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Wearable electronics powered by the user's own body heat could help tackle the issue of how to storage energy. Image credit - pxhere.com/licenced under CC0
industry | energy | frontier research
21 October 2020

Future wearable electronic clothing could be charged by our own body heat

Thanks to rapid computing developments in the last decade and the miniaturisation of electronic components, people can, for example, track their movements and monitor their health in real time by wearing tiny computers. Researchers are now looking at how best to power these devices by turning to the user’s own body heat and working with garments, polka dots and know-how from the textile industry.

If different industries share resources, data, and materials - an approach known as industrial symbiosis - then the whole ecosystem could become more sustainable. Image credit - Frans Berkelaar/Wikimedia, licensed under CC by 2.0
industry | energy | environment
28 September 2020

How waste CO2 is helping to turn renewable energy into liquid fuel

Storing power generated by strong winds or bright sunshine by turning it into liquid fuel such as methanol can help to ensure green energy does not go to waste, without having to rely on batteries.

Special biomolecules and compounds for medical use are being grown in plants like the commercial tobacco plant. Image credit - Pixabay/Couleur, licenced under Pixabay licence
health | coronavirus outbreak | industry
25 August 2020

We can programme plants to grow biomolecules. Is farming the future of vaccines?

On the southern outskirts of the city of Owensboro in Kentucky, US, there is a square, nondescript building. Inside, rows and rows of small plants are growing under artificial lights. This is a new generation biotech venture: a molecular farm. Others are springing up across the US and elsewhere – and they farm vaccines. This means that if we find a coronavirus vaccine that works, their produce could be used by households worldwide.

The prototype space greenhouse developed by the TIME SCALE project showed that it is possible to recycle nutrients and water to grow food. Image credit - Karoliussen
space | industry
19 May 2020

The food and water systems astronauts will need to travel to places like Mars

If humans are to travel to distant destinations in space like the moon or Mars, they’ll need ways to live for long periods of time. And one of the key challenges of that includes how to have safe food and water to eat and drink when far from Earth.

Scientists are reducing the size and costs of microscopes, which could make this equipment more widely accessible and facilitate faster diagnosis of diseases such as cancer. Image credit - Ed Uthman/Flickr, licenced under CC0 1.0
health | ict | industry
07 May 2020

‘Microscope on a chip’ could bring medical expertise to distant patients

Scientists are reducing the size and costs of medical microscopes to make it possible to use them more widely, and hook them up to experts able to diagnose an illness even from far away.

People working on small farms often find they have back problems after a few years, say researchers who are developing a robotic farming aide. Image credit - Sony computer science laboratories
agriculture | industry
21 April 2020

The robots weeding organic farms and patrolling for greenhouse pests

Robots that use artificial intelligence to recognise the health of fruit and vegetable crops and when they’re ready to harvest are being trialled to help small, organic and greenhouse farmers with weeding and patrolling for pests.

A robot 'recognises' itself in the bathroom mirror. Image credit - Pablo Lanillos
industry | ict
15 April 2020

Why robots are being trained in self-awareness

Robots passing cognitive tests such as recognising themselves in a mirror and being programmed with a human sense of time are showing how machines are being shaped to become a bigger part of our everyday lives.

Skypull's prototype designs are being tested in Switzerland to prove that the concept works before they build a full-size version. Image credit - Skypull
energy | environment | industry
06 April 2020

Flying high: how drones on cables are expanding the scope of wind energy

By harnessing the power of strong winds at higher altitude than turbines reach, airborne wind energy could be another key source of renewable energy, but it will need a combination of successful designs, more robust software and good storytelling to really take off.

The current standard propellant for satellites based on hydrazine, which is highly toxic, so researchers are developing safer alternatives. Image credit - NASA-JPL/Caltech
space | industry
30 March 2020

Making satellites safer: the search for new propellants

Developing new propellants for satellites to replace toxic hydrazine would make launching and handling satellites safer but it also requires disrupting current systems, according to researchers.

When it comes to improving amputees’ quality of life, one of the biggest challenges is making prostheses that feel like a natural part of the user. Image credit - Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Wikimedia Commons
health | frontier research | ict | industry
19 March 2020

The prostheses that could alleviate amputees’ phantom limb pain

New prosthetic technologies that stimulate the nerves could pave the way for prostheses that feel like a natural part of the body and reduce the phantom limb pain commonly endured by amputees.

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