• North Korean mobile usage is soaring, escapee interviews reveal

    The notoriously restrictive regime has been slow to adopt mobile internet technologies in comparison to its neighbours, South Korea and China. But some two decades after the first mobile networks began operating in the capital Pyongyang and the port city of Rason, more than a quarter of the country’s population are now estimated to have some access to the internet. 38 North, a body that conducts research into the reclusive country, has been collecting data from recent interviews with North Korean escapees which indicates that usage of mobile phones is now ubiquitous. As well as communication with friends and family, the devices also underpin North Korea’s private economy – providing a vital tool for communicating with suppliers, buyers and distributors necessary to do business. Researchers…

  • Italy bans the use of facial-recognition technology

    Italy has banned the use of facial-recognition technology and similar biometrics systems until either  a specific law is adopted or at least until the end of next year.  "The moratorium arises from the need to regulate eligibility requirements, conditions and guarantees relating to facial recognition, in compliance with the principle of proportionality," the agency said in a statement. Facial-recognition systems can extract different kinds of information from images and then relay these data back to the user.  Under European Union and Italian law, the processing of personal data by public bodies using video devices is generally allowed on public interest grounds and when linked to the activity of public authorities, the Italian watchdog said.  However, municipalities that want to use…

  • OECD countries phasing out coal as China continues new projects

    The Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) said that countries within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are on track to close down over three-quarters of coal-fired electricity generation by 2030. The scale of proposed new coal power plants has also collapsed globally by the same amount since 2015, which is expected to lead to an irreversible transition away from coal power and towards cleaner electricity. The report also found that despite short-term energy security concerns arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, over a long-term trajectory, coal is firmly on the way out. Since 2015, the global capacity of operating coal power plants increased by 170GW to a total 2,067GW as of July 2022. However, if China is removed from the picture, the rest of the world…

  • Amazon reportedly planning to cut 10,000 jobs

    Amazon could "axe 10,000 workers" after economic forecasts predict slow growth, The New York Times and The Washington Post have reported, citing sources close to the matter.  The layoffs would start as soon as this week and affect as many as 10,000 people in the company’s devices organisation, retail division and human resources, in what would be the largest job cuts in the company’s history. If confirmed, the redundancy plan would affect a pproximately 3 per cent of Amazon's corporate employees or 1 per cent of the company's total workforce, which employs over 1.5 million workers.  The news was surprising for some, as it has come during the critical holiday shopping season – when the company typically has valued stability – and follows an aggressive  hiring spree. The Covid-19 pandemic…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Winter idling of car engines creates high carbon cost

    Warming our cars up in winter before driving away is no idle matter, according to new research shared by the IET.  The average UK motorist leaves their car running for 244 minutes in winter – based on an average idling estimation of 14.35 minutes per week over three winter months – generating a combined 107,000 tonnes of CO 2 annually in the UK. This equates to more than the entire population of Cardiff catching a flight to Egypt to attend COP27. The study by the IET found that more than six in ten (64 per cent) of drivers let their engine idle during the colder months, with 41 per cent doing so at least three times a week. More than a million motorists idle every single day during winter, producing a carbon footprint over a lifetime of 825kg. Highlighting the extent of the issue, the…

  • Self-charging trains backed by Department for Transport

    The DfT’s ‘First of a Kind 2022’ competition saw 24 projects receive a share of more than £5m, with grants of up to £400,000 each. This year’s competition was focused on new concepts that will transform rail travel for passengers and help to decarbonise the network. Echion Technologies submitted a successful project for developing batteries that will charge from overhead wires and use that charge to ‘leapfrog’ across unelectrified sections of track. In 2020, diesel-powered UK trains began to be retrofitted with batteries to allow them to run on low-carbon electricity even on unelectrified rail lines. Varamis – another project receiving funding – is working closely with DHL and Fedex to repurpose former passenger carriages to carry parcels across the UK. The firm said it wanted to capitalise…

