• Hands-on review: Gigabyte Aero laptop

    Hands-on review: Gigabyte Aero laptop

    If you’re a creative who doesn’t sit in the Apple camp then this is the laptop to buy. Like the latest MacBook Pro models, it is both powerful and pretty. Gigabyte has two different laptop ranges for power users: Aero for creatives and Aorus for gamers. Both feature state-of-the-art NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series Laptop graphics processors for stellar speed and energy efficiency. The energy-efficiency issue isn’t just greenwash for your tech – it really matters, because when computers think hard they tend to get hot. Nobody wants a hot lap while they’re working, or a loud fan. The Aero on test was impressively cool, yet quiet. There are two built-in fans but they’re really quiet; you don’t notice them. I tested the largest model in the Aero range, the flagship Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR, which…

  • UK’s largest chip plant acquired by Chinese-owned Nexperia

    UK’s largest chip plant acquired by Chinese-owned Nexperia

    Nexperia – a customer of NWF’s foundry services – became its second-largest shareholder in 2019. It has now completed the transaction to obtain 100 per cent ownership of the semiconductor production facility, the UK’s largest. NWF will be renamed Nexperia Newport. NWF is mainly based in Wales, with smaller manufacturing operations in Manchester and Hamburg. The fab was first built for Inmos in 1982 to manufacture transputers. It became NWF in 2017 and has received government backing as part of an effort to develop south Wales as a hub of expertise in compound semiconductors, which are faster and more energy efficient. When NWF recently failed to meet certain conditions of its supply contract with Nexperia, its partial owner exercised its right to appoint board directors and hence guide…

  • UK’s green industrial revolution plan ’10 times too unambitious’

    UK’s green industrial revolution plan ’10 times too unambitious’

    Dave Moxham, deputy general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, criticised the scale of the UK-wide plans while giving evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee this week. He described the government’s climate plan as “10 times too unambitious”. The plan, which was published in November 2020 , lays out 10 points to support a “green industrial revolution” in the UK. It aims to expand sectors such as hydrogen, offshore wind, EVs, and carbon capture and storage technology through the mobilisation of £12bn in funding. However, the Labour Party at the time noted that just £4bn of the proposed money was actually new and that the funding does not “remotely” meet the scale of what is necessary to tackle climate change and unemployment. “I’m just going to stick it out there; it’s 10…

  • Ransomware attack on networking provider affects 1,500 businesses

    Ransomware attack on networking provider affects 1,500 businesses

    The attack, which occurred on Friday (July 2), was reportedly executed by the Russian hacking group REvil who typically encrypt the files of victims before demanding a ransom payment to unlock them. The group said it wanted a $70m (£51m) payment to free the files “in less than an hour”. Fred Voccola, CEO of Kaseya, admitted that it was difficult to precisely determine the extent of the damage caused by the attack as the people affected were mostly customers of its own customers. The firm is working with the FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to determine the root cause of the attack. “Our global teams are working around the clock to get our customers back up and running,” Voccola said. “We understand that every second they are shut down it impacts…

  • Riverside wetlands stop nitrates and fertilisers seeping into waterways

    Riverside wetlands stop nitrates and fertilisers seeping into waterways

    Excessive nitrate or sediment levels can affect local fish populations and increase the cost to treat drinking water. The pollutants also find their way into water bodies downstream like a reservoir or the ocean and create algal blooms or hypoxic or ‘dead zones.’ According to the researchers, the dead zone in the northern Gulf of Mexico is directly correlated with nitrate that comes from the Mississippi River Basin. They compared different approaches to improving water quality, such as cutting runoff from farms and adding wetlands, then gauged the economic costs of each. Because most methods rely on voluntary participation by individual farms and are implemented by a patchwork of different agencies, the researchers found that they tend to be less effective. “Currently, there’s individual…

  • AI engine used by British Army during live-firing drill

    AI engine used by British Army during live-firing drill

    The tool was used by soldiers from the 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade during Exercise Spring Storm, as part of Operation Cabrit. Operation Cabrit is an annual Nato exercise which involves British soldiers working in conjunction with French, Danish and Estonian counterparts to tighten Euro-Atlantic security. During the event, held this year in Estonia, an AI engine was used by soldiers to carry out live-fire drills. The engine can rapidly process data to provide information about the environment and terrain, almost instantly providing useful insights to incorporate into planning. Major James McEvoy, who used the engine during the event, commented: “This was a fantastic opportunity to use a new and innovative piece of technology in a deployed environment. The kit was shown to outperform our…

