10 DISCOVERIES THAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE

10. Solar storage material

IMAGINE CARRYING SUNSHINE in your pocket. Danish researchers are developing molecules known as Dihydroazulene-Vinylheptafulvene that store energy from the Sun by changing their shape, and release it when they change back. The system isn’t particularly efficient, but with further refinement it could prove to be an environmentally friendly alternative to current lithium-ion batteries, the researchers say.


9. Making trees grow faster

MIGHTY OAKS FROM little acorns grow, the old saying goes. The only trouble is that it’s a very slow process. Now, a team at the University of Manchester has identified two genes that are able to increase the growth rate of a poplar tree by speeding up cell division in the stem. The work could increase supplies of renewable resources and help trees cope with the effects of climate change.

8. Self-powering camera

CAMERAS that run out of battery just as you’re about to take a snap may soon be a thing of the past. A team at Columbia University has created a pixel that can harvest the energy of the light that falls on it, as well as measuring it to create an image. Currently the camera can produce one image per second, indefinitely, in a well-lit room. Eventually the technology could lead to cameras that can function with no need for external power, the researchers say.

7. Centimetre accurate GPS

IF YOUR SAT-NAV has ever led you into a muddy field, read on. Researchers at the University of Texas have built an inexpensive consumer GPS system that’s 100 times more accurate than its current equivalent. The GRID system reduces location errors from the size of a large car to the size of a pound coin. It could be used for delivery drones, self-driving cars, and even virtual reality gaming.
The system uses an inexpensive receiver to harvest accurate location information from antennas found in mobile phones.

6. An end to hunger pangs?

IF YOU FIND that extra slice of cake too hard to resist, blame your AGRP neurones. Researchers at Howard Hughes Medical Institute found they generate negative feelings that cause us to seek food. With further study, the researchers say they may be able to manipulate this process and put an end to hunger pangs.

5. The flexible robots are coming!

THE DAYS OF stiff, immobile robots may soon be numbered. A team at the University of Pittsburgh has designed a synthetic polymer gel that mimics Euglena mutabilis, a single-celled, pond-dwelling organism. The gel can change shape and move using chemical energy. Scaled up, the gel could be used to create robots that are lighter and have an improved range of motion.

4. Artificial photosynthesis

BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS can now be made using artificial photosynthesis. The system,
developed at the University of California, is made of tiny bacteriacoated wires that absorb solar energy and use it to convert CO2 into acetate.

3. Quieter flights

AS ANYONE WHO’S ever tried to get 40 winks during a long haul flight knows, riding in aeroplanes can be a noisy experience. Help may be on the way, however, in the form of a thin rubber
membrane that’s been designed by a team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology The material can be placed into the cabin walls and could block 100 to 1,000 times more sound energy when installed.
It works by causing soundwaves created by airflow on the outside of the aeroplane to bounce off, rather than pass through into the cabin.

2. Safer suction

MEET THE NORTHERN clingfish, a tiny fish with serious suction power. A team at the University of Washington is investigating the bio mechanics of how its suction force can hold up to 150 times its own body weight even in wet, slimy environments. The key is an elastic disc on their bellies that
is covered in a microscopic hair-like structure. Similar technology could lead to a bio-inspired device that could stick to organs or tissues without harming the patient, or be used to tag whales and track them, the team says.

1. 'Homing beacon’ to beat bacteria
A MOLECULAR ‘HOMING beacon’ that attracts antibodies has been developed and used to ‘tag’ bacteria by a team at the University of California. One end of the molecule has a DNA aptamer that attaches to an invasive bacteria, while alpha- Gal, a sugar molecule, is at the other end. The alpha-Gal triggers the release of antibodies which then attack the bacteria. The technique may eventually be used to attack any type of bacteria or virus, or perhaps even cancer cells, researchers say.