Wow! USB cable PLANTS grown by scientists

March 29, 2016

New plants can be harvested as USB cables – and cut according to the required length. The first harvest Researchers have genetically engineered plants to develop as biodegradable USB cables and are due to bring in the first harvest later this year. Dr April F O’ols, a researcher at the AFD institute in southern Switzerland, explained that her team had also had success in turning petals and flowers into USB connectors, whether for micro USB ports or other sizes. The…

Clocks go forward – but why have we been doing this for 100 years?

March 24, 2016

jon

British Summer Time, In The News, retro

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British Summer Time starts on the last Sunday in March, with clocks going forward one hour at 1am in the UK – here’s the story why. 100 years anniversary No, it’s not because of a Time Lord, but it is because of a chap called William Willett who campaigned for British Summer Time (BST) from 1907 and the First World War. He wanted to stop people from wasting hours of light during summer mornings. Mr Willett proposed advancing the clocks…

Power loader exoskeleton (photo credit: Panasonic/YouTube_

Now YOU can be an Iron Man! Super strength suits revealed

March 22, 2016

jon

technology

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Exoskeletons that boost human speed, strength and endurance are already being used in the real world. So, you’ve seen the movies and thought wouldn’t it be awesome to have a suit that enhanced my powers as a human? Well, now there are exoskeletons (external support systems) that you can put on to do this – including from electronics company Panasonic. The Power Loader This looks like a serious piece of kit – just take a look at the main image at the…

Ben Nevis (Photo credit: Thincat [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

Britain’s tallest mountain has just GROWN. Here’s why…

March 18, 2016

jon

In The News, travel

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Ben Nevis is the UK’s highest mountain and has just grown a metre taller – but don’t worry, it’s not down to a volcano exploding or an earthquake shifting the earth. It’s down to technology. Experts at the Ordnance Survey (OS), the country’s mapping agency, recently climbed to the top of the mountain and used the latest GPS equipment to resurvey the mountain. And the new official height is 1,345m and not 1,344m. The Scottish mountain was last surveyed in…

St Patrick’s Day: 12 Stunning Photos from Ireland and Northern Ireland

March 14, 2016

jon

7dayshop, photo gallery, photography

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Landscape photos that convey the beauty and drama of the landscape North and South by award-winning photographer Gary McParland. Glendalough Light Taken at sunrise at the Lower Lake, Glendalough in Co Wicklow, Ireland. Boyeeghter Light A beautiful beach at Melmore Head on the Rosguill Peninsula in Co Donegal Monday night. Known locally as The Murder Hole. I was treated to some beautiful light for a little while. Sunset at The Hares Gap Sunset shot from the Hares Gap in The…

World-beating flash drive revealed

March 9, 2016

jon

science, technology

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“Fastest ever” SSD flash drive with 10 gigabytes per second (10GB/s) unveiled by Seagate. It’s more than 4GB/s faster than the previous holder of the title, which hovered around the 6GB/s mark. Data processing demands The pre-production unit, which lays the foundations for a new solid state drive (SSD) product for release later in 2016, is designed for big data centres looking to adopt the fastest flash technology while cutting their power and cost pressures at the same time. “Technology advancements…

Outstanding pictures by young photographers for competition

March 4, 2016

jon

Uncategorized

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Selection of photos from international student photography competition supported by 7dayshop.com. The Guernsey Photography Festival has unveiled the shortlists for the categories of its student competition – both international and Channel Islands – after receiving hundreds of entries of an exceptionally high standard. The pictures offer a glimpse into the future of photography and some of these artists could become famous in the future. The competition is also supported by 7dayshop’s sister company snapmad.com – which offers high quality canvas prints, real…

Artist impression of a Low Boom Flight Demonstration Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) X-plane design (credit: Lockheed Martin)

New Concorde plane to ‘fly in 2020’ with one big change

March 1, 2016

jon

Concorde, technology

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RETURN OF SUPERSONIC PASSENGER SERVICE WITH WHAT IS BEING CALLED A “HEARTBEAT” PLANNED BY NASA. The space agency has unveiled plans for the new aircraft to fly from 2020, with the design having one major difference to the much-loved Concorde that was retired in 2003. A supersonic heartbeat It might have been an engineering marvel and icon, but Concorde was also well known for loud sonic booms as it passed through the sound barrier. And for some people, that was always a source…