• UK deaths from extreme heat could soar under 2°C global warming

    Temperature-related mortality, defined as when death is directly linked to climate temperature, could soar by up to 42 per cent in England and Wales during the hottest days of the year. This means an increase from present-day levels of around 117 deaths per day, averaged over the 10 hottest days of the year, to around 166 deaths per day. The current level of global warming – which is around 1.21°C – actually sees a slight decrease in temperature-related mortality in winter and a minimal net effect in summer for an overall slight decrease in temperature-related mortality. The paper finds that the rate of increase particularly speeds up at 2°C of warming, with a much higher risk appearing beyond 2.5°C. The researchers say that 3°C warming could lead to a 75 per cent increase in mortality…

  • Gas prices explode as prices soar 70 per cent to record high

    Prices are now more than 20 times higher than they were just two years ago, increasing on Monday from what were already record highs last week. The price of a therm of gas, the commonly used measure, shot up to around 800p during the morning. It had been at around 460p on Friday. It is likely to lead to an even bigger squeeze on households. Energy prices are already set to increase by more than 50 per cent to close to £2,000 for the average household on 1 April this year. Last week, when gas was trading at much lower levels than on Monday, experts predicted the price cap will rise by around £1,000 to more than £2,900 in October when it is next changed. However, the rise could come sooner if industry regulator Ofgem decides the market cannot handle the pressure. Earlier this year, the…

  • View from India: Mantra for Mobility

    A Preply study has revealed just how long people across the globe spend waiting in traffic across various parts of the globe. With a population of 23 million, it’s no surprise that New Delhi in India tops the list. The Delhites spend 57.37 minutes per day stuck in traffic, followed by the people of Manila, Philippines, who clock 54.02 minutes per day. London occupies the 10 th slot, with Londoners enduring an average of 43 minutes per day. The average UK driver spends almost four years behind the wheel in their lifetime, with eight months of this spent waiting in traffic. The typical driver also clocks up 592,920 miles in their lifetime: enough to travel to the Moon and back or go around the globe 24 times. The Preply report also researched the cities across the globe which work the most…

  • Gravity-charging battery train to be developed for Australian mining firm

    The regenerating battery-electric iron-ore train will use gravitational energy to recharge its battery electric systems without any additional charging requirements for the return trip to reload. Fortescue has significant iron-ore mining operations in Western Australia. The company says the jointly developed technology will reduce emissions in the hard-to-abate heavy industry sector and that there will be significant opportunities to commercialise it globally. Fortescue chief executive officer Elizabeth Gaines explained: “The Infinity Train is an important project to be developed together with WAE, as we work to deliver on our target to decarbonise our mining operations by 2030. “The Infinity Train has the capacity to be the world’s most efficient battery electric locomotive. The regeneration…

  • Ukraine-Russia conflict: nuclear watchdog offers to travel to Ukraine to broker a deal

    In the early hours of Friday morning, Ukrainian authorities reported a Russian projectile hit its Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which sparked a fire. After burning for at least four hours amid reports Russian troops had prevented emergency teams from attending to the blaze, Ukrainian emergency services confirmed they extinguished the blaze at 6:20am local time. Despite growing fears of a nuclear disaster following the news, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi assured there has been no release of radiation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant following the shelling and that while there was damage to the reactor compartment, the safety of the unit was not affected. “All the safety systems of the six reactors…

  • Pilot scheme using AI could transform cervical cancer screening

    University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie said it has become the first hospital in the UK and one of the first in the world to pilot the technology as part of its cervical screening programme. According to health experts, the new technology could help to ensure earlier detection of pre-cancerous cells and cancer cells and has the potential to save lives. The pilot is using a digital cytology system, the Genius Digital Diagnostics System, from women’s health company Hologic. This will create digital images of cervical smear slides from samples that have tested positive for human papilloma virus (HPV). Screeners can rapidly review these images of test slides using an advanced algorithm, which assesses the cervical cells in the sample and provides the screener with an image gallery of the…

