• UK plans ‘digital revolution’ in health and social care

    The UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published its data strategy to modernise its systems and improve access to healthcare all across the country. The plan rests on the government's desire to digitalise healthcare and aims to ensure that UK residents can easily access their NHS records and use their phones to manage appointments, book vaccinations and have virtual consultations by March 2023. The following year, patients are expected to be able to complete hospital pre-assessment checks from home. Moreover, a further 500,000 people will be able to access remote monitoring, allowing their doctors to monitor their conditions while they stay at home, while also freeing up hospital beds and frontline workers’ time, according to the DHSC.   “We are embarking on a radical…

  • Museums and libraries recover historic texts using spectral imaging system

    The spectral imaging system collects images in many wavelengths of light to reveal faded text that is otherwise undetectable to the human eye. The system was created with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities by researchers from RIT’s Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and museum studies program with the goal of providing a practical solution to help curators, archivists and librarians get more out of their collections. “For years we have been doing this type of work using very large, expensive, complicated and difficult-to-use imaging systems that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said David Messinger, director of the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and principal investigator of the grant. “We developed a low-cost imaging system that is very…

  • Hands-on review: 1More Evo True Wireless ANC earbuds with LDAC support

    It's an immutable and important shopping fact: there is no pair of perfect wireless earbuds. Despite the ongoing deluge of options, no one single product offers everything that every consumer desires. What is increasingly happening is some excellent products are addressing specific needs – in this case, high-resolution listeners and support for the LDAC audio codec. 1More's new flagship Evo earbuds are the company's premium pitch for the higher end of the true wireless market. 1More previously won an award at CES 2020 for its earlier-generation 'True Wireless ANC' earbuds and the Evo is the natural successor to its feted forefather. E&T previously lent an ear or two to the company's (and the world's) smallest active-noise-cancelling earbuds, the Comfobuds Mini . Now with the Evo, 1More…

  • Skills shortage threatens Japan's semiconductor industry

    Japan is currently facing a shortage of skilled engineers, as the country looks to strengthen its semiconductor manufacturing sector, weakened by Covid-19 supply disruptions. In an appeal to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry last month, an electronics industry body representing large manufacturers such as Toshiba and Sony said the five years until 2030 were “the last and biggest chance for Japan’s semiconductor industry to regain its footing” after years of losing global market share. The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) estimated that eight big producers will need to hire about 35,000 engineers in the next 10 years to keep up with the pace of investment. “It is often said that semiconductors are lacking, but the biggest shortage is…

  • Cambridge medical students train with holographic patients

    Cambridge University has pioneered a technology to train future doctors with life-like scenarios.  Medical students undergoing training at Addenbrooke’s Hospital are using a new mixed-reality training system to learn to treat holographic patients in a new world-first.  The technology, called HoloScenarios, can be used in person with a group of classmates or online, with students able to assess the scenarios using their phones from anywhere around the world. According to the university, it is more cost-effective than traditional simulation, which requires the hiring of patient actors.   Using virtual reality headsets, the students are able to interact with classmates and treat realistic-looking, virtual people with no fear of making a mistake. Mixed reality holographic…

  • Telecoms and automotive industries seek solutions amidst cost of living crisis

    The UK’s biggest broadband and mobile companies have agreed to improve low-cost offers to help customers stay connected as the cost of living soars. The bosses of BT Group, Openreach, Virgin Media O2, Vodafone, Three, TalkTalk and Sky made a number of commitments to support vulnerable customers during a Government-led summit at Downing Street yesterday (Monday 27 June). The measures include allowing people struggling with their bills to switch to cheaper packages or agreeing manageable payment plans, exploring tariffs, improving existing deals and better promoting these more affordable options. Telecoms providers, with the help of government, will also raise awareness of low-cost products to people on Universal Credit. While social tariffs, or discounted deals, are already available…

