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Jun 7, 2020

Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Future Energy Systems

Posted by in categories: energy, futurism

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have a utilization (or capacity) factor of 15–20% worldwide. We propose to enhance the energy yield in a software-defined manner by complementing commodity solar PV systems with cloud-based IoT-controlled reflectors. We also propose designs for brownfield and greenfield settings in solar farms. We study a number of practical engineering issues including effect of solar azimuth, shadowing effects, ground coverage ratio (GCR) tradeoff, constraints on angular control etc. Our designs can raise solar PV energy yield between 50–100% with modest tradeoffs on operational complexity, land requirements (ground coverage ratio) etc. The software-defined IoT control allows a variety of current and future operational or business constraints to be flexibly factored in to tradeoff these factors versus economic gain (eg: levelized cost of energy, LCOE). The paper presents both simulation and experimental evidence for our system. We are actively piloting this technology with solar PV developers and engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) companies in emerging markets.

Jun 7, 2020

Nanodevices track how cells change from inside

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

This work on one-cell embryos could advance our knowledge of the mechanisms that underpin cellular behaviour in general, and may ultimately provide insights into what goes wrong in aging and disease.


For the first time, scientists have added microscopic tracking devices into the interior of cells, giving a peek into how development starts.

Jun 6, 2020

Electron-Eating Microbes Found in Odd Places

Posted by in categories: biological, food

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qBOWuMz-RaU

Scientists have figured out how microbes can suck energy from rocks. Such life-forms might be more widespread than anyone anticipated.

Jun 6, 2020

The pandemic is challenging China’s breakneck race to the top of science

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, economics, education, government, policy, science

Like all countries, China is facing severe economic losses from the pandemic, and that will certainly have a negative impact on scientific research, because funding will be reduced and projects will be delayed, says physicist Wang Yifang, director of the Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing. Some universities have already announced a cut in funding. The research budget given by the education ministry to Jiangnan University in Wuxi, for example, will drop by more than 25% for 2020, and other universities are facing similar reductions. “An overall budget cutting of government spending on higher education is highly possible, though the level and scope may vary by regions, universities and fields,” says Tang Li, a science-policy scientist at Fudan University in Shanghai.


The country is rapidly gaining on the United States in research, but problems could slow its rise: part 5 in a series on science after the pandemic.

Jun 6, 2020

Exotic radioactive molecules could reveal physics beyond the Standard Model

Posted by in category: physics

Radium monofluoride produced at CERN is ideal for measuring the electron electric dipole moment.

Jun 6, 2020

New-and-improved MEG helmet scans the entire brain

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, biotech/medical, neuroscience, wearables

When it comes to monitoring electrical activity in the brain, patients typically have to lie very still inside a large magnetoencephalography (MEG) machine. That could be about to change, though, as scientists have developed a new version of a wearable helmet that does the same job.

Back in 2018, researchers at Britain’s University of Nottingham revealed the original version of their “MEG helmet.”

The 3D-printed device was fitted with multiple sensors that allowed it to read the tiny magnetic fields created by brain waves, just like a regular MEG machine. Unlike the case with one of those, however, wearers could move around as those readings were taking place.

Jun 6, 2020

What’s the most abundant particle in the Universe?

Posted by in category: particle physics

Asked by: Adam King, Huddersfield.

Jun 6, 2020

New Antimatter Experiment at Large Hadron Collider Will Help With the Search for Dark Matter

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics

The ALICE collaboration has presented new results on the production rates of antideuterons based on data collected at the highest collision energy delivered so far at the Large Hadron Collider. The antideuteron is composed of an antiproton and an antineutron. The new measurements are important because the presence of antideuterons in space is a promising indirect signature of dark matter candidates. The results mark a step forward in the search for dark matter.

Jun 6, 2020

Scientists Create Hair-Bearing Human Skin from Pluripotent Stem Cells

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A team of researchers from several U.S. institutions has created an organoid culture system that generates complex skin from human pluripotent stem cells.

Jun 6, 2020

Apple, Spotify, Or Amazon Should Buy This AI-Generated Music Startup ASAP

Posted by in categories: media & arts, robotics/AI

Can artificial intelligence create great music?

Your answer, of course, will very much depend on what you call great music. Plus on when and where you’re playing it. I’ve found an AI-generated music app that creates great music for at least one purpose.