ISSUE 5

COGNITION FOR THE INQUISITIVE MIND

Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Confirmed

A major breakthrough in nuclear fusion has been confirmed a year after it was achieved at a laboratory in California. Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL's) National Ignition Facility (NIF) recorded the first case of ignition on August 8, 2021, the results of which have now been published in three peer-reviewed papers. Ignition during a fusion reaction essentially means that the reaction itself produced enough energy to be self-sustaining, which would be necessary in the use of fusion to generate electricity.

Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the Sun and other stars: heavy hydrogen atoms collide with enough force that they fuse together to form a helium atom, releasing large amounts of energy as a by-product. Once the hydrogen plasma "ignites", the fusion reaction becomes selfsustaining, with the fusions themselves producing enough power to maintain the temperature without external heating. If we could harness this reaction to generate electricity, it would be one of the most efficient and least polluting sources of energy possible. No fossil fuels would be required as the only fuel would be hydrogen, and the only by-product would be helium. The problem with fusion energy at the moment is that we do not have the technical capabilities to harness this power. Scientists from across the world are currently working to solve these issues. In this latest milestone at the LLNL, researchers recorded an energy yield of more than 1.3 megajoules (MJ) during only a few nanoseconds. For reference, one MJ is the kinetic energy of a one tonne mass moving at 100mph.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 1

"Talk to the hand" with Hi-Fun's bluetooth gloves We use capacitive touchscreens almost every day. There’s nothing more frustrating than taking your glove off every time you need to change the track or pick up a call. Cutting off the ends just leave your fingers cold. The Hi-Call glove is a glove designed for 2012: it will let you use your phone via capitative thread in the fingertips. It also does one better–it lets you talk to your hand and look like a crazy person through a Bluetooth receiver, microphone and speaker built into the glove. It charges through MicroUSB and may be the first pair of gloves you own that come with an instruction manual.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 2

E-commerce firms focusing on AI, virtual reality to cut logistics cost and fraudulent orders E-commerce companies are focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality with a view to cut logistics costs and identify fraudulent orders, said a report by global auditing and consulting firm PwC. With an emerging middle-class population of more than 500 million and approximately 65% of the population aged 35 or below, India represents a highly aspirational consumer market for retailers across the globe, said the PwC TechWorld report. “E-commerce players are revamping their technology strategies to maintain their competitive edge. Most ecommerce platforms are upping their investments in areas such as conversational commerce, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) and analytics technologies," it said. It observed that to identify fraudulent orders, reduce return rate and also cut down on logistics cost, e-commerce companies are investing in robotics and AI heavily. “AI-based voice-based shopping in vernacular language enables deeper customer engagement and smoothens the transition from offline to online by overcoming the language barrier," it added. Then there is advanced analytics that allows for better optimisation of stock management as well as customisation of content based on data-driven understanding of consumers’ online behaviour and preferences. Also, there are blockchain technologies that improve fraud detection and enable companies to offer a secure and transparent online medium as it helps in determining authenticity in multi-party transactions and expedite payment settlement, PwC said.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 3

India turns into one of the world’s largest pools for AI talent According to a report, despite accounting for a meagre 1% of the global AI market, the country produces 16% of the world’s AI talent pool—the third highest in the world India has turned into one of the world’s largest pools for artificial intelligence talent, even as adoption of AI grows at a slow pace in the country. According to a report by Microsoft, consultancy firm Bain & Company, and industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), despite accounting for a meagre 1% of the global AI market, the country produces 16% of the world’s AI talent pool—the third highest in the world. In India, demand for AI talent comes on the back of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that seek AI contractors, and large organizations that are in search of AI and machine learning talent for digital transformation. However, despite the country being a major hub for AI talent globally, the gap in demand and supply for AI-educated employees is wider than ever. This demand is being augmented by early stage AI adopters among enterprises, which are also upskilling existing human resources to fulfil their AI requirements. Saikat Banerjee, associate partner, technology and cloud services at Bain, said, “Organizations today already have individuals who have learnt working on data models and engineering, who are being upskilled to learn to build and develop AI applications for their firms." Banerjee added that the introduction of AI at a university level, as well as the upcoming addition of AI as a study area within schools, could offer a further boost to India’s AI talent pool.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 4

Antarctica's 'Penguin Post Office' is hiring A remote post office in Antarctica is hiring. And if you're good at sorting mail, selling postage stamps — and counting penguins — this could be the job for you. The post office at Port Lockroy, also known as the "Penguin Post Office," is a popular tourist destination on Goudier Island, just off the west side of the Antarctic peninsula. The historic site receives about 18,000 visitors each season. And the area is also filled with penguins. A British Antarctic territory, Post Lockroy's "Base A" — home to the post office — was established in 1944 and operated as a British research station. Now, it is managed by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, which operates the museum and gift shop. Profit from the shop supports renovations of other historic sites in Antarctica. The UKAHT team also monitors the impact of visitors in an environmental study, which includes counting the number of penguins — and penguin chicks — on the island. The study aids in the regulation of the number of visitors to the island, and informs guidelines "to ensure the environment is properly cared for," according to the territory's website. Living and working on the island is far from luxurious. On top of the cold temperatures — which can dip as low as 23 degrees Fahrenheit, and can feel colder with the wind chill — the accommodations are limited, according to an information packet for a job on the island. The staff members share a single bedroom and there's no flushing toilet. Instead, a camping toilet must be emptied daily. There's also no running water or showers. Visiting ships offer staffers showers every few days. In some cases, staff may go up to two weeks without showers. Communication is also limited. There's no internet access or cell phone reception, and satellite phone calls are costly. Staffers will have "very minimal communication with home," according to the packet. And in the the event of an emergency, medical evacuations to a hospital could take as many as seven days, according to the packet.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 5