  • Over a million trees to be planted as part of River Thames road tunnel project

    A community woodland and two public parks are among the 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of “landscape scale” forest creation that the government has planned to offset the environmental impact of a new road tunnel scheme under the River Thames.  The proposed plans for the Lower Thames Crossing are expected to almost double road capacity across the Thames east of London and ease congestion on the Dartford Crossing, with the aim of connecting residents to jobs, boosting the economy and creating new public parks and woodland habitats, according to National Highways. National Highways said the Lower Thames Crossing aims to be "the greenest road ever built in the UK", as the project plans include the planting of over one million extra trees in Kent and in Thurrock, Havering and Brentwood in Essex…

  • Exoplanets could provide habitable conditions for billions of years, study suggests

    Researchers from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, have suggested that large rocky exoplanets at some distance from their star could retain their hydrogen and helium-dominated atmospheres. The study suggests that these planets can sustain temperate conditions and liquid water on their surface for long periods of time. As hydrogen and helium gases were readily available in the planet-forming materials around young stars, all planets built up atmospheres that were dominated by these two elements. In our own Solar System, rocky planets lost this atmosphere in favour of heavier elements, such as oxygen and nitrogen on Earth. Marit Mol Lous and colleagues from the University of Zurich investigated the evolution of such planets. They modelled the duration that hydrogen and helium-rich…

  • Why using up-to-date clean air technology is a win-win solution

    The importance of clean air to the UK is finally being recognised. A new clean air law is starting its passage through Parliament as a tribute to nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah, who died from asthma induced by air pollution. The bill would establish a right to clean air, and set up a commission to oversee government actions and progress – but could more be done? Poor air quality causes heart and lung diseases, is linked to low birth weight and children’s lung development, and may even contribute to mental health issues. The way the clean air problem can be tackled is clear: improving both outdoor and indoor air quality through a number of means. It might be surprising to know that we spend 90 per cent of our time in buildings. So, when much of the conversation focuses on improving outdoor…

  • UK to investigate the safety and potential of self-driving cars

    The UK Transport Select Committee has opened an investigation into the potential of autonomous cars.  The committee will look into the research and trials that have been done into autonomous and connected vehicles so far, with the goal of better understanding the technology's potential uses for private motoring, public transport and commercial driving. To do so, it will assess possible safety issues and the perception of safety, as well as consider the relationship with other road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and users of conventional vehicles. Once the investigation is completed, the committee might also request changes to be made to the current regulations regarding this technology, to introduce changes such as the vehicles’ legal status as well as create standard insurance and…

  • Hydrogen trains to replace diesel units in Berlin region

    This is the train-builder’s first order for a hydrogen fleet. The Mireo Plus H trains will be equipped with fuel-cell drive systems and lithium-ion batteries. Siemens will also be responsible for service, maintenance and spare parts, with provision for “continuous further development and adaptation.” The order was placed by regional transport company Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn (NEB) for the Heidekrautbahn network (RB27) and the trains are due for delivery in autumn 2024 ready to enter service by the end of the year. The use of hydrogen-powered trains on the Heidekrautbahn is part of a pilot project funded by the federal government and the states of Berlin and Brandenburg. The project is focused on setting up a regional, sustainable hydrogen infrastructure that also includes a hybrid power…

  • Online Safety Bill could hinder free speech, research warns

    The UK is facing calls to “slim down” its Online Safety Bill amid concerns over its impact on people’s freedoms and privacy. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has published a briefing paper in which think tanks warn about the risk that the bill could hand the Secretary of State and Ofcom “unprecedented powers to define and limit speech, with limited parliamentary or judicial oversight”. The authors of the research have also expressed their fears that the piece of legislation will lead digital platforms to use automated tools in a “cautious and censorious” manner against content that is “only reasonably considered to be illegal”. The Online Safety Bill has been presented by the government as a ground-breaking law that will protect the privacy and safety of children in the digital…

