Lifeboat Foundation

California’s Marine Advanced Robotics has made considerable progress on its remarkable Wave-Adaptive Modular Vessel (WAM-V) since we first saw these wild spider-boats 16 years ago on a list of urban legends. Legends and photoshops they were not – indeed, the giant 100-ft Proteus laid the foundations for the smaller, smarter machines the company is making today.

In a nutshell, a WAM-V is an ultra-light catamaran with hulls mounted on clever suspension legs that use springs, shocks and ball joints to move with the waves, helping to stabilize them for pitch and roll, and making these boats suitable for sea conditions where others of the same size simply can’t operate. With props always in the water, they’re highly maneuverable, and capable of spinning 360 degrees almost in their own footprint.

Continue reading “Spider-legged WAM-V suspension boats float over the waves” »

Circa 2021

Perovskite quantum dots film has better mechanical stability and structural integrity compared to bulk thin film. Here, the authors demonstrate higher endurance of quantum dot films and develop hybrid CsPbI3 QD/PCBM device with PCE of 15.1% and 12.3% on rigid and flexible substrates, respectively.

Researchers at Stanford University are reversing symptoms of Alzheimer’s in mice using a strange tactic — they’re infusing elderly mice with spinal fluid from younger ones.

Many medical breakthroughs that benefit humans are discovered by conducting trials on mice.

Though we look nothing alike, almost all the genes found in mice have similar functions to genes in humans. We get diseases for the same reasons, meaning scientists can study illnesses closely in mice to understand how they manifest in us.

Continue reading “Scientific breakthrough cures memory loss in mice” »

Although the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate today, this paper presents a simple mechanism by which a dynamical form of dark energy (known as quintessence) could cause the acceleration to come to end and smoothly transition from expansion to a phase of slow contraction. That raises questions, How soon could this transition occur? And at what point would it be detectable? The conclusions are that the transition could be surprisingly soon, maybe less than 100 million y from now, and yet, for reasons described in the main text, it is not yet detectable today. The scenario is not far-fetched. In fact, it fits naturally with recent theories of cyclic cosmology and conjectures about quantum gravity.

Technology could make indoor areas as safe as outdoors, say physicists.

“there’s a new record to report: a new solar cell has hit 39.5 percent efficiency ”.

Scientists keep on pushing the efficiency of solar panels higher and higher, and there’s a new record to report: a new solar cell has hit 39.5 percent efficiency under the standard 1-sun global illumination conditions.

That 1-sun marker is simply a standardized way of measuring a fixed amount of sunlight, and almost 40 percent of that radiation can now be converted into electricity. The previous record for this type of solar panel material was 39.2 percent efficiency.

Continue reading “New Quantum Well Solar Cell Just Set a World Record For Efficiency” »

Scientists have injected the first human patient with a new cancer-killing virus. The virus, known as Vaxinia, has seen successful tests in animals. However, the true test of its efficacy begins with this new clinical trial.

Imec plots a course to 1nm chips, and beyond.

Imec, the most advanced semiconductor research firm in the world, recently shared its sub-‘1nm’ silicon and transistor roadmap at its Future Summit event in Antwerp, Belgium. The roadmap gives us a rough idea of the timelines through 2036 for the next major process nodes and transistor architectures the company will research and develop in its labs in cooperation with industry giants, like TSMC, Intel, Samsung, and ASML, among many others.

The roadmap includes breakthrough transistor designs that evolve from the standard FinFET transistors that will last until 3nm, to new Gate All Around (GAA) nanosheets and forksheet designs at 2nm and A7 (seven angstroms), respectively, followed by breakthrough designs like CFETs and atomic channels at A5 and A2. As a reminder, ten Angstroms are equal to 1nm, so Imec’s roadmap encompasses sub-‘1nm’ process nodes.

Continue reading “Imec Presents Sub-1nm Process and Transistor Roadmap Until 2036: From Nanometers to the Angstrom Era” »

A team of scientists have re-engineered membrane technology to make it 150 times more efficient in capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) in gas mixtures leaving coal and natural-gas-fired thermal power plants.

Applying invented polymer chains to commercial membranes makes them 150 times more effective in capturing CO₂.