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May 7, 2020

Delfast’s new 50 mph (80 km/h) electric bicycle stretches the word ‘bicycle’

Posted by in categories: energy, transportation

In what will surely divide the e-cycling world, Delfast has updated its latest high-speed electric bicycle. The Top 2.0 is a high power, 50 mph (80 km/h) e-bike that pushes the limits of electric bicycles.

May 7, 2020

How Pig Guts Became the Next Bright Hope for Regenerating Human Limbs

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Circa 2011


A remarkable substance extracted from pigs enables the body to regenerate lost tissue, including fingertips and big chunks of muscle. And that may not be all it can do…

May 7, 2020

First home solar pavement installed on a driveway

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

Hungarian tech company Platio is expanding the way people can harness solar energy. Its new solar pavers work on home driveways, patios and terraces. Learn more.

May 7, 2020

The animals that can live forever

Posted by in category: life extension

Is it possible to escape the slow and steady progression of ageing?

May 7, 2020

Satellite images reveal North Korea is building a giant facility which could hold nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military

Satellite images suggest North Korea has almost built a facility large enough to store all of its nuclear missiles.

May 7, 2020

Community First! Village 3D-Printed Affordable Homes

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, habitats

At 500 square feet, ICON’s stylish new structure was 3D-printed over the course of several days—but it only took 27 hours of labor to construct. The building will serve as a welcome center at Austin’s new Community First! Village—a 51-acre development that will provide affordable housing to men and women coming out of chronic homelessness. Six new 3D-printed homes will be added to the village by the end of this year—and ICON says that they can be built at significantly less cost than conventional homes.


A year ago, ICON proved it could 3D print a home you’d actually want to live in. Now, it’s building a cluster of 3D-printed homes for the homeless.

Continue reading “Community First! Village 3D-Printed Affordable Homes” »

May 7, 2020

Daily briefing: A dark-matter detector powered by the ‘fifth state of matter’

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Dark-matter device will use a Bose–Einstein condensate of rubidium-87 atoms to search for axions. Plus, the science still isn’t clear on how children spread the coronavirus and the month’s best science images. Dark-matter device will use super-cooled atoms to search for axions. Plus, the science still isn’t clear on how children spread the coronavirus and the month’s best science images.

May 7, 2020

Alloy clear for use in high-temperature reactors

Posted by in categories: materials, nuclear energy

Alloy 617 — a combination of nickel, chromium, cobalt and molybdenum — has been approved by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for inclusion in its Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. This means the alloy, which was tested by Idaho National Laboratory (INL), can be used in proposed molten salt, high-temperature, gas-cooled or sodium reactors. It is the first new material to be added to the Code in 30 years.

The Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code lays out design rules for how much stress is acceptable and specifies the materials that can be used for power plant construction, including in nuclear power plants. Adhering to these specifications ensures component safety and performance.

INL spent 12 years qualifying Alloy 617, with a USD15 million investment from the US Department of Energy. A team at INL, in collaboration with groups at Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as well as industry consultants and international partners, has now received approval from ASME for the alloy’s inclusion in the Code. Designers working on new high-temperature nuclear power plant concepts now have more options when it comes to component construction materials.

May 7, 2020

Quantum resonances near absolute zero

Posted by in categories: chemistry, energy, quantum physics

Recently, Prof. Yang Xueming from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Prof. Yang Tiangang from the Southern University of Science and Technology discussed significant advances in the study of quantum resonances in atomic and molecular collisions at near absolute zero temperature. Their article was published in Science on May 7.

The rules of quantum mechanics govern all atomic and molecular processes. Understanding the quantum nature of atomic and is essential for understanding energy transfer and chemical reaction processes, especially in the low collisional energy region, where quantum effect is the most prominent.

A remarkable feature of quantum nature in atomic and molecular collision is quantum scattering resonances, but probing them experimentally has been a great challenge due to the transient nature of these resonances.

May 7, 2020

Moderna shares surge after FDA approves coronavirus vaccine for phase 2 trial

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

The company said it expects to “incur significant expenses this year” related to the development of and manufacturing of its potential vaccine. However, it added that it expects “a close matching of expenses and reimbursements for those expenses” from its award by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

BARDA, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services, last month warded Moderna up to $483 million in funding to accelerate development of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate.

The race to develop anything to fight the coronavirus is intensely competitive and investors are watching closely for signs of progress on treatments and vaccines. Moderna, as well as other companies in the race, is ramping up manufacturing ahead of approval so that it can rapidly distribute doses if their candidate proves effective against the virus and safe for humans.