• Eye tracking system determines drivers’ ability to take back control from autopilot

    The research found that people’s attention levels and how engrossed they are in on-screen activities can be detected from their eye movements. Although fully autonomous driverless cars are not yet available for personal use, cars with a ‘driverless’ autopilot mode are available for commercial private use in some locations, including Germany and certain US states. Tesla, for example, has an ‘Autopilot’ mode, which can steer, accelerate and brake within lanes, while ‘Full Self-Driving’ lets vehicles obey traffic signals and change lanes. But both technologies “require active driver supervision”, with a “fully attentive” driver whose hands are on the wheel, “and do not make the vehicle autonomous”. Drivers can, for example, use the limited driverless functionality during a traffic jam on…

  • Europe's reliance on fossil fuel energy falls to record low, study finds

    The amount of electricity that the EU generated from fossil fuels in 2023 has hit a record low, according to clean energy thinktank Ember.  The 27-nation bloc produced 410TWh of electricity from polluting sources, amounting to 33 per cent of the EU’s total power in the first half of this year . This is the lowest amount based on available data.  The drop in fossil fuel generation was driven by a 4.6 per cent (-61TWh) fall in demand for electricity, prompted by high gas and power prices, as well as some growth in clean power, the study found. “We’re glad to see fossil fuels down, but in the long-term it is not going to be sustainable to rely on the fall in demand to do this,” said Matt Ewen, author of the report. “We have to be replacing this energy rather than just expecting it to go…

  • FBI and European partners dismantle global malware network

    ‘Operation Duck Hunt’ was a multinational effort that was able to infiltrate and dismantle Qakbot, a malware that could remotely control over 700,000 computers around the world. The operation has been described as “o ne of the largest US-led disruptions of a botnet infrastructure”. It was l ed by FBI forces, with a collaboration of partners in F rance, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Latvia and the UK.  After seizing control of the botnet, officials remotely removed the malicious software agent from thousands of infected computers. “The FBI neutralised this far-reaching criminal supply chain, cutting it off at the knees,” said FBI director Christopher Wray. “The victims ranged from financial institutions on the East Coast to a critical infrastructure government contractor in the Midwest…

  • £340m cash injection into Sizewell C takes government stake above £1bn

    Ministers have made available a further £341m of previously allocated funding for development work on the project, adding to the £170m the project was granted just last month. The money will be used to ramp up activity at the Suffolk site, supporting continued preparation works such as constructing onsite training facilities for apprentices, further development of the plant’s engineering design, and investments in the local community. The money builds on the government’s existing £870m stake and will help drive progress towards the long-standing objective of reaching a Final Investment Decision on a new large-scale nuclear project this parliament. Once complete, the facility is expected to cost at least £20bn and generate energy at a more expensive price when compared to renewables such…

  • Location data needed to help build optimal charging network for EVs

    Given the sluggish pace at which the government is rolling out new chargers, the UK is expected to miss its target of having six or more rapid or ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers at every motorway service area in England by the end of 2023. The location of chargepoints is as important as the absolute number, as well-located chargers give drivers the confidence that they will not run out of battery power on longer journeys. The new report identifies five opportunities to better use existing location data so that chargers can be optimally placed. This includes improving understanding of the location of existing chargepoints, consumer charging behaviour and travel patterns, and identifying the location of EVs by using commercially-held data about leased vehicles. It also calls for electricity…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • ‘Technical issue’ causes travel chaos across UK airports

    The UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said the technical fault was “identified and remedied” on Monday evening, but “significant disruptions” are set to continue over the next few days as airlines work to clear the flight backlog.  The technical problem was revealed at 12.15pm on Monday, causing staff to have to input flight plans manually until the automatic system was recovered at 3.15pm.  The network-wide outage caused the worst day of flight disruptions in the country since the eruptions of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. In total, 790 departures and 785 arrivals were cancelled on Monday, according to flight analytics company Cirium. The number is equivalent to around 27 per cent of planned flights to and from the UK.  “[The fault] was fixed earlier on this…

