• Full-fibre broadband rollout ramps up but UK household adoption remains low

    In its annual Connected Nations report, it found that full-fibre connections are now available to 12.4 million households (42 per cent) – an increase of 4.3 million from last year. In its last manifesto, the Conservative Party promised to install full-fibre, gigabit-capable broadband in every home and business across the UK by 2025. This pledge was later downgraded to just 85 per cent of premises in the UK, although last year, MPs questioned whether even this target was plausible considering the speed of the rollout. The average UK home broadband download speed is currently 59.4Mbit/s but the gap between UK households seeing the fastest and slowest speeds is widening as many customers upgrade to faster services. Full-fibre connections – along with upgraded cable networks – have the…

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    E+T Magazine

  • View from India: Path breakers of a different kind

    Abhilasha Barak creates history The daughter of an army official, Abhilasha Barak spent her formative years in the military Cantonment. When her father, Colonel S Om Singh, retired in 2011 and her elder brother had his passing out parade at the Indian Military Academy in 2013, the fact that she was moving out of military life stirred her from within and became the starting point of a life-altering decision. An alumnus of the Lawrence School Sanawar and with a B Tech degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Delhi Technological University, Barak was offered a job in Deloitte, USA. Destiny willed otherwise and, back on the home turf, she joined the Indian Army in 2018 and underwent extensive training at the officers’ Training Academy before being commissioned to the Army Air Defence…

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    E+T Magazine

  • After All: A project that tried to stand a town on its head

    In the run-up to Christmas, even the most ‘correct’, pedantic and nerdish of us become dreamers, and those who do not, like to hear stories about other people’s dreams. That was probably why my last year’s real-life tale about Manea Colony – a peculiar Utopian community in 19th-century Cambridgeshire – triggered considerable reader response. This time we’ll have a look at yet another – much more modern – Utopian techno project. Let us begin with a protracted, yet relevant, quote: “Pedestrians should be loved. “Pedestrians make up the greater part of mankind. Not only that, the finer part. Pedestrians created the world. It was they who built towns; put up sky-scrapers; installed drainage and plumbing; paved the streets and lit them with electric lights. It was they who invented printing;…

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  • Meta sued over claims it promoted violence in Ethiopia

    The lawsuit, filed in Kenya on Tuesday, was brought by two Ethiopian researchers and a Kenyan human rights organisation, the Katiba Institute. It also has the support of the campaign group Foxglove.  It alleges Facebook's recommendations systems amplified violent posts in Ethiopia and identified several people as targets. The suit also said the company failed to exercise reasonable care in training its algorithms to identify dangerous posts and in hiring staff to police content for the languages covered by its regional moderation hub in Nairobi. The lawsuit specifically pointed out several of the platform's posts, which directly preceded the murder of the father of one of the researchers. The posts were published in October 2021 and included the use of ethnic slurs to refer to Professor…

  • UK Space Agency funds raft of projects to boost UK space capabilities

    The body is launching a £2.7m fund for projects which are located across the UK in a bid to bolster the UK’s growing satellite launch sector. The UK is currently on track to become the first country in Europe to offer commercial launch services to small satellite manufacturers, from a range of spaceports offering both horizontal and vertical rocket launch capabilities. The funding from UKSA’s new Launch UK Technology Investment Programme will support teams from industry and universities to develop technology, products and services that will enhance the UK spaceflight supply chain and improve its international competitiveness. Start-up Magdrive will receive £250,000 to further development on its Magdrive kick-stage for launch, which will allow satellites launched from the UK to reach higher…

  • Martian dust devil sounds captured by Perseverance rover

    The Perseverance rover happened to have its microphone on when the dust devil - with its 25mph winds speeds - passed over it. Scientists have long had evidence of the existence of dust devils on Mars, as they have been photographed for years. However, this 10-second audio clip is the first time that humans have been able to hear what they sound like.  The clip is evidence of an average-range dust wind, at least 400 feet tall and 80 feet across and travelling at five metres per second. The microphone picked up 308 dust pings as the dust devil whipped by.  According to the research team, the Martian dust devil sounds similar to those occurring on Earth, although it is quieter since Mars’ thin atmosphere makes for more muted sounds and less forceful wind. The researcher's findings regarding…

