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2022

Print, Recycle, Repeat: a Biodegradable Printed Circuit

Some experts predict that our e-waste problem will only get worse over time, because most electronics on the market today are designed for portability, not recyclability. Tablets and readers, for example, are assembled by gluing circuits, chips, and hard drives to thin layers of plastic, which must be melted to extract precious metals like copper and gold. Burning plastic releases toxic gases into the atmosphere, and electronics wasting away in landfill often contain harmful materials like mercury, lead, and beryllium.

NASA's Webb Detects Carbon Dioxide in Exoplanet Atmosphere

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first clear evidence for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system. This observation of a gas giant planet orbiting a Sun-like star 700 light-years away provides important insights into the composition and formation of the planet.

Sensor Could Help Patients Stay on Top of Their Meds

Lithium can alleviate the symptoms of bipolar disorder and depression — if taken in just the right amount. Too little won't work, while too much can bring on dangerous side effects. To precisely monitor the amount of this medication in the body, patients must undergo invasive blood tests. But now, scientists report the invention of a tiny sensor that detects lithium levels from sweat on the surface of a fingertip in as little as 30 seconds, without a trip to the clinic.

Webb's Jupiter Images Showcase Auroras, Hazes

With giant storms, powerful winds, auroras, and extreme temperature and pressure conditions, Jupiter has a lot going on. Now, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured new images of the planet. Webb's Jupiter observations will give scientists even more clues to Jupiter's inner life.

Human-Machine Interfaces Work Underwater, Generate Their Own Power

Wearable human-machine interface devices can be used to control machines, computers, music players, and other systems. A challenge for conventional human-machine interfaces is the presence of sweat on human skin. Scientists now describe their development of a type of human-machine interface that is stretchable, inexpensive, and waterproof. The device is based on a soft magnetoelastic sensor array that converts mechanical pressure from the press of a finger into an electrical signal.

A Simple, Cheap Material for Carbon Capture, Perhaps from Tailpipes

Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas warming Earth and is emitted in large quantities in the flue gas from industrial and power plants. A new method for removing CO2 from these flue gases involves piping the emissions through a porous material based on the chemical melamine. DETA, a chemical bound inside the porous melamine, grabs CO2 and removes it from the gas, with nitrogen vented to the atmosphere.

TuSimple: Autonomous Trucks on the Verge of Commercial Deployment

TuSimple is one of the biggest and best-funded companies working on autonomous trucks. It has been expanding its network of autonomous compatible roads, making partnerships with potential commercial customers, and engaging in the most advanced stages of testing. In December 2021, TuSimple became the first company to operate a completely unmanned mission from Tucson to Phoenix in Arizona, US.

PrinterPrezz

PrinterPrezz are a US-based end-to-end manufacturer of 3D printed medical devices. IDTechEx spoke with CEO Shri Shetty to discuss the company's mission.

Machine Learning Identifies Gun Purchasers at Risk of Suicide

A new study suggests machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence, may help identify handgun purchasers who are at high risk of suicide. It also identified individual and community characteristics that are predictive of firearm suicide.

Durable Material for Flexible Artificial Muscles

Materials scientists and colleagues have developed a new material and manufacturing process for creating artificial muscles that are stronger and more flexible than their biological counterparts.

"Soft" CRISPR May Offer a New Fix for Genetic Defects

Curing debilitating genetic diseases is one of the great challenges of modern medicine. During the past decade, development of CRISPR technologies and advancements in genetics research brought new hope for patients and their families, although the safety of these new methods is still of significant concern. Now a team of biologists describes a new, safer approach that may correct genetic defects in the future. Their strategy, which makes use of natural DNA repair machinery, provides a foundation for novel gene therapy strategies with the potential to cure a large spectrum of genetic diseases.

One Step Closer to Fire-Safe, Recyclable Lithium-Metal Batteries

To power our increasingly electrified society, energy storage technology must evolve and adapt to meet the growing demand. Lithium-ion batteries, already essential to myriad technology, will require dramatic improvements in high-energy density, safety, temperature resilience, and environmental sustainability in order to provide the type of emission-free future that so many envision.

New Ultrathin Capacitor Could enable Energy Efficient Microchips

The silicon-based computer chips that power our modern devices require vast amounts of energy to operate. Despite ever-improving computing efficiency, information technology is projected to consume around 25% of all primary energy produced by 2030. Researchers in the microelectronics and materials sciences communities are seeking ways to sustainably manage the global need for computing power.

Single-Step, All-In-One 3D Printing Method to Make Robotic Materials

A team of engineers and their colleagues have developed a new design strategy and 3D printing technique to build robots in one single step. The breakthrough enabled the entire mechanical and electronic systems needed to operate a robot to be manufactured all at once by a new type of 3D printing process for engineered active materials with multiple functions (also known as metamaterials). Once 3D printed, a "meta-bot" will be capable of propulsion, movement, sensing and decision-making.

Zendar: High Performance, Cheap Automotive Radar

Zendar is a start-up working on improving automotive radar. Zendar believes that current automotive radar is limited by the weak computational processing power embedded in the sensor. They suggest a move to a central processing unit with more computational power which can handle multiple radar front-ends at one time. This would be a similar architecture to Tesla in the way it handles its camera information.

Using AI to Predict Life-Threatening Bacterial Disease in Dogs

Leptospirosis, a disease that dogs can get from drinking water contaminated with Leptospira bacteria, can cause kidney failure, liver disease and severe bleeding into the lungs. Early detection of the disease is crucial and may mean the difference between life and death.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies

Oxford Nanopore Technologies is a UK-based company who have developed nanopore sequencers. They were founded in 2005 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford. Notably, Oxford Nanopore Technologies is the only known company to have produced a commercial nanopore-based device for DNA sequencing.

Using Everyday WiFi to Help Robots See and Navigate Indoors

Engineers have developed a low cost, low power technology to help robots accurately map their way indoors, even in poor lighting and without recognizable landmarks or features. The technology consists of sensors that use WiFi signals to help the robot map where it's going. It's a new approach to indoor robot navigation.

Wearable to Continuously Monitor Glucose, Alcohol and Lactate

Imagine being able to measure your blood sugar levels, know if you've had too much to drink, and track your muscle fatigue during a workout, all in one small device worn on your skin. Engineers have developed a prototype of such a wearable that can continuously monitor several health stats—glucose, alcohol, and lactate levels—simultaneously in real-time.

First Roboskin for Human-Like Sensing of Objects by Robots

BeBop Sensors Inc announced the BeBop Sensors RoboSkin line of skin-like coverings for tactile awareness for humanoid robots and prosthetics. A true nervous system for robots at less than 1mm thick, RoboSkin is the only technology that fits all robotic body parts: limbs, fingers, feet, head, and torso, to make robots "feel" better.

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