3D food printing in the offing

                Scientists are developing a three dimensional (3D) food printer that can fabricate edible items through computer-guided software and the actual cooking of edible pastes, gels, powders, and liquid ingredients all in a prototype that looks like an elegant coffee machine. Food printers are not meant to replace conventional cooking.

They will not solve all of our nutritional needs, nor cook everything we should eat but they will produce an infinite variety of customized fresh, nutritional foods on demand, transforming digital recipes and basic ingredients supplied in frozen cartridges into healthy dishes that can supplement our daily intake.

                This is the missing link that will bring the benefits of personalized data-driven health to our kitchen tables – it is the ‘killer app’ of 3D printing. The printer is fitted out with a robotic arm that holds eight slots for frozen food cartridges. Researchers are now working on incorporating an infrared heating element into the arm.

                3D printing is a universal technology that has the potential to revolutionize lives by enabling us to design and manufacture things with unprecedented freedom. If we can leverage this technology to allow artificial intelligence tools to design and create new things for us, we can achieve immeasurable potential. The 3D printer will be able to cook various ingredients at different temperatures and different durations.

Tricking the human body to beat cancer

                German researchers have presents a Trojan gorse method of attacking cancer, sneaking virus impersonators into the human body to unleash an anti-tumour immune offensive. Tested in only three people so far, the treatment claims to be the latest advance in immunotherapy, which aims to rouse the body’s own immune army against disease. Made in a lab, this Trojan horse is composed of nanoparticles containing cancer RNA – a form of genetic coding – enclosed by a fatty acid membrane.

                The particles are injected into patients to simulate a virus invasion, and infiltrate specialized immune cells. These so-called dendritic cells decode the RNA embedded in the nanoparticles – triggering, in turn, the production of cancer antigens. The antigens then activate cancer-fighting T cells, and thus prime the body for an all-out, anti-tumour assault.

                Following experiments in mice, three people with advanced skin cancer were given low doses of the treatment. All developed a “strong” immune response, the team reported in the journal ‘Nature’. If further trials find the therapy works, they added, the method could help pave the way to the highly-sought “universal” treatment for all cancer types.

SpaceX successfully launches Japanese JCSAT-14 Satellite

                On 6 May 2016, SpaceX successfully launched the Japanese communications satellite, JCSAT-14 on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The satellite was place into its intended preliminary geostationary transfer orbit by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket which was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US. The odds of a successful soft-landing were slim due to the mission requirements for the particular launch.

About JCSAT-14:

•          JCSAT-14 is designed to last 15 years needed to be placed into geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 22000 miles.
•          This is much higher than SpaceX’s launch when they successfully recovered their rocket on a drone ship.
•          JCSAT-14 is a satellite from the SKY Perfect JAST Group, the largest satellite operator in Asia.
•          The satellite once in orbit will be used to provide television and communication services.
•          This launch was the fourth successful flight for SpaceX so far in 2016.

This 132-ft ship can travel on its own, hunt for stealth submarines

                It’s not only drones and driverless cars that may become the norm someday. Ocean-faring ships might also run without captains or crews. The Pentagon on 2 May showed off the world’s largest unmanned surface vessel, a self-driving 132 foot ship able to travel up to 10,000 nautical miles on its own to hunt for stealth submarines and underwater mines.

                The US military’s research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, or DARPA, in conjunction with the navy will be testing the shop off the San Diego coast over the next two years. Unlike smaller, remote-controlled craft launched from ships, the “Sea Hunter” is built to operate on its own.

                SARPA spokesman Jared B. Adams said the ship relies on radar, sonar, cameras and GPS for movement and detection. Unmanned ships will supplement missions to help keep service members out of harm’s way, Adams said. With its twin diesel engines, it could go as far as Guam from San Diego on a mission.

                Maritime companies of Europe and Asia have been looking into developing fleets of unmanned ships to cut down on operation costs and get through areas plagued by pirates. The idea in the commercial sector has sparked debate over whether it’s possible to make robotic boats safe enough, while others have expressed concern about hackers taking control.

New material to take net data speed to 2 GB/s

                Researchers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have developed a new material that may not only provide efficient lighting, but also power wireless internet with data speed of up to 2 Gigabytes per second. The nano-crystalline material rapidly makes white light out of blue light. Earlier inventions like visible-light communication makes use of parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that are unregulated and is more energy-efficient, but the conversion process is not fast enough to match the speed at which LEDs can be switched on an off. The researchers created nanocrystal of cesium lead bromide that were eight nanometers in size. They were able to show uptical processes in the nanocrystals occurs on a time-scale of seven nanoseconds. This meant they could modulate the optical emission at a frequency of 491 megahertz.

Ultra-thin flexible solar cells to power e-wearables

Scientists have developed new solar cells thinner than human hair and flexible enough to wrap around a pencil, that could power wearable electronics like fitness trackers and smart glasses. The thin cells can be integrated onto frames of glasses or fabric and might power the next wave of wearable electronics.

                “Our photovoltaic is about 1 micrometer thick,” said Jongho Lee, an engineer at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea. One micrometer is much thinner than an average human hair. Standard photovoltaic are usually hundreds of times thicker, and even most other thin photovoltaics are 2 to 4 times thicker. The researchers made the ultra-thin solar cells from the semiconductor gallium arsenide.

                The researchers tested the efficiency of the device at converting sunlight to electricity and found that it was comparable to similar thicker photovoltaics. They performed bending tests and found the cells could wrap around a radius as small as 1.4mm.

Flying Observatory SOFIA detects Atomic Oxygen in Martian Atmosphere

                Atomic Oxygen was detected in the upper layer of the Martian atmosphere known as Mesosphere. This presence of Atomic Oxygen for the first time since observation 40 years ago was detected by an instrument onboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Atomic oxygen affects how other gases escape Mars and therefore has a significant impact on the planet’s atmosphere. The research was published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.