  • Compostable crop sensors aiming to keep fields green

    The £1.8m CHIST-ERA project - dubbed 'Transient Electronics for Sustainable ICT in Digital Agriculture' - is led by researchers from the University of Glasgow and supported by colleagues in Canada, Finland, Poland and Switzerland. CHIST-ERA is the coordination and co-operation activity of national and regional research funding organisations, supported by the EU's Horizon 2020 Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) programme. Over the next three years, the partners will work together to develop a new type of environmentally friendly modular sensor system. Their intention is to find ways to create devices built from sustainable and degradable materials, with the aim of cutting down on the growing problem of electronic waste. The devices in development will have two parts: a solar-powered…

  • US researchers look to 3D-print organic electronics

    A Texas research team has identified the possibility of utilising micro-scale organic electronics in the development of flexible electronics and bioelectronics, via multiphoton 3D-printers. The team, led by Mohammad Reza Abidian, introduced a new photosensitive resin doped with an organic semiconductor material (OS) to fabricate "highly conductive 3D microstructures with high-quality structural features via MPL [multiphoton lithography]  process".  To demonstrate the potential electronic applications based on the OS composite resin, the team fabricated various microelectronic devices, including a micro-printed circuit board and an array of microcapacitors. Their findings have been published online in the journal Advanced Materials.  The experiment demonstrated that the fabrication process…

  • View from India: Use digital tools to improve animal health

    Ancovax, India’s first Covid vaccine for animals, has been developed by Haryana-based Indian Council for Agricultural Analysis (ICAR)-National Research Centre on Equines (NRC). It is awaiting approval. This is an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 delta vaccine for animals. Its immunity neutralises both the delta and omicron variants of the coronavirus. The vaccine may possibly be used for animals in zoos and national parks. That could be because predators such as lions, leopards and tigers have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. A few such incidents have been reported during the pandemic. A Covid-19 vaccine for animals may be necessary because large carnivores or minks could get affected. Broadly speaking, animal-to-animal Covid transmission is as likely as animal-to-human transmission. Whether the virus…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Cities of the future could be built with algae-grown limestone

    Global cement production accounts for approximately 7 per cent of annual greenhouse gas emissions, in large part through the burning of quarried limestone, and concrete is one of the most ubiquitous materials on the planet, a staple of construction around the world. It starts as a mixture of water and portland cement, which forms a paste to which materials such as sand, gravel or crushed stone are added. The paste binds the aggregates together and the mixture hardens into concrete. To make portland cement, the most common type of cement, limestone is extracted from large quarries and burned at high temperatures, releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide. The research team found that replacing quarried limestone with biologically grown limestone, a natural process that some species of calcareous…

  • Self-build homes scheme in England opening for applications

    The 'Help to Build' scheme will enable people to overcome prohibitive mortgage costs and build their own home, with just a 5 per cent deposit towards land and building costs, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Backed by £150m of Government funding, the scheme could help people with specific living requirements, creating homes that are more tailored to their needs, including those with disabilities or those who live with large families or elderly relatives. Many people have previously been priced out of the self-build option because it typically requires huge sums up-front. The scheme will allow applicants to borrow between 5 per cent and 20 per cent of their costs across England and up to 40 per cent in London. Total build costs cannot be over £600…

  • Time to connect smart manufacturing innovation with Nexus

    The world of manufacturing is fluid and ever-changing – and when technologists and engineers alike need to innovate to keep up with such changes within this sector, collaboration is key. So what if you could bring innovative minds together in one place? That is the goal of Hexagon’s new open platform for smart manufacturing, Nexus . The platform, announced at Hexagon’s HxGN Live Global 2022 conference in Las Vegas this week, will allow for the sharing of real-time data across different design, simulation, and production applications. It will also connect different applications to form workflows and combine technologies to develop unique solutions to engineering and manufacturing problems, from concept to delivery. Hexagon stressed Nexus will empower cross-functional teams to leverage fragmented…