  • New boilers could be required to be ‘hydrogen-ready’ from 2026

    The proposal is part of a set of initiatives aimed at helping households save on energy bills by cutting the use of expensive fossil fuels. The consultation was published alongside a £25m funding pledge to speed up the deployment of technology that makes hydrogen using bioenergy – such as burning wood pellets – and with the carbon dioxide that is generated captured and permanently stored. The government said the technology would be carbon-negative, as the plants used for energy would absorb carbon as they grow, and then it would be permanently removed from the atmosphere through storage. In addition to the requirement to make all new boilers 'hydrogen-ready', the consultation also proposes setting higher efficiency standards for new gas boilers.  The initiative comes alongside a £102m…

  • Nasa launches water monitoring satellite to provide greater climate insights

    Nearly 20 years in development, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite promises to provide a thorough accounting of water over much of the Earth’s surface. SWOT's measurements of fresh water and the ocean could help researchers to address climate issues and help communities prepare for a warming world. The data will be compiled from radar sweeps of the Earth that will take place at least twice every 21 days and which could help to bolster weather and climate forecasts. The satellite makes use of a scientific instrument called the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) which has been in development for years. The instrument has been designed to capture very precise measurements of the height of water in Earth’s freshwater bodies and the ocean. KaRIn will measure the height…

  • US solar installations stall due to trade struggle with China

    According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which was signed into law by President Biden in December last year, is reducing solar installation forecasts in the near term and delaying the impact of the US’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The flagship IRA, which was passed by the US senate over the summer, makes the largest investment in carbon emissions reduction in the country’s history. The bill allocates $369bn (£302bn) to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and investing in renewable energy sources as part of efforts to reduce America’s planet-heating emissions by about 40 per cent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. In the third quarter of 2022, the US added 4.6 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity, a 17 per cent decrease…

  • Demand for EVs falls as cost-of-living rises

    Electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for fewer than a fifth (19 per cent) of new car inquiries sent to retailers through its online marketplace last month, down from 27 per cent in June 2022, when petrol reached almost £2 a litre.  Auto Trader also reported that the number of searches and advert views for used cars has fallen by 13 per cent in the past 12 months. The company's Road to 2030 Report showed the first year-on-year decline in demand for EVs since April 2020, shortly after the start of the coronavirus pandemic.  Some of the causes of this change in trends have been attributed to changes in government policy.  In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that new zero-emission cars will no longer be exempt from vehicle excise duty from April 2025, which was reportedly…

  • China fights back on chip war

    China has hit back against the sweeping rules passed by the US Department of Commerce in October, severely restricting the country's access to advanced semiconductor technology.  “China takes legal actions within the WTO framework as a necessary way to address our concerns and to defend our legitimate interests,” said China's commerce ministry.  He added that the US curbs “threatened the stability of the global industrial supply chains”. The complaint is the first step in a WTO mediation process. The next step would usually see the case being put before the Appellate Body. However, that body has been recently suspended due to disagreements among member states, meaning China’s complaint is unlikely to create any legal effect. "We have received a request for consultations from the PRC…

  • Scottish homes face blackouts as winter power cuts loom

    The temperature at Braemar in Aberdeenshire dropped to -17.3°C over night making it the coldest place in the UK for the second night in a row. In Shetland, thousands of homes are still left without power following significant snowfall, although power has been restored to more than 2,500 properties. Some 3,800 homes in Voe, Whalsay, Brae, Tumblin, Yell and Unst are still not connected, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has said, warning that it may take until the end of the week to restore power due to the extent of damage, significant travel restrictions and continued issues accessing fault locations. UK Power Networks (UKPN), which maintains electricity networks across London, the South East and East of England, has encouraged people to prepare a personal power cut plan…

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  • London Luton found to be the worst UK airport for accessibility

