A tiny implant to connect Human & Machines

                A tiny implant the size of a grain of sand has been created that can connect computers to the human body without the need for wires or batteries, opening up a host of futuristic possibilities. The devices, dubbed “neural dust”, could be used to continually monitor organs like the heart in real time and if they can be made even smaller, implanted into the brain to control robotic devices like prosthetic arms or legs.

                It is believed that they could help treat conditions like epilepsy by stimulating nerves and muscles, help people width incontinence control their bladder and ev

en suppress appetite. They could also potentially either be used to prompt the immune system into action or reduce inflammation. One of the inventors, Professor Michel Maharbiz, of University of California, Berkeley, said: “I think the long term prospects for neural dust are not only within nerves and the brain, but much broader.

                Ultrasound vibrations, which can penetrate almost every part of the body, are used to power the sensors, which are about a millimeter across. They contain a special crystal that converts ultrasound into electricity to power a tiny transistor. If there is a voltage spike in a nerve or muscle fibre this alters the vibration of the crystal, changing the way the sound echoes back to an ultrasound receiver.

                So far, experiments have been carried out on muscles and the peripheral nervous system of rats, but the researchers believe the dust could also work in the central nervous system and brain to control prosthetics. The researchers are currently building neural dust that could last in the body for more than 10 years. And because they are wireless there is no need for holes to remain in the skull.

Cleaner fuel made from plastic waste

                Scientists have found a way to use plastic trash to create a cleaner diesel-like fuel that could power vehicles, an advance that may turn landfills into potential energy sources in future. The researchers from the Chinese Academy of Science and University of California in the US hope to scale up the technique to allow for it to be used in actually reducing plastic trash. The new method involves mixing the plastics with organometallic catalyst, made from readily available molecule that were then doped with metal iridium. The reaction caused the bonds holding the plastic together to weaken, allowing them to be more easily torn apart. Researchers were able to use the broken down material to create a diesel-like fuel.

Aeroplanes to be lighter, stronger

                Scientists have found a new way to make aeroplane frames lighter and more damage-resistant by reinforcing materials using carbon nanotubes – atom-thin rolls of carbon that are incredibly strong. Passenger jets today are made from advanced composite materials such as carbon fibre reinforced plastic-extremely light, durable materials that reduce the weight of the plane by 20% compatred to aluminium-bodies planes.

Lightweight airframes translate directly to fuel savings, which is a major point in advanced composites’ favour. However, composite materials are vulnerable. While aluminium can withstand relatively large impacts before cracking, composites can break apart due to small impacts. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to bond composite layers in such a way that the resulting material is substantially stronger and more resistant to damage.

They fastened the layers of composite materials together using carbon nanotubes. They embedded tiny “forests” of carbon nanotubes within a glue-like polymer matrix, then pressed the matrix between layers of carbon fibre composites. The team found that, compared with existing composite materials, the stitched composites were 30% stronger, withstanding greater forces before breaking apart.

HIFiRE Hypersonic superjet technology successfully tested in Australia

                On 18 May 2016, a team of scientists successfully tested hypersonic superjet technology as part of the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) program. As part of the test, scramjet attached to a rocket booster was successfully sent to an altitude of 278 km. at Mach 7.5 (seven times the speed of sound). The test was conducted in Woomera, South Australia.

Main Features:

•          It is one of the largest collaborative research programs between Australia and the USA.
•          It aims to explore the fundamental science of hypersonics and the potential for next generation aeronautical system.
•          Hypersonic flight is a flight through the atmosphere at speeds above Mach 5.5, or more than five times the speed of sound.
•          The program has already achieved some significant milestones such as the design, assembly and pre-flight testing of the hypersonic vehicles and the design of complex avionics and flight systems.
•          It is considered as one of the most advances hypersonics programs in the world.
•          It is supersonic combustion technology that uses oxygen from the atmosphere for fuel.