  • Bank of England mulls tougher climate goals, while Kiwis report record warm winter

    Bank of England mulls tougher climate goals, while Kiwis report record warm winter

    Sarah Breeden, the Bank’s lead on climate change issues and its newly appointed executive director for financial stability and risk, said the Bank is having an “active debate” over plans to make goals on reducing its own carbon footprint more ambitious. Part of this could see the Bank cut back on policymaker trips overseas in favour of virtual meetings even once pandemic restrictions have been lifted and travel becomes more open again. The proposal comes after the Bank recently beat its climate target nine years early, as policymakers were unable to jet around the globe due to the pandemic. Its second annual climate-related financial disclosures report showed that on one measure the Bank’s carbon emissions plunged by 74 per cent, smashing through its initial target to reduce its footprint…

  • Set target date for gas boiler phase-out, industry urges

    Set target date for gas boiler phase-out, industry urges

    A range of industry experts involved in the transition to clean, reliable and efficient energy proposed a target date for phasing out boilers and grants to help people install heat pumps in order to encourage the transition. Homes contribute around 15 per cent of the UK’s overall carbon emissions. Reducing these emissions by insulating homes and replacing fossil fuel-based heating systems, mostly gas boilers, will be an important part of meeting Britain’s Paris Agreement obligations and reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Heat pumps work as reverse refrigerators, using electricity to heat water and homes. They require less maintenance, use less energy, and create more jobs than gas boilers, and when powered by renewable resources they do not contribute to carbon emissions…

  • Elections Bill introduced; aims for transparency in online campaigns

    Elections Bill introduced; aims for transparency in online campaigns

    The government said that its Elections Bill will strengthen the integrity of electoral processes and make it “more inclusive”. Among the measures in the bill will be a new “digital imprints regime” to govern online campaign materials. According to proposals detailed last year, the measures will force parties and campaigners from anywhere in the world to link their campaign content to their identity with a digital imprint. The idea behind this measure is to ensure that voters have the same transparency from online materials as they do from leaflets posted through their letterbox. Facebook has already introduced a “paid for by” disclaimer to political advertisements on its platforms. Concern about misleading political advertising, including state-backed psychological warfare weaponising political…

  • South Downs National Park to ‘renature’ area six times the size of Westminster

    South Downs National Park to ‘renature’ area six times the size of Westminster

    The UK’s newest national park currently has a quarter of its land managed for nature such as woods, heaths, ponds and nature reserves. The park authority is now hoping to create an additional 13,000 hectares - approximately the size of 21,000 football pitches - of habitat for plants and animals to thrive. This extra land would bring 33 per cent of land in the national park managed for nature, exceeding the UN-backed target of 30 per cent by 2030. The park authority is in fact aiming for 67 per cent of land managed for nature by the same date. At the recent G7 summit, held in Cornwall, UK, all members present signed up to the global '30×30' initiative. Ecologist Andrew Lee, who heads countryside policy and management for the national park, said: “The biodiversity crisis is real and it…

  • View from India: Genome labs initiated to study virus mutations

    View from India: Genome labs initiated to study virus mutations

    On the one side, the national vaccination programme is in full swing. The jab appears to be reassuring. In fact, the Centre has invited bids for drone-led vaccine delivery in remote areas and challenging locations. A standard protocol for vaccine delivery through Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) has been developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur. That doesn’t mean to say that everyone is safe. No, far from that, there’s a murky dimension to it. Delta itself has boosted the second wave of the infection in India. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described Delta as a ‘Variant of Concern’ (VoC). The second wave is not yet over, though the case trajectory is coming down. Being highly infectious, Delta…

  • Hands-on review: JLab Epic Air Sport ANC earbuds

    Hands-on review: JLab Epic Air Sport ANC earbuds

    JLab is a company that makes a lot of earbuds. It aims to offer something for everyone, at all price points - including the rarified upper echelons, where consumers quite reasonably become more selective and demanding. When you're going to be plunking down anything even close to a three-figure sum, the product in question has got to deliver on all fronts. The Epic Air Sport ANC are JLab's specifically sport-oriented version of its regular higher-end, in-ear Epic Air active noise-cancelling (ANC) 'buds. This Sport set feature the classic ear hook retention design widely used to keep such earbuds in place, in spite of your most energetic exertions. Insert 'buds into ears; rotate counter-clockwise to hook the arms over your ears; go ahead and feel the burn all you like - these 'buds will stay…

