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May 18, 2020

SARS antibodies can block COVID-19 infection: study

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, innovation

Paris (AFP) — An antibody from a patient who recovered from SARS has been shown to block COVID-19 infection in a laboratory setting, researchers said Monday in another potential breakthrough in the search for coronavirus treatment.

Scientists based in Switzerland and the United States previously isolated the antibodies from the patient in 2003, following the SARS outbreak that killed 774 people.

They experimented with 25 different types of antibodies — which target specific protein spikes on viruses — to see if they could prevent cells becoming infected with COVID-19.

May 18, 2020

Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine just showed signs of success in a preliminary study, raising early hopes in the fight against the pandemic

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, government

In a milestone moment in the race for a coronavirus vaccine, the first results in humans showed Moderna’s vaccine candidate led to antibody responses in a handful of healthy volunteers.

The Massachusetts biotech on Monday described the immune-system responses to the vaccine from this first, small study that was primarily focused on safety. The results don’t yet show whether the vaccine would prevent people from being infected with the novel coronavirus.

Finding an effective coronavirus vaccine has become a global priority in ending the pandemic. US government leaders have put forward the ambitious timeline to have one by the end of 2020. It typically takes several years to develop a vaccine.

May 18, 2020

AFSOC to finally mount a laser weapon on an AC-130 gunship

Posted by in category: military

After years of funding woes, Air Force Special Operations Command is on track to fire a high-powered laser weapon from an AC-130 gunship sometime in fiscal year 2022, officials said.

Speaking during the Virtual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference last week, Air Force Col. Melissa Johnson — program executive officer for fixed-wing programs at SOCOM — stated that the command is inching towards strapping a laser weapon aboard an AC-130J Ghostrider following a series of studies and ground tests.

May 18, 2020

Ford Patents Solar Charging Cocoon For Its Electric Car: Will It Be Sold?

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

The guys from MachEClub.com found the patent drawings and shared them with us.

Ford has recently given two good news about the Mustang Mach-E. The first is that its charging will be 30 percent faster than previously thought. The second is that is fast charging infrastructure will be expanded. But what if you do not have how to charge at home? A patent shows a unique solution for that: a solar charging inflatable cocoon.

The patent revealed by the user machstang at MachEClub.com shows that Ford thinks the roof is too small for solar charging. With that in mind, Ford engineers conceived this inflatable cocoon that expands the solar charging surface available.

May 18, 2020

Scientists engineered mice that are 4 percent human

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Scientists at the University of Buffalo have created mouse embryos that contain a strangely high amount of human cells.

May 18, 2020

Nanotechnology: Life-Changing Innovation or Just Too Good to Be True?

Posted by in categories: innovation, nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is on the cutting edge of new modern technology; However, one question remains, as it’s not clear if it’ll change the world or be potential harm for humans.

May 18, 2020

Fast-Charging Super-Capacitor Technology Unveiled for Clean Energy Storage

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability, transportation

Experts from the University of Surrey believe their dream of clean energy storage is a step closer after they unveiled their ground-breaking super-capacitor technology that is able to store and deliver electricity at high power rates, particularly for mobile applications.

In a paper published by the journal Energy and Environmental Materials, researchers from Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) revealed their new technology which has the potential to revolutionize energy use in electric vehicles and reduce renewable based energy loss in the national grid. The team also believe their technology can help push forward the advancement of wind, wave, and solar energy by smoothing out the intermittent nature of the energy sources.

The ATI’s super-capacitor technology is based on a material called Polyaniline (PANI), which stores energy through a mechanism known as “pseudocapacitance.” This cheap polymer material is conductive and can be used as the electrode in a super-capacitor device. The electrode stores charge by trapping ions within the electrode. It does this by exchanging electrons with the ion, which “dopes” the material.

May 18, 2020

110 Must-Know Cybersecurity Statistics for 2020

Posted by in category: cybercrime/malcode

These cybersecurity statistics for 2020 are grouped by category and include breaches, costs, crime type, compliance, industry-specific stats and job outlook.

May 18, 2020

Sony unveils first built-in AI image sensors

Posted by in categories: entertainment, robotics/AI

Sony is bringing machine intelligence to its image sensors. The electronics and entertainment giant announced this week a sensor that applies artificial intelligence while processing imagery without the need for extrema hardware or assistance.

Players in the photography industry have been focusing on increasingly greater numbers of pixels for ever-sharper enlargement and reproduction capabilities and on increasingly compressed devices for lighter weight and greater portability.

Continue reading “Sony unveils first built-in AI image sensors” »

May 18, 2020

A soft robotic finger fabricated using multi-material 3D printing

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, robotics/AI

Researchers at Zhejiang University of Technology, Tianjin University, Nanjing Institute of Technology and Ritsumeikan University have recently created a soft robotic finger that integrates a self-powered curvature sensor using multi-material 3D printing technology. The new robotic finger, presented in a paper published in Elsevier’s Nano Energy journal, is made of several materials, including a stretchable electrode, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), AgilusBlack, VeroWhite and FLX9060.

“Soft robots have the potential to bridge the gap between machines and humans, but it is important for them to ensure a safe interaction between humans, objects and the environment,” Mengying Xie, co-author of the paper, told TechXplore. “Embedded soft are critical for the development of controllable that can fulfill their full potential in practical applications.”

In their previous research, part of the research team working at Ritsumeikan University developed a fully multi-material 3D printed gripper with variable stiffness that could achieve robust grasping of objects. In this new study, Xie, Zhu and their colleagues drew inspiration from this previous work and set out to create a 3D-printed soft finger with sensing capabilities that could monitor its bending movements.