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Brain Controlled Exoskeletons, Stem Cell Regeneration, Transgenic Monkeys, Progress on Cyborg fixes for paralysis expected in 2014

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The journal Nature listed out expected developments in science during 2014 Transgenic monkeys Several research groups, including a team led by geneticist Erika Sasaki and stem-cell biologist Hideyuki Okano at Keio University in Tokyo, hope to create transgenic primates with immune-system deficiencies or brain disorders. This could raise ethical concerns, but might bring us closer …

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Global Carbon dioxide emissions are 61 percent higher than in 1990 and still increasing at about 2 percent per year so renewable energy needs nuclear energy to help displace coal for the next one hundred years

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Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels will rise to a record 36 billion metric tons (39.683 billion tons) this year, a report by 49 researchers from 10 countries said, showing the failure of governments to rein in the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming. The report by the Global Carbon Project, which …

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World Energy Forecast to 2035 sees Renewables slowing the growth of coal, oil and natural gas but not replacing them

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The International Energy Association published its World Energy Outlook 2013. They forecast world energy to 2035. Longterm solutions to global challenges remain scarce * Renewed focus on energy efficiency, but CO2 emissions continue to rise * Fossil-fuel subsidies increased to $544 billion in 2012, renewables received $101 billion in support in 2012 * 1.3 billion …

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Sweden does not have enough garbage and imports it but fortunately they are paid to take garbage

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Due to Sweden’s innovative waste-to-energy program and highly efficient recycling habits, the Scandinavian nation faces an interesting dilemma. They have run out of trash. Only four percent of Sweden’s waste ends up in landfills while the EPA reports over half of the waste produced by U.S. households ends up in landfills. In order to continue …

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New Penn World 8.0 Purchasing power parity

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The Penn World Purchasing Power Parity GDP tables are out for version 8.0. They have improved the internet interface to the data. They have different GDP measures. By some measures China should have passed the USA in PPP in 2012. They provide a lot of new cross-country data (on capital stock, factor shares, etc.), For …

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Technology for 77 meter primary mirror ground based telescope exists today and it could survey earth sized exoplanets out to 60 light years

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The technology exists to develop a ground based telescope with a 77 meter (250 foot) mirror at lower cost if it is used for narrow field study. It could do a survey of earth sized planets out to 60 light years The Colossus Telescope, a high-resolution, 77-meter multiple-mirror giant instrument, will have the ability to …

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European commission projects 8.0 and 8.1% GDP growth in China in 2013 and 2014 and -0.1 and 1.4% GDP growth for Euro Area

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The European Commission has forecast that China’s economy will grow 8 percent this year and 8.1 percent in 2014, after it successfully avoided a “hard landing” in 2012. According to its spring forecast released on Friday, EC officials said China remains exposed to a possible worsening of the international environment, but its principal risk factors …

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Carnival of Nuclear Energy 154

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The Carnival of Nuclear Energy 154 is at Atomic Power Review Dr Robert Hayes at NewsOK – examines the fact that there haven’t been reports of radiation injury as a result of the March, 2011 Fukushima accident, using UNSCEAR and WHO documents as support; he also briefly discusses low-dose effects. The Japanese tsunami caused the …

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Inertia from an Asymmetric Casimir Effect

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Arxiv – Inertia from an Asymmetric Casimir Effect. The property of inertia has never been fully explained. A model for inertia (MiHsC or quantised inertia) has been suggested that assumes that 1) inertia is due to Unruh radiation and 2) this radiation is subject to a Hubble-scale Casimir effect. This model has no adjustable parameters …

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Quantum techniques to improve broadband and encryption are closer to market

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The Quantum Wave Fund has raised over $30 million to invest and aims to collect $100 million. Quantum physics does indeed offer some intriguing ideas about how fiber optic data links, the Internet’s backbone, could be made more capacious and secure. New ways to handle individual or small groups of photons could allow existing fiber …

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Spacex will make Methane rocket for Mars

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Flightglobal – SpaceX intends to build a methane/liquid oxygen (Lox) engine, said founder Elon Musk, in a shift away from the highly refined kerosene rocket propellant (RP-1) that has powered the company’s previous engines. Speaking at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London, SpaceX chief executive and lead rocket engineer Musk said Lox and methane would …

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