The Marine Corps is moving towards a future in which small dispersed units can protect themselves from incoming enemy drones with laser weapons and from missiles and aircraft with Stinger missiles, with both weapons netted into a detection system and mounted atop Humvees, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles and other combat vehicles. Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, …
A multibillion-dollar high-speed rail deal between China and Russia is expected to be signed during Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing this week, when the two nations are expected to extend military cooperation. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang announced on Monday the Putin would start his state visit on June 25. Up to …
The SSGAC discovery of 74 SNP hits on educational attainment (EA) is finally published in Nature. Nature News – Gene variants linked to success at school prove divisive. The study’s authors estimate that the 74 genetic markers they uncovered comprise just 0.43% of the total genetic contribution to educational achievement. Nature – Genome-wide association study …
A prototype of the BrahMos hypersonic missile is expected to be manufactured in 2024 according to the Marketing Director of the Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace Company Praveen Pathak. Speed of the existing BrahMos supersonic missile will be increased 4 Mach by 2020. Development of a prototype hypersonic BrahMos will begin in 2022 Prototype will be flight …
A method to produce significant amounts of semiconducting nanoparticles for light-emitting displays, sensors, solar panels and biomedical applications has gained momentum with a demonstration by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. While zinc sulfide nanoparticles – a type of quantum dot that is a semiconductor – have many potential applications, high …
The Air Force’s chief scientist said F-35 fighter jet pilots will someday control a swarm of drones flying alongside the fighter jet to boost sensing, reconnaissance and targeting functions. “The more autonomy and intelligence you can put on these vehicles, the more useful they will become,” he said. Algorithms could progress to the point where …
NASA NIAC has funded a proposal that seeks to design a rotating habitat with a robotic system that constructs the structure and provides a habitat growth capability. The tensegrity technology allows minimum mass of both the habitat and the robotic system. This proposal solves three unsolved space travel problems: a) growth, b) radiation protection, and …
The European Space Agency has a flagship mission to Mercury powered by ion drives. BepiColombo will provide the best understanding of Mercury to date. It consists of two individual orbiters: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) to map the planet, and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) to investigate its magnetosphere. BepiColombo mission is based on two …
Doctors implanted a chip in Mr. Burkhart’s (24 year old with a 5 year old neck injury) brain two years ago. Seated in a lab with the implant connected through a computer to a sleeve on his arm, he was able to learn by repetition and arduous practice to focus his thoughts to make his …
In Jules Verne’s classic science fiction, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Professor Otto Lidenbrock and his company descend into an Icelandic volcano to explore it in the name of science, discover a vast subterranean ocean among other unexpected wonders, and must resiliently survive the experience to complete their mission. This is exactly what …
African researchers have recently launched the YaNetu teaching tablet crowdfunding project. This effort aims to bring an AI based educational tablet to African children. The researchers hope to create: – An Android-based teaching tablet for primary school age children in the developing world, with both offline and online applications – A built-in curriculum, customized with …