The fabrication of nano- and microrobots, with “fingers” small enough to “feel” and purposefully manipulate matter at the microscopic scale, is arguably one of the most ambitious goals of nanotechnology. At first glance, the prospect may appear unachievable, with Sci-Fi TV writers – using non-descript “nanobots” as a plot device to achieve any magic that […]
The oneiric Ladyland is a distant realm governed by women only and led by a visionary queen with a strong passion for science. In this far kingdom, two major universities develop cutting-edge technologies, including a piping system to channel and distribute the heat from the sun: ‘The kitchen was situated in a beautiful vegetable garden. […]
With hopes of exploring deeper and deeper into space, creating a “constellation of satellites” for navigation to Internet service, and even distributing solar power collected from space directly to Earth (space-based solar power), we will need new solar cell designs to more efficiently power future endeavours in the final frontier. My research, based in the […]
Imagine you have the world’s best magnifying glass and you could zoom into objects indefinitely, what do you think you would see? The wonders of the cosmos have captured the imagination of many great thinkers, from Socrates to Galileo and Isaac Newton. Yet, while they may have stared up at the sky and wondered how […]
Since the Copernican model of the solar system we have known that the earth revolves around the sun. Efficiently harvesting sunlight will also be at the centre of our solution to the current global climate emergency. The Sun potentially represents a huge clean energy source, with approximately 120 terawatts of power hitting Earth from incident […]
Plastics are essential to modern living, they preserve our food, encase our electronics and are even in our toothpaste! However, most modern plastics are non-biodegradable, harmful to other animals and contribute to landfill. If we are to halt plastic pollution, we need sustainable alternatives, and quick! But do not fear, protein based materials such as […]
(or, a love letter to cyanobacteria) Cyanobacteria are little green critters that have been happily thriving in almost every habitat on this planet for the last 2.7 billion years. They were around long before creatures like us could even survive. In fact, cyanobacteria might very well be the reason you’re around to read this. Before […]
Picture this: a lump is found in your kidney during a routine ultrasound scan. The doctors are unable to tell you if the lump is cancerous or not. Your options are to wait and see, potentially delaying treatment which could save your life, or to have your kidney surgically removed, leading to long recovery times […]
It seems like a weekly occurrence to hear of the latest huge data hack, exposing vast deposits of customer credit card details, patient records or other sensitive confidential information. This risk of cyber-attack only increases as our world become ever more connected and online, so governments and corporations have sought better ways to secure the […]
Scattered fragments from an interview with a quantum mechanic The Tower is built on spit and spite1 Q: What is your project and why did you choose it? A: When, between a session on the bongos and a lectio magistralis, Richard Feynman was asked about quantum mechanics, he had this to say: “I […]