  • Booming demand for critical minerals could harm the environment, not save it

    Booming demand for critical minerals could harm the environment, not save it

    Fossil-fuel-based power generation is losing its financial advantage over energy from renewable sources, largely thanks to  steadily declining prices for green power  - solar PV and onshore wind are now just below the critical fossil-fuel cost range - and with the arrival of better and cheaper storage technology.  However, carbon power still seems to hold one trump card: it uses far fewer critical and rare-earth minerals than cleaner counterparts. This worries economic analysts, who predict large deficits affecting the industry if new mining endeavours fail to succeed in unearthing commodities essential for electric vehicles and other green power developments. On the other hand, environmental activists worry that a rushed mining boom risks the environment instead of saving it. Both sides…

  • Climate change litigation increasing globally since 2015, report finds

    Climate change litigation increasing globally since 2015, report finds

    Researchers from the London School of Economics found that just over 800 cases were filed globally between 1986 and 2014, while over 1,000 cases have been brought in the last six years. The number of ‘strategic’ cases is also on the rise. These are cases that aim to bring about some broader societal shift, as well as cases that challenge government inaction or lack of ambition in climate goals. The study suggested that the fossil fuel industry could be a particular focus for future litigation, especially related to cases around government subsidies or tax relief for the sector. “The number of ‘strategic’ cases is dramatically on the rise,” the report said, referring to activist cases that aim to bring about a broad shift in policy. “Litigation that is aligned with climate goals is on…

  • Richard Branson to join Virgin Galactic’s first fully manned test flight on 11 July

    Richard Branson to join Virgin Galactic’s first fully manned test flight on 11 July

    The next test flight of the firm’s SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity will see Branson trying out the private astronaut experience that Virgin Galactic eventually plans to sell to rich space tourists at a price of around £175,000 per ticket. It will be the twenty-second flight test for the ship and its fourth crewed spaceflight, although the first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists in the cabin. The flight is designed specifically for Branson and his crew to evaluate the commercial experience, including the cabin environment, seat comfort, the weightlessness, as well as the views of Earth that the spaceship delivers. Following this flight the team plans to complete inspections of the vehicles and an extensive data review, which will inform the next steps in the test flight…

  • Instant water cleaning method better than commercial approach, scientists claim

    Instant water cleaning method better than commercial approach, scientists claim

    The researchers at Cardiff University said the results could revolutionise water disinfection technologies and present an opportunity to provide clean water to communities that need it most. The novel method works by using a catalyst made from gold and palladium that takes in hydrogen and oxygen to form hydrogen peroxide – a commonly used disinfectant currently produced on an industrial scale. Industry makes over four million tonnes of hydrogen peroxide in factories each year, where they then transport it to the places where it’s used and stored. Stabilising chemicals are often added to the solutions during the production process to stop them degrading but these reduce its effectiveness as a disinfectant. Another common approach to disinfecting water is the addition of chlorine. But experts…

  • Human skin used as conductible material to charge smartwatch

    Human skin used as conductible material to charge smartwatch

    Smartwatches are increasingly able to monitor the vital signs of health, including tracking sleep, but the devices are often disconnected from a user’s body overnight in order to be charged at the bedside. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have used the natural electrical conductivity of human skin to try and solve this problem. “In this device we have an electrode that couples to the human body, which you could think of as the red wire, if you’re thinking of a traditional battery with a pair of red and black wires,” said computing engineer Jeremy Gummeson. The conventional black wire is established between two metal plates that are embedded on the wearable device and an instrumented everyday object, which becomes coupled (or virtually connected) via the surrounding…

  • Manufacturers urge government to work more collaboratively with the EU

    Manufacturers urge government to work more collaboratively with the EU

    Britain’s manufacturers are calling on the UK government to help them ease continued difficulties with the new trading environment and relationship with the EU, which has ramped up costs, caused import and export delays, and is hampering smooth trade as companies struggle to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. In Make UK's report, titled ' Trade and Cooperation with the EU: Six Months On ', the data collected showed that 96 per cent of companies said they have faced challenges since the start of the year with the new trading environment, with nearly half (47 per cent) citing early difficulties with customs processes. This has since eased, as companies’ understanding of the new rules improved. However, over a third (36 per cent) - mainly small and medium sized companies - said they are still…

