Although the field of gene sequencing has advanced exponentially during the past two decades, conventional technology uses light to sequence DNA. A company called Nabsys has developed a new technique that could speed up aggregate throughput by 1,000x. The technique employs using solid state detectors instead of light to sequence DNA,and should result in faster, …
CNBC – China’s economy grew 7.6 percent in the April-June quarter, slower than the 8.1 percent in the first quarter and 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. According to Nomura’s Chief China Economist Zhiwei Zhang, among the 32 indicators he tracks, nearly two-thirds showed faster growth in May than April. “Having a …
Forbes – Researchers at the University of Colorado are building the smallest supersonic jet engine ever made — and are attaching it to a 22lb UAV. This is a follow up to nextbigfuture coverage from March, 2012 Led by Colorado University assistant professor and Starcor CEO Ryan Starkey, the mini-UAV is designed to appeal to …
Zyvex Technologies, and ENVE Composites announced an exclusive partnership to provide a bicycle rim specifically for downhill mountain biking that uses the latest advanced materials comprised of nano-enhanced carbon fiber. This new bicycle rim gives a significant competitive advantage to the downhill cycling market as proven during the last year in development and testing. The …
Hizook – The new DARPA Grand Challenge is for a humanoid robot (with a bias toward bipedal designs) that can be used in rough terrain and for industrial disasters. The robot will be required to maneuver into and drive an open-frame vehicle (eg. tractor), proceed to a building and dismount, ingress through a locked door …
Sheets of single-layer carbon with a variety of bonding patterns may have properties similar to the wonder material graphene, according to new computer simulations. Super-strong, highly conducting graphene is the hottest ticket in physics, but new computer simulations suggest that materials called graphynes could be just as impressive. Graphynes are one-atom-thick sheets of carbon that …
Hindu Business Line – India’s government has decided to commence the construction of 300-MW thorium-based Advanced Heavy Water Reactor in the next 18 months, a senior official said on Tuesday. “Under the third stage of nuclear programme based on thorium utilisation, a reactor of 300 MW will be constructed in a year and a half …
Jim Quinn makes the case that China has been inflating an economic bubble and that collapse is imminent within two years. The Chinese government has created a commercial and residential real estate bubble in an effort to keep peasants employed and not rioting in the streets. In the case of the US subprime mortgage bubble, …
Sangamo BioSciences of Richmond, California, says it has found a way to protect the T cells that HIV attacks first, so they can live to fight another day. The approach entails temporarily stopping a patient’s antiretroviral therapy and removing T cells carrying the CD4 receptor. This surface protein is the doorway by which the virus …
EADS, the European aerospace and defence group, has unveiled the world’s first bike that uses a revolutionary new manufacturing process which demonstrates the potential to transform manufacturing around the globe. Known as the ‘Airbike’, it is a bike with a difference. Made of nylon but strong enough to replace steel or aluminium, it requires no …
1. A Tennessee Valley Authority plan designed to guide decision making recommends greater use of nuclear power, natural gas and renewable resources and less reliance on coal in the next two decades. The Knoxville-based utility is idling 1,000 megawatts of coal-fired generation while spending $2.5 billion over five years to finish a 1,200-megawatt reactor at …