Science - NRC Approves Gen IV Nuclear Reactor Design

New material more efficient than silicon, lasts longer, can be manufactured at room temperatures

Scientists make breakthrough with ‘miracle material’ that may revolutionize solar panels: ‘This could be an absolute game changer’ (msn.com)

Now, researchers at Princeton University are showing that a mineral called perovskite, which displays many of the same properties as silicon, can be used to make more long-lasting solar cells.

Perovskite is also relatively cheap because, unlike silicon cells, which are created at a blistering 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, perovskite cells can be made at room temperature. This means that far less energy is required to produce these cells, making the process more sustainable in addition to being cheaper. That’s why it’s been called a “miracle material” by clean energy experts.

This material also has the benefit of being lighter weight than silicon — but this also means that it’s way more fragile. That’s one reason why perovskite hasn’t yet been used to make long-lasting solar panels.
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But recently, a perovskite solar cell showed it could last for even longer than the typical sub-30-year lifespan of most solar panels. Coupled with perovskite’s renowned efficiency, this could be an absolute game changer.

 

and another fusions tory. Micrsoft has committed to buying 50 MW annually from fusion reactor to be producing electricity in 2030. Helion has raised $500M to build their version of a fusion reactor. Many fewer regulatory issues than fission reactors

Microsoft bets that a fusion power plant from Helion Energy will be operating this decade (msn.com)

Microsoft on Wednesday agreed to buy 50 megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 40,000 homes — from a fusion power plant being developed by Helion Energy. The startup's plant is expected to come online by 2028.
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David Kirtley, the founder and CEO of Helion, told Insider that he's confident in the startup's 2028 target for several reasons. All six of Helion's fusion prototypes have set records for their energy output and the temperature at which they operate, recently exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius — an ideal threshold for a power plant. The seventh prototype, expected be completed this year, is set to be the first to convert fusion energy into electricity, Kirtley said.

Helion's novel approach to fusion involves injecting deuterium and helium-3 gas into a cylinder-shaped machine that heats up the gas up to form charged plasma on each side of the machine. These plasmas are then accelerated and compressed by an electromagnetic field until they collide to create a reaction.

Beyond the technology, Kirtley said that as of April, the regulatory environment was more certain. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced it would use an existing framework to oversee the safety of fusion reactors and power plants. It opted not to impose the stricter rules applied to nuclear reactors. Fusion, unlike nuclear fission, doesn't come with concerns about radioactive waste or the proliferation of weapons. "That means we should be able to build fusion systems much quicker, operate them safely — and at a lower cost," Kirtley said.

 

Existing medical genome research to find the "faulty" gene has been based on 1 human genome. That made it hard to identify the source of a genetic deficiency that could be targeted or implanted. They have now released 47 complete genomes from across the globe.
Scientists have updated the human genome to make it more equitable and inclusive | CNN

The new “pangenome” incorporates the DNA of 47 individuals from every continent except Antarctica and Oceania. The scientists involved say it will improve our ability to diagnose disease, discover new drugs and understand the genetic variants that lead to ill health or a particular physical trait.

Until now, geneticists have used a single human genome, largely based on one individual, as a standard reference map for the detection of genetic changes that cause disease. This has likely missed some of the genetic diversity between individuals and different populations around the world.

 

sounds awfully damn impressive. is this something that can be applied in the near term or just another leap that will take years to make a difference?

Quantum Computing Algorithm Breakthrough Brings Practical Use Closer to Reality (msn.com)


Out of all common refrains in the world of computing, the phrase "if only software would catch up with hardware" would probably rank pretty high. And yet, software does sometimes catch up with hardware. In fact, it seems that this time, software can go as far as unlocking quantum computations for classical computers. That's according to researchers with the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing, Japan, who have published work on an algorithm that significantly accelerates a specific quantum computing workload. More significantly, the workload itself - called time evolution operators - has applications in condensed matter physics and quantum chemistry, two fields that can unlock new worlds within our own.

Normally, an improved algorithm wouldn't be completely out of the ordinary; updates are everywhere, after all. Every app update, software update, or firmware upgrade is essentially bringing revised code that either solves problems or improves performance (hopefully). And improved algorithms are nice, as anyone with a graphics card from either AMD or NVIDIA can attest. But let's face it: We're used to being disappointed with performance updates.

And yet in this case, the performance gains are extraordinary. Truly, the results could hardly be more impressive. Through the improved algorithm (itself a hybrid of quantum and classical methods), future quantum computers can be made simpler than we thought possible: they'll be able to tackle bigger problems sooner than we expected, and at a lower cost. But the performance gains don't stop there. They could make it possible for conventional machines to process the degrees of complexity that only a quantum computer could supposedly solve.

 

looks like NASA is excited about their new solid state battery. sounds impressive, wonder if all the new lithium mining is actually going to be needed.

