Skin tough
Berkeley CA (SPX) Apr 05, 2015 -
When weighing the pluses and minuses of your skin add this to the plus column: Your skin - like that of all vertebrates - is remarkably resistant to tearing. Now, a collaboration of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) San Diego has shown why.
Making good use of the X-ray beams at Ber ...
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Building sound foundations: A matter of granular dynamics
London, UK (SPX) Apr 05, 2015 -
Sand, rocks, grains, salt or sugar are what physicists call granular media. A better understanding of granular media is important - particularly when mixed with water and air, as it forms the foundations of houses and off-shore windmills. Until recently, there was no single theory that could account for granular media's flows at different speeds.
Now, a new theory dubbed GSH, which stands ...
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Toyota to build new plants in China, Mexico: media
Tokyo (AFP) April 3, 2015 -
Japanese auto giant Toyota plans to invest a combined $1.3 billion to build new plants in China and Mexico, its first major investment in five years, reports said Friday.
The cash is aimed at boosting its production capacity by some 300,000 units a year in a bid to better compete with global rivals, the Nikkei business daily said.
The world's largest automaker expects to spend about 150 ...
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Nissan pledges self-driving cars in Japan in 2016
Tokyo (AFP) April 3, 2015 -
The boss of Nissan wants to put self-driving cars on Japan's roads next year, and says they will be able to navigate busy urban environments on their own by 2020.
Carlos Ghosn, chief executive, said formidable technological and legal challenges remain but that the direction of travel was plain.
"There will be a Nissan product in Japan, which will carry autonomous drive," he told reporter ...
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Tesla reports 'record' quarter for auto sales
New York (AFP) April 3, 2015 -
Electric carmaker Tesla announced Friday it delivered a "record" number of vehicles in the first quarter, as it began more timely reporting of sales figures.
The California firm started by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk said it sold 10,030 cars in the first three months of 2015.
"This was a new company record for the most cars delivered in a quarter and represents a 55 percent increase over ...
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Russia, Europe to Create Common Road Safety Space
Moscow (Sputnik) Apr 05, 2015 -
The Russian-produced ERA-GLONASS emergency call system was commissioned in January and requires all new cars licensed in EEU founding nations Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan be equipped with the device. In March 2018, all new cars sold in the European Union will be outfitted with emergency call technology eCall.
"The systems operating in the EEU countries will be harmonized with the Europea ...
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Driverless Cars Poised To Transform Automotive Industry
London, UK (SPX) Apr 05, 2015 -
The newest Mercedes autonomous car looks like a car on the outside but like a lounge on the inside, with four swivel seats facing each other in a multimedia bubble of padded leather and walnut veneer.
The F 015 'Luxury in Motion' concept car unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year is completely self-driving but still has a steering wheel and brake if you wa ...
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