IET EngX

Tiny electronic eye implant restores reading vision to blind eyes

An electronic eye implant has restored central reading vision in patients with sight loss, according to a study. The retinal implant device PRIMA, developed by neural engineering firm Science Corporation, has been trialled by researchers at University College London (UCL) and Moorfields Eye Hospital. During the clinical trials, conducted in 17 hospital sites across five countries, 38 patients were implanted with the device. All these patients had lost the central sight of the eye being tested, leaving only limited peripheral vision. This was due to an untreatable progressive eye condition called geographic atrophy with dry age-related macular degeneration. The results showed 84% of participants implanted with the PRIMA device were able to read letters, numbers and words following the…

E+T Magazine
Amazon to build US nuclear reactor facility to power AI and data centre growth

Tech giant Amazon has announced plans to build a small modular reactor (SMR) facility in Washington state to provide carbon-free energy for its expanding data centres and AI infrastructure. The Cascade Advanced Energy Facility will be built outside Richland, Washington. A collaboration between Amazon, Washington-based utility Energy Northwest and SMR developer X-energy, the facility will feature up to 12 SMRs. Amazon said that these SMRs will power its operations with clean energy and supply carbon-free electricity to the grid. Like other tech giants, including Meta and Microsoft, Amazon intends to harness nuclear energy to help power its AI efforts. The reason for this is reliability of energy supply and reduction in carbon emissions. Whereas nuclear plants typically take a decade…

E+T Magazine in Nuclear Power
Under development: Lithium extracted from water, nervous system for robots

This issue, we look at the race to extract lithium and a robot with sensitivity to touch. Lab: US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory What: Advanced membrane technology to extract lithium from water Stage: TRL-2 With lithium production concentrated in just a handful of countries, concerns about supply chain security abound. Scientists at the Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago have developed a membrane technology that can efficiently extract lithium from salt water brines. The membrane is made from vermiculite, a naturally abundant clay, which consists of ultrathin layers stacked together. To prevent the clay layers falling apart in water, microscopic aluminium oxide pillars between each layer hold them in place. This architecture enables…

E+T Magazine in Power Conversion
‘Supercharged’ battery combines sodium and lithium to boost capacity and stability

A breakthrough full-cell dual-cation battery combining lithium and sodium ions could transform future electric vehicles and port

E+T Magazine in Power Conversion
The data revolution that made sport smarter – but less fun to watch

Last April, Manchester City and Manchester United played out a turgid 0-0 draw in the Eng-lish Premier League (pictured). Former

E+T Magazine in Computing
Tiny brain implant targets multiple regions for precise drug delivery

A new type of brain implant that can deliver drugs to multiple regions of the brain with high precision has been developed by re

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
The Eccentric Engineer: How the age of simple machines became the era of complexity

From three to six to over 300, the journey of machines has been a bit more complex than Renaissance scientists could imagine... Anyone reading E+T today would probably agree that engineering is really very complex, but for Renaissance scientists it all came down to six simple machines – or ‘mechanical powers’ as they were called. These were the lever, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane, the wedge and the screw, all quite closely related. I hardly need to tell engineers what each of these are, but as a quick recap: a lever consists of an arm that is free to turn about a fixed pivot point called the fulcrum. The wheel and axle is a circular (first class) lever whose fulcrum is the axle. A pulley is a grooved wheel that turns freely on an axle, and hence another circular lever…

E+T Magazine in History of Engineering
Mini 3D printer builds biological tissue from inside the human body

A tiny 3D printer capable of printing human tissue directly inside the body with micrometre accuracy is being developed.

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Four technologies that can keep astronauts healthy on a trip to Mars

Space is a tough environment for humans. Are technologies available to make that trip to Mars more manageable?

E+T Magazine in Space
Apple to develop 650MW solar and wind farms across Europe

The US tech giant has announced it is to build new solar and wind farms in Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Romania. This is in

E+T Magazine in Renewable Energy
UK government greenlights major 50MW solar farm in Lincolnshire

The Tillbridge Solar Farm in Lincolnshire has been granted development consent from the Department for Energy Security and Net Z

E+T Magazine in Renewable Energy
Biodegradable circuit boards look to meet specs for next-gen wireless electronics

Biodegradable printed circuit boards are being tested for use in wireless communication technologies, through a collabora

E+T Magazine in Recycling
Audit reveals a 98% failure rate for home insulation installed under government scheme

An estimated 98% of homes that had external wall insulation installed under the UK government’s Energy Company Obligation scheme require work to correct major issues that will cause problems such as damp and mould, a report has found.

E+T Magazine in Construction Industry
Satellite broadband services found leaking vast amounts of unencrypted user data

A ‘shockingly large amount’ of sensitive data traffic is being broadcast unencrypted from satellite broadband services, researchers have found.

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
BAE Systems’ latest attack submarine completes major underwater test

HMS Agamemnon, the UK's newest attack submarine, has completed its first underwater test at BAE Systems’ shipyard at Barrow-in-F

E+T Magazine
Global warming passes ‘tipping point’ that will destroy coral reefs and put livelihoods at risk

The world has now reached a climate change ‘tipping point’ that could see warm-water coral reefs face severe dieback, impacting the near billion people who rely on them.

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
£1.5bn wind turbine plant in Scotland planned as green groups warn of ‘scarring’ the landscape

China’s Ming Yang Smart Energy has announced it is to invest £1.5bn in a new wind turbine plant in Scotland. The announcement co

E+T Magazine in Business Planning
Energy firms inject hydrogen into UK gas grid for first time

Energy firms have injected hydrogen into the gas grid in order to power the Brigg Power Station in North Lincolnshire as part of trials aimed at decarbonising the UK’s electricity supply.

E+T Magazine in Renewable Energy
Blueprint set out for Europe’s first commercial fusion power plant

Greentech firm Gauss Fusion has unveiled a detailed conceptual blueprint for developing Europe’s first fusion power plant.

E+T Magazine in Nuclear Power
Industry insight: The case against humanoid robots on the factory floor

Humanoid robots are having a moment – lots of companies are being founded, venture capital is flowing and the public is captivat

E+T Magazine in Control and Automation
UK Dieselgate trial to get under way at London's High Court

Five major car manufacturers will face trial at London’s High Court over the ongoing 2015 ‘Dieselgate’ emissions scandal.

E+T Magazine in Business Planning
Novel high-performance alloy shows potential for next-gen engine and turbine applications

Future aircraft engines and gas turbines could be made more efficient with a new high-temperature resistant alloy, according to a new study.

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Seawater converted into hydrogen fuel to power ships in zero-emission process

With £1.44m in UK government backing, a new project will turn seawater into hydrogen fuel to power ships, ferries and fishing bo

E+T Magazine in Renewable Energy
China issues fresh clampdown on rare earth exports in a threat to global tech supply chains

China has said it will tighten export rules on rare earth minerals – materials that are crucial for electronics manufacturing.

E+T Magazine

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