Tesla's Musk says to 'localise' China output: Xinhua
Shanghai (AFP) March 27, 2015 -
Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk said on Friday his company plans to "localise production" of electric cars in China over the next three years, state media reported.
"We have a strong long-term commitment to China and we tend to establish both local production and local engineering in China," he said in an interview with the official Xinhua news agency.
Localising production in China, as w ...
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Molecule from trees could make our roads and roofs greener
Denver CO (SPX) Mar 30, 2015 -
Construction crews may someday use a plant molecule called lignin in their asphalt and sealant mixtures to help roads and roofs hold up better under various weather conditions. It also could make them more environmentally friendly, according to a researcher at the 249th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
The meeting, attended by thousands of scientists, ...
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Squeeze to remove heat with elastocaloric materials
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 30, 2015 -
Move over, vapor compression cooling technology. Emerging "elastocaloric" refrigeration is potentially much more efficient and, unlike vapor compression, relies on environmentally-friendly refrigerants. In elastocaloric materials a change in mechanical stress can create a change in temperature.
In the Journal of Applied Physics, from AIP Publishing, a team of researchers from Technical Uni ...
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New yeast strain to enhance biofuel and biochemical production
Austin TX (SPX) Mar 30, 2015 -
Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have used a combination of metabolic engineering and directed evolution to develop a new, mutant yeast strain that could lead to a more efficient biofuel production process that would make biofuels more economically competitive with conventional fuels. Their findings were published online in the journal Metabo ...
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UW scientists build a nanolaser using a single atomic sheet
Seattle WA (SPX) Mar 30, 2015 -
University of Washington scientists have built a new nanometer-sized laser - using the thinnest semiconductor available today - that is energy efficient, easy to build and compatible with existing electronics.
Lasers play essential roles in countless technologies, from medical therapies to metal cutters to electronic gadgets. But to meet modern needs in computation, communications, imaging ...
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Black hole winds pull the plug on star formation
Paris (ESA) Mar 30, 2015 -
Astronomers using ESA's Herschel space observatory have found that the winds blowing from a huge black hole are sweeping away its host galaxy's reservoir of raw star-building material. Found at the hearts of most galaxies, supermassive black holes are extremely dense and compact objects with masses between millions and billions of times that of our Sun.
Many are relatively passive, like th ...
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Artificial hand able to respond sensitively using smart metal wires
Saarbrucken, Germany (SPX) Mar 30, 2015 -
Engineers at Saarland University have taken a leaf out of nature's book by equipping an artificial hand with muscles made from shape-memory wire. The new technology enables the fabrication of flexible and lightweight robot hands for industrial applications and novel prosthetic devices.
The muscle fibres are composed of bundles of ultrafine nickel-titanium alloy wires that are able to tense ...
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Astronomers Upgrade Their Cosmic Light Bulbs
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 30, 2015 -
The brilliant explosions of dead stars have been used for years to illuminate the far-flung reaches of our cosmos. The explosions, called Type Ia supernovae, allow astronomers to measure the distances to galaxies and measure the ever-increasing rate at which our universe is stretching apart.
But these tools aren't perfect. In the cosmic hardware store of our universe, improvements are ongo ...
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A Year in Space
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 30, 2015 -
Two humans are getting ready to say farewell to Earth for nearly 12 months. On March 27, 2015, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will launch to the International Space Station, beginning a one-year mission in space, testing the limits of human research, space exploration and the human spirit.
Most expeditions to the space station last four to six months. By ...
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Russia announces plan to build new space station with NASA
Moscow (AFP) March 28, 2015 -
Russia on Saturday announced initial plans to build a new orbital space station together with NASA to replace the International Space Station (ISS), which is set to operate until 2024.
Russia and NASA recently agreed to keep operating and financing the ISS until 2024, but future joint space projects have remained in doubt, as relations between Russia and the US have plunged to post-Cold War ...
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