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Jan 6, 2022

China’s $1 trillion ‘artificial sun’ fusion reactor just got five times hotter than the sun

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, physics

The Chinese experimental nuclear fusion reactor smashed the previous record, set by France’s Tore Supra tokamak in 2003, where plasma in a coiling loop remained at similar temperatures for 390 seconds. EAST had previously set another record in May 2021 by running for 101 seconds at an unprecedented 216 million F (120 million C). The core of the actual sun, by contrast, reaches temperatures of around 27 million F (15 million C).

Related: 5 sci-fi concepts that are possible (in theory)

“The recent operation lays a solid scientific and experimental foundation towards the running of a fusion reactor,” experiment leader Gong Xianzu, a researcher at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in a statement.

Jan 6, 2022

Affordable solar homes — a solution for homeowner poverty & net-zero housing!

Posted by in categories: climatology, habitats, sustainability

Net-zero architecture is what will reduce emissions from the construction industry on a large scale. But make it inclusive as well as scalable and you also get a solution that can lift homeowners out of poverty while building a community! Created for that very purpose, these solar homes are aiming to help solve both the global housing and climate crises with one design. The houses produce their energy, harvest 100% of the rainwater, clean their sewage, and also have the potential to grow their own food!

It is called the PowerHYDE housing model and was created by Prasoon Kumar and Robert Verrijt of Billion Bricks from India and Singapore. The model explores sustainable solutions to empower and facilitate growth opportunities for people without homes around Southeast Asia which has a lot of rural and low-income populations. These homes not only provide shelter but are also a power module to scale sustainable communities that lift homeowners out of poverty!

Jan 6, 2022

NASA’s first Artemis moon mission will have a virtual astronaut: Amazon’s Alexa

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, space travel

NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, slated for take off as soon as this March, aims to send an Orion spacecraft around the moon. The cabin will be largely empty, save for an a interactive tablet that has been dubbed “Callisto,” which will sit propped up to face an astronaut mannequin. Callisto is essentially a touch-screen device that features reconfigured versions of Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant, and Cisco’s teleconferencing platform WebEx.

Among the many aspects that will be closely watched on the ground — at least by the group behind this Alexa experiment — is how the virtual assistant performs in space. And if nothing else, it’ll be some well-placed advertising.

It’s all part of a collaboration between Amazon, (AMZN) Cisco (CSCO) 0, and Lockheed Martin (LMT) 0, which built the Orion capsule for NASA. Lockheed approached the other two companies with the idea of developing a virtual assistant about three years ago, the companies said, and they are paying the full cost of including the virtual assistant on the Artemis 1 mission. Lockheed is also reimbursing NASA for any help the agency has lent on this project through an arrangement called a Space Act Agreement, which allows the space agency to be compensated for expertise or resources it gives to companies working on certain space-related projects.

Jan 6, 2022

Grubhub will use Russian-made robots to deliver food on college campuses

Posted by in categories: food, robotics/AI

They look like lunchboxes on wheels.


Grubhub will use robots developed by Russian search company Yandex to deliver food on college campuses this fall.

Jan 6, 2022

Pig brain cells may have cured a sea lion’s epilepsy—are humans next?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

The transplant in an animal named Cronutt points toward a new strategy to treat the disease. But many questions remain.

Jan 6, 2022

SpaceX Mars City: Launch schedule, key build dates, and how to get there

Posted by in category: space travel

Musk plans to build a self-sustaining city on Mars.


Here is what you need to know about Musk’s mission.

Continue reading “SpaceX Mars City: Launch schedule, key build dates, and how to get there” »

Jan 6, 2022

Graphene Filtration | A revolution in Desalination technology!

Posted by in categories: energy, food, sustainability

Recently, a group of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology researchers made a major breakthrough in the graphene based desalination process. They were able to remove 97% of common salts in an energy efficient way. The current reverse osmosis desalination technology is energy intensive, and desalination plants’ capital costs are high. By the year 2025, 14% of the world’s population will experience water scarcity, which makes this discovery very important. Moreover, graphene-based filtration technology could come to your kitchen very soon.

Links to their work — https://www.nature.com/articles/nnano.2017.21#:~:text=Abstract, of%20common%20salts4%2C6. 0, https://science.sciencemag.org/content/343/6172/752

Continue reading “Graphene Filtration | A revolution in Desalination technology!” »

Jan 6, 2022

Pfizer and BioNTech Team Up to Develop the First mRNA-Based Shingles Vaccine

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

It affects one in three people in the U.S.

After co-developing the world’s first mRNA vaccine to combat COVID-19 and providing humanity with a game-changing tool to help address the most devastating pandemic in a century, Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE are teaming up once more to create a vaccine using the same technology for shingles, also known as herpes zoster, which is a debilitating and painful disease that affects about one in every three people in the United States.

An … See more.

Jan 6, 2022

Japan’s Certified Flying Taxi Company Wants to Start Its Services by 2025

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

It’s the first flying car firm to be granted a safety certificate in Japan.

SkyDrive, the Tokyo-based startup developing a personal eVTOL aircraft, revealed its ultra-light compact flying car, the SD-03, on the show floor at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week.

Continue reading “Japan’s Certified Flying Taxi Company Wants to Start Its Services by 2025” »

Jan 6, 2022

Razer Just Unveiled Its New Mask. With a Microphone and Speakers?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, wearables

Switch your disposable masks with Zephyr.

If you think your voice has been dulled by wearing masks in this pandemic, then electronics company Razer has the product for you. Zephyr Pro is a wearable mask that has a voice amplification feature in addition to built-in speakers.

In January last year, Razer had unveiled the initial concept and called it Hazel. A year later, it is now Zephyr and Razer already has a Pro version of the product. At first glance, the Zephyr Pro does… See more.