Scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a possible secret to dramatically boosting the efficiency of perovskite solar cells hidden in the nanoscale peaks and valleys of the crystalline material. Solar cells made from compounds that have the crystal structure of the mineral perovskite have captured scientists’ imaginations. …
A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for 2015 shows that an estimated 35,200 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This represents an increase of about 7.7 percent as compared to the 32,675 fatalities that were reported to have occurred in 2014. If these projections are realized, fatalities will be at the highest level since …
A European self driving truck experiment is known as the European Truck Platooning Challenge. The European Truck Platooning Challenge, organised by Rijkswaterstaat, featured DAF Trucks, Daimler Trucks, Iveco, MAN Truck and Bus, Scania and Volvo Group; driving in platoons across national borders. This was a global first. Truck platooning means that two or three trucks …
On 5 February 2016 Chinese state TV revealed for the first time the manoeuvrable warhead that could be from the DF-21C medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) produced by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). However, subsequent Chinese TV reporting from 12 February shows an exercise involving what may be the CASIC DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile …
China General Nuclear (CGN) expects to complete construction of a demonstration small modular offshore multi-purpose reactor by 2020, the company announced yesterday. CGN said development of its ACPR50S reactor design had recently been approved by China’s National Development and Reform Commission as part of the 13th Five-Year Plan for innovative energy technologies. The company said …
Machines that are much smaller than the width of a human hair could one day help clean up carbon dioxide pollution in the oceans. Nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego have designed enzyme-functionalized micromotors that rapidly zoom around in water, remove carbon dioxide and convert it into a usable solid form. The proof …
A $120 million investment in Editas is the largest financial investment made yet in a CRISPR-Cas9 startup.. Intellia Therapeutics and CRISPR Therapeutics (both of which have operations in Cambridge) were both formed after Editas, and both have made strides as well: * Intellia raised a $15 million Series A last year and then cut a …
Steve Jurvetson, an early Tesla investor and current company board member, stated that Uber’s CEO told him that if Tesla is able to build a fully-functioning autonomous vehicle by 2020, Uber would want to buy 500,000 of them. According to Charged EVs, that accounts for every model Tesla would be able to create in the …
Additive manufacturing, including emerging “3D printing” technologies, is booming. Last year an astronaut on the International Space Station used a 3D printer to make a socket wrench in space, hinting at a future when digital code will replace the need to launch specialized tools into orbit. Here on Earth, the Navy is considering applications for …
Two NASA NIAC projects for improving space telescopes. 1. Aperture: A Precise Extremely large Reflective Telescope Using Re-configurable Elements Northwestern University, teamed with the University of Illinois (UIUC), proposes to develop a game changing technology for large deployable optical quality mirrors. The innovation combines the concept of a flying magnetic write head with a magnetic …
Liquid water collects in the Martian soil each night, before evaporating during the day, according to NASA’s Curiosity rover. If future missions can confirm this water cycle, it means astronauts could one day farm moisture to provide drinking water on Mars. Planetary scientists have seen a lot of evidence for frozen water at the Martian …