• View from India: Optimise gender diversity and gender parity for better business

    Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in compliance with the Companies Act 2013, made it compulsory to have at least one woman on a board from October 2014. While most of the top 1,000 listed companies have complied with SEBI’s directive, boards still have a long way to go before they become part of more inclusive and impactful decision-making processes. Women form a substantial part of the workforce. “The world is changing in almost all dimensions. Companies could focus on gender diversity and gender parity for better outcomes. Women constitute around 50 per cent of the geography and having them on corporate boards is natural and much required. They could be catalysts for change,” said Dr SK Gupta, former MD and CEO, Insolvency Professional agency of ICMAI and MD…

  • Scotland’s space sector aims to become the greenest on Earth

    The new sustainable space roadmap is the first of its kind in the world, and sees Scotland’s space sector declare its commitment to reducing its impact on the environment. The roadmap sets out the steps needed to achieve the long-term goals of Scottish space missions, which are to be space-debris-neutral, to have zero emissions created from on-the-ground activities, and for Scotland to gain global recognition as a leader in sustainable space. National and international expert interviews, in-depth study into other sustainability initiatives and consultation with the space industry informed the roadmap contents, which address areas such as the environmental impacts of building, fuelling and launching satellites, as well as the importance of promoting satellite data for environmental monitoring…

  • Scientists develop rechargeable cyborg cockroaches

    The RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR) researchers have equipped the robotic insects with a tiny wireless control module that is powered by a rechargeable battery attached to a solar cell, allowing the cockroaches to roam freely for long periods of time. Wireless control of the leg segments has been one of the key challenges scientists have faced when developing cyborg insects. Moreover, in order for the devices to be used for monitoring purposes, it was fundamental that their batteries were long-lasting, to ensure that the cockroaches would be under control at all times.  The scientists at RIKEN overcame this challenge by fitting their cyborg insect with an ultrathin 0.004mm-thick organic solar cell module, which was mounted on the dorsal side of the insect's abdomen. “The body…

  • Europe's largest nuclear plant goes offline as the bloc prepares for an energy shortage

    Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear plant has been knocked off Ukraine’s electricity grid after a fire caused by Russian shelling brought down its last transmission line, the facility’s operator said. The news comes as the European Union prepares for a harsh winter marked by high energy prices as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  The developments came a day before UN inspectors were due to report on their efforts to avert a potential disaster at the Ukrainian site. In a perilous mission, experts with the International Atomic Energy Agency travelled through the war zone to reach the plant last week. By the time the plant went offline, four of six UN nuclear agency inspectors had completed their work and left the site, according to Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear power plant…

  • China still leading the world in EV market readiness, report reveals

    According to EY's 'Electric Vehicle Country Readiness Index', China takes the top spot, just ahead of Norway, as its tight control of production and an infrastructure boom keep the Communist nation at the top. EY's Index looks at the preparedness of the top 14 vehicle markets for the arrival of EVs based on supply, demand and regulation. Norway, a new entrant to the index, is a close second to China due to huge uptake in demand and strong regulations. Sweden, Germany and the UK round out the top five positions respectively. The US remains in seventh position, despite recent regulatory action to encourage greater take-up of EVs. The UK is ranked in fifth place in terms of global EV readiness by the report, with consumer demand continuing to grow and consumers apparently willing to pay an…

  • View from Brussels: Wildfires show need for collective response

    Firefighters are now used to busy summers across Europe, as drier, longer sunshine months increase the likelihood of fires. It has even prompted the EU to create a dedicated crisis management scheme to help coordinate efforts on the ground and funding. But the programme is not enough to respond to every request for assistance. The EU’s head of crisis management, Slovenia’s Janez Lenarčić, admitted at an emergency meeting this week that some governments had not asked for help because they knew none was available. “At European level we have reached our capacity limit. Some overwhelming fires in some member states did in fact not lead to a request for assistance. The states in need knew that no capacities would have been available,” he told ministers from across Europe. It has prompted a…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • X-rays, AI and 3D printing bring lost Van Gogh artwork to life

