Futurism – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Dec 1
2021

Researchers develop nanometer-scale adaptive transistor

Normally, computer chips consist of electronic components that always do the same thing. In the future, however, more flexibility will be possible: New types of adaptive transistors can be switched in a flash, so that they can perform different logical tasks as needed. This fundamentally changes the possibilities of chip design and opens up completely new opportunities in the field of artificial intelligence, neural networks or even logic that works with more values than just 0 and 1.

In order to achieve this, scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) did not rely on the usual silicon technology, but on germanium. This was a success: The most flexible transistor in the world has now been produced using germanium. It has been presented in the journal ACS Nano. The special properties of germanium and the use of dedicated program gate electrodes made it possible to create a prototype for a new component that may usher in a new era of chip technology.

Dec 1
2021

Volocopter to create first public eVTOL system in the futuristic region of NEOM, Saudi Arabia

Volocopter announced a joint venture with NEOM in Saudi Arabia to implement and operate the world’s first bespoke public eVTOL mobility system.

Dec 1
2021

World Leaders Fail To Expand Protections Around Antarctica Yet Again

In October, world leaders came together for the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the regulatory body that governs the waters around Antarctica. Yet CCAMLR failed to establish vital protections for Antarctica’s Southern Ocean once again despite resounding international support for the Commission to take sweeping conservation actions.

CCAMLR was first established in 1982 in response to growing commercial interest in Antarctica’s ocean resources, particularly krill. Since then, CCAMLR has passed many conservation measures to protect Antarctica, including measures that established the South Orkney Islands and Ross Sea marine protected areas (MPAs) in 2009 and 2016, respectively. But in recent years, CCAMLR has failed to establish additional MPAs despite the Commission’s formal commitment to establish a network of MPAs around the continent over a decade ago. Today, only about 5% of Antarctica’s Southern Ocean is protected.