A new international project to reduce aircraft noise is building on pioneering research by UK engineers.
The Cambridge-MIT Institute’s Silent Aircraft Initiative (SAI) aims to design an aircraft that will make much less noise than conventional aeroplanes. To help meet its objectives, the project will use noise-modelling techniques devised by engineers at Cambridge University with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). As well as Cambridge Univers
Computer scientists at the University of Essex have been awarded a grant to develop an intelligent robotic wheelchair.
Researchers from the Department of Computer Science will work alongside scientists from the Institute of Automation at Beijing in developing the advanced technology needed for a high performance, low cost RoboChair which will enable the elderly and disabled to gain increased mobility and live more independently.
The RoboChair will have a user-friendly man-ma
Scientists have demonstrated the importance of programmed cell death in preventing inbreeding in plants, according to research published in Nature today. Researchers at the University of Birmingham School of Biosciences have found that self-incompatibility, an important mechanism in plants that prevents them fertilizing themselves with their own pollen, which is genetically controlled by products of the S locus, triggers programmed cell death in incompatible pollen coming into contact with the stigma
By threading a magnetic field through a carbon nanotube, scientists have switched the molecule between metallic and semiconducting states, a phenomenon predicted by physicists some years ago, but never before clearly seen in individual molecules. In the May 21 issue of the journal Science, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign present experimental evidence that a nanotube’s electronic structure can be altered in response to a magnetic field. The research team c
Bacteria could be the new weapon in the fight against drug trafficking, according to an article published in the May 2004 issue of Microbiology Today, the quarterly magazine for the Society for General Microbiology. Researchers at CNAP, University of York, have found bacteria that grow on heroin and morphine and believe that two special proteins from these bugs could be used to detect heroin.
“This is hugely important”, explains Professor Neil Bruce of CNAP, “since the need for a rapid, hand
Research proves that use of antibacterial detergents in the home and in hospitals can reduce the development of superbugs, according to an article published in the May 2004 issue of Microbiology Today, the quarterly magazine for the Society for General Microbiology. Using antibacterial products, including disinfectants and antiseptics, has been found to lessen the chance of infection and as a result cut down on the use of antibiotics.
Modern over-use of antibacterial soaps and cleaners to co
Dualia, located in the Basque town of Aretxabaleta, has developed a system of simultaneous translation via mobile telephone and which is currently the only one of its kind world-wide.
Every company that has contact abroad but is not au fait with the language normally has to make use of an on-the-spot simultaneous interpreter who has to be physically present at all the meetings involving business, etc. With this new service, Dualia makes this situation greatly simpler, providing the client ac
CIDETEC is working on a project the aim of which is to carry out a direct assessment of the technology of fuel cells for “mini” applications which have between 1 and 10 watt power requirements – such as for mobile phone or PDA chargers or for remote signalling, etc. to this end, a series of technologies are being developed in order to obtain a house technology mini fuel cells, including the design and enhancement of EMAs (electrode-membrane assemblies), of structural elements (current collectors, sh
A revolutionary steering mechanism for the public transport systems of the future that is safer and cheaper to install than current methods will be developed thanks to an investment of £70,000 from NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts), the organisation that supports UK innovation and creativity.
Warwickshire-based Transport Design International Ltd (TDI) will develop Safeguide, an automatic, electronic steering system for use on rubber-tyred trams or people carri
“We can drive from Amsterdam to Rotterdam in the rush hour, and we can do it without touching either the accelerator or the brakes!” says Peter Hendrickx, coordinator of the DenseTraffic project, speaking about the new RoadEye radar sensor the project has developed.
Second-generation adaptive cruise control
The RoadEye radar sensor is a vital component in the new second generation of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) systems for vehicles. Unlike the ACC fitted to several upmark
With increased traffic pollution plaguing Europe’s cities, a near real-time vehicle pollution monitoring system that correlates traffic conditions and the resulting levels of pollution has been developed and road-tested and should help to create healthier urban environments.
Maurizio Tomassini, coordinator of the HEAVEN project, describes it as “a system for connecting real-time traffic data to emissions and concentrations due to vehicle pollutants. End products are near-real-time maps
Less expensive production method reduces the costs on the consumer and society
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Belgian institute VIB (Flander Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology) have developed a new, efficient method for producing plant-derived compounds in cell cultures. Such compounds are for example used for expensive special pharmaceuticals. The new method will provide a more inexpensive and efficient method for producing anti-cancer drugs in the near fut
New research from the University of Warwick reveals the celebrities and heroes of 17th century England were politicians, not footballers. The study into ballads of the 1600s reveals that the Duke of Monmouth, James Scot, the illegitimate son of Charles II, was hailed as a true hero in ballads, the equivalent of today’s pop music, and despite his flaws, as the people’s Royal he could do no wrong – very much like England’s most recent darling, David Beckham.
In the 17th century the
Variability in weight ranges and drug content of split tablet may put patients at risk of receiving too much/too little medication
Back and neck pain sufferers who divide the most frequently prescribed muscle relaxant may be getting anywhere from half to one-and-a-half times the amount of medicine they believe they are taking, suggests a new study examining the practice of tablet splitting. This may place them at an increased risk of encountering side effects such as drowsiness and f
Women can markedly lower the risk of neural tube defects in their offspring by ingesting tablets before or just after conception
Only about 25 per cent of women in many countries voluntarily take folic acid tablets before conception, says a U of T researcher.
Dr. Joel Ray, along with fellow researchers Gita Singh of McMaster University in Hamilton and Robert Burrows of Monash University in Australia, reviewed nearly 50 studies conducted in about 20 countries between 1992 an
Converting waste heat into electricity
“Waste heat” might not be such a waste after all. The excess heat produced in everything from microelectronics to large ship engines is generally thought of as a problem for engineers to solve. But a new leap in semiconductor technology funded by the Office of Naval Research could put that troublesome heat to good use.
Dr. Mihal Gross of ONR’s physical sciences division explains, “With this class of semiconductors, when you have a
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