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Sep 9, 2020

Africa declared free of wild polio in ‘milestone’

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Nigeria is now rid of wild polio having had more than half of global cases less than 10 years ago.

Sep 9, 2020

Meet the Autonomous Insect Robots That Will One Day Swarm the Skies

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

These autonomous robots are modeled entirely after insects via Seeker.

Sep 9, 2020

India joins hypersonic club with successful test flight of cruise vehicle

Posted by in category: military

India has become the fourth country to successfully flight test hypersonic technology, joining an elite club alongside the US, Russia and China with the ability to develop missiles that can travel several times faster than the speed of sound.


Defence ministry says demonstration vehicle with scramjet engine reached an altitude of 30km and six times the speed of sound.

Sep 9, 2020

Kurt the cloned horse was created using 40-year-old genetic material

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

An endangered type of horse has successfully been cloned by scientists.

Kurt is a newborn Przewalski’s horse, a rare and endangered horse native.

He was born this year on August 6 after experts used genetic material that had been cryopreserved for 40 years.

Continue reading “Kurt the cloned horse was created using 40-year-old genetic material” »

Sep 9, 2020

Panasonic to expand battery capacity at Tesla Gigafactory

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Panasonic is adding another production line to the massive factory it operates with Tesla in Nevada, an expansion that will increase battery cell capacity by 10%.

The Sparks facility, dubbed Gigafactory 1, is the centerpiece of Tesla’s plan to expand global battery capacity and reduce the cost of electric vehicles. Panasonic has been its most important partner in that project, which, based on a recent agreement, should last until at least 2023.

Tesla and Panasonic initially planned for the Gigafactory to have the capacity to produce 35 gigawatt hours of batteries each year. That goal was achieved with 13 production lines. This latest expansion, which was first reported by the Reno Gazette Journal and confirmed by TechCrunch, will add a fourteenth line.

Sep 9, 2020

Virgin Voyages to Set Sail with Contactless Food Delivery, Upgraded Air Filtration

Posted by in categories: entertainment, food

The cruise line was already eschewing cruise staples like buffets, setting Virgin Voyages ahead of the pack.

Sep 9, 2020

United Launches Interactive Map Showing U.S. Travel Restrictions

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Aiming to make deciding where to travel a bit easier, as COVID-19 continues to spark restrictions and rules for traveling around the United States, United Airlines created an interactive, color-coded map detailing everything travelers need to know ahead of planning a trip.

The map lists everything from whether or not entry into a state is allowed, potential quarantine measures, testing requirements, and even mask mandates for all 50 states and Washington D.C., the company shared with Travel + Leisure. Travelers can see if restaurants, tourist sites, or hotels are open and if there are any specific restrictions in place.

“We know it’s a challenge to keep up with the ever-changing list of travel restrictions, policies and regulations so we are offering a simple, easy tool that helps customers decide where to travel next,” Linda Jojo, the executive vice president for technology and chief digital officer, said in a statement. “By providing the most up-to-date information on the destinations we serve, customers can compare and shop for travel with greater confidence and help them find the destinations that best fit their preferences.”

Sep 9, 2020

Tesla Model 3 avoids nasty crash by a hair’s breadth thanks to its instant power

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

There are advantages to having a vehicle with instant acceleration. Stop lights become more fun, and occasionally, it’s equally to surprise some high-performance gas cars with a sudden sprint. At times, though, this instant acceleration becomes a safety feature, as recently proven by Tesla owner Daniel Spalding, who avoided a potentially nasty crash by a hair’s breadth thanks to his Model 3’s torque.

Spalding, who has been documenting his ownership experience in his YouTube channel, recently shared a rather tense video that he recorded recently. The video was brief, but it featured something that no driver ever wants to see from the rear — a fast-approaching car that’s not decelerating enough. Usually, incidents like this end up with both cars being damaged significantly. Some drivers and passengers may even get injured.

Fortunately for Spalding, his Model 3 can access its full power when he floors the accelerator. In his video’s description, the Model 3 owner noted that traffic in front of him came to a sudden stop, and as it turned out, the car behind him — what appeared to be an Acura Integra — was clearly not paying attention. When he realized that the car behind him was about to hit him, Spalding floored his Model 3’s accelerator.

Sep 9, 2020

Tesla Full Self-Driving Review | Consumer Reports

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

Tesla Motors, the all-electric vehicle manufacturer, is known for building popular EVs such as the Model 3, Model S, and upcoming Cybertruck. Tesla says it is developing the hardware and software necessary to power the world’s first self-driving cars. This software costs Tesla owners an additional $8,000 to purchase what it calls the Full Self-Driving Capability suite of features. But do all the features of the Full Self-Driving Capability package work as promised? We explain each feature’s intended use, and show you how they performed in our tests.

UPDATE: After publishing this video, a viewer alerted CR that there was a mismatch at 5:50 between what we described happened with stop sign control–our tester slamming on the brakes after the car missed the stop sign– and what we showed onscreen–the car slamming on the brakes. CR’s testers did experience both scenarios.

Continue reading “Tesla Full Self-Driving Review | Consumer Reports” »

Sep 9, 2020

Pandemic e-commerce surge spurs race for ‘Tesla-like’ electric delivery vans

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

(Reuters) — Delivery fleet operators face regulatory pressure in California and other states to buy electric vehicles, but a surge in package deliveries thanks to coronavirus lockdowns has major firms itching to switch to electric right now.