  • Hubble and James Webb telescopes team up to study Jupiter’s volcanic moon

    The study will complement the upcoming flybys of Io by Nasa’s Juno spacecraft and will provide insights into its contributions to the plasma environment around Jupiter. Juno made its closest flyby of Io in July, when it came within 22,000 km of it. “The timing of this project is critical. Over the next year, Juno will buzz past Io several times, offering rare opportunities to combine in situ and remote observations of this complex system,” said Dr Kurt Retherford, from Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), which is helping fund the project. The team will use around 4.7 per cent of available time for Hubble observations this cycle, which will be supplemented with 4.8 hours of Webb observing time. While both are designed to study the cosmos, Webb and Hubble do not have identical capabilities…

  • Lack of access to defibrillators in deprived areas risks lives, study finds

    A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current – often called a counter-shock – to the heart in order to restart it during a cardiac event. Using research from The Circuit, which aims to map all public access defibrillators in the UK, the nearest 24/7 accessible defibrillator is, on average, a round trip of over a mile away. While in Wales there was no link between defibrillator location and deprivation, the picture in England and Scotland revealed that more deprived areas are typically further away from a 24/7-accessible defibrillator. With nearly three in 10 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in England happening on the weekend, and four in 10 happening between 6pm and 6am, quick access to a defibrillator at any time of day is crucial.  In 2022, there were 20,557 deaths due to acute…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Potholes could be prevented with ground source heat pumps, researchers say

    The initiative could keep roads from melting in the summer and freezing in the winter, therefore preventing the creation of potholes and improving road safety.  The project has been awarded a £800,000 research fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering, with the hopes it coul d improve how major roads across the UK are maintained and upgraded – even as climate change “increases the challenge of keeping them fit for purpose,” the university said.   As part of the trial, the researchers plan to introduce ground source heat pumps to cool roads in the summer and warm them in the winter.  “At the moment, a typical motorway or A-road surface lasts 20 years, but this is likely to reduce as extreme weather increases,” said project lead Dr Benyi Cao . “However, by regulating the temperature…

  • Energy cap to fall below £2,000 from October

    The new energy price cap set by Ofgem, the British energy regulator, is below £2,000 for the first time in 18 months, but it remains significantly higher than during 2020 and 2021 before the Russian invasion of Ukraine pushed up energy prices. The cap does not set the maximum a household will pay for their energy but establishes a maximum amount providers can charge per unit of gas or electricity. At its peak, the price cap reached £4,279.  In the period between July and October 2023 the price cap was set at £2,074.  The new cap has reached the lowest level since October 2021. According to the regulator, this reflects further falls in wholesale energy prices as the market stabilises and suppliers return to a healthier financial position. However, Ofgem has warned that, o ver the last…

  • Low-cost cube satellite offers solution to space junk problem

    Current estimates suggest there are over 100 million pieces of space junk orbiting the Earth, ranging from debris the size of a penny to an entire rocket booster. The number of satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) is also expected to increase dramatically over the next few years, which is raising concerns that involuntary collisions between operational payloads and space debris could occur in orbit. The student-made cube satellite was built on a shoestring budget using off-the-shelf supplies available at most hardware stores, including 48 Energizer AA batteries. Called SBUDNIC, the prototype was blasted into space on Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket last May as part of the Transporter 5 ridesharing mission and was designed to tackle the growing issue of space junk. For that purpose, the students…

  • UK risks £65m in exports without switch to heat pumps, energy analysts warn

    According to new analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), this could cost the UK a total of £1.3bn in lost exports between 2030 and 2050. In January, the government’s net zero review concluded that no new homes should be built with a gas boiler from 2025. It also proposed a 10-year plan to ensure heat pumps become more widespread throughout the UK. But Michael Gove, who is the secretary of state for levelling up, has expressed doubts that the UK will make the shift over to heat pumps anytime soon due to the ongoing cost of living crisis. Nevertheless, a previous ECIU analysis found that domestic gas use in the UK would have been significantly lower last winter if it had kept pace with Europe on heat pump installations. In 2022, the UK exported around £85m worth…

