IEEE article has another article where they pick some of technology’s winners and losers. I have left comments on some of their other articles asking them to more clearly define what a win for a winner would look like and what a loss for loser would look like. Also, there picks this year basically break …
This article will go over some basic background about tensile strength of material and then discuss historic material strength improvement to understand what industrial production of new carbon nanotube tethers relates to past improvements in strength of materials. Understanding Tensile Strength of Material and the Measurement UnitsA Gigapascal is unit of measure for strength of …
Researchers established that the mutated Indy gene helped fruit flies live longer. They have now explored what mechanisms lead to the longer life of the fruit fly. (Indy flies’ life span increased from an average life span of about 35 days to 70 days.) The researchers decided the best way to try to understand how …
Harvard medical school has a topical treatment (a cream) that is based on RNAi (RNA interference) which can eliminate herpes virus even one week after infection to effectively stop the transmission of herpes. This was proven with mice and will be moving to human trials. A topical treatment disables key proteins necessary for the herpesvirus …
The Times UK reported claims that Alan Windle’s team at Cambridge University had created the world’s strongest ribbon. I finally tracked down specifics of this work. UPDATE: Details on hypersonic skyhooks/rotovators [orbital ropes] that would be enabled with these materials as well as lunar and Mars space elevators. Background on strength of materials, units of …
MTPV, a startup based in Boston that has raised $10 million, says that it has developed prototype micron-gap thermal photovoltaics that are large enough for practical applications. Thermal photovoltaics use solar cells to convert the light that radiates from a hot surface into electricity. The first applications will be generating electricity from waste heat, eventually …
Chris died of esophageal cancer. Chris Heward had led the Kronos Science Laboratory An attempt was made to organize a new cancer treatment trial, but the effort was too late and was not applied. Our condolences go out to the Heward family and to his colleagues and many friends. Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist …
Carbon nanotube fiber on spindle from Alan Windle group. 2007 picture The Times UK claims Alan Windle’s team at Cambridge University has created the world’s strongest ribbon: a cylindrical strand of carbon that combines lightweight flexibility with incredible strength and has the potential to stretch vast distances. There may have been no advance or minimal …
A cure for debilitating genetic diseases such as Huntington’s disease, Friedreich’s ataxia and Fragile X syndrome is a step closer to reality, thanks to a recent scientific breakthrough. A plant model for genetic diseases with a relatively short lifespan would allow scientists to study DNA mutations over several generations, Dr Balasubramanian said. Dr Sureshkumar Balasubramanian …
Eric Drexler indicates in a new post that stiffness matters for nanotechnology. Drexler also continues his discussion on stiffness of materials and different proteins at e-drexler.com Drexler also has an article about molecular assembly lines and getting away with less programmability. In the comments, Chris Phoenix notes that it is easy to add a useful …
Christian Bale is signed up for three Terminator Movies as the character John Conner who is the savior of humanity in the Terminator Movies. Christian Bale has a more important role in reality as the savior and revivor of major hollywood action movie franchises. Christian Bale was Batman for the fifth and sixth Batman movies. …