• From the archives: Time zones, microchips and Teflon

    Tanya Weaver looks back at standard time zones, Teflon products and the birth of microchips. Teflon as we know it today was discovered by accident in 1938. Chemist Roy J Plunkett was experimenting with refrigerant tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) in the labs of US chemicals company DuPont. During these tests he noticed that one cylinder of TFE gas failed to release as expected when its valve was opened. Cutting the cylinder open, he found that the gas inside had solidified into a white, waxy substance. Intrigued, he did some tests that led him to the conclusion that the gas had polymerised spontaneously, forming polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resin. This slippery solid had several remarkable properties including being inert to virtually all chemicals and an extremely high melting point. Having…

  • Tech firms must remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours – or face UK block

    The UK government has proposed new plans requiring tech platforms to remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours, or risk fines and potential blocking. Under the plans, victims would only have to report the image once to ensure its removal across multiple platforms, rather than having to contact each platform individually. Once flagged, tech firms will not only be legally required to remove the content within 48 hours but to ensure it’s automatically blocked at every future upload. Failure to do so could result in fines of up to 10% of the platform’s qualifying worldwide revenue or having its services blocked in the UK. The government said that intimate image abuse should be treated with the same severity as child sexual abuse and terrorism content. The new law is being made…

  • ATLAS-1 satellite to demonstrate high-speed, secure laser communication from space

    Space start-up Astrolight is preparing to launch its first laser-based communication satellite, which can provide data rates of up to 1Gbps from space without the use of radio waves. With the Earth’s orbit getting increasingly crowded, operators of smallsats – compact, low-mass spacecraft typically weighing under 500kg – are struggling with radio spectrum licensing. The limitation means they often have to sacrifice downlink speed to afford missions and face a higher risk of signal interference. While big players such as Starlink already use laser communication as an alternative means of communication, very few smallsat-friendly solutions have been proven in orbit. The Lithuania-based Astrolight has been developing a satellite dubbed ATLAS-1 with a focus on keeping the size, weight and power…

  • Green hydrogen to fuel construction at Lower Thames Crossing as project targets net zero

    Over 2,500 tonnes of green hydrogen from UK hydrogen supplier GeoPura will power construction machinery at the Lower Thames Crossing project. The hydrogen will replace more than 12 million litres of diesel at the site in Essex. According to National Highways, which is managing the project, the use of hydrogen is expected to save an estimated 30,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions during construction. Approximately 23km in length, the £10bn Lower Thames Crossing will connect Kent, Thurrock and Essex with two tunnels – one northbound and one southbound – running beneath the River Thames. The project was given the go-ahead by the UK government last year, with an expected completion date of 2031. National Highways has said that it will be the first major British infrastructure project to be carbon…

  • Hinkley Point C faces further delays as costs continue to mount

    Hinkley Point C, the UK’s first nuclear plant in a generation, is now not expected to start generating electricity until 2030 at the earliest in yet another delay to the project. French energy giant EDF, which has been overseeing construction on the nuclear plant, blamed the delay on lower-than-expected productivity on its major electromechanical installation programme. The programme includes installation works such as piping, cabling and system integration for both reactor units – although only Unit 1, the first reactor, is expected to begin generating in 2030. Unit 2 is generally expected to come online about one year after Unit 1, which suggests it will be the early 2030s based on how the project timeline is currently understood. Workers only lifted the 245-tonne steel dome onto Unit…

  • Proximity to US nuclear plants linked to 115,000 cancer deaths since 2000

    People living near nuclear power plants in the US face a higher risk of cancer compared to the average across the country, researchers at Harvard University have said. The study is the first this century to compare the proximity of nuclear power plants with cancer mortality across all facilities in the US and across every county. It also comes as countries around the world are looking to ramp up installations of nuclear power plants as a low-carbon source of baseload energy on the electricity grid. The researchers looked at data collected between 2000 and 2018 using “continuous proximity”. Advanced statistical modelling was used to capture the cumulative impact of all nearby nuclear power plants, rather than just one, even those located across the Canadian border. The data also took other…

  • Nasa blames leadership failings and technical faults in Boeing Starliner investigation