  • Mushroom skin could be made into biodegradable computer chips

    Using mushroom skin as a base for computer chips and batteries could be a sustainable alternative that reduces the environmental impact of the technology. As part of the process of manufacturing computer chips, their electronic circuits, made of conducting metals, need to sit in an insulating and cooling base called a substrate. This is often fabricated with non-recyclable plastic polymers, which are thrown away at the end of a chip's life, contributing to the 50 million tonnes of electronic waste that is produced each year. A team of researchers at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, has come up with a biodegradable alternative to these polymers, made from the skin of a certain type of mushroom.  Chip made from mushroom skin / Credit: Soft Matter Physics…

  • View from Brussels: Killing the engine slowly

    One of the more controversial parts of the EU’s Green Deal includes rules that will slash greenhouse gas emissions produced by road transport and clean up all the other pollutants that driving creates. This means that by 2035, sales of new cars and vans will have to be zero-emission. This ostensibly opens the door for full-blown adoption of battery-electric mobility in order to stick to the new rules. In addition to that, the European Commission laid out its plans earlier this month for a new engine standards regime, which would also govern pollutants created by braking and tyre wear. But there are, of course, loopholes, some of which still need to be written. The Commission has to publish new methodology on how to measure the life-cycle emissions of vehicles by 2025, for example. More…

  • More households to turn to electric heaters this winter despite safety concerns

    Electrical Safety First found that 42 per cent of people will either definitely use, or are considering using, an electric heater to warm up a single room in their home because of concerns regarding the cost of central heating. Of this group, 37 per cent said they were using an electric heater for the first time. Some 90 per cent of those surveyed said they were concerned about the cost of heating their home this winter, up from 78 per cent this year. A fifth (22 per cent) of those concerned about rising energy costs have bought an electric heater in the last year, 45 per cent of them from an online marketplace. But Electrical Safety First, which is a charity, warned shoppers to buy heaters directly from reputable retailers. “Heating your home should never come at the expense of your…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Egg whites used to whisk away microplastics from water

    The scientists used egg whites to create an aerogel, a lightweight and porous material that can be used in many types of applications, including water filtration, energy storage, and sound and thermal insulation. The idea came to Craig Arnold, vice dean of innovation at Princeton, who was working on developing new materials for engineering applications, during a faculty meeting. “I was sitting there, staring at the bread in my sandwich,” he said. “And I thought to myself, this is exactly the kind of structure that we need.” Arnold asked his lab group to make different bread recipes mixed with carbon to see if they could recreate the aerogel structure he was looking for. None of them worked quite right initially, so the team kept eliminating ingredients until only egg whites remained.…

  • Pathway to decarbonise US aviation sector with biofuel identified

    Around 45,000 planes fly across the US daily, carrying some 1.7 million passengers, making it the single largest contributor to aviation carbon dioxide emissions globally and responsible for more than a quarter of all emissions from flying. The new study, led by a team of Arizona State University researchers, found that planting the grass miscanthus on 23.2 million hectares of existing marginal agricultural lands across the US – land that often lays fallow or is poor in soil quality – would provide enough biomass feedstock to meet the liquid fuel demands of the country’s aviation sector fully from biofuels. “We demonstrate that it is within reach for the United States to decarbonise the fuel used by commercial aviation, without having to wait for electrification of aircraft propulsion,…

  • UK could launch space clean-up mission by 2026

    The UK Space Agency (UKSA) has given two companies £4m to design a space clean-up mission that could launch as soon as 2026.  The winning prototype will track down and capture two defunct satellites already orbiting Earth, then cast them into the atmosphere where they will burn up. Amongst the proposals are two innovative solutions: Britain's first garbage truck for space, and a spacecraft with a robotic arm.  "For the last six decades we've been launching satellites into space without really thinking about what happens at the end of their life," Rory Holmes of ClearSpace, one of the competing companies, told Sky News.  "When they run out of fuel or when they break, we just discard them. We leave them to clog up space. "We're in a situation now where space is quite congested and all…

