• Autumn Statement slaps taxes on EVs, fossil fuels and more

    The chancellor Jeremy Hunt has increased the windfall tax on oil and gas giants from 25 to 35 per cent and given it a two-year extension, so that it will now run until March 2028. A 45 per cent levy on low-carbon electricity generators has also been announced, which is estimated will raise £14bn next year. While not reliant on generating energy from fossil fuels, low-carbon facilities such as nuclear power plants, windfarms, solar farms, hydro projects and biomass burners have nevertheless enjoyed bumper profits this year, with high wholesale gas prices pushing up the price of electricity generated from any source. The announcement saw shares in SSE, which runs gas-fired power stations alongside hydroelectric plants and windfarms, drop by 3.75 per cent just one day after it reported a…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • MPs' phones considered a ‘potential goldmine’ for hostile states

    Tom Tugendhat gave the stark assessment of the situation after Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle issued MPs with advice from the government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to minimise their security risks. “If hackers have switched on the microphone on one phone, everyone in the room might be overheard,” Hoyle wrote to MPs. The NCSC advice includes suggestions that MPs should set up multi-factor verification in their phones, as well as update software and delete old messages. The organisation also advised senior politicians not to take their phones into sensitive meetings, as only one person’s phone camera or microphone needed to be compromised for everyone in a room to be put at risk. The assessment follows reports of Liz Truss’s personal phone being hacked during the Tory leadership…

  • Chinese takeover of Newport Wafer blocked by British regulators

    UK Business Secretary Grant Shapps has ordered Nexperia to sell its majority stake in Newport Wafer Fab, the Welsh semiconductor firm it acquired for £63m.  Nexperia is based in the Netherlands but owned by  Wingtech, a company partially backed by the Chinese government and listed in Shanghai. In  July 2021, the firm completed its acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab, after purchasing 86 per cent of company shares, in addition to the 14 per cent it already possessed.  The firm subsequently changed its name to Nexperia Newport Limited, or NNL. Earlier this year the UK government launched a national security probe into the deal, using powers that allow it to review and block foreign takeovers or investments in sensitive sectors. The government said yesterday (Wednesday, 17 November) that…

  • AI tool calculates value of bank bailouts during financial crises

    Developed by a team at UCL and Queen Mary University of London, the tool assesses not only if a bailout is the best strategy for taxpayers, but also how much should be invested in the bank and which bank or banks should be bailed out at any given time. The algorithm was tested using data from the European Banking Authority on a network of 35 European financial institutions judged to be the most important to the global financial system. Dr Neofytos Rodosthenous, corresponding author of the paper, said: “Government bank bailouts are complex decisions that have financial, social and political implications. We believe the AI approach we have developed can be an important tool for governments, helping officials assess specifically financial implications – this means checking if a bailout is…

  • UK meteorite ‘holds clues as to how oceans and life originated on Earth’

    An analysis of the space rock, which crashed onto a driveway in the Winchcombe area of Gloucestershire, has revealed that it contains 11 per cent water and 2 per cent carbon. The experts said their findings show that asteroids played a key role in “delivering the ingredients needed to kickstart oceans and life on the early Earth”. Dr Luke Daly, a lecturer in planetary geoscience at the University of Glasgow and author on the paper said: “One of the biggest questions asked of the scientific community is: how did we get here? “This analysis on the Winchcombe meteorite gives insight into how the Earth came to have water – the source of so much life. “Researchers will continue to work on this specimen for years to come, unlocking more secrets into the origins of our solar system.” The…

  • How to create momentum for your circular economy strategy

    Sustainability is increasingly becoming non-negotiable for modern manufacturers and distributors. While business goals remain front of mind, the industry recognises the importance of introducing environmental-focused goals into the mix as part of environmental social and governance (ESG) programmes. The circular economy is changing the game. Manufacturers’ commitment to eliminating waste through a cyclical model of ‘make, use, reuse, remake, recycle’ is already resulting in real rewards. Yet despite a widespread understanding of the benefits, many manufacturers and distributors are struggling to shift towards a sustainable circular economy strategy as they face big industry challenges. The immediate need to address higher costs, supply chain disruption, the move to ‘just in case’ inventory…