    The disastrous maiden voyage for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has been described as a “Type A mishap” by Nasa. Nasa’s original intent was to partially fund two projects – Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Dragon – so that it would have multiple options for an astronaut transfer vehicle. After a lengthy and troubled development period, Starliner finally underwent its first launch in June 2024 as part of a mission to send astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station (ISS). But once it reached the station, the capsule suffered thruster failures and helium leaks during the docking procedure that meant Nasa was not confident enough to let the passengers it had transported take the return trip. Wilmore and Williams were originally scheduled to spend just 10 days…

  • Microsoft etches terabytes into everyday glass for 10,000-year data storage

    A glass-based form of data storage that could preserve information for 10,000 years has been developed by researchers at Microsoft. Long-term preservation of digital information has long challenged archivists and data centres. Magnetic tapes and hard drives typically degrade within decades, meaning the data has to be copied over to new mediums every few years to keep it readable. Microsoft’s research arm has been trying to encode data on glass plates since 2019 as part of Project Silica, which aims to develop a more viable alternative to long-term data storage. As a storage technology, Silica offers volumetric data densities higher than current magnetic tapes, with over 7TB capable of being stored in a square glass platter the size of a DVD. While magnetic tapes are also prone to environmental…

  • GPS on Mars? New system lets Perseverance rover locate itself within 25cm

    Nasa has developed a new technology that allows Perseverance, its most recently deployed Mars rover, to locate itself on the planet with an accuracy within 25cm. Though it carries tools it can use to determine its general location, until now the rover has needed operators on Earth to tell it precisely where it is. Previously Perseverance tracked its position using visual odometry by analysing geologic features in camera images taken every few feet while accounting for wheel slippage. But as tiny errors in the process added up over the course of each drive, the rover became increasingly unsure about its exact location. This can be a problem when, due to planetary alignment, communication with Perseverance can be limited to just twice in a day, meaning it sometimes has to wait hours before…

  • British Steel to supply 36,000 tonnes of rail for Turkish rail line

    British Steel has secured a massive order worth “tens of millions of pounds” to provide materials for a major high-speed electric railway in Turkey. The deal comes amid continued uncertainty over the future operation of its steel production sites in Scunthorpe and Teesside. British Steel is currently in limbo – while it is still technically owned by Jingye Group, the Scunthorpe plant itself has been effectively nationalised and taken out of Chinese control. In April, parliament passed emergency legislation to give the government sweeping powers to control the management of the plant and ensure that production continues so that the UK retains some level of steelmaking capacity as a national security necessity. The latest deal with Turkey will see British Steel supply 36,000 tonnes of rail…

  • Earth-observation missions redesigned to cut risk of space junk strikes

    Earth-observation satellites deliver data that is critical in monitoring the progress of climate change, but they are increasingly at risk as the upper atmosphere becomes more congested. Now, University of Manchester researchers have developed a way to design Earth-observation satellite missions that could help to protect the space environment and minimise the risk of satellites being struck by space debris. There are currently around 11,800 active satellites in orbit, with some predictions suggesting that this could rise to more than 100,000 by the end of the decade. This would raise the risk of collisions exponentially, further increasing the amount of debris in orbit. Lead author John Mackintosh, PhD researcher at the University of Manchester, said: “Our research addresses what is…

  • Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in ice cave could help in battle against superbugs

    A bacterial strain discovered frozen in an underground cave is resistant to 10 antibiotics, which could give scientists clues on preventing the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Bacteria have evolved to adapt to Earth’s most extreme conditions, from scorching heat to temperatures well below zero. Ice caves host a variety of micro-organisms representing a source of genetic diversity that has not yet been studied extensively. Researchers have carried out antibiotic resistance tests on bacteria found inside a 5,000-year-old layer of ice in the Scarisoara ice cave in Romania. “The Psychrobacter SC65A.3 bacterial strain isolated from Scarisoara ice cave, despite its ancient origin, shows resistance to multiple modern antibiotics and carries over 100 resistance-related genes,” said Cristina…