  • Modern space race needs to be built on sustainability, study says

    Based on leading research and expertise on innovative and emerging technologies, experts are calling for sustainability to be at the forefront of humanity’s next phase of space exploration. In On Space , a new publication from the University of Manchester, experts ask policymakers to consider space debris, satellite orbits and the investment needed to roll-out sustainable space technology on Earth. Many technologies used to counter climate change, including solar panels, started out as space-age innovations. Future innovations in space technology could be used to further reduce carbon emissions here on Earth, the authors write. Dr Aled Roberts explained that one of the biggest challenges for off-world habitat construction is the transportation of building materials, which can cost upwards…

  • Manifesto for a fully decarbonised power system by 2035 published by RenewableUK

    ' Roadmap to net zero: a manifesto for a fully decarbonised power system by 2035 ' urges the government to accelerate the pace and scale of decarbonisation dramatically, to reduce the UK’s vulnerability to the surging cost of gas by maximising the benefits of our cheapest sources of renewable power, and to rapidly develop a new green hydrogen industry. The wide-ranging recommendations include reforming 'Contracts for Difference' (CfD) to attract more investment, particularly in supply chains. The report notes that although the CfD mechanism has successfully delivered new renewable capacity, the current market set-up may not be enough to deliver the volume of projects needed to fully decarbonise by 2035, as surging global demand for offshore wind is increasing competition for investment and…

  • Digital rail signalling tested for hyperloop

    HyperloopTT and Hitachi Rail say they have achieved an important milestone towards the commercial running of the innovative system, which will be able to run at speeds of up to 1,200km/h, with the completion of proof of concept for a cloud-based ERTMS signalling system for HyperloopTT’s capsules. Hyperloops are intended to move passengers and cargo at high speed in vehicle ‘pods’ or capsules travelling through partially evacuated tubes. ERTMS, the European Rail Traffic Management System, is a set of standards originally designed to let trains run anywhere in the European Union, but it is now being deployed in many other parts of the world too. Working from Hitachi Rail’s site in Naples, Italy, the partnership has created a digital simulator that allows for the integrated testing of the…

  • Sponsored: A design guide for the future

    Some of the most popular shows on television these days are around home improvement. But before any attempt to build or rebuild takes place you need the right tools and a blueprint. The same is true in data centres. Whether starting from scratch or upgrading and retrofitting, proper planning and design will safeguard speed, efficiency, flexibility and scale in your new data centre. Our practical guide to Data Centre planning and design has everything you need-from methodologies to at-a-glance calculators. Now is the time to tap into our design guide and ensure your data centre is ready for what’s next. It is becoming more critical all the time and trends such as the explosion of big data are only adding to the requirements that IT groups must meet. To keep up, companies often need to…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Microsoft 365 users may be overestimating platform’s security, survey warns

    While some users tend to overestimate the levels of protection provided by Microsoft’s flagship productivity platform, others are concerned about activating too many in-built features in case it results in a complex security management overhead that they don’t have the resources to maintain, leading to misconfiguration vulnerabilities. A global survey of more than 800 IT professionals by email cloud security and backup provider Hornetsecurity , launched this week at Infosecurity Europe 2022, also found that approximately 63 per cent of respondents indicated that the main roadblock to implementing security features within their organisation is not enough time or resources. “There could be multiple issues at play in the survey results,” said Andy Syrewicze, technical evangelist at Hornetsecurity…

  • How streaming services are building resilience for the future

    Over the last decade, subscription-based business models became ubiquitous across all types of media companies. Their potential was quickly noticeable as revenue for advertising was diverting elsewhere and media consumption patterns were shifting. However, the latest industry news paints a different picture. During the first earnings call of the year, in April, Netflix announced that it had lost 200,000 paying customers, its first subscriber loss in over ten years. The information about the undisputed king of streaming services worldwide sent Wall Street into a downward spiral that resulted in its stock dropping over 20 per cent on the day of the announcement. Similarly, CNN+ – CNN’s streaming service – shut down less than a month after launching due partly to poor subscription numbers…

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    E+T Magazine

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