Russia has given the financial and regulatory go ahead to build the multi-purpose fast neutron reactor (MBIR) The total, fully equipped cost is estimated to be $1 billion. Of that, the Russian budget has already provided $300 million. MBIR will use vibropacked mixed-oxide (VMOX) fuel, a Russian variant for MOX fuel production, in which blended …
Here is an update on the GDP nominal and purchasing power parity (PPP) for the different provinces within China. The figures are for 2013 and have the PPP adjustment from April 2014 by the IMF and World Bank. Nextbigfuture projections for total China GDP in RMB were off by 3.5%. 57 trillion yuan instead of …
McKinsey finds that eight high-performing states in India will account for some 52 percent of India’s incremental GDP growth from 2012 to 2025. Along with four very high-performing city-states, these eight will have 57 percent of India’s consuming-class households in 2025. Rapid urbanization and the associated income growth will propel the high-performing states to per …
Researchers are proposing a different approach to animal testing of life-extending drugs: trials in pet dogs. Their target is rapamycin, which is used clinically as part of an anti-rejection drug cocktail after kidney transplants and which has also been shown to extend the lives of mice by 13% in females and 9% in males. The …
New photos that have appeared on Chinese aviation websites suggest that mass production of the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-15 carrier-based multirole fighter is gathering pace. Two new J-15 aircraft, numbered 104 and 105, are ready for delivery by SAC to the People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF). The new additions take the total …
DARPA’s Warrior Web program’s goal is to create a soft, lightweight undersuit to help reduce injuries and fatigue, while improving mission performance. DARPA is responsible for the development of new technologies for the U.S. military. Researchers from Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering spent the past two years developing a biologically inspired smart …
Scientists used pluripotent stem cells to generate functional, three-dimensional human stomach tissue in a laboratory — creating an unprecedented tool for researching the development and diseases of an organ central to several public health crises, ranging from cancer to diabetes. Scientists used human pluripotent stem cells — which can become any cell type in the …
US oil production continues to increase. The 8.97 million barrels per day of crude oil is higher than the peak in the 1980s of 8.969 million barrels per day in 1985. So all weekly numbers back to the beginning of 1983 have been passed. Oil production was lower from 1974 to 1982. So the new …
Michael Pettis has made the case that China’s growth has to slow because the investment fed growth model that China has used is running out of projects with good returns. Therefore, China has to transition to primarily domestic consumption for future growth China’s total outbound investment is estimated to increase from about $100 billion in …
There is a high temperature reactor conference at the site of China HTR-PM (pebble bed reactor) from Oct 27-31. The HTR-PM is under construction. * Single zone, pebble bed * Super heat steam turbine (higher temperature for more efficiency) * Like conventional turbine in fossil plant * 1 turbine with 2 reactors * More reactors …
Tethers Unlimited has several other projects besides SpiderFab for NASA NIAC. They are working on a rapid bridging system, improved radiation shielding and using picosats for better radio communications. 1. The US Army Awarded Tethers Unlimited (TUI) a $1 Millon contract to develop launchable anchor for Rapid Bridging Operations. The ARMY SBIR Program has awarded …