Daily Innovation News

November 12^th 2024

💻 Technology

🇰🇷 LG display stretches by 50%, folds, twists, and endures 10,000 stretches

South Korean researchers at LG have developed the world's first stretchable display capable of expanding up to 50%, twisting, folding, and surviving 10,000 stretches without losing image quality. This durable, high-resolution display, made from flexible silicon, can be applied to curved surfaces, opening up new uses in industries like automotive and wearables. LG envisions applications ranging from vehicle dashboards to wearable firefighter screens providing real-time data, advancing both technology and South Korea's position in the global display market.

🇫🇮 Finnish researchers achieve 16-fold boost in fiber optic data transfer with laser “hurricane” vortices

Finnish scientists have pioneered a new method to enhance data transfer through fiber optic cables by up to 16 times using "laser hurricanes"—intricate light vortices formed in a unique pattern called a quasicrystal. Created by manipulating metallic nanoparticles with an electric field, these vortices enable advanced data encoding and transmission capabilities by encoding data within the vortices' complex shapes. This breakthrough in data transfer efficiency, published in Nature Communications, holds promise for future telecommunications and high-capacity data transmission.

⚡️ Energy

🇦🇺 Australian renewable energy hub to be world’s largest, generating 70 GW of clean power

The proposed Western Green Energy Hub in Australia, set to span over 22,700 square kilometers, will be the world’s largest renewable energy facility, with a capacity upgrade to 70 GW, primarily from wind and solar power. The project, planned for completion over the next three decades, will feature 60 million solar panels, 3,000 wind turbines, and infrastructure for green hydrogen and ammonia production. With an estimated annual output of 200 TWh, this ambitious facility aims to power Australia's transition to clean energy by 2050.

🚘 Transport

🇦🇺 Australian EVs to support the grid with V2G charging by Christmas

The Australian government plans to introduce Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) standards by Christmas, enabling EVs to support the national grid during peak energy demands. This move aims to use EVs as distributed batteries, enhancing grid stability during Australia’s hot summer, which strains the energy supply. Although most EVs lack V2G capability, models like the Nissan Leaf and select PHEVs are already compatible, with more expected soon. This initiative, alongside Australia’s renewable energy successes, could set a global example for using EVs in grid management.

🦾 Robotics

🇺🇸 US researchers create surgical robot that learns complex procedures from video alone

American researchers have developed a robot capable of autonomously performing surgeries with human-level precision by using imitation learning, which allows it to learn from surgical videos without step-by-step programming. The robot, powered by AI similar to ChatGPT but adapted for kinematic movement, successfully mastered essential tasks such as suturing and tissue manipulation, showcasing remarkable adaptability in new environments. This breakthrough in medical robotics could accelerate the path to fully autonomous surgery, potentially reducing medical errors and enhancing surgical accuracy.

🌎 Environment

🇺🇸 US startup transforms mining waste into critical metals for EVs and defense

A startup founded by MIT alumni, Phoenix Tailings, has developed a sustainable method to extract rare earth metals and nickel from mining waste using water and recyclable solvents. This eco-friendly approach eliminates toxic byproducts and cuts carbon emissions, aiming to produce 3,000 tons of critical metals by 2026 for sectors like electric vehicles and defense. Supported by Department of Energy grants, the company’s method can process multiple ore types, reducing reliance on foreign metal sources while addressing the 1.8 billion tons of U.S. mining waste annually.

🇰🇷 South Korean researchers develop microbial plastic to replace PET in eco-friendly bottles

A team at South Korea's KAIST has created a biodegradable, microbial-based plastic that can replace polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in bottles. Using metabolic engineering, they developed a bacterial strain that efficiently produces pseudoaromatic dicarboxylic acids, which boast higher biodegradability and physical strength than conventional PET. This eco-friendly approach not only avoids hazardous waste but also achieves high production yields, opening potential applications in polyester manufacturing to reduce plastic waste and dependency on petrochemicals. The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

💊 Healthcare

🇸🇬 Singaporean researchers develop “microcellular drones” to deliver targeted lung cancer treatments

Scientists at the National University of Singapore have engineered extracellular vesicles (EVs) from red blood cells to transport antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) directly to lung cancer cells, providing a targeted treatment that bypasses drug resistance. These ASO-loaded “microcellular drones” target mutant EGFR genes in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, effectively suppressing tumors without harming healthy cells. This precision approach, published in eBioMedicine, highlights a promising advance in personalized cancer treatment by using engineered EVs for precise RNA-based cancer therapies.

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