SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell confirmed today that SpaceX is now targeting the year 2020 for the Mars trip, a move that will allow the company to better focus on its other ambitious projects. Spacex will focus more heavily on their crew program and their Falcon Heavy program. Trips to Mars are best launched every 26 …
A spinoff from the robot veterans at SRI is making a big bet on ubiquitous soft robotics: SuperFlex aims to establish a new product category with what it calls “powered clothing.” The company, which initially split off in April, hopes to have a product to show in a few months, and has raised nearly $10 …
A Japanese city is subsidizing 80% of the cost for women to freeze their eggs The city of Urayasu is allocating 90 million yen (£600,000) over three years to fund the research project conducted by Juntendo University Urayasu hospital. The hospital hopes that preserving eggs will encourage women to give birth when they are ready …
There have been big advances in “engineered” wood, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) made from layers of timber sections glued together with their grains at right angles to one another. In much the same way that aligning carbon-fibre composites creates stronger racing cars, aircraft and golf clubs, CLT imparts greater rigidity and strength to wooden …
British actor Kenny Baker, who starred as R2-D2 in six Star Wars films, has died aged 81 after a long illness, his niece has confirmed. Baker made his name as the robot in the first Star Wars film in 1977 alongside Anthony Daniels’s C-3PO character. Star Wars creator George Lucas paid tribute to a “real …
There has been the discovery of an odd TNO or trans-Neptunian object. It sits beyond Neptune in the outer solar system. This one is 160,000 times fainter than Neptune, which means the icy world could be less than 200 kilometers in diameter. It’s currently above the plane of the solar system and with every passing …
Seven Japanese nuclear power reactors are likely to be in operation by the end of next March and 12 more one year later, according to an estimate by the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ). Judicial rulings and local consents will influence the rate of restart, it notes. In its Economic and Energy Outlook of …
A new NMR microscope gives researchers an improved instrument to study fundamental physical processes. It also offers new possibilities for medical science, for example to better study proteins in Alzheimer patients’ brains. This is a major step forward towards the ultimate goal of a device that can measure variations at the nanoscale to study the …
Michael Gove, the controversial Caledonian Brexiteer is seeking the leadership of the UK Tory Party and thus become the Prime Minister, is calling to “reboot democracy” in a new “start-up nation”. “The total amount we spend as a nation on research and development is significantly less than countries such as the US and government spending …
A group of paralysed patients will soon undergo a revolutionary procedure that could allow them to walk with the power of thought. The key to returning mobility is a tiny, matchstick-sized device called a stentrode. It will be implanted into a blood vessel next to the motor cortex, the brain’s control centre – bypassing the …
Star Wars: The Force Awakens stormed the box office and walked away with $247.9 million in its first three days domestically (including $57 million in Thursday night “previews”) along with another $281 million internationally for a record $524.9 million worldwide opening. Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with …