NASA may have just cracked the code for replacing lithium in batteries for electric planes: ‘Double or even triple the energy it can store’ (msn.com)

The solid-state battery isn’t new, but the technology has not been suitable for use in large electronics until SABER’s recent discovery.

Another key advantage that lithium-ion batteries have long held over solid-state batteries is that they can discharge power much faster than solid-state batteries.

SABER says it has addressed this issue with a new innovation that is able to increase a solid-state battery’s discharge rate by a factor of 10 — and then by another factor of five.
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“Not only does this design eliminate 30 to 40 percent of the battery’s weight, it also allows us to double or even triple the energy it can store, far exceeding the capabilities of lithium-ion batteries that are considered to be state of the art,” he added.

 

Solar panel efficiency to increase 50% with first production of ‘miracle’ tandem cells (msn.com)

South Korean firm has announced the world’s first production line for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, which promise an increase in efficiency of between 50-75 per cent compared to standard solar panels.

The commercialisation of solar cells that use perovskite follows years of breakthroughs with the mineral, which has been hailed as a ‘miracle material’ for its potential to transform various industries, including renewable energy.

Seoul-based Qcells said it will invest $100 million to roll out the next-generation solar cell technoloy, which until now has been limited to lab tests and academic research.

The investment will fund a pilot production line at a factory in Jincheon, which is projected to be operational by late next year.

 

Brain implants help paralysed man to walk again - BBC News

Harvey Sihota is chief executive of the UK charity Spinal Research, which was not involved in the research. He said that although there was a long way to go before the technology would be generally available, he described the development as "very encouraging".

"While there is still much to improve with these technologies this is another exciting step on the roadmap for neurotechnology and its role in restoring function and independence to our spinal cord injury community".

The operation to restore Gert-Jan's movement was carried out in July 2021. Prof Bloch cut two circular holes on each side of his skull, 5cm in diameter, above the regions of the brain involved in controlling movement. She then inserted two disc-shaped implants which wirelessly transmit brain signals - Gert-Jan's intentions - to two sensors attached to a helmet on his head.

The Swiss team developed an algorithm which translates these signals into instructions to move leg and foot muscles via a second implant inserted around Gert-Jan's spinal cord - which Prof Bloch intricately attached to the nerve endings related to walking.



Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain–spine interface | Nature

To monitor electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals from the sensorimotor cortex, we leveraged the WIMAGINE technology3,20. WIMAGINE implants consist of an 8-by-8 grid of 64 electrodes (4 mm × 4.5 mm pitch in anteroposterior and mediolateral axes, respectively) and recording electronics that are embedded within a 50 mm diameter, circular-shaped titanium case that has the same thickness as the skull. The geometry of the system favours close and stable contact between the electrodes and the dura mater, and renders the devices invisible once implanted within the skull.

Two external antennas are embedded within a personalized headset that ensures reliable coupling with the implants. The first antenna powers the implanted electronics through inductive coupling (high frequency, 13.56 MHz), whereas the second, ultrahigh frequency antenna (UHF, 402–405 MHz) transfers ECoG signals in real time to a portable base station and processing unit, which generates online predictions of motor intentions on the basis of these signals (Extended Data Fig. 1).

The decoded motor intentions are then converted into stimulation commands that are transferred to tailored software running on the same processing unit.
These commands are delivered to the ACTIVA RC implantable pulse generator (Fig. 1a), which is commonly used to deliver deep brain stimulation in patients with Parkinson’s disease. We upgraded this implant with wireless communication modules that enabled real-time adjustment over the location and timing of epidural electrical stimulation with a latency of about 100 ms (Extended Data Fig. 1).

Electrical currents are then delivered to the targeted dorsal root entry zones using the Specify 5-6-5 implantable paddle lead, which consists of an array incorporating 16 electrodes. This integrated chain of hardware and software established a wireless digital bridge between the brain and the spinal cord: a brain–spine interface (BSI) that converts cortical activity into the analogue modulation of epidural electrical stimulation programs to tune lower limb muscle activation, and thus regain standing and walking after paralysis due to a spinal cord injury (Supplementary Video 1).

 

Likely by many brain scans of test subjects. Scans, algorithms, and AI are also being employed to "read" ones thoughts. In its infancy and way beyond my understanding but if they are learning to read thoughts then repetitive movements like walking would seem simple

Tech that aims to read your mind and probe your memories is already here

 

https://scitechdaily.com/nerve-repair-glue-molecule-identified-for-regulating-the-repair-of-injured-nerves/#:~:text=Professor Massimo Hilliard and his,fusogen, needed for nerve repair.

Next up, nerve regeneration..

Researchers at The University of Queensland have identified a molecule essential for regulating the repair of injured nerves, which could help people recover from nerve damage.
The finding was made using the nematode worm C. elegans which has long been studied by researchers for its ability to self-repair nerve cells

 

the world is going to go through a rapid evolution over the next decade as AI is applied to medicine, materials, etc. interesting, and scary, time to be alive