  • Wellingborough ‘smart’ prison not a ‘soft touch’, says Raab

    On a visit to HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said inmates at the category C prison needed to be given “a sense of what life on the outside looks like” because “we are not going to lock everyone up for life”. The 1,700-capacity prison does not have bars on its windows and will provide prisoners with access to a gym, snooker table, table tennis table and a smart tablet to gain new qualifications. Prison staff have also said they will describe cells as “rooms” and prisoners as “residents” to assist in their rehabilitation. Speaking to reporters at the jail on Thursday, ahead of the facility's official opening on Friday, Raab said: “I’m interested in punishment, because that’s what the public expect, but I’m not really interested in stigmatising…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Money & Markets: Conflict hits energy prices, but engineers will have the answer

    Europe is caught between the greens and the reds. We can’t have nuclear, we can’t have coal, now we are going to have to pay through the nose for oil and gas. This is going to prove tricky for Europe, which relies so much on Russian gas and which is already suffering from a lack of supply, with prices for energy rocketing. With Russia heading for isolation because of its Ukrainian aggression, unless some peace miracle happens there will be an energy crisis in Europe and another spurt of energy price hikes feeding into an inflationary spiral already underway. If the current situation turns into a Cold War-style stalemate we are in for a long period of extreme energy prices. It will, however, be engineers to the rescue. Obviously, it won’t be a quick fix, and obviously the greens will…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Nokia ignores smartphone spec ‘arms race’

    Adam Ferguson, global head of product marketing at Finnish company HMD Global, the exclusive licensee of the Nokia brand for phones and tablets, said its new C21 Plus and C2 smartphones were not about making headlines with price tags or high specifications, but were more focused on providing reliability to users. The phones start at £100 and £75 respectively and HMD claims they have long battery life and a durable design to encourage users to keep their phones for longer, whilst still offering the typical appointments of a modern smartphone, such as a good-quality screen and camera set-up. The new C-series phones run Android, with quarterly security updates planned for two years, and offer battery sizes of 4000mAh or 5050mAh, depending on the model. Built around a robust inner metal chassis…

  • OneWeb suspends all satellite launches from Russian-run spaceport

    OneWeb was due to launch 36 broadband satellites on Friday (4 March) in Kazakhstan, in an operation that would have used Russian Soyuz rockets and have been overseen by the Russian space agency. Following political pressure after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, the board of the London-based company voted to “suspend all launches” from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in a move welcomed by the UK government, which is a major shareholder. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng tweeted: “The UK government supports OneWeb’s decision. In light of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, we are reviewing our participation in all further projects involving Russian collaboration.” Darren Jones, Labour chairman of the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, had written to…

  • Electric vehicle reliability survey paints bad picture for Tesla owners

    The annual Which? car survey is one of the largest motorist surveys assessing car reliability in the UK, collecting detailed feedback from over 48,000 vehicle owners. The survey asked owners if there had been any faults with their cars in the 12 months prior to answering. Overall, the consumer group found that of cars up to four years old, nearly one in three electric vehicle (EV) owners reported one fault or more, compared to less than one in five petrol cars. They also went an average of just over five days without the use of their car while it was being fixed – compared to just three days for petrol cars. It found that Tesla is the least reliable EV brand with two fifths (39 per cent) of Tesla owners reporting at least one fault in the prior four years and one in 20 (5 per cent) had…

  • Sponsored: Dalek or Doctor Who, what type of engineer are you?

    If COP26 has taught us anything, it is that our relationship with the planet and our use of finite resources is unsustainable and demands an urgent change in approach. To use a sci-fi analogy, what would you rather be? One of the Daleks – whose single-minded attempts to rule the earth are likely to result in mass extermination – or Doctor Who, who approaches each challenge creatively and always puts saving the planet and the people on it first? Time for change The challenges we face as a species are highly complex and daunting. The world population continues to grow, and increased urbanisation is leading to greater social inequality. Richer nations produce more food than they need, while over 800 million people globally are food insecure . Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics model clearly illustrates…

  • Government meets with industry over fears post-Brexit tests may derail housing targets