  • Half a million to lose Warm Home Discount, hospitality businesses opt to go dark

    Eligibility for the “winter lifeline” Warm Home Discount is changing, with the government shifting the targeting of the one-off payment, which has increased by £10 this winter to £150 for those fortunate enough to qualify for it. More than half a million households could no longer be eligible for the payment, charities have warned. National Energy Action (NEA) and Scope said that 500,000 households across England and Wales are now ineligible for the discount because Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payments are no longer qualifying benefits. Some of those living in smaller homes who were previously entitled to the assistance will also miss out. Among the 2.8 million people who are eligible are pensioners who receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit and…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Road users urged to follow changed Highway Code, at start of Road Safety Week

    Children at Ravenfield Primary School, Rotherham, officially launched the Week. Nine children - a figure representing the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed every week across Britain in 2021 - held Road Safety Week placards. The changes to The Highway Code aim to help improve road safety for people walking, cycling and also horse riding and were publicised by the government earlier this year. The Code sets out a hierarchy of road users, with those who can cause the most harm having the greatest responsibility to protect others on the road. Road Safety Week is coordinated by Brake, the road safety charity, and in support of the Department for Transport’s 'THINK!' Campaign. Brake also runs the National Road Victim Service, providing bereaved and seriously injured families with dedicated…

  • UN calls for investment in sustainable cold food chains

    In the face of rising global food insecurity and global warming, two UN agencies have published a report urging governments, international development partners and industry to invest in sustainable food cold chains to decrease hunger, provide livelihoods to communities, and adapt to climate change. Launched during COP27, the global climate summit taking place in Egypt, the report is the result of work by  the Sustainable Food Cold Chains initiative from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).  “At a time when the international community must act to address the climate and food crises, sustainable food cold chains can make a massive difference,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP executive director. “They allow us to reduce food…

  • How to keep data centres online

    While we all welcome the increased use of biofuels such as biodiesel to reduce carbon emissions, data centres need to be aware of the additional risks this poses to backup generators. The increased use of some bio components/materials within the fuel industry makes the environment within the fuel tank more appealing to microorganisms. Present in large concentrations, these can create issues by blocking filters and corroding metal parts within the fuel system – issues that are not likely to be covered by generator OEM warranties. What can data centres be doing to ensure that they stay online? Since the adoption of ultra-low sulphur diesel back in 2006, authorities such as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have documented the increased risk of severe and rapid corrosion of fuel…

  • The eccentric engineer: The surprising origins of the train set

    The earliest model trains are almost as old as the earliest trains. Indeed, the first were probably working models of real engine designs, so definitely not for children. By the 1850s, though, model trains had become a market in themselves with the arrival of the wonderfully named ‘Birmingham Dribblers’, more properly called ‘carpet railways’. These live steam trains didn’t run on rails at all, but just steamed across the carpet, often leaving a trail of boiling water and highly flammable fuel in their wake – hence the name. Despite their failings, these were expensive precision engineering models, very much not aimed at the average child. As time passed and the steam train became ubiquitous, other bespoke model railways began to appear in Europe and America, often working on clockwork…

  • ‘Artistic visualisations put forward ideas in a way scientists and engineers can’t’

    “I’ve always been a visual thinker, as well as being someone who’s interested in the technical details,” says Jack Challoner, “and I’ve always appreciated the power of the image to capture the interest, to inspire and to make people curious.” The author of ‘Seeing Science’ explains that his new book provided him with “the opportunity to investigate this a bit more”. Rather than “just presenting images”, here was an excuse to “think about why they are so important” to enabling our understanding of the world. Author of more than 40 books aimed at promoting the public understanding of science, Challoner explains that much of his career has involved working intensively with visuals. He says he jumped at the chance to produce ‘Seeing Science’, which combines and balances both approaches. While…

  • Handheld diagnostic device could increase access to testing in future pandemics