  • National Robotarium to develop made-to-measure 3D laser beams

    National Robotarium to develop made-to-measure 3D laser beams

    Lasers are a crucial component of modern manufacturing, with the global laser processing market projected to grow from $4bn (£2.8bn) in 2020 to $5.8bn (£4.1bn) by 2025 (according to a 2020 report from MarketsandMarkets). Lasers are used widely by industry to produce precise incisions and mould materials into specific shapes. However, this approach to laser-based manufacturing depends on melting or vaporising the material, which means the laser’s energy must be focused on the right points. The standard laser beam shape makes it difficult to tailor this for specific manufacturing processes, decreasing efficiency and limiting what can be made. The 3D laser innovation could transform the manufacturing and healthcare technology industries, making it easier and cheaper to produce products that…

  • It’s time to turn digital transformation from buzzword into reality

    It’s time to turn digital transformation from buzzword into reality

    The last year has affected our health, social interactions and businesses. From work calls to grocery shopping, every aspect of our lives has been forced online. While we have yet to move out of the pandemic, we are now at a point where we can look back at the dramatic speed of change in the last year and a half, and the impressive rate at which businesses adapted to the ‘new normal’. Indeed, many businesses are questioning how they could ever go back to their old ways of working. The last year or so has highlighted the need to be agile and adaptable and those that have embraced these principles are well positioned to deal with the unexpected in the future. There are a number of factors that go into making fundamental change a success, from having a culture that is open to new ways of working…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX
  • Money & Markets: The next technological boom: rare earths

    Money & Markets: The next technological boom: rare earths

    One of my many investment rules is: beware of investing in anything where the name of the thing doesn’t make sense or it is basically wrong. It’s not a ban on investing, because one thing that can happen in a misnamed category is that it can go sky high because the bulk of investors simply don’t know what they are buying into, and that is a significant cause of bubbles. Lack of ability to understand leads to inability to price correctly, which in turn can, sometimes but not always, lead to FOMO (fear of missing out) where people pile in just because everyone else is. This is, of course, subjective because ‘multimedia’, for example, which was a boom bubble in the '90s, was to me about the application of a single media type not about multimedia at all, but many will still look at the single…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX
  • Global plastic emissions could be causing irreversible harm to the environment

    Global plastic emissions could be causing irreversible harm to the environment

    The study states that plastic pollution is a global threat and actions to drastically reduce emissions of plastic to the environment are "the rational policy response". The study is due to be published in the journal Science tomorrow (2 July). Plastic is now found everywhere on the planet: from deserts and mountaintops to deep oceans and Arctic snow. As of 2016, estimates of global emissions of plastic to the world's lakes, rivers and oceans ranged from nine to 23 million metric tonnes per year, with a similar amount emitted onto land yearly. These estimates are expected to almost double by 2025 if business-as-usual scenarios apply. "Plastic is deeply engrained in our society and it leaks out into the environment everywhere, even in countries with good waste-handling infrastructure," said…

  • Nissan to build £1bn electric vehicle hub in the UK

    Nissan to build £1bn electric vehicle hub in the UK

    With Brexit posing a serious challenge to domestic automakers, Nissan’s commitment was hailed by the government as a sign that the UK’s industry can thrive even outside the EU. The project has been launched with an initial £1bn investment by Nissan and its partners Envision AESC, a global player in battery technology, and Sunderland City Council. Comprising three interconnected initiatives, Nissan EV36Zero brings together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production to create what the company describes as "a world-first EV manufacturing ecosystem". The initiative, which will be based around Nissan's Sunderland plant alongside battery firm Envision AESC, is expected to create more than 1,600 direct jobs with an extra 4,500 in supply companies. While Nissan said it would build…

  • ‘Smart skin’ takes reliable vitals during sweat-inducing activities

    ‘Smart skin’ takes reliable vitals during sweat-inducing activities

    The researchers patterned the sensor-embedded sticky patch with artificial sweat ducts, similar to pores in human skin, that the researchers etched through the material’s ultrathin layers. The pores perforate the patch in a kirigami-like pattern, similar to that of the Japanese paper-cutting art. The design also ensures that sweat can escape through the patch, preventing skin irritation and damage to embedded sensors. The kirigami design also helps the patch conform to human skin as it stretches and bends. This flexibility, paired with the material’s ability to withstand sweat, enables it to monitor a person’s health over long periods of time, which has not been possible with previous “e-skin” designs, the team said. “With this conformable, breathable skin patch, there won’t be any sweat…

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