, people are becoming increasing wary of fully self-driving vehicles. This year there was a major increase in drivers who expressed concerns about the technology, rising to 68 per cent as compared to 55 per cent in 2022. This is a 13 per cent jump from last year’s survey and the biggest increase since 2020. AAA said that automakers need to create an environment that promotes the new technologies as safe alternatives to traditional driving which includes a consistent naming regime for vehicle systems available to consumers today. “We were not expecting such a dramatic decline in trust from previous years,” said Greg Brannon, director…

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