    The researchers have dubbed the recovered artwork as ‘The Two Wrestlers’, which depicts two shirtless athletes grappling in front of an abstract background. The Dutch painter reused the canvas for an unrelated painting depicting flowers. It’s the latest in a series of recreations by PhD researchers Anthony Bourached (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) and George Cann (UCL Space and Climate Physics). Working with artist Jesper Eriksson, the UCL duo’s NeoMasters project brings lost works of art to life and has been a series the team has been working on since 2019. The team is using a newly developed process that uses X-ray imaging to see through every layer of paint, artificial intelligence (AI) to extrapolate the style used by the artist, and 3D printing to produce the final piece…

  • HS2 Birmingham Interchange station will create 1,000 jobs, mayor says

    After years of planning, disagreement and reviews, construction work preparing the land for the Birmingham Interchange High Speed 2 (HS2) station has already begun. West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has described the station as “transformational for the Midlands economy”, adding that “opportunities for people and businesses in the region are being created right now, years before the station is open”. The station will be situated across the motorway from the NEC exhibition halls, providing direct transport links to the existing Birmingham International station and airport. The hub is expected to open in 2026. Artist's impression of the urban realm at Interchange / HS2 Image credit: HSA HS2 will connect London to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham, with a Y-shaped…

  • New Climate Party vows to ‘take on’ Truss at the next election

    The Climate Party was launched on the same day that it was announced that Liz Truss had won the Conservative leadership contest. Speaking at the launch of his new party, Ed Gemmell said: “We’re throwing the gauntlet down to Liz Truss on real leadership. Forget trying to appeal to people with a short-term political expediency of just the next election. We want to see climate leadership. “We will take on you and all your candidates that are in marginal seats; we will be there biting at the heels of all those candidates who are taking away the votes of centre-right climate-conscious voters. And we are going to take on the Net Zero Scrutiny Group.” The government currently has a target of net zero emissions by 2050, whereas the pro-business Climate Party backs a 2030 decarbonisation target…

  • Mobile app detects Covid-19 from the sound of someone's voice

    Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to detect Covid-19 infection in people’s voices by means of a mobile phone app, according to research to be presented on Monday at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Barcelona, Spain.  One of the main symptoms of Covid-19 is inflammation in the upper respiratory tract and vocal cords, which usually leads to changes in the patient's voice. Therefore, University of Maastricht scientists decided to investigate whether these symptoms could be used as an accurate method for diagnosing the disease, particularly in low-income countries where PCR tests are expensive or difficult to distribute.  With an 89 per cent accuracy rate, the AI model was able to make Covid-19 diagnostics more accurately than rapid antigen tests, according…

  • Liz Truss promises to ‘deliver’ on energy crisis as she becomes PM

    Liz Truss has been declared the winner of the Tory leadership contest, defeating Rishi Sunak to become Boris Johnson's successor as the UK's new Prime Minister.  In her victory speech, Truss said she has a "bold plan" to cut taxes and grow the UK economy and promised to  "deliver" when it comes to the energy crisis by not only dealing with bills but also addressing the long-term supply issues. According to reports in The Times and The Daily Telegraph, Truss' strategy to ease the impact of the rising energy costs could include the freezing of energy bills. This package might take the form of a furlough scheme similar to that introduced by then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, but the specifics of such a policy are reportedly still being debated. On Sunday, Truss…

  • Government to reform GDPR data protection laws

    The Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, is expected to present the government's new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill to MPs for scrutiny in the House of Commons for the first time, a piece of legislation she has described as “one of Brexit’s biggest rewards”.  Among other changes, the proposals would see the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws reformed, with the new data regime set to deliver about £1bn in businesses savings, according to Dorries. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the reforms will remove the “prescriptive requirements” of data laws inherited from the EU and give organisations greater flexibility to protect personal data in “more proportionate ways” rather than each following the same processes regardless of their…

