An outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed 78 people and epidemic watchers are waiting to see whether it can be controlled.
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Drones have, as with most technologies, a wide spectrum of usefulness. What one uses to pick fruit, another will use to kill a human being. Companies are increasingly looking to drone technology to solve big and small problems but what does the future hold for this helpful and lethal technology?
Kevin Bolen, Principal, Innovation & Enterprise Solutions, KPMG is paid to know such things and spoke recently about the regulation reviews surrounding drones; “Both the US and UK have similar regulations in place around the flying of drones, which restrict commercial applications. Drones must weigh less than 55 lbs, and be flown within line of sight of the pilot, in daylight, below 400 feet and away from restricted airspace (e.g., airports). A pilot can only control one drone at a time. With so many restrictions, the primary utility now is for video streaming/recording; cameras are lightweight, and drones can easily access areas that are costly or unsafe for humans. [Streaming/recording] can prove helpful for inspection of large assets (e.g., oil rigs or bridges) or conducting an inventory of livestock or other materials.”
Despite limitations, drone use is increasing and could add to GDP of most countries (2% for the UK alone per PwC research). When asked, Bolen agrees companies will likely rent more drones rather than buy them. In some cases owning will make more economic sense but the key is to think beyond your needs right now and partner with the right people; “As the demand for drones increases, the scale and efficiency of the companies servicing this demand will grow and they will continue to optimize the performance and range of offerings faster than an individual firm could handle on their own.” Bolen also believes that specialized licenses will be commonplace for drone operators as with the trucking industry.
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Posted in futurism
Find out more about the leading space tech focused accelerator for European startups:
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LEAF’s August 2018 roundup is out!
We hope August has treated you well—it certainly did so for life extension, as this has been another month full of great news for the field. Don’t be upset with the departure of summer and the arrival of autumn, because little by little, we’re getting close to pushing away the autumn of years.
More investments against aging
The fight against aging is being taken more and more seriously by a growing number of investors, who realize the world-changing potential of effective rejuvenative treatments as well as the great opportunity for profit. Juvenescence Limited, which recently closed a 10-million deal with Ichor Therapeutics‘ Antoxerene, has now announced the purchase of 14.4 million shares of BioTime’s AgeX Therapeutics—a company focused on extending healthy human lifespan—for a total of over $43 million. AgeX’s work focuses on telomerase upregulation and cell therapies, and Juvenescence has invested in AgeX before. The news has been reported and commented on on Fight Aging! as well.
Streaming music doesn’t have to mean compromised sound. These hi-fi amps can help you find cloud-connected aural ecstasy.
1. Naim Audio Uniti Star
Best for: Streamcurious audiophiles.
With a built-in CD player that rips tracks to a local drive, the Uniti Star eases the pain of parting with your CDs. Naim’s app summons your newly captured tunes and streams hi-res songs from cloud services. The hardware is pricey, but you get premium guts like a 70-watt-per-channel amp and a huge, velvet-smooth volume knob.
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This video is the first in a two-part series discussing 5G. In this video, we’ll be discussing the many many aspects of current generation mobile networks that 5G is set to improve.
As well as the technologies and communication techniques that will be required to enable these upgrades in speed, latency, bandwidth, energy consumption and more!
[0:35–8:15] First we’ll take a look at the core technologies that 5G is composed of, how they work together and the benefits they will each bring.
[8:15–11:50] Following that, we’ll look at the upgrades 5G will bring to current mobile generation speeds, latency, bandwidth and energy consumption.
“Lego block” artificial cells that can kill bacteria have been created by researchers at the University of California, Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering. The work is reported Aug. 29 in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
“We engineered artificial cells from the bottom-up – like Lego blocks – to destroy bacteria,” said Assistant Professor Cheemeng Tan, who led the work. The cells are built from liposomes, or bubbles with a cell-like lipid membrane, and purified cellular components including proteins, DNA and metabolites.
“We demonstrated that artificial cells can sense, react and interact with bacteria, as well as function as systems that both detect and kill bacteria with little dependence on their environment,” Tan said.
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