  • Scotland publishes first Code of Practice for use of biometric data

    The code of practice, which came into force today (Wednesday 16 November), gives guidance to the police on how biometric data and related forensic technologies can be used ethically in a criminal justice setting.  The use of biometric data - including faces, fingerprints, voices, DNA profiles and other measurements related to the body - is becoming increasingly common in new technologies, particularly those related to facial recognition. However, these applications have led to civil rights challenges and condemnation from human rights groups, who argue that the technology is often mistaken and biased . The Scottish framework aims to address these concerns by setting out 12 principles and ethical considerations detailing how biometric data can be acquired, retained, used and destroyed…

  • Ultra-accurate navigation uses mobile towers instead of satellites

    Created as the result of work researchers at Delft University of Technology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and VSL, the working prototype achieved a location accuracy of 10 centimetres. The new technology could be important for the implementation of a range of location-based applications, including automated vehicles, quantum communication and next-generation mobile communication systems. A lot of vital infrastructure relies on global navigation satellite systems such as the US’s GPS and the EU’s Galileo. Reliance on satellites means both have their limitations and vulnerabilities. Their radio signals are weak when received on Earth, and accurate positioning is no longer possible if the radio signals are reflected or blocked by buildings. “This can make GPS unreliable in urban settings…

  • Book review: ‘Power and Prediction’

    Not many authors start their new book with the frank admission that their previous one was fundamentally in error. “We were wrong,” say Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans and Avi Goldfarb in their preface to ‘Power and Prediction’ (Harvard Business Review Press, £22, ISBN 9781647824198), a compelling essay on the disruptive economics of artificial intelligence. But you can’t really blame them for partially missing the mark in 2017’s ‘Prediction Machines’ – some might say they’re being too hard on themselves here – because their starting position was solid enough: technologies will always evolve, while sturdy and reliable economics will obey the same rules it always has done. Again, to be fair, ‘Prediction Machines’ came out five years ago and a lot has happened in the world of AI since then. While…

  • Nasa’s Artemis rocket lifts off for historic Moon mission

    After several failed attempts, Nasa’s ‘Space Launch System’ (SLS) rocket has launched from the agency's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida,  propelling the Orion spacecraft in the Moon's direction.  The uncrewed mission is the first in the space agency's Artemis programme, which aims to take humans back to the Moon and establish a lunar colony in the Earth's only natural satellite.  “We rise together, back to the Moon and beyond,” said Nasa’s official commentator as the 98-metre rocket took off in a cloud of smoke.  The SLS is the most powerful rocket Nasa has ever built. In this crucial testing phase, it will fly further than any spacecraft built for humans: 40,000 miles past the far side of the Moon and 280,000 miles from Earth. When we go, we go together. The #Artemis team wants…

  • Autonomous robot finds its way through pipe networks to find leaks

    Much of the infrastructure for water, sewage and gas runs in pipes under the ground that require regular inspection to find the source of leaks or needed repairs. This often requires expensive excavation work that is estimated to cost £5.5bn a year in the UK alone, as well as causing disruption to traffic and nuisance to people living nearby. The team has developed a robot called Joey that can navigate by itself through mazes of pipes as narrow as 7.5cm across without needing a camera. Weighing just 70g, it’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Image credit: TL Nguyen, A Blight, A Pickering, A Barber, GH Jackson-Mills, JH Boyle, R Richardson, M Dogar, N Cohen “Underground water and sewer networks are some of the least hospitable environments, not only…

