The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson will reportedly make a historic visit to Vietnam as part of the Navy’s largest multinational disaster response exercises in the Indo-Pacific region. Click on the graphic for an expanded view. Continue reading US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to make historic Vietnam visit – an annotated infographic
On the first day of next month, 1 April 2018, India’s Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft will attempt to land a briefcase-sized rover onto the Moon’s surface, 600km from the lunar south pole, while an orbiter above searches for water – vital to future manned missions. This is no joke (India has no concept of April Fools’ Day). India’s Moon ambitions are very real, completely serious and technologically advanced. Click on the graphic for an expanded view. Continue reading India’s tricky mission to Moon’s south pole with the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft- an annotated infographic
Scientists have found the first major evidence that Neanderthals, rather than modern humans, created the world’s oldest known cave paintings – suggesting they may have had an artistic sense similar to our own. Published in the journal Science, a new study led by the University of Southampton and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology shows that paintings in three caves in Spain were created more than 64,000 years ago – 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe. This means that the Palaeolithic (Ice Age) cave art – including pictures of animals, dots and geometric signs – must have … Continue reading Prehistoric cave art in Spain suggests Neanderthals were artists – an annotated infographic
The 65th anniversary of the publication of the structure of DNA by James D. Watson, Francis H.C. Crick, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins takes place as scientists debate the ethics of new gene editing techniques. It was Saturday lunchtime on February 28, 1953, when two Cambridge University scientists pushed open the doors of The Eagle, a favourite pub for researchers at the nearby Cavendish laboratory. The duo, 25-year-old American bacteriologist and birdwatcher James Watson and Francis Crick, a 37-year-old British physicist, announced that they had unravelled the double helix structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, saying: “We have discovered the secret … Continue reading Discovery of DNA double helix – 65th anniversary of Crick and Watson’s landmark work – an annotated infographic
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) – the highest court within the European Union – is to rule on whether crops developed using so-called “New Breeding Techniques” like CRISPR/Cas are the same as those achieved through traditional plant breeding. The ECJ decision, expected in the coming weeks, follows a request by the French Council of State, on behalf of the Confédération Paysanne, for a legal ruling over whether organisms obtained by “mutagenesis” are exempt from the EU’s Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) Directive. In 2001, the EU directive defined genetic modification as inserting DNA of one organism into another but opened … Continue reading New generation of plant breeding – GMO crops in the dock – an annotated infographic
The United Arab Emirates is due to commission the Arab world’s first nuclear power station in 2018. The Barakah plant’s four reactors are expected to supply up to 25 percent of the UAE’s electricity needs by 2020. As reported by E&T news in October last year, Saudi Arabia intends to begin the first reactor casing pouring in 2018 on two power plants with a capacity up to 2.8GW. The conservative Gulf Kingdom, which has a population of 32 million, is thought to hold 18 per cent of the world’s total crude oil reserves and has long been the world’s top … Continue reading UAE to open Arab world’s first nuclear power plant – an annotated infographic
To explore how delivery drones could be used, Singapore has turned to Airbus to test a drone delivery service. The Skyways project aims to use drones to provide an efficient delivery service of small parcels to staff and students across the campus of the National University of Singapore. If the university test is successful, the system could be extended to service ships anchored in the Port of Singapore. Click on the graphic for an expanded view. Continue reading Singapore to test done delivery system with help from Airbus – an annotated infographic
Photos circulating online appear to show the first experimental deployment of a new “supergun” aboard a Chinese warship, fuelling speculation that the weapon could be an electromagnetic railgun. Click on the graphic for an expanded view. Continue reading Chinese warship spotted with possible electromagnetic railgun – an annotated infographic
The Trump administration was proposing to open nearly all US offshore waters to oil and gas drilling, reversing Obama-era regulations imposed after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke claimed Obama administration bans on drilling in the continental shelf had cost the United States billions of dollars in lost revenue. The new proposal would make about 90 per cent of those waters available for leasing. The plan gives energy companies access to blocks off California for the first time in decades and opens up the Arctic and Eastern Seaboard. Only the … Continue reading Trump administration reins in US offshore drilling plans; steers clear of Florida coast – an annotated infographic
Recording President Donald Trump’s first year in office, for what it’s worth. US Republican President Donald Trump has been in office for a year. So far there is no wall along the US-Mexican border and Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential collusion between Trump’s campaign team and Russia during the election campaign remains active. The Iran nuclear deal still stands, as does the NAFTA trade deal and the Paris climate accord — despite Trump’s symbolic withdrawal. The shift to renewable energy continues and Obamacare is more popular than ever. Less than six in 10 of America’s 231.3-million electorate (55.7 … Continue reading President Donald Trump’s first year in office – an annotated infographic
Engineering & Technology magazine 