Stephen Fry: If we sleepwalk, we’ll die
“We may be a mere 20 years away from creating artificial life,” says Stephen Fry. He warns that these new life forms won’t see any need to keep us, and may instead look at us as pests.
Technology
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App improves quality of life for hard-hit patient group
A recently developed app with an in-built “enzyme calculator” reduces stomach pains and intestinal problems among patients with cystic fibrosis – a disease of the lungs and intestinal tract.
How to make shipping environmentally friendly
We need to cut both global and local emissions from shipping. The picture is complex, but research is showing that there are many ways to meet this goal.
Eliminating infamous security threats
Meltdown and Spectre attack computers. No efficient protection has been found. Until now.
Mission control: Norwegian SciTech News has landed!
We’ve changed our name to Norwegian SciTech News — so readers know immediately what they will find here.
Offshore wind-scientist appointed Mission Innovation Champion
John Olav Tande at SINTEF is appointed Norway’s Mission Innovation Champion for his innovative research and contribution in dissemination. The award was established by Bill Gates and among others former president Obama during the climate summit meeting in Paris, COP 21.
New nanomaterial to replace mercury
Ultraviolet light is used to kill bacteria and viruses, but UV lamps contain toxic mercury. A newly developed nanomaterial is changing that.
New drones check ships for cracks and rust
Inspecting ship tanks and storage spaces underwater is a challenging task for humans. A start-up company that originated at NTNU is manufacturing autonomous drones that can take over the job – and do it more cheaply.
Finding ways to use less salt on snowy roads
It’s springtime in much of the northern hemisphere, although spring snowstorms are still possible. When that happens, salt trucks and ploughs help make roads safe. But road salt can be bad for the environment, and can rust cars, bicycles and other metal. New research shows that salt use can be safely — and substantially — cut in certain circumstances.
Teaching on Mount Everest and Mars
In the virtual world, inaccessible places become accessible. NTNU uses virtual reality – or VR – technology to create new teaching methods.
A first glimpse deep beneath an ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridge
For the first time ever, researchers have been able to peek deep into the mantle of the Earth under an ultraslow mid-ocean ridge, where they have been able to observe mantle melting and growth of the Earth’s crust.
Tourism, aquaculture and offshore accidents with Blueye
Blueye is an underwater drone that got its start at NTNU. The drone can be used for serious purposes – such as when it mapped damage to the Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad – or for entertainment, such as showing cruise passengers the underwater landscape.
Drones catching drones
How do you catch a drone flying at 70 km/h over a ship? With string.
Ocean life in 3-D: Mapping phytoplankton with a smart AUV
Phytoplankton form the base of the marine food chain but are notoriously difficult for scientists to account for — a little like trying to identify and count motes of dust in the air. A truly independent underwater vehicle shows it can do the job.
This solar panel is the first in the world to store both electricity and heat
Moreover, researchers have succeeded in increasing its output dramatically by providing the panel with its own cooling system.
Electric motors go to print
Even electric motors can be made more environmentally friendly. A Norwegian start-up company is on it.
Making artificial intelligence understandable for the rest of us
Humans have developed machines that can learn on their own. Machines using artificial intelligence develop “behaviours” based on their interpretation of data. But we know less about how they teach themselves. Professor Harald Martens has created the start-up company Idletechs to develop a technology that will make artificial intelligence more understandable for the rest of us.
Better fish welfare using “sensor” fish
The electronic “sensor” fish measures the physical factors that affect farmed fish during delousing. The results may lead to welfare improvements in salmon farm cages.
Snake robot ready to go on watch in the deep seas
A snake robot will soon be relieving divers and mini-subs in the North Sea. But first researchers have to test its mettle in the Trondheim Fjord.
Eating your veggies, even in space
Travelling to Mars will require astronauts to grow their own food. NTNU is creating the planters for cultivating veggies in space. Now that researchers have finished lettuce-growing experiments, they’ll be embarking on bean trials.
Making it harder to be a social media bully
Researchers have developed an approach that makes it easier to block abusive and hateful messages on the web.
When the Chinese giant awakes
When China sets its sights on a goal, the country can change at a blindingly rapid pace. Now the country is focused on innovation and technological innovations, with renewable energy at the forefront.
Cybercrime is on the rise. NTNU is on the case.
When investigative reporters from Dagens Næringsliv scrutinized playback patterns in Tidal’s music streaming service, they brought in researchers from NTNU to work on the case. It’s become increasingly common for the university to work with police to solve the growing problem of digital crime.
Making it easier to capture CO2 in the cement industry
Cement manufacture accounts for as much as seven per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. A new hybrid technology makes it easier and less expensive to capture and purify CO2 produced by the industry. And the technology can be retrofitted to existing plants.