  • View from India: Boardrooms benefit from female input

    European countries lead in appointing women as directors on a company’s board. Recently the European Union (EU) states have set the ball rolling. They’ve given initial approval to a directive requiring firms listed on EU stock exchanges to appoint women for at least 40 per cent of non-executive director roles and 33 per cent of all board jobs by 2027. Norway has taken lead with 45 per cent representation of women. In India, there’s only 4.7 per cent representation. So that means there’s plenty of room for scaling women’s representation in corporate boardrooms. “Women’s participation in the boardroom doesn’t really need any law enforcement and should happen automatically,” says Asish K Bhattacharyya, founder and managing director of executive training business Nonlinear Insights. “Over the…

  • Treat waste as a resource for sustainability, say engineers

    The report - 'Waste as a Resource: A sustainable Way Forward' -   advocates an approach that prioritises waste streams according to their usefulness to materials and emissions reduction, as well as to their utility to the wider energy system. The report is an update of a previous IMechE report, issued in 2009, and builds on that report's advocacy to view waste not as a problem but rather as a resource. This requires a further rethink of recycling and waste policy. In the report, the IMechE recommends that the government should: Replace the waste hierarchy with a model that genuinely delivers on the prevention of waste. The existing waste hierarchy has outlived its usefulness, the report states, and there needs to be a considerable reassessment of the way we view and deal with waste…

  • Offshore industry says wind turbine installation rate must triple to meet energy targets

    Meeting the government's four-fold increase target for offshore renewable energy 2030 could be “potentially achievable” if the rate of wind turbine installation would double or triple, the report says.  The research found that almost half of the offshore wind projects needed to reach the target are only at the concept stage, despite the deadline for the government's targets being less than eight years away. When it comes to offshore wind, it typically takes more than 13 years to move from the planning to the operation stage due to planning and approval delays. As a result, the UK is at risk of missing net zero targets, according to the report. OEUK is a trade body for the UK offshore energy industries, covering both renewables and oil & gas. “As of late August, OEUK knew of around 40…

  • Crushed plastic bottles could create nanodiamonds for quantum sensors

    An international team, headed by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the University of Rostock and France’s École Polytechnique, conducted a novel experiment to determine what goes on inside ice planets such as Neptune and Uranus. The researchers fired a laser at a thin film of simple PET plastic and investigated what happened using intensive laser flashes. One result was that the researchers were able to confirm that it really does 'rain diamonds' inside the ice giants at the periphery of our solar system.   This method could establish a new way of producing nanodiamonds, which are needed, for example, for highly-sensitive quantum sensors. The group has presented its findings in the journal Science Advances . The conditions in the interior of icy giant planets such as Neptune…

  • Hands-on review: Mio MiVue 798 dash cam and MiVue 818 dash cam

    From something of a slow-burn start as an optional car accessory, the dash cam market has exploded in recent years, producing an avalanche of new cams and new companies. Accordingly, when it comes to choosing your first dash cam, the sheer weight of options can seem daunting. Fortunately, the quality today of even the most cheap and cheerful models is sufficiently good that they'll still see you right in terms of at least proving what happened on the road, in the event of any legal debate. Where your shopping choice gets a bit gnarlier is when you want to step up to crystal-clear footage to capture the smallest crucial details, such as the registration on a moving number plate as a hit-and-run driver exits stage left at speed. Whilst there are some long-established heavy hitters in this…

  • Amazon switched off its solar rooftops after fires, report says

    Amazon reportedly took all US solar rooftops offline last year after they caused at least six "critical fire or arc flash events" in warehouses between April 2020 and June 2021, affecting 12 per cent of such facilities.  “The rate of dangerous incidents is unacceptable and above industry averages,” an Amazon employee wrote in an internal report viewed by CNBC, which described the company's intention to ensure its systems were designed, installed and maintained properly before “re-energising” any of them. The solar rooftop programme was launched in 2017, followed two years later by founder Jeff Bezos' Climate Pledge, promising the largest online retailer would zero out emissions by 2040 . By April 2022, Amazon had onsite solar at 176 facilities, according to its website.  In Amazon’s 2021…