  • Europe's landmark rules for online platforms kick into effect

    The EU’s historic regulations, which aim to promote a safer experience of the online world, came into effect on Friday 25 August.  The DSA is the bloc's first step in creating  a “rulebook” for online platforms , with the goal of creating “a safer and more open digital space, grounded in respect for fundamental rights”.  The rules will regulate companies’ content moderation policies and advertising practices. They will also require platforms to share details of their algorithms with regulators and, in certain cases,  with independent researchers. In particular, the DSA bans targeted advertising that is aimed at children or based on sensitive data such as religion, gender, race or political opinions. It also forbids “dark patterns” – tactics that mislead people into giving personal data…

  • Carbon offset schemes ‘significantly’ overestimate forest preservation

    The global market for voluntary carbon offsets – the removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere – has grown rapidly in recent years. Countries established the REDD+ framework to protect forests as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement. REDD stands for ‘reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries’. Many of these schemes generate carbon credits by investing in the protection of parts of the world’s most important forests – from the Congo to the Amazon. But an analysis of 18 major carbon offset projects matched with sites that offer a real-world benchmark for deforestation levels found that more than 60 million carbon credits came from projects that barely reduced deforestation, if…

  • Huawei could be building secret chip plants to bypass US sanctions, trade body warns

    Huawei has been accused of building a a series of secret chip-making facilities across China, under the names of other companies, to help the technology company bypass US sanctions, according to the Washington-based association.  The Chinese tech firm reportedly moved into chip production last year and was receiving an estimated $30bn (£23.7bn) in state funding from the government.  The association claims Huawei has acquired at least two chip plants and is overseeing the construction of three additional facilities.  By building the facilities under names of other companies, the company could be able to indirectly purchase American chip-making equipment, circumventing the sanctions, the report claimed. The US has restricted China’s access to semiconductor technology since at least 2019…

  • Scotland needs more pylons to support wind power expansion, experts urge

    Increasing the production of clean power from renewables such as wind and solar will be necessary for the UK to decarbonise its electricity system. But while the deployment of cheap renewable energy generation has quadrupled over the past 10 years, investments in Britain’s transmission grid have remained flat and have even decreased since 2017, Scottish Renewables said in a new report. Scotland is reliant on renewable energy more than other parts of the UK as its geography has allowed developers to build some of the biggest domestic wind farms. In the future, more homes and businesses will be connected to heat networks and industrial sites and factories will house large batteries. There will also be a need for more electric vehicle chargers, heat pumps and solar panels. To enable this…

  • Norway opens world’s largest floating wind farm to cut oil industry emissions

    Located in the North Sea, Hywind Tampen is considered the world’s largest floating wind farm project.  The project has been funded by Norwegian energy firm Equinor and other oil companies including OMV and Vår Energi, owned by ENI. Their goal is to use the green energy generated by the wind farm to supply the company’s nearby oil and gas platforms and cut their greenhouse gas emissions. The Hywind Tampen wind farm has a capacity of 88 megawatts. It is expected to reduce CO 2 emissions by 200,000 tonnes annually, or 0.4 per cent of Norway’s total CO 2 emissions in 2022. The farm’s 11 wind turbines are fixed to a floating base anchored to the sea floor, rather than the ocean bed, allowing them to  be installed in deeper waters and further from the coast where winds are more consistent and…

  • Jaguar Land Rover repurposes old car batteries for grid-scale energy storage

    The project, which is in collaboration with Wykes Engineering, could be used to store excess electricity generated by renewables such as solar and wind and help the National Grid deal with peaks in demand. JLR said that 30 second-hand batteries from its Jaguar I-PACE series can store around 2.5MWh of energy – enough to power 250 homes for a day, although it aims to ramp this up to a total of 7.5MWh of energy by the end of 2023. Reusing the batteries also helps the firm adopt circular economy principles and limit the use of virgin materials. The batteries supplied have initially been taken from prototype and engineering test vehicles, but more containers will be created to house additional second-hand batteries removed from used production vehicles in the future. The inconsistency of…

