Imagine a glass window that’s tough like armor, a camera lens that doesn’t get scratched in a sand storm, or a smart phone that doesn’t break when dropped. Except it’s not glass, it’s a special ceramic called spinel {spin-ELL} that the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been researching over the last 10 years. “Spinel …
A supercomputer used by China to develop a hypersonic space weapon was too slow, having a processing speed only a tenth of that of its American counterpart, according to a researcher involved in the highly sensitive project. While China possesses some of the world’s most powerful computers, Ye Youda, researcher at the state laboratory of …
Michael Pettis points out why there will be a long gap between when China is the largest economy on all measures and when the RMB will become a dominant currency.The USA was the world’s largest economy for fifty years prior to WW1, and Germany the world’s second largest economy, and yet the US dollar was …
The NDP Group projects that 2016 activity tracker ownership will have peaked at 32 million in 2016 while nine percent of US consumers will own a smartwatch. The eventual decline of the activity tracker is part of larger trends around miniaturization and ubiquity. Smaller, cheaper chips can be integrated into more products and clothing, “enabling …
Skolkovo biomed cluster resident 3D Bioprinting Solutions has announced the successful printing of a mouse’s thyroid gland. 3d Bioprinting Solutions is targeting functional printed kidney scheduled for 2018. If confirmed, it would reportedly be the world’s first synthetic construction of a complete, transplantable living organ. “This is undoubtedly a breakthrough in the world of regenerative …
Long, sinuous, tendril-like structures seen in the vicinity of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus originate directly from geysers erupting from its surface, according to scientists studying images from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. This result is published online today in a study in the Astronomical Journal, along with additional insights into the nature of the structures. “We’ve been …
Segway Inc., the developer of two-wheeled, electric-powered people movers, was acquired by China-based competitor Ninebot Inc. After allying with Segway, Ninebot will use electric driving, mobile Internet and man-machine interaction technologies for future products, Gao Lufeng, Ninebot chief executive officer, said at a press conference in Beijing. The companies didn’t disclose terms of the April …
MIT chemists have devised an inexpensive, portable sensor that can detect gases emitted by rotting meat, allowing consumers to determine whether the meat in their grocery store or refrigerator is safe to eat. The sensor, which consists of chemically modified carbon nanotubes, could be deployed in “smart packaging” that would offer much more accurate safety …
Craig Venter gives a keynote talk at a DARPA event. He describes the work to get a highly precise set of genome sequences. Genomes have been sequenced using methods with more errors. Now they are going back to sequence with longer and more precise reads. He discusses various projects for artificial chromosomes and cells. He …
The Ministry of Defence will begin building an experimental laser weapon later this year as a prototype for Star Wars-type armaments that could one day be used by British forces. The project costing up to £100 million aims to create a high-energy laser that can track and hit moving targets in any weather. Britain is …
A video allegedly shows Russia’s brand new T-14 Armata tank. The Armata tank will be officially revealed to the public during the Victory Day parade on May 9. It has the T-14’s seven wheel design and 125mm extended length smoothbore gun. 20 Armata units have been manufactured and issued to troops for practical training. Armata …