Richer countries tend to converge their market exchange rate with their purchasing power parity exchange rate. As China has moved up from $1000-2000 per capita income to $12000 per capita income on an exchange rate basis the price level ratio is the ratio of a purchasing power parity (PPP) conversion factor to an exchange rate …
By boosting the ability to detect superweak magnetic fields, a new DARPA program could open pathways to sensors with uses ranging from biological imaging to magnetically based navigation. Each beat of your heart or burst of brain activity relies on tiny electrophysiological currents that generate minuscule ripples in the surrounding magnetic field. These field variations …
Scientists have for the first time developed a transparent sample of a popular industrial ceramic that is the second hardest material after diamond and can withstand substantially higher temperatures. The super-hard window made of cubic silicon nitride can potentially be used under extreme conditions like in engines, researchers said. Scientists have synthesised the first transparent …
Modern electronic biomedical devices are enabling a wide range of sophisticated health interventions, from seizure detection and Parkinson’s disease therapy to functional artificial limbs, cochlear implants and smart contact lenses. An effective direct interfacing material is essential to communication between these devices and neural tissue, which includes nerves and the brain. In recent years, a …
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, March 19, with more than 5,400 pounds of NASA cargo, and science and technology demonstration samples from the International Space Station. Everything from stem cells that could help us understand how human cancers start and spread after being exposed to …
Singapores healthcare system has excellent health outcomes while spending, as of 2014, is just 5 percent of G.D.P. on health care. By comparison, a typical Western European country that year spent around 10 percent; the United States spent 17 percent. Singaporean vision is built around personal responsibility and private spending, but also a degree of …
There is a lot of research that the world’s climate is less sensitive to CO2 than the main current models of climate change. Without any feedbacks, a doubling of CO2 (which amounts to a forcing of 3.7 W/m2) would result in 1 °C global warming, which is easy to calculate and is undisputed. The remaining …
Coal is undergoing a renaissance in emerging and developed countries in Asia, buoyed by technical breakthroughs and looming questions about squaring development with energy security. Japan, India and China will try to blunt the air pollution effects from the use of coal which cause millions of premature deaths in India and China and tens of …
The Israeli strike on Syria was probably with conventional fighters and missiles. There had been reports and speculation that Israel used new F35 stealth fighters for the attack. Israeli jets have been able to operate almost freely in or close to Syria, hitting targets across the country with guided weapons without the Syrian Arab Air …
Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions were flat for a third straight year in 2016 even as the global economy grew, according to the International Energy Agency, signaling a continuing decoupling of emissions and economic activity. This was the result of growing renewable power generation, switches from coal to natural gas, improvements in energy efficiency, as …
A researcher with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Matsumoto is deeply involved in the design of the space sail that will pick up where Japan’s IKAROS left off. Launched in 2010, the latter was a square sail 14 meters to the side that demonstrated the feasibility of maneuvering a sail on interplanetary trajectories. JAXA has …