    Inspired by the challenges that many people faced when trying to access Covid-19 testing, scientists at UCLA have developed a device that serves as an all-in-one lab kit for fast and efficient diagnostics.  Using swarms of pinhead-sized magnets inside a handheld device, the automated tests can be easily manufactured, deployed and performed at a doctor’s office, health clinic or at mass testing sites in airports and schools at the onset of any major infectious disease. The technology, outlined in the journal Nature , could help the authorities better prepare for future pandemics by decentralising testing and maximising the use of resources. The researchers tested their device in a clinical study with test samples from individuals who experienced Covid-19 symptoms. More than 100 test results…

  • Ofcom opens spectrum for satellite broadband including Starlink and Telesat

    Operators can now access more airwaves in order to provide a wider range of broadband services, including the previously unavailable 14.25-14.5 GHz band, which doubles capacity available for a range of services to transmit data to satellites. Non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite systems orbit the Earth, tracked by satellite dishes as they move, and can deliver high-speed and responsive internet access. A gateway Earth station (connected to the internet) tracks a non-geostationary orbit satellite as it moves across the sky. The satellite relays data to a user terminal – such as a dish fixed to the side of a house – which in turn is connected to a router. Elon Musk’s Starlink is currently being used to provide connectivity in Ukraine , a country that has faced significant damage to…

  • Global carbon emissions remain at record high, research finds

    If the world continues with current levels of emissions, there is a 50 per cent chance that global temperature rises will hit only 1.5°C – the threshold imposed by the Paris Climate Agreement – in nine years, they said. The Global Carbon Project has involved more than 100 scientists from 80 organisations across 18 countries, and its results – published in the journal Earth System Science Data – come as countries meet for the COP27 round of climate talks in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The new report projects total global CO 2  emissions of 40.6 billion tonnes (GtCO 2 ) in 2022, up slightly from 2021 and close to the record 40.9 billion tonnes emitted pre-pandemic in 2019. The main driver of this growth is expected to be emissions from oil and gas, which are projected to rise 1.0 per cent compared…

  • E&T Innovation Awards 2022 winners revealed

    Now in its 18th year, the E&T Innovation Awards - held in person again this year, last night (Thursday 10 November)  at the Hilton London Bankside - continue to highlight and celebrate the very best new innovations across the breadth of science, engineering and technology.  Leaving behind the memories of past hybrid events, the evening saw a spirit of enthusiasm and a commitment to work together to create, design and build innovative solutions to global problems, which will help make the world a better place. Hosted by Dr Shini Somara, an award-winning mechanical engineer and computational fluid dynamicist, TV producer and broadcaster, children’s book author and regular E&T columnist - the awards are the ultimate celebration of innovation in the engineering and technology sector.  For…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Japan to invest $500m in new advanced chip venture

    Japan is looking to re-establish itself as a lead maker of advanced semiconductors, with the creation of a new venture. The country's government has revealed it will invest u p to ¥70bn (£427m) in Rapidus, a new semiconductor company led by tech firms including Sony Group Corp and NEC Corp. The company is expected to begin manufacturing in the second half of the decade. “Semiconductors are going to be a critical component for the development of new leading-edge technologies such as AI, digital industries and in healthcare,” Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, said at a news briefing. The announcement comes in the midst of a global semiconductor shortage, and a trade conflict between China and the United States that has led US President Joe Biden to impose…

  • Spatial leading the way as audio enters new worlds

    Speaking at this year’s  Audio Collaborative conference , an annual event organised by data analytics company Futuresource Consulting,   presenters and panellists throughout the day discussed the key issues around the future of audio for both the industry and the consumer. Delivering the conference keynote speech, Carsten Olesen, president of Harman, said that “audio is critical for immersion and believability in virtual spaces”, noting that there were 76 million Fortnite viewers globally for an Ariana Grande virtual gig in 2021, with that figure only representing 20 per cent of active users. “It’s too big to ignore, from an industry perspective,” Olesen added. Virtual worlds such as Fortnite, Roblox and the Metaverse all need immersive audio to deliver an optimal experience. Music fans…

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