Telescope #77
To look beyond visual range…
SUSTAINABILITY
According to the country's energy authority, Bundesnetzagentur, the proportion of electricity Germany obtains from renewable energy sources in 2023 increased by 6.6 percent to 55 percent. DETAIL
Colorado has suspended applications for its e-bike rebate program — at least temporarily. The reason? The program was incredibly popular, so much so that it ran out of its initial funding ahead of schedule. DETAIL
An area of the seabed north of Australia has been mapped in detail for the first time, revealing that large numbers of people could have lived there until it was inundated by rising seas. DETAIL
Outdoor brand The North Face has been working to increase diversity in outdoor sports for years. Aiming to help others in the industry — whether they work for a major retailer or run a local bouldering gym — do their part, the brand has launched a new course: Allyship in the Outdoors. The digital course, which anyone can follow free of charge, takes around an hour to complete. It focuses on understanding the challenges people of color encounter in accessing the outdoors, how to level the playing field, and ways to make people feel safe and welcome. Allyship in the Outdoors was developed with OUTO (Opening Up The Outdoors), a not-for-profit initiative that partners with brands and community leaders to provide POC a better experience when venturing into nature. OUTO was cofounded in 2021 by Phil Young and Keme Nzerem, alongside Adidas Terrex, Arcteryx, Patagonia, The North Face and Vivobarefoot. DETAIL
Junior doctors in England started a six-day walkout over pay on Wednesday, the longest strike in the 75-year history of the state-run National Health Service (NHS), which will hit patient care during a seasonal winter peak in demand. DETAIL
HEALTH
All people need some cholesterol, but having too high cholesterol levels can be dangerous, particularly to areas of cardiovascular health. Research is ongoing to find new ways to help people keep cholesterol within a healthy range. Data from a recent study on animals found a vaccine that may be effective at lowering cholesterol. Future research is required before this data can be applied in clinical practice with humans. DETAIL
Colon cancer screening looks for the presence of polyps, some of which can become cancerous. One type, serrated adenoma, is considered pre-cancerous, can come back after it is removed and can lead to particularly invasive colon cancers. DETAIL
Scientists at Osaka University found a protein called HKDC1 that helps care for two important organelles: Mitochondria and lysosomes. This protein plays a key role in preventing the cell from aging. DETAIL
MIT likens a new vibrating capsule to drinking a glass full of water prior to eating. Dieticians recommend the latter as a method for sending signals to your brain to simulate the sensation of being full. The researchers behind the new project further suggest it as a future alternative to surgery and GLP-1s. The latter, which includes semaglutides like Ozempic and Wegovy, are both extremely popular and prohibitively expensive, owing in large part to pharma IP laws. DETAIL
Scientists from Texas A&M University have developed a new class of polymers that can combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Scientists who synthesized positively charged polymers and created large molecules that effectively target bacterial membranes observed that these molecules were effective against antibiotic-resistant E. coli and MRSA bacteria without damaging red blood cells. DETAIL
DIGITAL / TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE /AI
Last year, a veteran Silicon Valley software executive took the helm of a startup in his native China, company records show. The startup told potential investors it would sell microchip design software that is mostly available from just a handful of large Western companies. DETAIL
The Japanese telecommunications industry plans to deploy flying base stations into the sky in 2025. The technology, called High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), aims to provide wider mobile coverage using unmanned vehicles flying in the stratosphere. DETAIL
Peachtree Corners, one of the first smart cities in the USA powered by real-world infrastructure and 5G, with a population of 42 thousand, is becoming increasingly futuristic. Because recently, his company Pipedream officially launched the world's first underground autonomous robot delivery system. It worked with Curiosity Labs in the state of Georgia for the underground autonomous robot delivery system project. DETAIL
Intel founded an enterprise artificial intelligence company called Articul8 AI with support from DigitalBridge. The product in question was developed for Boston Consulting Group and will operate with a corporate focus. DETAIL
This year, NASA's Parker Solar Probe will attempt to brush past the Sun's atmosphere at a blistering 435,000 mph, getting within just 3.8 million miles of its fiery "surface." It's the closest any human-made object will have ever gotten to our system's star — and scientists behind the project aren't afraid to draw some notable comparisons. DETAIL
ENERGY / TRANSPORTATION
Self-driving cars are immune to traffic tickets in California under the state's current laws, according to NBC Bay Area. That loophole has led activists to urge the state to pass new laws and put watchdogs in place to govern driverless cars more closely. DETAIL
Volkswagen’s battery subsidiary PowerCo confirms progress in the development of solid-state battery cells from its partner QuantumScape following tests in its own laboratories. DETAIL
Japan’s automotive and supplier industry is joining forces to develop semiconductor technology. 12 Japanese companies including Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda and Subaru, Denso and Panasonic Automotive System as well as various semiconductor companies have founded the ‘Advanced SoC Research for Automotive’ (ASRA). DETAIL
CYBERSECURITY
Google has agreed to settle a $5 billion lawsuit that alleges the company secretly tracked Chrome users while they were browsing the web in incognito mode, according to a Reuters report Thursday. DETAIL
Sometimes, you can’t even trust links with your own domain. As the Cybernews research team has discovered, some BMW subdomains were vulnerable to redirect vulnerability, enabling attackers to forge links leading to malicious sites through them. DETAIL
HUMAN
Japanese disaster alert app NERV says Twitter/X limited its posts just hours after Japan was shaken by an earthquake, severely restricting its ability to share important updates about the subsequent tsunami warning. DETAIL
In Sweden, convenience chain Pressbyrån launched what might be the most innovative hot dog ever. Aptly named 'The Transition Hot Dog,' the creation guides consumers from meat to plant in five bites: one end of the sausage is made entirely of meat, the middle is a meat-plant mix, and the other end is wholly plant-based. The sausage was developed by Swedish alt-meat brand Peas of Heaven and sold in select Pressbyrån outlets. DETAIL
