The race for space commercialization started with the development of reusable rockets and the lowering of the cost of the launches to make them affordable to a larger number of players. SpaceX completed 61 launches in 2022 alone, within its smallsat rideshare program but now a new market segment started to unfold with the launch of the first space tug. A space tug is a multi-purpose vehicle used to perform a series of operations in space, such as transferring spaceborne cargo from one orbit to another orbit, adjusting satellites’ positions, or re-supplying other space vehicles. With the space ..read more

The 2D imaging methods currently used in the medical field, such as MRI scans, may be replaced in the not-so-distant future with a technology that allows dynamic 3D holograms to enhance the visualization of patients’ interiors and organs. Researchers at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) are developing a new cheap, energy-efficient, and extremely compact device that can remove the key obstacles to making dynamic 3D holograms. Though 3D holographic technology already exists, it is cumbersome, as it relies on a combination of sever ..read more

Recent research at MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics has explored the possibility of using the quantum property of spin as the basis for new computer designs. With advanced materials and nanoscale manufacturing processes, scientists hope to build faster and more energy-efficient random-access memory (RAM) and microchips. While the field of spin electronics, or spintronics, is still a fairly new one, the MIT engineers hope that their work will soon lead to computer configurations and hardware with significantly higher performance. Spin, or angular momentum, is a fundamental quantum-level ..read more

In assessing the prospects for commercializing cultured meat grown in-vitro from animal stem cells, consumer attitudes are of great interest. In particular, researchers aim to understand (and counteract) the reasons for the “yuck factor”. After all, what would be the point of developing a product that many or most potential consumers perceive as disgusting and unfit for consumption? Interest in the psychological underpinnings of such perceptions has motivated several studies since the first animal-free beef patty was presented in 2013. As of 2022, researchers seem to have identified the main f ..read more

A.P. Moller – Maersk and IBM have announced their decision to discontinue TradeLens, a digital, blockchain-based platform aimed at streamlining data processing in the supply chain and promoting more global trade. According to Rotem Hershko, Head of Business Platforms at Maersk, the reason for this decision is the lack of industry collaboration and failure to reach the expected level of commercial viability.     IBM and GTD Solution, a division of Maersk, pioneered the TradeLens platform in 2018 with the goal of using blockchain solutions to make global trade more secure and effi ..read more

With advances in space exploration, there has also been a surge of research and projects addressing the opportunities and the inevitable challenges that space poses for the survival of humans in off-world environments. Thus, while technological advances in this area are, generally speaking, partly geared toward space exploration and colonization, they are also thought to have beneficial effects on Earth as well. One promising example of this are the space technologies that are being used – or will soon be used – in terrestrial agriculture. Farmland: The view from far above One of the major be ..read more

The Westinghouse Electric Company, a US provider of nuclear technology, is developing a design for a reliable, low-maintenance compact heat pipe reactor that could be deployed in remote locations or for other applications requiring autonomous off-grid power generation. Westinghouse claims its eVinci nuclear “microreactor” is disruptive and could help decarbonize electricity production. The company says the main benefits of microreactor are its solid core and advanced heat pipes, the latter facilitating passive core heat extraction for autonomous operation and load following, i.e., the ability ..read more

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, half of the world’s fruit and vegetable harvests go to waste every year, for reasons varying from pests and drought to issues with transportation, storage, and retail. Accounting for 8-10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), food waste is also a contributing factor to climate change and undesirable weather events such as droughts and flooding. A vicious circle Changes in the global climate and the overuse of agricultural land has a negative impact on crop yields and their nutritional quality, which could potenti ..read more

Representatives of governments and other participants at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (COP 27) have agreed on key principles for reforming the financial structures required to promote and sustain climate action. According to guest speakers such as the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), immigration policies, unfair trade, and inadequate finance flows are currently hindering efforts to meet the climate-related goals. Mottley stressed that developing countries encounter difficulties access ..read more

European policymakers are working to shift the transport of cargo and goods from roads to inland waterways by stimulating investment in battery- and fuel-cell-powered ships. A number of EU-funded projects in this sector aim to decarbonize the logistics and shipping sector while also strengthening technological innovation in advanced energy solutions. Barges are one of the oldest modes of mobility and transport. In Europe, they have been used for thousands of years to deliver goods via the continent’s many interconnected rivers and inland waterways. They are also the most climate-friendly means ..read more