    The regulator has released a new report where it assessed performance for 16 of the largest UK airports over a seven-month period between 1 April and 31 October 2022. Earlier this year, the regulator wrote to airports informing them that the experience passengers received was unacceptable and told those who were underperforming that it expected them to do more to improve the quality of assistance throughout the rest of the summer. It required several airports to put in place action plans, together with airlines, which saw marked improvements in performance. The regulator ranked London Luton as the worst-performing airport as it had failed to reach performance targets and for failing to make significant improvements to the assistance it provided. Only Aberdeen, Belfast International…

  • Musk’s Twitter dissolves Trust and Safety Council

    The company formed the council in 2016 to address hate speech, child exploitation, suicide, self-harm and other problems on the platform. The council had been scheduled to meet with Twitter representatives on Monday night. However, Twitter informed the group via email that it was disbanding it shortly before the meeting was to take place, according to multiple members. The council members, who provided images of the email from Twitter to The Associated Press (AP), spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity due to fears of retaliation. “Our work to make Twitter a safe, informative place will be moving faster and more aggressively than ever before and we will continue to welcome your ideas going forward about how to achieve this goal,” said the email, which was anonymously signed as simply…

  • National Grid to harness space technology to boost energy resilience

    The organisation has trialled using satellite imagery and data analytics across more than 1,700 miles of the energy network in its initial discovery phase. The initiative is being funded by Ofgem and Innovate UK’s  Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), with a view towards improving the monitorisation of the condition of key electricity and gas infrastructure around the clock to enable the National Grid to respond to issues more quickly. National Grid claims the project, which will commence ‘alpha’ testing in August 2023, could deliver up to £22m in cost savings over the next decade. “Eye in the Sky is exploring the really exciting prospect of using satellites to monitor grid infrastructure and the surrounding area, helping us understand how and why networks are being affected,” said Sean Coleman…

  • European banks continue fossil fuel funding despite climate pledges, report finds

    A report looking into Europe’s top 25 banks from ShareAction identified some improvements in their climate and biodiversity strategies since the previous survey in 2020. But they still have “a long way to go” to meet internationally agreed standards to deal with climate change, cut emissions and safeguard nature, the report found. All 25 banks have said their businesses will be net-zero by 2050, but ShareAction said that a lack of transparency is leading to an underreporting of their support for high-carbon sectors. While most banks now have at least one decarbonisation target in place, these often fail to capture the bulk of their financing to high-carbon sectors and do not always lead to absolute reductions of emissions, the report says. Fossil fuel policies are often full of loopholes…

  • MIT engineers build portable, paper-thin solar cells

    These durable,  flexible solar cells , are much thinner than a human hair but can generate  18 times more power per kilogram than a conventional solar panel.  The cells are made from semiconducting inks that can be easily printed. They are then glued to a strong, lightweight fabric, making them easy to install on any fixed surface, providing energy on the go as a wearable power fabric or even being rapidly deployed in remote locations for assistance in emergencies. From boats to drones and mountain tents, the cells developed at the MIT could power almost any device in any location, with minimal installation needs.  "The metrics used to evaluate a new solar cell technology are typically limited to their power conversion efficiency and their cost in dollars-per-watt. Just as important is…

  • Nasa’s Orion spacecraft lands on earth after completing journey around the moon

    Orion is a partially reusable spacecraft which is designed to be capable of supporting a crew of six beyond low Earth orbit. The spacecraft was blasted into space using Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS) on November 16 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Over the course of 25.5 days, the space agency tested Orion in the harsh environment of deep space before flying astronauts on Artemis II. “The splashdown of the Orion spacecraft – which occurred 50 years to the day of the Apollo 17 Moon landing – is the crowning achievement of Artemis I. From the launch of the world’s most powerful rocket to the exceptional journey around the Moon and back to Earth, this flight test is a major step forward in the Artemis Generation of lunar exploration,” said Nasa administrator Bill Nelson. During…

