Category: Science
Scientists put smartphone in blender to analyse contents -as you do
Scientists have blended a mobile phone to dust to conduct a chemical analysis of what it contains. A team at the University of Plymouth carried out the research to show the quantities of rare or so-called ‘conflict’ elements in each phone and to encourage greater recycling rates. Every year, 1.4 billion mobile phones are produced…
NASA’s new rocket will not be ready for moon mission next year
NASA's massive new rocket will not be ready for a moon shot next year, the space agency’s top official has told the US Congress. Administrator Jim Bridenstine said he is considering switching to commercial rockets to keep the June 2020 launch date. Mr Bridenstine told a Senate committee that two private rockets would be needed,…
British pioneers to broadcast live video from ocean depths
British-based scientists are set to deliver the first live video broadcast from deep below an ocean’s surface. Early this week, a submersible is expected to dive to 300 meters (nearly 1,000 feet) off the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean and send images to a satellite transmitter on the mother ship. The Nekton Mission highlights the…
Watching TV could contribute to memory loss in over 50s, study suggests
Watching TV for just a few hours every night could contribute to memory loss in older people, new research suggests. Over 50s who spent more than three-and-a-half hours daily in front of the box were found to experience poorer verbal memory, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports. The findings indicate people…
Scientists developing robots to clean train carriages
Robots that can clean train carriages and drones that can inspect railway bridge arches are being developed by scientists in two new research projects. The Heriot-Watt University researchers are working on robotised mobile inspection platforms that can operate in hard-to-reach areas such as between and under the seats of a train carriage. The robot platforms will detect…
Public urged to help digitise millions of historical weather records
The public are being asked to lend a hand in digitising millions of historical weather records in a bid to better predict the future of the world’s climate. With 2.5 million pieces of data from between 1860 and 1880 not stored in digital form, scientists are unable to quickly access and compare measurements from the…
World’s most advanced bionic hand with touch developed by UK experts
UK experts have helped develop the world’s most advanced bionic hand. The hand offers a greater degree of sensitivity combined with a fully rechargeable battery, scientists say. It is also the first of its kind to be suitable for people who have had an amputation below the elbow. Previous bionic hands have sometimes relied on…
Black Arrow rocket returns to UK after 50 years in Australian Outback
The Black Arrow programme from 1969-71 saw the first and only successful UK-led orbital launch... An engineer who worked on the only British rocket to launch a satellite into orbit described seeing it again as meeting “an old friend”, as it went on display after almost 50 years languishing in the Australian Outback. The Black…
AI could cut chest X-ray process time, claims University of Warwick
Researchers have created an artificial intelligence (AI) system they claim can spot abnormalities in chest X-rays and speed up the processing of screenings. The software uses computer vision to recognise radiological abnormalities in X-rays and then suggest how quickly these should be reported by a radiologist. The research from the University of Warwick claims the…
Doctor behind ‘gene-edited babies’ acted on his own, says China
Chinese investigators say the doctor behind the reported birth of two babies, whose genes had been edited in the hope of making them resistant to the Aids virus, acted on his own, according to a state media report. Investigators in the southern province of Guangdong determined that Dr He Jiankui organised and handled funding for…