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HYBRIT and H2 Green Steel have launched projects in Sweden with a target to manufacture 10 million tonnes (mt) of fossil fuel-free crude (green) steel per year by 2030. Success, of course, depends on the numbers adding up, or rather, the numbers going down.

To make green steel, you need green hydrogen; to make green hydrogen, you need cheap renewable energy. HYBRIT and H2 Green Steel believe this will come from wind power at a LCOE of $30 per megawatt-hour. With the trajectory of costs for renewable energy going ever downward, it is likely they will be able to achieve this.

Add to the mix the increasing costs of carbon and the pressure to decarbonize, and you have a winner. It is expected that a carbon credits will be available to green steel producers of around $85 per ton.

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Hydrogen is the simplest element in the universe. And excitement is growing from nations and investors looking to harness its power to make clean, green energy. In this edition of Bloomberg Green, we speak to Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest about his big pivot from dirty coal to clean hydrogen. And Snam CEO Marco Alvera talks to us about his price target for the gas over the next decade. Plus, we break down the difference between gray, blue and green hydrogen, and speak to our BloombergNEF analysts about the possible limitations of the gas.

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The universe is governed by two sets of seemingly incompatible laws of physics – there’s the classical physics we’re used to on our scale, and the spooky world of quantum physics on the atomic scale. MIT physicists have now observed the moment atoms switch from one to the other, as they form intriguing “quantum tornadoes.”

Things that seem impossible to our everyday understanding of the world are perfectly possible in quantum physics. Particles can essentially exist in multiple places at once, for instance, or tunnel through barriers, or share information across vast distances instantly.

These and other odd phenomena can arise as particles interact with each other, but frustratingly the overarching world of classical physics can interfere and make it hard to study these fragile interactions. One way to amplify quantum effects is to cool atoms right down to a fraction above absolute zero, creating a state of matter called a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) that can exhibit quantum properties on a larger, visible scale.

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A single injection of a newly developed drug has been shown to reverse paralysis in mice with severe spinal cord injuries. By mimicking the extra-cellular matrix around the spine, the liquified drug promotes the regeneration of severed nerves and the repair of other vital tissues, allowing the rodents to regain the ability to walk within four weeks.

Describing this breakthrough in a new study in the journal Science, researchers explain how they injected synthetic nanofibers into the damaged tissue of mice 24 hours after making a cut in their spinal cords. Consisting of an array of peptides, these nanofibers quickly assemble into a gel around the wound and begin communicating with cells in order to promote healing.

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A review of The Age of AI and Our Human Future by Henry A. Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Daniel Huttenlocher. Little, Brown and Company, 272 pages (November, 2021).

Potential bridges across the menacing chasm of incompatible ideas are being demolished by a generation of wannabe autocrats presenting alternative facts as objective knowledge. This is not new. The twist is that modern network-delivery platforms can insert, at scale, absurd information into national discourse. In fact, sovereign countries intent on political mischief and social disruption already do this to their adversaries by manipulating the stories they see on the Internet.

About half the country gets its news from social media. These digital platforms dynamically tune the content they suggest according to age, gender, race, geography, family status, income, purchase history, and, of course, user clicks and cliques. We know that their algorithms demote and promote perspectives that may come from opposing viewpoints and amplify like-minded “us-against-them” stories, further exacerbating emotional response on their websites and in the real world. Even long-established and once-reputable outlets capture attention by manufactured outrage and fabricated scandal. Advertising revenue pays for it all, but the real products here are the hundreds of millions of users who think they are getting a free service. Their profiles are sold by marketeers to the highest corporate bidder.

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An AgeX update. How iTR works starting at 12:14 and how it may be delivered.

Corporate update presentation from AgeX’s annual stockholder meeting in 2021, presented by Dr. Michael West and Dr. Nafees Malik.

Apologies for the audio issues starting around 20:13, during slides 19–21. I have added accurate subtitles/closed captions, which you can view by pressing the “CC” button on the video.

Continue reading “AgeX 2021 Corporate Update” | >

When China’s lunar rover first discovered it, the rock appeared cube-shaped.

A mysterious “moon hut” spotted by China’s lunar Yutu 2 rover is actually … an adorable rabbit-shaped rock.

The rock has been nicknamed “jade rabbit” by the Yutu 2 team, which announced its rover’s closer inspection of the object on Friday (Jan. 7). The nickname is apt, as the rover’s name, Yutu, also translates to “jade rabbit.”

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China welcomed the New Year with a live stream from cameras outside the new Tianhe space station module.

In a new video from the China National Space Administration, livestreamed on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1), you can now see the beauty of the Earth below from the Tianhe module on China’s Tiangong space station. China Central Television began the stream (you can also watch it on Youtube) on the Sina Weibo social media platform, delivering three hours of live footage from the module.

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KhalifaSat, the first entirely Emirati-made satellite, captured the impressively clear image, along with an array of other shots of some of Dubai’s most popular destinations.

Among the images released on Twitter included a full view of Downtown Dubai, with the shadow of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, cast over the Dubai Mall.

Several images of the Dubai Canal also featured among the snaps shared online on Friday.

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