Industries
LiOn battery for eco-friendly trains on show at Railtex 2017
At Railtex 2017, Hoppecke Industrial Batteries will show for the first time in the UK its Lithium-Ion (LiOn) battery designed specifically for use in locomotives with hybrid drives. The new Lithium-Ion battery enables smaller diesel engines to be fitted to trains by embracing hybrid technology. This means that a locomotive's high-performance engines are only required when coupling the carriages, once the train is in motion just a small porti...
Transcranial magnetic stimulation may improve memory
The ability to remember sounds, and manipulate them in our minds, is incredibly important to our daily lives—without it we would not be able to understand a sentence, or do simple arithmetic. Research is shedding light on how sound memory works in the brain, and is even demonstrating a means to improve it.
Transmitter coils featured in wireless charging system
Semtech’s LinkCharge 20 now features Wurth Electronics wireless charging coils, created for charging high-power applications. The company claims that LinkCharge 20 is the only available inductive wireless charging system beyond 15W that is backwards compatible. It uses a proprietary protocol for transmitter/receiver communication up to 20W, and is also fully backwards compatible to existing standards at 5-15W.
Brain circuit that drives pleasure-inducing behaviour identified
Scientists have long believed that the central amygdala, a structure located deep within the brain, is linked with fear and responses to unpleasant events. However, a team of MIT neuroscientists has now discovered a circuit in this structure that responds to rewarding events. In a study of mice, activating this circuit with certain stimuli made the animals seek those stimuli further.
Scientists reveal structure of key protein in Zika virus
Zika virus (ZIKV), which causes Zika virus disease, is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquito. An infected pregnant woman can pass ZIKV to her fetus during pregnancy or around the time of birth. Sex is yet another way for infected persons to transmit ZIKV to others. The genomic replication of the virus is made possible by its "NS5" protein.
Improving the diagnosis of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health threat in human and farm animals. Novel diagnostic kits capable of differentiating between active and latent infections should improve clinical outcome. Diagnosis of human and bovine TB is extremely difficult, time-consuming and inefficient. Currently, there is no diagnostic test that can differentiate between active and latent TB.
Achieving automotive power in a smaller package
At embedded world Nexperia, the former Standard Products division of NXP, announced the availability of its automotive power MOSFETs in the new, LFPAK33, thermally enhanced, loss-free package which has a footprint more than 80% smaller than industry standard devices. LFPAK33 devices also feature a lower resistance, responding to growing industry pressure to reduce the size of modules in the car while continuing to improve energy efficiency and re...
What morals do robots have and need?
In industry and in ETH Zurich’s research laboratories, intelligent robots are now being developed and used for transport, health care and manufacturing applications, and you already can find offers for security, maintenance and service robots on the market. What’s more, there are now also less obvious uses for artificial intelligence, such as for financial trading, social networks and digital advertising.
A robotic ‘golden ticket’ for UK companies
A European-wide initiative has been launched to enhance robotic technology and several UK businesses have secured one of 25 available ‘golden tickets’ to get involved. Automata Technologies, Hexagon Metrology, Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) and Russell Finex are the latest UK beneficiaries from the second and final round of the ROBOTT-NET Voucher Programme, which saw the in-demand vouchers handed out.
Helping the Red Cross to save lives using UAVs
Unmanned Ariel Vehicles, (UAVs), have shown their potential to save lives during a trial that took place last month in Erzberg Mine, Austria, as part of a joint collaboration between Roke and Jaguar Land Rover.