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Aug 31, 2022

Oscillating into the GHz Regime

Posted by in category: futurism

Researchers have combined a mechanical oscillator with a superconducting resonator to create a system that vibrates at GHz frequencies.

Aug 31, 2022

Coral Polyps Dance ’n Sync

Posted by in category: mathematics

Researchers used mathematical modeling to analyze the movements of individual organisms that make up a coral, finding correlation between their otherwise random sways and bounces.

Aug 31, 2022

Kazakhstan’s first NPP to be an international project

Posted by in categories: economics, nuclear energy, security

“In June, our delegation was in South Korea, in July we went to France. Negotiations are ongoing with Chinese suppliers. Based on the results of an in-depth study of international experience, nuclear technology suppliers will be involved. I repeat, this will be an international project,” he reaffirmed, adding that the results of this experience is under study.

“In principle, the construction of a nuclear power plant is a long process, it takes about eight years. Without nuclear power, we will not be able to ensure energy security for ourselves… We will need such generation — the whole world is moving towards decarbonisation. We must move to clean technologies, and nuclear generation is the answer to the challenge of the times,” he stressed.

He stressed that the safety of NPP operation is of paramount importance. “We will choose the technology that is the safest, and those suppliers who can complete all the work in a timely manner. Related areas of our economy will also develop around this industry. There will be a big positive effect on the development of our country as a whole.”

Aug 31, 2022

Boeing hit with worldwide safety alert after flaw discovered in take-off and landing app

Posted by in category: transportation

Boeing received a worldwide safety alert after British safety experts said they discovered a possible vulnerability in its software used by pilots during takeoff and landing.

Earlier this month, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a global “safety alert for operators” after researchers discovered a problem with Boeing’s Onboard Performance Tool (OPT), a mobile app that pilots can use to calculate safety before takeoff and landing…

The tool uses data on metrics such as weather and weight to help with calculations for aircraft leaving and returning to the runway.

Aug 31, 2022

Amazon’s Janus framework lifts continual learning to the next level

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

By managing and automating many of the steps involved in continual learning, Janus is helping Amazon’s latest robots adapt to a changing environment.

Aug 31, 2022

Shapeshifting Microrobots Can Brush and Floss Teeth

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology, robotics/AI

Are you ready to put mini robots in your mouth?

Do you get lazy about brushing your teeth? Well, soon microbots could do the whole thing for you. A multidisciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania has created a novel automated way to perform brushing and flossing through robotics, according to a press release published by the institution last month.

The development could be particularly useful for those who lack the manual dexterity to clean their teeth effectively themselves.

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Aug 31, 2022

Scientists Grow Lead-Free Solar Material With a Built-In Switch

Posted by in categories: chemistry, nanotechnology, solar power, sustainability

Solar cell manufacturing just became easier, more efficient, and less costly. A team of researchers at DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), in collaboration with UC Berkeley, has discovered a unique material that can be used as a simpler approach to solar cell manufacturing, the team reported.

This material is a crystalline solar material with a built-in electric field — also known as “ferroelectricity” — that was reported earlier this year in the journal Science Advances.


Light microscopy image of nanowires, 100 to 1,000 nanometers in diameter, grown from cesium germanium tribromide (CGB) on a mica substrate. The CGB nanowires are samples of a new lead-free halide perovskite solar material that is also ferroelectric. (Credit: Peidong Yang and Ye Zhang/Berkeley Lab)

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Aug 31, 2022

Researchers use infrared light to wirelessly transmit power over 30 meters

Posted by in categories: electronics, mobile phones

We might be too close to wirelessly charging our mobile devices anywhere.

Researchers from Sejong University have developed a new system to transmit power over 30 meters using infrared light wirelessly. During laboratory tests, researchers demonstrated that the new system could transfer 400 mW of light power. For now, this amount of power is enough for charging sensors; however, further progress could mean enough high levels to charge mobile phones in various public places.

The research has been published in Optics Express.

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Aug 31, 2022

Space station rice tests show promise

Posted by in category: space travel

The seedlings reached up to 30 cm.

Chinese astronauts have successfully grown rice seedlings onboard the Tiangong space station. Experts said on Monday that this experiment could provide important information about how astronauts can grow food to support extended space journeys, according to China Daily.

Even though prior rice experiments have been conducted in space, the one carried out aboard Tiangong is the first of its type to attempt to produce the entire life cycle of the plant, which starts with a seed and ends with a full plant generating new seeds.

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Aug 31, 2022

The 45-year-old probe is aging gracefully

Posted by in categories: engineering, habitats, health

Since May, the engineering team with NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft had been trying to solve a mystery. The 45-year-old spacecraft seemed to be in excellent condition, receiving and executing commands from Earth, along with gathering and returning science data — but the probe’s attitude articulation and control system (AACS) was sending garbled information about its health and activities to mission controllers.

The AACS controls the spacecraft’s orientation and keeps Voyager 1’s high-gain antenna pointed precisely at Earth, enabling it to send data home. Though all signs suggested that the AACS was still working, the telemetry data was invalid.


While the spacecraft continues to return science data and otherwise operate as normal, the mission team is searching for the source of a system data issue.

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