  • Driverless cars could soon see around corners with HoloRadar system

    The safety of autonomous vehicles could be boosted with a new system that allows robots to see around corners. Developed by engineers at the University of Pennsylvania, HoloRadar enables robots to see around corners by using radio waves that are processed by AI. Robots equipped with the technology were able to reconstruct three-dimensional scenes outside their direct line of sight, including pedestrians. Unlike previous approaches to non-line-of-sight perception, which have depended on visible light, HoloRadar works reliably in darkness and under variable lighting conditions. “Robots and autonomous vehicles need to see beyond what’s directly in front of them,” said assistant professor Mingmin Zhao. “This capability is essential to help robots and autonomous vehicles make safer decisions…

  • A generation of UK railway electrification lost because of intermittent funding

    Efforts to electrify the UK’s railways have been hampered by a boom and bust approach to funding that leaves most of the network still reliant on polluting diesel trains, MPs on the Transport Select Committee have said. In the UK, approximately 38% of the rail network is electrified, equating to around 6,000km of track. This puts the system behind many European contemporaries, despite the UK’s relatively small land mass. In a report – Rail investment pipelines: ending boom and bust – the committee said that fluctuating public investment in railway infrastructure in recent decades has led to long delays in much needed improvements to the network while creating damaging uncertainty in the supply chain. In 2018, Jo Johnson, who was rail minister at the time, promised to take diesel-only…

  • Polymer-based EV battery that won’t freeze even at −40°C

    A polymer-based battery chemistry could enable electric vehicles (EVs) to keep working in freezing conditions, according to a study by Texas A&M University. Extreme cold weather can prevent conventional lithium-ion EV batteries from charging or discharging: as the temperature falls, the liquid electrolyte thickens or freezes, blocking the flow of electricity. Texas A&M University researchers have developed a battery that can maintain functionality in temperatures as low as –40°C. To achieve this, the liquid electrolyte was replaced with a diglyme-based low-temperate electrolyte; diglyme is a liquid organic compound with a very low freezing point, allowing the battery to remain fluid and maintain electrochemical activity even at very low temperatures. The team also replaced the battery…

  • Skyrora considers £10m investment in Sutherland spaceport amid Orbex collapse

    Skyrora, one of the UK’s most prominent space firms, is interested in buying the assets of Orbex after the rocket launch company announced it was going into administration. The Scotland-headquartered Orbex launched in 2015 and planned to build a spaceport in Sutherland at the northern tip of Scotland. It was to be one of the first vertical launch capable spaceports in the UK and would have shared this capability with Lockheed Martin to bolster that firm’s space ambitions. However, Lockheed Martin then moved its launch plans to a competing site, SaxaVord spaceport in the Shetland Isles. A series of successful funding rounds between 2022 and 2025 allowed it to continue development on its orbital rocket system, named Prime. Munich-based firm The Exploration Company announced plans to acquire…

  • Mass transit link to Bristol Airport proposed under new regional transport plan

    The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has unveiled a new Transport Vision, proposing a high-capacity mass transit network that would connect Bristol to its airport. Bristol Airport is one of the busiest airports in the UK without a direct train or tram link. It lies around 16km outside of Bristol city centre, with passengers having to get there via the often-busy road network. To make this journey and others around the city more seamless, WECA has unveiled its Transport Vision, which outlines proposals to start building a mass transit system within four or five years. The system will include an interconnected network comprising buses, rail, mass transit, upgraded streets, and active travel improvements such as better walking and cycling routes. According to WECA, congestion in…

  • Just Eat expands into autonomous delivery with UK robot trials

    Takeaway firm Just Eat has launched trials of autonomous delivery robots to transport food to customers in Milton Keynes and Bristol. The robots being deployed in Milton Keynes are developed by RIVR and resemble electronic dogs capable of navigating stairs and pavements to reach the doorstep. The firm says the robots are powered by a system dubbed ‘physical AI’, which allows them to adapt to their surroundings and avoid obstacles such as rubbish bins, grass and pedestrians while moving safely alongside traffic and cyclists. With a top speed of approximately 15km/h, they’re primarily built for ‘last-mile’ deliveries, with handover process at the restaurant similar to a courier. Each robot has a 40-litre insulated cargo bay with an internal divider to prevent spillage, and customers can unlock…

