Sci-Tech

Research aims to develop eco-friendly nanoparticles for pesticides

A new study published in the journal ‘Nature Nanotechnology’ has found that lignin-based, environmentally-benign nanoparticles (EbNPs) could replace the better known and less eco-friendly silver-based nanoparticles in pesticides. Nanoparticles are microscopic particles that exist in the environment and the silver-based nanoparticles are considered the most widely used in pesticides. While the silver-based nanoparticles exhibit broad anti-microbial properties that can kill bacteria, fungi and other microbes, they are also considered hazardous to the environment. For that […]

Computer animation shows how Mars could look

AUGUST 17 (Reuters) — A German university has created a computer-animated video showing a simulated flight over a regions of Mars. Using data gathered from a High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express aircraft which is operated by the German Aerospae Center (DLR), scientists at the Freie Universitaet in Berlin were able to piece together and create a computer-animated video showing how the ground could look in a […]

Samsung Electronics unveils high-end phones in search of sales boost

Aug.14 (Reuters) Samsung Electronics Co Ltd unveiled a new Galaxy Note phablet and a larger version of its curved-screen S6 Edge smartphone on Thursday (August 13), marking a fresh bid by the South Korean company to revive momentum in its handset business. Samsung is the world’s top smartphone maker but its market share fell in the second quarter when the company released its critically acclaimed S6 models, squeezed by Apple Inc’s upscale iPhones and cheaper […]

Electronic skin sensors to control mobile gadgets

Aug.10  (Reuters) Imagine controlling your smart phone with one of these skin-worn silicone patches. The makers of iSkin say its thin, soft and flexible design presents new possibilities for on-body mobilecomputing. Martin Weigel, PHD student in the Embodied Interaction Group at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, saying: “Current electronics are mostly using rigid components which are very uncomfortable to wear on the body and are limiting the locations to, for example, the wrist or […]

Japanese engineer develops world’s first ‘car in a bag’

Aug. 7 (Reuters) Pocket-sized personal transporters could soon be seen on the streets of Tokyo. A Japanese engineer has developed a portable transporter small enough to be carried in a backpack that he says is the world’s first ‘car in a bag’. Twenty-six-year-old Kuniako Saito and his team at Cocoa Motors recently unveiled the lithium battery-powered “WalkCar” transporter, which is the size of a laptop and resembles a skateboard more than a car. The slender […]

Eco-friendly 3D printed supercar

Aug.5 (Reuters) This is the Blade, a supercar that its makers hope will re-define car manufacturing. It didn’t come off an assembly line – but out of a 3D printer. Kevin Czinger of Divergent Microfactories has spent most of his adult life tied in one way or another to the automotive industry. One day he realized that no matter how fuel efficient or how few tailpipe emissions the modern car has, the business of car […]

Organizers of largest tech conference in Europe hold first event in Asia

JULY 31 (Reuters) – Over 500 start-up companies congregated in Hong Kong on Friday (July 31) to attend RISE, the first conference in Asia organised by Web Summit, one of the largest tech summits in Europe. Organisers estimated the event attracted over 5,000 people from 72 countries, including 300 investors. One of the companies attending the summit is the world’s biggest drone maker, China-based DJI. DJI, whose best-selling Phantom 2 Vision+ drone retails for around $1,200 […]

Cologne levels up with biggest ever Gamescom video game fair

AUG. 6 (Reuters) — Cologne buzzed with life — virtual and real — on Wednesday (August 5) as the city hosted Gamescom, the world’s biggest computer and video game fair. Desktop and console games from the world’s biggest manufacturers – including Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and Microsoft – were wired up for trade visitors on Wednesday ahead of doors opening to general enthusiasts on Thursday (August 6). For 2015’s edition, all eyes are on virtual reality […]

Deep space satellite captures dark side of moon

AUGUST 7 (Reuters) — A satellite positioned a million miles (1,609,344km) from Earth in between the moon and the sun captured new images of the dark side of the moon on July 16. The images were taken by a NASA camera onboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite. An animation of the photographs shows the moon passing in front of the earth as it rotates. The moon is seen moving over the Pacific Ocean […]

NASA’s fizzing water bubble experiment captured in high resolution

NASA astronaut Terry Virts explores water tension in microgravity by dissolving an effervescent tablet in a floating ball of water. It’s not the most complex research the crew aboard the International Space Station will carry out. But astronaut Terry Virts saw it as the perfect way to test out their new ultra high resolution camera. An effervescent tablet dissolves inside a ball of water floating in the space station’s microgravity. The result is a mesmerizing […]

Candle power to charge smartphones

  (Reuters) — A power outage – it’s an experience all are familiar with and everyone dreads. The lights go out, the TV goes black, the computers shut down as their batteries drain. And worst of all – your smartphone dies. This scenario was one of the inspirations for Andrew Byrns of California startup Stower to develop the candle charger. Its simplistic design is based on the principles of thermo-electrics, which have been around since […]

China’s 3D printed homes

CHINA, July 24 (Eagle News) – A group was able to amaze the crowd when it constructed a house using 3D printing technology under 3 hours. (Eagle News Service Jay Paul Carlos, Jericho Morales, MRFaith Bonalos)