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Technology

Renewable energy

Low-carbon push for new Industrial Revolution

Thursday, 21 January 2010

The world’s transition to a low-carbon economy will not only make cities cleaner and more sustainable, it will spark a new Industrial Revolution, said renowned economist Nicholas Stern.


Masdar city visualisation

Aviation biofuel to grow from saltwater farms

Monday, 18 January 2010

Can tomorrow’s aircraft be powered entirely from biofuels grown from saltwater plants? That’s what a large new multinational research project will seek to prove.


Astronaut

Eight spin-offs from space

Wednesday, 30 December 2009

Sending stuff into space is not cheap. How does NASA justify the expense? One way is to highlight the many technologies developed for the space program, but which now benefit society.


Lotus flower

Eight designs stolen from nature

Wednesday, 23 December 2009

Nature is inspirational, say designers who’ve trawled the living world in the search for clever ideas to rip off.


Orion's family portrait snapped

Friday, 18 December 2009

Researchers have released the first complete atlas of embryonic planetary systems in the Orion Nebula – and discovered 42 new ones in the process.


Fake platelets to stem blood flow

Friday, 18 December 2009

Scientists have developed artificial platelets to enhance the natural process of blood clotting, reducing the risk of fatal blood loss on the battlefield and in the emergency room.


Mammoths more modern than we thought

Friday, 18 December 2009

Extinct woolly mammoths and ancient American horses may have been grazing the North American steppe for several thousand years longer than previously thought.


Pile of books

Physicists uncover authors' literary fingerprint

Thursday, 17 December 2009

Swedish physicists have developed a formula to identify individual writers by a unique 'literary fingerprint', which could help to prevent literary fraud and identify unknown authors.


Dying star previews our own Sun's fate

Wednesday, 16 December 2009

New images of the surface of a distant, dying star offer a preview of the ultimate fate of our own Sun, French scientists say.


Blood tests detect cancer

Monday, 14 December 2009

Nanosensors that detect traces of cancer in simple blood tests have been successfully developed, U.S. researchers have announced.


Schwarzenegger and Branson

Virgin tourist spacecraft ready to begin tests

Wednesday, 9 December 2009

British billionaire Richard Branson has unveiled a commercial rocket plane that will allow tourists a chance to view the Earth and experience weightlessness from suborbital space.


tiny discs

Tiny magnetic discs could kill cancer cells

Monday, 30 November 2009

Tiny magnetic discs just a millionth of a metre in diameter could be used to used to kill cancer cells, according to a study published on Sunday.


C-circles

Powerful new test detects 15% of cancers

Tuesday, 24 November 2009

One in six cancers, including some of the most aggressive and lethal varieties, could soon be traceable in a simple blood test with the discovery of an abnormal type of DNA.


LHC

Peckish bird briefly downs atom smasher

Tuesday, 10 November 2009

A peckish bird briefly knocked out part of the world's biggest atom smasher by causing a chain reaction with a piece of bread, CERN said Monday.


Artist's impression of SMOS

New probe to help predict extreme weather

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

A water tracking satellite launched by the European Space Agency is designed to help give faster predictions of floods and other extreme weather incidents caused by climate change.