  • India celebrates Chandrayaan-3 ‘historic’ Moon landing

    India is the fourth nation to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon after its $75m (£59m) Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft touched ground in a previously unexplored region of the natural satellite. The achievement took place just days after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft – designed to reach this location first – crashed into the Moon . The Indian feat underscores the nation’s efforts to become an international power in space exploration. “This is the heartbeat of 1.4 billion people,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a speech to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). “This is the new India, the new beginning, the new thinking of the new efforts. This is a historic moment, and for every Indian, we are all very proud.” Chandrayaan-3 touched down six weeks after launching on board a…

  • Barnacle shells could reveal the location of missing flight MH370, study finds

    Associate Professor Gregory Herbert, who led a team of researchers from University of South Florida (USF), says the geochemistry of barnacle shells attached to debris from the aircraft could provide clues to the crash location. Over the last two decades, Herbert refined a method to extract ocean temperatures stored in the chemistry of invertebrate shells. The method was previously used to determine the ages and extinction risk of giant horse conches and investigate the environmental circumstances of early US colonies. Barnacles and other shelled marine invertebrates grow their shells daily, producing internal layers similar to tree rings. The chemistry of each layer is determined by temperature of the surrounding water at the time the layer was formed. Herbert’s research team did a growth…

  • ‘Huge’ biomethane HGV refuelling station to be built in Kent

    The HGV refuelling station project is a collaboration between  ReFuels and John Lewis Partnership (JLP), with a view towards decarbonising heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Currently HGVs account for 4.2 per cent of UK emissions. However, fuelling these vehicles with biomethane could cut their emissions by over 90 per cent and reduce costs by up to 40 per cent, the companies have said.  The new station will be built adjacent to Waitrose’s southeast distribution centre, from where it will serve JLP HGVs as well as local and passing fleets. It will feature 12 fuel pumps capable of delivering 19 million kilograms (kg) of Bio-CNG annually. As part of the agreement, JLP has pledged to ensure that all of its 520 heavy-duty trucks run on biomethane by 2028. ReFuels has announced its plans to open…

  • G20 countries spent more than £1.1tn on fossil fuel subsidies after Ukraine war

    At COP26 in 2021, member countries agreed to accelerate “the phase-out of unabated coal power and of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels” in a bid to slow climate change. But according to the think tank International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), subsidies the following year from G20 countries reached $1tn – over four times the amount provided in 2021. Much of the total support provided was for consumers, but around one-third ($440bn) was driving investment in new fossil fuel production. Many production facilities such as oil wells or coal mines are expected to operate for many decades – long after the current energy crisis is expected to be over. According to the report: “This support perpetuates the world’s reliance on fossil fuels, paving the way for yet more energy…

  • Turtle shells hold clues on nuclear contamination, researchers find

    Turtles and tortoises have been found to store decades-long records of exposure to radioactive contamination on their backs. A team of scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory used a special mass spectrometer to detect uranium in the shells of four  chelonians (the order of reptiles that include turtles and tortoises) , that lived near radioactive sites in the past.  The researchers discovered that turtles exposed to radioactive material, such as fallout from nuclear weapons testing or accidental waste releases, accumulated uranium isotopes in their shell scales. Each layer of shell equates to one year of the turtle’s life. In one of the shells, the researchers traced varying levels of uranium in individual concentric layers that formed like tree rings and tracked the animal…

  • AI cannot generate copyrightable material, says US judges

    The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought forth by Stephen Thaler, who was looking to copyright ‘ A Recent Entrance to Paradise’, an image he created using an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm he built and named the Creativity Machine. Thaler had tried multiple times to copyright the image “as a work-for-hire to the owner of the Creativity Machine,” listing the author as the creator of the work and Thaler as the artwork’s owner.  However, his request was rejected by the US Copyright Office on the grounds that “the nexus between the human mind and creative expression” is a crucial element of protection. Now a judge has upheld the decision, as first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.   In her decision, Judge Howell wrote that copyright has never been granted to work that was…

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