[ad_1]
Scientists are at the forefront of efforts to improve life and make the world a better and safer place.
From ways to reduce food waste and stop global warming to technology that will make us safer, here we look at some of the innovations set to transform our lives …
CO2 removal
While we are concerned about global warming caused by rising carbon dioxide levels, scientists have found ways to lower temperatures by removing CO2 from the air.
One method is to extract the gas from the air and bury it in saline aquifers, a process called carbon capture and sequestration.
And last year, researchers from UCLA and the University of Oxford found that CO2 could be used in place of carbon from underground in many industries, including fuels, beverages, and in the manufacturing of polymers and plastics.
What is your opinion? Have your say in the comments below
(Image: Getty)
It could be worth £ 75 per tonne and become a huge market by 2030.
“Removing greenhouse gases is essential to achieving net zero carbon emissions and stabilizing the climate,” said Cameron Hepburn, director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford.
Electric routes
It has been estimated that the UK could eliminate the majority of carbon dioxide emissions from trucks by creating electronic highways.
Road freight transport currently creates around 5% of our CO2 emissions. Pollutants from diesel engines can also be harmful to health.
However, government-funded academics at the Center for Sustainable Road Freight have found that installing overhead charging cables for electric trucks could provide a solution by the late 1930s.
The electric road system would cost £ 19.3 billion. However, it would pay for itself within 15 years.
The catenary cables, powered by the national electricity grid, could connect to trucks traveling internal lanes through an extendable drilling rig, known as a pantograph, similar to those used on the top of electric trains.
Electric trucks and vans are already available. However, their battery life cannot withstand long journeys with heavy loads, which make up two-thirds of freight deliveries.
Brain-managed computers
A bracelet that can transmit electrical signals from the brain to computers is already here. The company that developed it was bought by Facebook.
New York start-up CTRL-labs was started in 2015 by Thomas Reardon to develop BMI, or brain-machine interface, in which people’s brains can connect directly with computers.
Last year, the company began delivering extraordinary results that could revolutionize the way we interact with machines and even replace computer keyboards, touchscreens and controllers.
It could also spell the end of voice control assistants like Alexa, with people using their thoughts to control homes and devices.
Internet from space
(Image: Getty)
Since May 2019, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched hundreds of Starlink satellites to provide global internet coverage.
The goal is to launch up to 40,000 of the small broadband satellites into low earth orbit, five times more satellites than humans have ever sent into space.
Once installed, you can access the Internet at speeds of up to 1 Gbps, equivalent to fiber broadband, anywhere.
Smell of chips
Intel scientists have developed a computer chip that can smell. Neuromorphic chips mimic the group of neurons in the brain that receive signals from the nose and tell us what we are smelling.
The silicon chip has an electrical circuit based on the neural circuits of our brain and an algorithm that mirrors the behavior of electrical signals in humans.
When they trained the algorithm on the chip using an existing data set of 10
smells, he was able to identify them precisely. The chip could perform a number of practical functions, such as sniffing bombs or drugs or detecting poisonous fumes in chemical plants.
The researchers intend to design other neuromorphic chips that mimic the senses such as sight and touch.
Cooler camel hump
Scientists in the United States have created a material that mimics the way camels control their body temperature in the desert. The transparent double-layer design, developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, stays fresh five times longer than other materials. Its 5mm bottom layer of hydrogel acts like a camel’s sweat glands, lowering the temperature by evaporating water.
Meanwhile, the top layer of airgel – an ultra-light, porous solid – works like hair, insulating from external heat while letting water vapor through.
The material, which is about to be launched on the market, could keep products cool in hot climates without the need for electricity and allow distributors to ship, transport and temporarily store products without air conditioning.
Non-animal testing
This week, scientists from Cambridge University, Utrecht University and the Research Institute of Milan received the 2020 Lush Award for finding an alternative to animal testing, using computer databases to successfully predict toxicity. of chemicals on humans. Dr. Timothy Allen, who worked on the project, said: “While scientific excellence drives alternatives to animal testing, the moral argument that animal testing is wrong helps turn this drive into a passion.”
Internet not blockable
(Image: Getty)
A quantum physics-based internet could soon mean hacking communications will be impossible.
Scientists have recently learned to transmit pairs of photons through fiber optic cables in order to absolutely protect the information encoded in them. Now a team from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands is building a secure, spy-proof network that connects four cities entirely by means of quantum technology.
It is based on a quantum behavior of atomic particles called entanglement, which ensures that photons cannot be secretly read without interrupting their content. In addition to bringing about a cybersecurity revolution, a quantum Internet could connect many incredibly powerful quantum computers
simultaneously, potentially solving previously impossible calculations and leading to countless discoveries.
Break down the plastic
Approximately eight million tons of plastic waste enters the oceans each year, contaminating the ecosystems and food chains we rely on.
So scientists have been working hard to prevent plastic from ruining our planet.
Researchers at the University of Portsmouth have designed a plastic-eating enzyme that can digest some of our most commonly polluting plastics.
(Image: Getty)
Their work has earned them a £ 5.8 million grant from Research England to create a Center for Enzyme Innovation and the STEM Research Project of the Year 2019 award.
As a result, two months ago the team announced that they had created an updated enzymatic “cocktail” capable of digesting plastic six times faster than their original offering.
Meanwhile, scientists at the University of Bath have developed biodegradable cellulose microbeads to replace the harmful plastic ones found in items such as toothpaste and face washes.
The award-winning team has now formed the Naturbeads company to help bring their research to consumers.
Furthermore, there may be a sugar-based plastic on the horizon that could provide a sustainable alternative to plastic bottles.
Coping with hunger
About 8.9% of the world’s population, 690 million people, go to bed on an empty stomach every night. But scientists are using new advances to find innovative solutions
solutions to fight hunger.
Sorawut Kittbanthorn, 30, a masters student at Central St Martins Material Futures, London, has developed a tasty protein bar made from chicken feathers. Bird feathers contain large amounts of keretin, which is rich in amino acids.
Sorawut used hydrolysis to extract keratin proteins to create a tasteless amber liquid, which he then spent months transforming into a meat-like product, topped with spices and peppers. It is also light in calories.
He said: “I believe that if we are to continue raising and slaughtering millions of birds every day, at least we have a responsibility to ensure that we use every part of them safely and sustainably.”
Shrimp build planes
Scientists last month announced they had discovered a near-indestructible material in an ocean floor shrimp that could be used to build aircraft and solve other engineering problems.
Just over 10 cm long, the mantis shrimp is armed with two snap pincers and can whip club-like forearms at the equivalent of 23 meters per second, destroying prey with the force of a shotgun bullet without ever suffering injury.
A team from the University of California found that their clubs are covered in a nanoparticle coating that absorbs and dissipates energy.
Professor David Kisailus, lead researcher of the study, said: “Think about hitting a wall a couple of thousand times at that speed and don’t break your fist. It made us think about how it could be. “
His team found that the material covering shrimp deforms “like a marshmallow” at low deformation rates but, under great strain, stiffens and releases a lot of energy.
The material could be imitated and used to design similar particles for use in cars, airplanes, bicycle helmets, and body armor.
.
[ad_2]
Source link