  • US scientists achieve major fusion energy breakthrough

    The fusion energy that produced a 120 per cent net energy gain took place in the federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California in the past two weeks, the newspaper said, citing three people with knowledge of the matter. That would represent the first time that researchers have successfully produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was consumed during the process.  To achieve this, the scientists used a process called inertial confinement fusion, which involves bombarding a tiny pellet of hydrogen plasma with the world’s biggest laser.  Energy Department and LLNL spokespeople refused to comment or provide confirmation regarding the FT report, but said US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm would "announce a major scientific breakthrough" on Tuesday. The Washington…

  • UK manufacturers face harsh recession, industry body warns

    The body, which represents UK manufacturers, blamed the forecast on increasing costs across the board, tighter fiscal and monetary policy and weakening consumer demand. The results, which were based on a survey of 330 firms, suggest the UK’s manufacturers are headed for “a perfect storm” the body said. Manufacturing is forecast to contract by -3.2 per cent in 2023, which comes on the back of a forecast -4.5 per cent contraction this year. The number for this year is relative to a very strong 2021, which reflected the pandemic bounceback. Make UK has consistently been revising down its forecasts for manufacturing growth in 2022 throughout this year from 3 per cent in March to 1.7 per cent in July, 0.6 per cent in September and now, a contraction of -4.5 per cent. It highlights the extent…

  • GB warms up two coal plants due to temperature drops

    Two coal plants have been put on standby in Britain in preparation for an increase in the energy demand as the UK cranks up the heating to stay warm.  National Grid ESO said it had a sked Drax, which owns Britain's biggest power station, to prepare two coal-fired units. The company will also continue testing its blackout prevention scheme, which offers discounts on bills for households who cut peak-time electricity use on Monday evening. The ESO (electricity system operator) said the move means the coal-fired stations can be used as “tools for additional contingency” as needed to allow the network to run as usual, and stressed that people “should continue to use energy as normal”. The announcement comes as the UK faces  freezing temperatures and snow in many areas – ramping up demand…

  • View from India: A year of progress on many fronts

    Matters of Space Aerospace manufacturing is soaring high as the India’s defence exports were estimated at 13,000 crore rupees (INR130bn, £1.3bn) in fiscal 2021-2022. The figures are impressive. A lot can be attributed to India’s BrahMos deal with the Philippines. As per this deal, India will export the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile to the Philippines. Over the last five years, the biggest beneficiary of India’s defence exports has been Myanmar. What is also impressive is that the private sector has contributed towards aerospace manufacturing, taking stride in the manned and unmanned aircraft categories. Fuselage and other parts of the aero engine are being manufactured in India for the world.   Since the last two years, the pandemic had caused a lull in the missions executed by the Indian…

  • Retrofitting electrical systems can save energy and cut carbon

    Last month’s COP27 climate talks in Egypt focused on practical solutions for delivering COP26 commitments made by participating governments in Glasgow last year. These include the decarbonisation of key industries - including manufacturing, food, cloud computing and energy - by investing in new technologies, making older equipment more energy efficient and changing management practices. While we’ve been talking about retrofitting facilities for years, the urgency to do so has never been more imperative. From Europe’s hottest heatwaves to severe flooding in Pakistan, 2022 has seen some of the worst impacts of climate change hitting home. And unless we accelerate decarbonisation now to stop global temperatures rising more than 1.5°C, there will be much worse to come. On top of this, many…

  • Book review: ‘Connected in Isolation’ by Eszter Hargittai

    Uniqueness of circumstance isn’t always the best environment for scientific research. As Eszter Hargittai suggests in the introduction to ‘Connected in Isolation: Digital Privilege in Unsettled Times’ (The MIT Press, £22, ISBN 9780262047371), events that have journalists scrambling to deploy that much-overused epithet ‘unprecedented’ inevitably tend to produce ‘unreproducible’ observations, which is something scientists like to avoid where possible. And yet, there are events such as the Covid lockdowns (9/11 is another) in which “capturing the uniqueness of the moment is itself an important contribution”, not least because times were – especially at the beginning of the pandemic – ‘unusual’. With ‘Connected in Isolation’ the author’s goals are threefold. First is to “document people’s digital…

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    E+T Magazine

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