Each threat is estimated in two ways: first, the chance of it occurring in our lifetime (the next 70 years); and, second, the danger that it would pose to the human race if it did happen (10 = making humans extinct, to one = barely having an impact on our lives). Threat Likelihood in 70 …
For the first time ever, directly interpretable (Transmission Electron Microscope) TEM images with atomic resolution better than 1.4 Angstrom were obtained at the very low operating voltage of 80kV. The result was welcomed by some of the world’s leading research centers as an important milestone in nanocharacterization as now even light element materials such as …
Combining proteins can be used to tailor mechanical properties of the resulting protein. A team from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) succeeded in producing proteins with new mechanical properties through the combination of two “parent” protein fragments. The research group of Hongbin Li chose two different titin domains from heart muscle for their …
The Energy Department’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Cray announced a $200 million deal in June to make a petaflop computer in 2008. The computer code, dubbed Qbox, will help researchers run science simulations deemed essential to national security. The supercomputer, which Cray nicknamed Baker, will use optimized Advanced Micro Devices dual-core Opteron processors. The …
DNA overwinds when stretched instead of unwinding. It does not unwind until more force is applied. Overwinding DNA could be used to power nanomotors. To test what happens when a DNA molecule is overwound, the DNA was stretched between a glass coverslip and a paramagnetic bead, while a fluorescent avidin-coated rotor bead was attached to …
Many groups are concerned about transhumanism and nanotechnology. They are worried for various reasons about people being made stronger, smarter and with more capability than others. They fear the creation of supermen who will dominate others or that the act of creating superhuman abilities would be a transgression against religion. I think it would be …
The US patent system has significant legislation coming. I think a lot of the first draft will get passed with amendments and fine tuning. The main elements of the new proposed legislation:– Change to first file from first to invent. – 12 month “postgrant opposition” system that would allow outsiders to dispute the validity of …
A comprehensive 1969 report in PDF format on thorium for nuclear reactors thanks to Kirk Sorenson at Thorium energy blog Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends …
Another summary of the benefits of Thorium nuclear reactors. This from the Uranium information center in Australia Some of the listed benefits:– Thorium is much more abundant in nature than uranium. – Thorium can also be used as a nuclear fuel through breeding to uranium-233 (U-233). – When this thorium fuel cycle is used, much …
Universe is 15% older than previously thought. The distance to a galaxy was measured by observing a binary star. The new measurement implies that the value used for the Hubble constant is off by 15%. More measurements need to be made to confirm and narrow the age estimate and to analyze the Hubble constant. Brian …
An update and analysis of the new superconducting motors for ships and military and commercial boats. The new superconducting ship motors should be starting early adoption over the next 5 years. This is happening at the same time that 2nd generation superconducting wire has reached a level where it can be integrated into the existing …