Items of Interest

18,000 Ideas For Ireland

The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science published the results of a national brainstorming project called Creating Our Future that collected 18,000+ ideas to make Ireland better for all.

Life

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Upcycled CD Biosensors

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Researchers at Binghamton University developed a new method to extract the gold metallic layer of a CD, without toxic chemicals, and repurposed into biosensors for wearable devices.

Environment

Innovation

Science

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All The Proteins

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DeepMind is due to release a database of AI predicted structure of every protein known to science (200 million proteins)!

AI & ML

Science

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Hydrogen From Tap Water

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Spanish scientist José Antonio G. I. developed a prototype system to extract hydrogen from tap water without electrolysis. Pressurized air injected into a tank of water, ferrosilicon, and sodium hydroxide causes a chemical reaction to extract the hydrogen through two additional tanks that can produce 30 litres of hydrogen per minute. Allowing hydrogen to be generated at the point of consumption removes the need for hydrogen transportation.

Environment

Innovation

Science

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Underground Autonomous Cargo Delivery

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Switzerland have given go-ahead for the construction of the first 70km of a new underground autonomous cargo delivery system called Cargo Sous Terrain (CST) at a cost of $3 billion. The full 500km network is expected to cost $35 billion and be complete by 2045. Electric induction power cargo pods will travel on rails in the underground tunnels at 30km per hour.

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Sonar Face Expressions

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Engineers at Cornell University have demonstrated how facial expressions can be detected and recreated using sonar on a wearable placed on each side of the head. A machine learning model analyses the sonar echo produced from a speaker and microphone on each ear to detect changes in skin on the face. The system effectively recognises facial expressions with the same detail as a camera.

Innovation

Tech

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Jargon Explainer

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Jargon is a Chrome extension that uses the GPT-3 machine learning model to describe science jargon in plain english.

AI & ML

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Solar Generated Jet Fuel

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Researchers at ETH Zurich have built and testing a solar jet fuel generator. The solar tower uses solar power, water and CO2 from the atmosphere to generate a carbon-neutral jet fuel mix that can be converted into ynthetic fuels.

Environment

Innovation

Tech

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Carbon Scrubbing Vehicles

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Students at Eindhoven University of Technology have built a carbon net-zero electric car prototype which includes a CO2 scrubber in the front grill. Built from sustainable, recycled and/or reusable materials and components, with solar cells to extend range, the electric car can also scrub 2kg of CO2 for every 20,600km driven.

Environment

Innovation

Tech