    As well as derailing government house-building targets, the construction industry has warned that the rules could impact the UK’s decarbonisation efforts and exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis. Under the UK’s new regulatory goods regime, manufacturers currently have until 1 January 2023 to obtain a UKCA marking on a huge range of products which will replace the EU CE marking. The government says the move is an opportunity “to make our regulations work in the best interests of UK consumers and businesses”. However, the construction industry says the deadline represents “a fast-approaching cliff edge” as there is not enough testing capacity in the UK to ensure certain crucial building products are certified. The CE mark demonstrates that products comply with health and safety and environmental…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • UK signs legally binding global treaty to tackle plastic pollution

    While the terms of the treaty are still to be negotiated, it could include measures that promote sustainable production and consumption of plastics, as well as more environmentally sound waste management. It is also hoped the treaty will help to tackle marine plastic pollution; it’s predicted that unless action is taken there will be a threefold increase in the amount of plastic flowing into the ocean between 2016 and 2040. The new treaty follows a survey from WWF last month that found that nearly 90 per cent of people supported such a deal. The Ipsos poll of over 20,000 adults across 28 countries also found that three-quarters of respondents supported a total ban on single-use plastics. The UK’s new Environment Act gives the government new powers to tackle plastic pollution. The Department…

  • Book review: ‘Racing Green’ by Kit Chapman

    When you think of motorsport, your mind likely steers toward Formula One (no pun intended). But the science behind the sport is so much more than teams driving around a track at 200-plus mph. In fact, over the years, motorsport science has contributed to a wide range of applications: from climate change solutions to help in the fight against Covid. Indeed, motorsport science is “a story of invention, of myriad discoveries, ideas, and technologies developed through racing,” journalist Kit Chapman claims in his latest offering ‘ Racing Green: How Motorsport Science Can Save the World ’ (Bloomsbury, £18, ISBN 9781472982186). Full disclosure: this book is not one for those looking for a fun and easy read. Chapman goes into immense detail about the science behind why cars work, and how the racing…

  • View from India: Manufacturing industry is working on sustainable goals

    India is home to several manufacturing companies, many of which are old legacy brands. They need to reshape their outlook and strategise waste management to address climate change. For instance, many old machines that consume a lot of energy need to be replaced with energy-efficient ones. Then, if there are any low-hanging fruit in the value chain, they can be easily replaced or eliminated. Efforts towards ensuring circularity in economy and energy efficiency can lead India on the path towards its net-zero goal. “A sustainable value chain needs to be deployed and scaled across the business. Perhaps regulatory measures towards data and de-carbonisation could be brought in for better outcomes. This could also be seen as an opportunity for delving into R&D options,” said Michel Fredeau, managing…

  • Waste heat from data centres used to warm local buildings

    Data centres typically consume huge amounts of energy – a significant proportion of which is used to cool the facilities due to the enormous amount of waste heat that is generated during computation. To help alleviate the issue, big tech giants have installed data farms in the Arctic Circle in order to utilise the ambient cold temperatures to reduce the amount of energy needed to cool the equipment. But the ramping popularity of artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and the Internet of Things (IoT), is requiring volumes of data to be processed rapidly with as minimal delay as possible on the user end. To achieve this, the processing of the data must move closer to the place where it was created such as for micro data centres in local neighbourhoods. The team hopes that…

  • Rare-earth metal prices will skyrocket as Ukraine-Russia tensions continue

    As the world barely recuperates from Covid-19-induced supply chain crunches, the international community braces for yet another crisis – the Russia-Ukraine War. Occurring against a background wherein price inflations are a big worry, the standoff may extend beyond gasoline prices, encompassing such industrial sectors as fertilisers, food products, and precious metals. From gold to palladium – the rare-earth metals industry across both countries and across the world are likely in for rough weather. Meeting 45 per cent of global palladium supply, Russia is likely to face significant pressure with the already struggling industry, where demand has outstripped supply. Furthermore, curbs on air transport since the genesis of the conflict have further heightened difficulties for palladium manufacturers…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Google, Apple, Airbus and others join Russian exodus over Ukraine conflict