  • The UK grants first-ever spaceport licence

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has confirmed that Spaceport Cornwall, in Newquay, can be used for sending satellites into space, paving the way for the launch of the LauncherOne rocket into space.  The launch will see Virgin Orbit’s jumbo, known as Cosmic Girl, carrying LauncherOne, to an altitude of approximately 35,000ft (10km) and then dropping it. Once released into the atmosphere, the LauncherOne rocket will accelerate to 8,000mph (12,875km/h) before deploying seven satellites into orbit with a variety of civil and defence applications. The jumbo – a repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft – recently travelled from California in the US to Spaceport Cornwall, and is expected to lift off in the coming weeks.  CAA chief executive Richard Moriarty described the awarding of…

  • Musk ‘fired Twitter staff for criticising him’

    As many as 20 employees have allegedly been told that their behaviour violated company policy and that their employment was being terminated immediately. According to reports in the US, a number of staff using Slack - a messaging platform used officially by staff inside Twitter - had criticised or questioned some of Musk’s recent tweets about the Twitter app’s “slow” performance. Earlier this week, a Twitter engineer who publicly disagreed with the billionaire’s tweets was said to have been laid off, with Musk later tweeting, “he’s fired”. Musk even appeared to mock staff who had been fired, tweeting in reply to a link to the story: “I would like to apologise for firing these geniuses. Their immense talent will no doubt be of great use elsewhere.” Critics of the Tesla and SpaceX boss…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • UK’s failure on heat pump installations has left it ‘gas addicted’

    Heat pumps have already replaced about 20 per cent of the boilers in Europe, but the war in Ukraine is resulting in even more consumers turning to the electric heating systems as a way to reduce demand for gas whose price as increased significantly. Estonia sold 1,583 heat pumps per 100,000 people in 2021 and Poland sold 259 per 100,000 people, 25 times and 4 times more than the UK’s 63 respectively. The ECIU estimated that if the UK had already installed the same amount of heat pumps per 100,000 people as Estonia, the UK’s domestic gas use would be 107TWh or 34 per cent lower than in 2021 and gas imports in 2021 could have been cut by a fifth. Total numbers of heat pumps are also a lot higher in most of Europe compared to the UK, which has just 280,000 heat pumps installed. For example…

  • Hands-on review: OneOdio Monitor 60 pro wired headphones

    While sales of in-ear wired earbuds have been tanking in recent years, their bigger, over-ear wired brothers have seen an uptick in sales. Driven partly by the pandemic, and partly by the rise (and rise) of social media platforms and the cult of the influencer, more and more people have got involved with creating content – as opposed to passively consuming it – be it videos for TikTok and YouTube, audio podcasts or self-produced songs and beats. This trend has, in turn, driven an increase in sales of pro audio equipment – the tools you need to do your best work. Acknowledging this shift in consumer behaviour, Chinese firm OneOdio has released the Monitor 60, billed as "professional wired headphones". These ear goggles are strictly for direct wired connection only. There's no Bluetooth,…

  • View from India: Path-breaking research fetches laurels

    The Infosys Prize is awarded by the Infosys Science Foundation (ISF), a not-for-profit trust set up in 2009. The annual award goes towards the outstanding achievements of contemporary researchers and scientists in six categories: Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences. Panels of jurors comprising world-renowned scholars and experts shortlisted the winners of the Infosys Prize 2022 from 218 nominations. Each prize consists of a gold medal, a citation and a purse of US$100,000. The award intends to celebrate success in research and stand as a marker of excellence in these fields. Over the past 13 years, ISF has recognised the accomplishments of some of the best and creative scientific research that has contributed…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Google fined nearly $400m for breaching location tracking rules in the US

    The case leading to the multistate payout was instigated by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, along with 39 other attorneys general. It is the largest multistate privacy settlement in the history of the US, with Michigan alone receiving close to $12m from the settlement. “Google makes the majority of its revenue from using the personal data of those who search in its browsers and use its apps,” Nessel said. “The company’s online reach enables it to target consumers without the consumer’s knowledge or permission. However, the transparency requirements of this settlement will ensure that Google not only makes users aware of how their location data is being used, but also how to change their account settings if they wish to disable location-related account settings, delete the data collected…

  • 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…

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