A French teenager’s sickle cell disease has been reversed using a pioneering gene therapy treatment. The world-first procedure at Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris offers hope to millions of people with the blood disorder. Doctors removed his bone marrow – the part of the body that makes blood. They then genetically altered it in a …
Russia has a drone that is launched via Russia’s Smerch multiple launch rocket system. It would enable on demand target surveillance at an altitude of 500 meters during 20 minutes. It can scan an 25 square kilometers area. 300mm rockets with a firing range of 70 and 90 km and various warheads have been developed …
If you have to depend upon heroic healthcare to extend your life you are in trouble and it will not help most people. Yes, Wealth buys higher-quality medical care, which allows [some] people to live into old age. The affluent seem to live in healthier ways. They exercise more, smoke less, feel less stress and …
The Council on Foreign relations estimates the United States dropped 26,171 bombs in seven countries in 2016. This estimate is undoubtedly low, considering reliable data is only available for airstrikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya, and a single “strike,” according to the Pentagon’s definition, can involve multiple bombs or munitions. In 2016, the United …
Using advanced genetics and molecular biology Oxitec has developed a new and innovative solution to controlling the dangerous mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The Oxitec solution harnesses the natural instincts of male mosquitoes to find females in the wild. Oxitec has used genetic engineering to create ‘self-limiting’ male insects which seek out and mate with females. After …
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory have designed an inexpensive thermal energy storage system that will be significantly smaller and perform more than 20 times better than current thermal systems. Argonne’s thermal energy storage system relies on a “phase-change” material that melts as it stores thermal energy and releases energy …
Elon is spending a few tens of millions of dollars per year now on the Interplanetary effort. The plan is in the 18-24 month timeframe after the final Falcon 9 is finished, Falcon Heavy is done and reusability is worked out then most of the engineering team will focus on the Interplanetary system. The spending …
The forward part of China’s domestic aircraft carrier’s island structure, including the bridge and main mast supporting structure, has been lifted into place: a significant step in readying China’s second aircraft carrier for launch. Images show that the forward part of the island structure of China’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, commonly referred to as the …
DARPA’s Safe Genes program aims to build a biosafety and biosecurity toolkit to reduce potential risks and encourage innovation in the field of genome editing The Safe Genes program could help unlock the potential of advanced gene editing technologies by developing a set of tools to address potential risks of this rapidly advancing field. The …
A start-up company—hosted in a European Space Agency (ESA) business incubator center (BIC) Bavaria—released an idea for an egg-shaped two-seater plane called Lilium that’s currently in the works. With a top speed of 250 mph and a range of 300 miles, the plane can travel roughly between Munich and Berlin in about 90 minutes. And …
DARPA gave contractor Northrop Grumman just under US$18 million to build the second of its Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node UAV. What DARPA wants out of the project is an unmanned drone that can launch from a ship, deliver weapons, and return, using the kind of space devoted to helicopters rather than needing an aircraft carrier. …
