As many as 64,000 premature deaths occur each year from cardiopulmonary causes attributable to particulate air pollution, according to NRDC estimates. Most particulate emissions result from burning fossil fuels — coal, oil, diesel, gasoline — or wood. Old coal-fired power plants, industrial boilers, diesel and gas-powered vehicles and wood stoves are some of the worst …
Skin cells genetically engineered to be resistant to bacteria could reduce infections and improve chances of survival among burn victims. A patient’s skin cells, genetically modified and grown in a test tube, could provide the next generation of artificial skin. As a first step in creating such replacement skin, scientists in Cincinnati have engineered bacteria-resistant …
Researchers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s (UAH) Propulsion Research Center are working on the Plasmoid Thruster Experiment (PTX). It is a stepping stone to a highly efficient propulsion concept which could ultimately change how we travel in space. Larger, more powerful versions can produce fusion for both power and space propulsion. The purpose …
The World Future Society makes forecasts which show that the forecasters do not seem to really understand some of the technology that they are forecasting. Forecast #2: The era of the Cyborg is at hand. Researchers in Israel have fashioned a “bio-computer” using the DNA of living cells instead of silicon chips. This development may …
Researchers in Switzerland have developed a new technique for joining nanotubes. One technique, called “nanorobotic” spot welding, uses molten copper to join up objects in the same way that a human electrician might use solder. They position 50-nanometre-wide carbon nanotube filled with copper inside a nanorobotic manipulator, and run a small voltage through it to …