  • Samsung starts mass shipping next-gen AI memory chip

    South Korean tech giant Samsung says it is the first to deliver next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips (HBM4) at scale. The new HBM4 chips are designed for high-performance AI and computing workloads, delivering processing speeds of 11.7Gbps. Samsung says this exceeds the industry standard of 8Gbps by 46% and sets a “new benchmark for HBM4 performance”, with the chips capable of reaching up to 13Gbps. Compared with its predecessor (HBM3E), the new chip offers a 1.22 times higher pin speed and the total memory bandwidth per stack has also increased 2.7 times, reaching a maximum of 3.3TBps. Samsung said: “This achievement marks a first in the industry, securing an early leadership position in the HBM4 market.” It puts Samsung alongside rivals SK Hynix and Micron Technology in the…

  • Donald Trump orders military to buy coal power to boost flagging domestic industry

    Donald Trump has ordered the US military to purchase energy from coal-fired power plants in a bid to shore up the flagging domestic industry. In an executive order issued yesterday, Trump said it was “imperative” for the Department of War to prioritise the “strategic utilization” of coal-based energy assets. The order partially justified the move as a way to ensure a “resilient and reliable” energy grid that is not reliant on “intermittent energy sources” such as renewable energy generators. US coal output peaked in 2008 and has been steadily dropping since then, with long-term projections showing the trend continuing throughout the 2020s and into the 2030s. As a share of US electricity generation, coal has shrunk from about 50% in 2000 to below 20% today. Concerns remain about the serious…

  • Thomas Edison’s nickel-iron battery tech revived for modern energy storage

    Improvements to battery chemistry inspired by nickel-iron designs developed more than 120 years ago could be used in energy storage today, according to a study by University of California (UCLA). UCLA researchers have developed a nickel-iron battery prototype that charges in seconds and works for more than 12,000 cycles, equivalent to more than 30 years of daily recharging. They built the technology from tiny clusters of metal, then embedded them in an ultra-thin carbon-based conductor to make electrodes – inspired by the chemistry used by Thomas Edison in his early-1900s nickel-iron battery concept. Edison hoped the technology could provide electric cars with faster recharging and greater range than the lead-acid batteries of the time, but his designs became obsolete as petrol cars began…

  • Natilus unveils double-deck blended-wing jet to replace 737s and A320s

    US aerospace manufacturer Natilus has unveiled a double-decker version of its Horizon blended-wing aircraft that it claims will enter commercial service in the early 2030s. The Horizon Evo will have a triangular shape when viewed from above, which the firm has claimed will boost passenger capacity by around 30% while making it 25% lighter than aircraft such as the Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A320. Able to hold around 200 passengers, it is also supposed to be quieter than traditional jets while flying at speeds of around Mach 0.8, and will be fully compatible with standard airport infrastructure. The latest version will have a spacious upper deck cabin for passengers, as well as a lower deck for standard cargo containers. Other improvements include pressurisation advances for passenger comfort…

  • Industrial waste heat is a ‘vast reservoir of untapped potential’ – new study

    Capturing and reusing the vast amounts of heat generated by industry could boost the UK’s competitiveness, according to the Royal Society. A report published by the society, with support from Heriot-Watt University researchers, has revealed that industrial heating accounts for around 14% of UK emissions – but around half of the energy used in UK industry is lost as waste heat. If this heat was captured and reused rather than released, it could cut emissions, reduce operational costs for businesses and contribute towards net zero. Professor Mercedes Maroto‑Valer OBE, deputy principal for global sustainability at Heriot‑Watt University, said: “This report shines a light on one of the UK’s most overlooked energy resources. Industrial waste heat is often treated as an inevitable by‑product…

  • Record renewables auction puts UK on track for 2030 clean power goal, Miliband says

    Britain’s largest-ever renewables auction is set to deliver record numbers of new solar and onshore wind projects, energy secretary Ed Miliband has announced. Together with last month’s auction to build a raft of new offshore wind turbines, a record 201 projects have been approved this year, with a total generating capacity of around 14.7GW. The government said that the latest rounds put the UK “on track for its 2030 clean power target” for low-carbon sources such as wind, solar and nuclear to produce at least as much electricity as the country consumes over the year. Based on the average size of past developments, the solar projects could cover more than 40 square miles of mainly farmland – just under the size of the Manchester. However, the solar industry believes that modern panels…

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