Daily Innovation News

July 17^th 2024

💻 Technology

🇮🇳 Indian company launches first arrhythmia-detecting smart ring

Indian company Ultrahuman has introduced the first smart ring capable of detecting atrial fibrillation (AFib). The new PowerPlugs platform for their Ring AIR health tracker allows users to select various health apps that monitor a large variety of things from jet lag to vitamin D exposure to ovulation. This innovation provides a new level of personalized health tracking and could be life-saving for those with AFib.

🇭🇺 Hungarian scientists achieve world-first with large-scale autonomous drone traffic test

Researchers in Hungary have demonstrated the world's first large-scale autonomous drone traffic system, allowing 5,000 drones to navigate safely without central control. Utilizing a decentralized, self-organizing model inspired by nature, the system was successfully tested in simulations and real-world scenarios. This innovation, published in Swarm Intelligence, promises efficient and safe drone operations for applications in smart cities, agriculture, and defense.

⚡️ Energy

🇦🇺🇸🇬 Australian sun to power Singapore via the world’s longest 2671-mile undersea cable

Australia's SunCable has received environmental approval to proceed with the Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) project. This groundbreaking project will deliver 4 GW of renewable electricity to Darwin and 1.75 GW to Singapore via a 2671-mile subsea cable. The initiative aims to establish the world's largest solar energy precinct in Australia's Northern Territory, significantly contributing to green energy development and economic growth.

🚘 Transport

🇨🇳 Chinese researchers repurpose solar panel waste to create efficient EV batteries

Scientists at China's Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology have developed lithium-ion batteries using recycled silicon from solar panels, achieving 99.9% efficiency and retaining 83.1% capacity over 200 charge-discharge cycles. This sustainable approach utilizes micrometer-sized silicon particles for the anodes, enhancing energy density and battery performance. The breakthrough, published in Nature Sustainability, promises cost-effective, high-performance batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage.

💊Healthcare

🇱🇹🇯🇵🇪🇸🇮🇪 Lithuanian, Japanese, Spanish, and Irish scientists discover gut bacteria to combat food addiction

Researchers from Lithuania, Japan, Spain, and Ireland have identified gut bacteria that may help end food addiction. The bacterium Blautia wexlerae, linked to lower obesity and diabetes risks, was shown to reduce food addiction in mice when combined with prebiotics. This study, published in Gut, suggests modulating gut microbiota could be a potential strategy to treat food addiction, highlighting the need for further research and potential microbiota-based treatments.

🇺🇸 US researchers advance targeted biological drug delivery by hijacking natural cell systems

Scientists in the US have developed a method to hijack the body's natural cell delivery systems for targeted drug delivery. By encouraging engineered proteins to associate with specific cell membrane structures called lipid rafts, they achieved up to 240 times more efficient loading of proteins into extracellular vesicles (EVs). This novel technique, detailed in Nature Communications, could lead to cost-effective and precise delivery of therapeutic proteins, potentially revolutionizing treatments for various diseases.

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