World economic change to 2040 is Asia from South America to Southern Europe level

The World economic transformation over the next twenty years is Asia moving past South America in the next five years on per capita income. Most of China moving to Southern European levels by 2030. Southern Asia (India, Indonesia) reaching South American levels in per capita income around 2030. China reaching European levels around 2040. India …

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2009 Honduran constitutional crisis and today

In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the exportation of a limited-resource product, such as bananas or minerals. Honduras is the poster-country that defines the term banana republic. There is some history and economics relevant to the Caravan of people from Honduras. Venezuela and Cuba …

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Diamonds as the ultimate semiconductors for superior sensors and power devices

Professor Mutsuko Hatano joined Tokyo Tech with the goal of developing diamond-based semiconductors for use in power electronics and sensors. “While we think of diamonds as very expensive jewelry, they can actually be made using methane and hydrogen. Diamonds are really just carbon, a light and simple element. Their simple yet unique characteristics create significant …

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China should have a dozen J-20 stealth fighters declared combat ready by the end of the year

China’s J-20 stealth fighter should be made operational for some combat roles as early as the end of this year. Andreas Rupprecht, an aviation expert and the author of several books about Chinese warplanes, wrote that he now [after the Zhuhai air show] expects the first J-20 squadron to be ready for combat with a …

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CRISPR gene editing corrects sickle cells in a mouse

Science Translational Medicine – Selection-free genome editing of the sickle mutation in human adult hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells Hammering out the sickle cell mutation Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation in one of the hemoglobin genes, which causes deformation of red blood cells and results in occlusion of blood vessels, severe …

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China targets 2030 for operational hybrid hypersonic spaceplane

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is beginning advanced research on hybrid combined cycle engines that can takeoff from an airport’s landing strip and fly straight into orbit. The hybrid space plane’s combined cycle engines would use turbofan or turbojet engines to takeoff horizontally from a landing strip. Once airborne, the engine then shifts …

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Increasing GDP per person explains a significant part of life satisfaction or happiness and longer and healthier lives

A few days ago Nextbigfuture noted that China’s one belt one road plan is to spend 9% of China’s GDP over decades to build out the ports, airports, rail, factories and cities of countries in Asia and Africa and Europe as China’s develops a modern Silk road. This spending of trillions of dollars will boost …

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Tiling Chiplets will be used to shrink a cricuit board into modular chips

DARPA will miniaturize entire circuit boards of chips into single modular chips that combine the best of commercial and DoD circuit designs and technology. Open the hood of just about any electronic gadget and you probably will find printed circuit boards (PCBs)—most often in a leaf-green color—studded with processing, memory, data-relaying, graphics, and other types …

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US Air force has add-on plug and play laser guidance for converting unguided missiles at one third the cost of Hellfire missiles

Plug and play addon laser guidance converts unguided missiles. The BAE system is actually a mid-body guidance kit that converts unguided rockets into “smart” laser-seeking missiles. The system converts a 2.75-inch Hydra rocket into a guided munition by adding a semi-active laser guidance and control mid-section. It’s a low-cost option for precision strike, costing some …

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Nuclear Fusion company Tri-alpha Energy has raised $500 million to make a prototype reactor in the 2020s

Tri Alpha Energy, nuclear fusion startup, has raised $500 million. Tri Alpha’s setup borrows some of the principles of high-energy particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider, to fire beams of plasma into a central vessel where the fusion reaction takes place. Last August the company said it had succeeded in keeping a high-energy …

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