    Google has stopped Russian state publishers like RT from appearing on its news platform and has blocked their associated apps from its Play Store. Twitter has also made similar moves to stop the news sites from appearing on its feeds. Apple has ended the sale of iPhones and other products to Russian consumers while also making moves similar to Google on its App Store. It has also stopped live traffic updates on Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety measure, similar to actions Google has already taken. “We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence,” Apple said in a statement. Telecoms firm Nokia has joined rival Ericsson in saying it will stop deliveries to Russia to comply with sanctions. Meanwhile…

  • UK government has ‘no plan’ for replacing taxes from net zero drive, MPs say

    In a new report, it found that there is currently no pathway for replacing taxes from fuel duty and “no reliable estimate of what the process of implementing the net zero policy is actually likely to cost British consumers, households, businesses or government itself”. In 2019-20, fuel duty raised £28bn, representing about 3.3 per cent of all tax receipts, equivalent to £1,000 per household and 1.2 per cent of national income. The value of the duties are also expected to plummet over the coming decade in the lead-up to the 2030 ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles. The government has “too often pursued stop-start strategies which undermine confidence for business, investors and consumers in committing to measures which would reduce carbon emissions - especially when some green…

  • Ice Age animals ready to roam the metaverse

    A collaborative team based in California was investigating how AR affects learning in museums, but soon realised there weren’t any accurate Ice Age animals in the metaverse yet that they could use. As a result, the team at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, La Brea Tar Pits, in collaboration with designers at the University of Southern California (USC), built the models in a blocky, low poly style so that they could be scientifically accurate, but still simple enough to run on normal mobile phones with limited processing power. “The innovation of this approach is that it allows us to create scientifically accurate artwork for the metaverse without over-committing to details where we still lack good fossil evidence,” said Dr William Swartout, chief technology officer at the…

  • Space junk on 5,800-mph collision course with Moon

    The leftover rocket will smash into the far side of the Moon at approximately 5,800mph on Friday, away from Earth telescopes’ prying eyes. It may take weeks or even months to confirm the full extent of the impact through satellite images. Scientists expect the object to carve out a hole 33ft to 66ft across and send moon dust flying hundreds of miles across the barren, pockmarked surface. Low-orbiting space junk is relatively easy to track. Objects launching deeper into space are unlikely to hit anything and these far-flung pieces are usually soon forgotten, except by a handful of observers who enjoy playing celestial detective on the side. This particular rocket has been tumbling haphazardly through space for years. Experts believe it was originally launched by China nearly a decade ago…

  • UK could meet WHO air pollution targets by 2030 with planned policies

    The study, commissioned by the Clean Air Fund and carried out by researchers from Imperial College London, found that levels of airborne particle pollution known as PM2.5 could fall to within recommended interim limits for most of the country by the end of the decade. According to campaigners, such policies would be a “win, win, win”, delivering benefits for health ranging from cutting infant deaths to reducing coronary heart disease, as well as for the economy and reducing climate emissions. The report said it only requires existing or planned environmental, transport and clean air policies to be delivered, such as regulations on industrial emissions, vehicle standards and burning wood and coal. Recommendations by the Government’s advisory Committee on Climate Change (CCC) on switching…

  • Combat Wombats crowned First Lego League champions

    The winning team – dubbed ‘Combat Wombats’ – was one of two teams from Freshford Church School in Bath that made it to the National Final. The Combat Wombats team was comprised of 10 boys and girls aged 9-10 years old. The Wombats were crowned champions at the competition final, which was held in Harrogate on Saturday 26 February, and will now have the opportunity to represent England on the global stage at the First World Festival in Houston, US, in April. The science and technology challenge, which is aimed at 9-16-year-olds, tasks teams to build a robot to tackle a series of missions and create an innovative solution to a real-world problem. This year’s competition was called ‘Cargo Connect’ and is designed to explore how cargo is transported to different destinations around the world…

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