Category: Technology News

Genetic diagnostic technology a game changer for rare diseases, but ethics concerns linger – Euractiv

Clarissa
Genetic diagnostic technology advances for rare diseases offer hope, but gene-tech comes wrapped in complex ethical concerns. Currently, rare disease patients take an average of five years to get a diagnosis, with many misdiagnoses. So will Europe accelerate modern diagnostics, or will ethical concerns stifle innovation? Around 30 million Europeans are living with a rare disease, and less than 5% of rare conditions are effectively treated. For rare diseases that do not present symptoms early on, newborn screening programs are important, especially when early intervention may prevent symptoms or disease progression, as EURORDIS-Rare Disease Europe points out. “The best way… Read More

Micron Technology Sees Big AI-Powered Boost In Capital Spending

Clarissa
What’s going on here? Micron Technology slightly increased its 2024 capital expenditure forecast to around $8 billion, driven by investments in high bandwidth memory (HBM) semiconductors for AI applications. What does this mean? Micron Technology, based in Boise, Idaho, is one of the top three suppliers of HBM chips, crucial for AI servers. The company’s state-of-the-art HBM3E chips will power Nvidia’s H200 chips. As of March, Micron’s entire 2024 inventory of HBM chips – vital for AI development – ​​was sold out, with a significant portion of 2025’s supply already pre-allocated. Micron is ramping up production from current eight-layer HBM… Read More

AR Surgical Technology Translates Complex 2D Medical Imaging to Enhance Accuracy – Surgical Techniques

Clarissa
Image: The AR tech allows for sub-millimeter accuracy, helping to potentially reduce risks (Photo courtesy of Medivis) Surgeons often have to switch their focus between a patient’s data displayed on a screen or clipboard and the patient themselves during procedures. But that’s about changing. Surgeons can now utilize an augmented reality (AR) headset that projects data directly onto the patient’s body during surgery, offering a visual guidance system that aids in complex operations such as brain tumor removal and helps minimize errors. The SurgicalAR from Medivis (New York, NY, USA) is an image-guided visual operating system designed to streamline clinical… Read More

Johnson Matthey and thyssenkrupp Uhde join forces to offer blue ammonia technology

Clarissa
Johnson Matthey (JM) and thyssenkrupp Uhde have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly offer a fully integrated low carbon (blue) ammonia solution, building on a nearly 25-year ammonia relationship between the companies. In the drive to reduce CO2 emissions, the role of ammonia has expanded from a vital ingredient used to produce fertilizer for the agricultural sector, to a decarbonised carrier and supplier of hydrogen energy that’s easier to store and transport than pure hydrogen. The movement of low carbon ammonia can utilize existing infrastructure making it a leading energy transition solution that’s ready to capture, store, and… Read More

House passes Technology Modernization Fund bill, awaits Senate’s move

Clarissa
A bill to update the Technology Modernization Fund passed the House via voice vote Tuesday under suspension of rules, answering repeated calls from within Congress and the Biden administration to fund the program. The legislation, a revitalization of the Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act from 2017, calls on agencies to adhere to the original intent of the bill and requires issued funds to be repaid or reimbursed to ensure TMF sustainability and solvency. With some new amendments, Congress struck down the act’s authorized appropriations amount requirements and extended the sunset date to December 2031. There is not currently a companion… Read More

SparkFun launches RTK technology – GPS World

Clarissa
Photo: SparkFun SparkFun Electronics has launched the RTK Torch, designed for high-precision geolocation and GIS needs. It has tri-band reception, tilt compensation and millimeter accuracy. The RTK Torch can provide millimeter-grade measurements. Users can connect a phone to the device over Bluetooth and receive the NMEA output and work with most GIS software. The RTK Torch features Zero-Touch RTK technology, which gives connected devices WiFi credentials for a hotspot or other WiFi network. The device will begin receiving corrections without any further setup, with no NTRIP credentials required. These corrections are obtained over WiFi from u-blox PointPerfect and are available… Read More

Cobalt-free batteries could power the cars of the future | MIT News

Clarissa
Many electric vehicles are powered by batteries that contain cobalt — a metal that carries high financial, environmental, and social costs. MIT researchers have now designed a battery material that could offer a more sustainable way to power electric cars. The new lithium-ion battery includes a cathode based on organic materials, instead of cobalt or nickel (another metal often used in lithium-ion batteries). In a new study, the researchers showed that this material, which could be produced at much lower cost than cobalt-containing batteries, could conduct electricity at similar rates as cobalt batteries. The new battery also has comparable storage… Read More

The top 10 tech stories of 2023 – Computerworld

Clarissa
Regulators get tough, Adobe pulls plug on $20B Figma buy Shutterstock In yet another sign of increasing regulatory scrutiny of tech, Adobe and collaborative interface design tool provider Figma announced in December that they would pull the plug on their planned $20 billion merger. The EU Commission had published a Statement of Objections in November, citing the potential for the deal to reduce competition in multiple markets. That was followed by the UK competition authority’s list of objections a few weeks later. The final straw was reportedly a meeting with the US DOJ, days before the deal was called off,… Read More