Daily Innovation News

June 5^th 2024

⚡️ Energy

🇨🇳 China opens world's largest solar farm with 6.09 billion kWh annual capacity

China has connected the world's largest solar power plant, with a capacity of 6.09 billion kWh annually, to the grid in Xinjiang. This new plant, covering 200,000 acres, can provide enough power for small countries like Papua New Guinea or Luxembourg for a year. This development underscores China's significant advancements in renewable energy, with a 55.2% growth in solar electricity capacity in 2023, aligning with its goals to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

🚀 Space

🇪🇺 European Space Agency performs the world's first metal 3D printing in space

The European Space Agency (ESA) achieved the first metal 3D printing on the International Space Station (ISS), creating a stainless steel S-shaped curve. This breakthrough, led by Airbus, aims to develop a circular economy in space by repurposing defunct satellite parts. The success of this test is a significant step towards manufacturing usable materials in space, reducing launch costs, and enhancing self-sufficiency for space missions.

🤖 Artificial Intelligence

🇨🇭 Swiss researchers develop AI-powered camera for 100 times faster obstacle detection in cars

Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a bio-inspired camera combined with AI that detects pedestrians and obstacles 100 times faster than current car cameras. This hybrid system integrates a standard camera with an event camera, enabling quick detection without increasing computational power. It processes data efficiently, enhancing the safety of automotive systems and self-driving cars. The study, demonstrating significant improvements in obstacle detection speed and reliability, was published in Nature.

🌎 Environment

🇳🇱 Dutch scientists discover marine fungus that degrades plastic in the ocean

Researchers from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) have identified a marine fungus, Parengyodontium album, in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that can break down polyethylene, a common plastic pollutant. This discovery offers a potential biological solution to mitigate oceanic plastic pollution. The fungus degrades plastic effectively after UV exposure, turning it into carbon dioxide. The study highlights the fungus’s potential for environmental cleanup. The findings were published in Science of The Total Environment.

🇨🇭 Swiss company Climeworks unveils energy-efficient CO2 capture technology

Climeworks has launched its Generation 3 direct air capture (DAC) plant, promising to halve energy use and costs compared to older models. This advancement aims to reduce the cost of CO2 capture to $250–350 per ton by 2030. The new plant design increases surface contact with CO2, enhancing capture efficiency. The first deployment will be in Louisiana, funded by a $3.5 billion US program to develop DAC hubs. Climeworks plans further expansions in Australia, Norway, Kenya, and Canada.

💊 Healthcare

🇺🇸 US researchers develop tech for stroke rehab at home using smartphones and gaming controllers

NYU Tandon School of Engineering researchers have created a technology enabling stroke patients to perform rehabilitation exercises at home. This system uses a smartphone strapped to the forearm and a low-cost Novint Falcon gaming controller to track wrist movements, providing data with over 90% accuracy. This affordable solution aims to increase access to intensive post-stroke rehabilitation, improving patients' independence and quality of life. The study was presented at SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation 2024.

🇺🇸 US researchers develop novel promising antibody treatment for kidney cancer

Scientists at The Wistar Institute have created a new antibody therapy called CA9-PMTE, a Persistent Multivalent T Cell Engager, for treating advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). This novel therapy enhances the interaction between T cells and cancer cells, improving efficacy and durability compared to traditional bispecific T cell engagers. The CA9-PMTE shows promise in pre-clinical models for its potent, long-lasting effects, potentially offering a new tool in cancer therapy. The study was published in Science of The Total Environment.

That’s all for today, please reply to this email if you have any comments or feedback, we’d love to hear from you about what we can do better!

Have you enjoyed this email? Make sure to share it with your friends and colleagues.

Thanks for reading!