  • James Webb Space Telescope takes ‘historic’ exoplanet picture

    For the first time, astronomers have used Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope to take a direct image of a planet outside our solar system, in what has been described as a “historic moment for astronomy”.  The exoplanet chosen was HIP 65426 b, which is about six to 12 times the mass of Jupiter and between 15 to 20 million years old - a young age compared to the 4.5-billion-year-old Planet Earth. Since the planet is a gas giant, similar to Jupiter, it would never be habitable by living organisms. The image, as seen through four different light filters, shows how Webb’s powerful infrared gaze can easily capture worlds beyond our solar system.  “This is a transformative moment, not only for Webb but also for astronomy generally,” said Sasha Hinkley, associate professor of physics and astronomy…

  • Engineering leaders urge UK to scale up hydrogen production

    In a report, the 42 professional engineering organisations that constitute the centre said that the UK needs to act swiftly on hydrogen to avoid falling behind international competitors. It also highlights the risks associated with rapid scale-up of low-carbon hydrogen production such as emissions from fossil fuel extraction and dependencies on other technologies including carbon capture and storage (CCS), renewable electricity and electrolysers. Other risks identified include leakages, safety and public trust, skills gaps, cost uncertainties, regulations, blue and green hydrogen competition, and embodied carbon in infrastructure. Hydrogen can be produced in two ways – but only one of these is considered to be truly low-carbon. Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water by electrolysis…

  • Competition regulator clears £6bn merger between NortonLifeLock and Avast

    The US-based NortonLifeLock had been planning to purchase UK firm Avast back in March, but as the companies are close competitors, with few other significant rivals, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) expressed concerns that the proposed deal could lead to a reduction in competition in the UK market. As well as offering antivirus software, the firms also offer privacy software (such as VPNs) and identity protection software. In its initial Phase 1 investigation, the CMA concluded that the deal raised a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition. But in its Phase 2 investigation, which applied more stringent tests, it reversed its decision. Following a consultation that ended on 24 August 2022, the CMA has upheld its provisional findings and cleared the deal…

  • California passes ‘aggressive’ $54bn net-zero plan

    California - the US state whose economy ranks as the fifth largest in the world - has approved a $54bn (£47bn) climate package that includes sweeping new restrictions on oil and gas drilling as well as a mandate to move away from fossil fuels by 2045. Legislators also voted to extend the life of Diablo Canyon, California’s last nuclear power plant , by five years, after warning the state could face rolling blackouts if the facility's twin reactors were retired too soon. At the moment, the plant is still the state's largest source of power, providing roughly 9 per cent of its energy.  The legislation, known as Senate Bill 1137, is part of California governor Gavin Newsom's ambitious climate pledge, which has established a target for the state to be powered 90 per cent with clean electricity…

  • Heat-tolerant plants being bred to combat climate change

    Climate change is causing major challenges for plant breeders. Summers are getting hotter, year on year: this summer, Germany experienced a heatwave with temperatures of up to 40°C. The resulting drought inevitably affected plants. Given an ample supply of water, these plants can cool themselves via evaporation. However, they cannot do this when under drought stress. This is why plant breeders hope to develop heat-tolerant, drought-resistant plants that can survive with less water whilst still producing a good yield, using the smallest possible amount of fertiliser and pesticides. The breeders have been receiving support from researchers at Fraunhofer EZRT, where for many years research has been carried out into technologies for determining plant phenotypes. This refers to their external…

  • Hands-on review: Victrola Revolution Go portable record player

    Victrola is a turntable specialist originally founded in 1906, with models that tend to have nostalgic designs, so the Revolution Go is a new, contemporary look for the company and perhaps aimed at a new audience. This unusual portable turntable has a built-in rechargeable battery so you can spin vinyl anywhere, such as at a picnic in the park. The guitar-style thick strap gives it a messenger bag look and the lid pops off to display up to five albums. Campervan-owning retrophiles may wish to take a briefcase-style portable turntable on their travels, but most will require mains power or some form of rechargeable source. The Revolution Go is a rechargeable turntable, with a design aimed more at modern hipsters picnicking or who just can’t wait to get home from Rough Trade to listen to their…

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