Invasive frog and snake species cost world economy $16 billion, study shows

Two invasive species, the American bullfrog and the brown tree snake, cost the world an estimated $16 billion between 1986 and 2020 by causing problems ranging from crop damage to power outages, according to a study published on Thursday. The brown-and-green frog known as lithobates catesbeianus that can weigh over 2 pounds (0.9 kilos), had the greatest impact in Europe, according to research published in Scientific Reports. The brown tree snake, or boiga irregularis, has multiplied uncontrollably on Pacific islands including Guam and the Marianna Islands, where the species was introduced by U.S. troops in World War II, said researcher Ismael Soto. The snakes have at times been so abundant that they caused power outages by crawling on electrical equipment, he said. This signals the need for investment in controlling global transport of invasive species to avoid paying for mitigation after the invasions occur, said Soto, a PhD student at the University of South Bohemia in the Czech Republic, the study's lead researcher. Nowadays, the pet trade is the main pathway for these species, especially now that everyone wants to get the most exotic snake," Soto told Reuters. "We propose continuously updating the black list of forbidden species for trade."

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Spiders Can Fear Other Spiders If you're not so fond of spiders, you may find kindred spirits in other spiders! Researcher Daniela Roessler worked with jumping spiders and found that they know to get away from the presence of other possible predator spiders, even if they've never encountered them before. She talks with host Maria Godoy about her research and what Halloween decorations do to the poor spiders, if arachnids can have arachnophobia.

St. Claret Institute of Management | 6

And finally, it is comforting to know that the Earth's core is considered by some to be basically a gigantic georeactor. This provides the engine for plate tectonics and generates a lot of heat that eventually reaches the Earth's surface. Planet Earth is not only our home but is also a fascinating place in and of itself. Despite being literally our own backyard (on the scale of the Universe), we are yet to discover many parts or aspects of it.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 7

China has built a replica of Paris

Sitting on the outskirts of Hangzhou, China, is what locals call ‘Little Paris’. This luxury real estate development is an architectural and engineering feat complete with an Eiffel Tower replica (although one-third of the size of the real thing, it’s still the second largest copy after the one at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in the USA), an Arc de Triomphe, a Champs Elysées, a fountain from the Jardin du Luxembourg, and even close-to-perfect versions of the French capital’s boulevards of cream, neoclassical buildings.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 8

An eye implant engineered from proteins in pigskin restored sight in 14 blind people

Twenty people with diseased or damaged corneas had significant improvements in their vision after they received implants engineered out of protein from pigskin. The patients, in Iran and India, all suffered from keratoconus, a condition in which the protective outer layer of the eye progressively thins and bulges outward. Fourteen of the patients were blind before they received the implant, but two years after the procedure, they had regained some or all of their vision. Three had perfect vision after the surgery. The research team behind the technology published its findings Thursday in the journal Nature Biotechnology. Yale researchers use new technology to restore dead pig cells Not all patients experienced the same degree of improvement, however. The 12 Iranian patients wound up with an average visual acuity of 20/58 with glasses; functional vision is defined as 20/40 or better with lenses. Nonetheless, Dr. Marian Macsai, a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of Chicago who wasn’t involved in the study, said the technology could be a game changer for those with keratoconus, which affects roughly 50 to 200 out of every 100,000 people. It might also have applications for other forms of corneal disease. "The concept that we could have bioengineered corneas would be revolutionary," Macsai said. "It would potentially eliminate the risk of rejection and potentially make corneas available to patients worldwide." To create the implant, Lagali and his team dissolved pig tissue to form a purified collagen solution. That was used to engineer a hydrogel that mimics the human cornea.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 9

Bill Gates-backed startup is using robots to build enormous solar farms Automation accelerates solar farm construction. The firm's automated, on-site factory uses robotic arms that lift and attach large solar panels to sun trackers. This computerised production can run 24/7, allowing it to accelerate plant construction while cutting construction costs. Terabase also builds software tools for managing the design and construction of solar farms. "This investment is validation of our vision for rapidly deploying solar at the Terawatt scale," Campbell said. "It took fifty years for the world to build the first Terawatt (one million Megawatts) of solar, but we need at least 50 additional Terawatts built as quickly as possible to meet global decarbonization targets." Terabase has been relatively secretive about its technology so far, though it has deployed its services to paying customers. The company's first commercial project reportedly installed 10 megawatts worth of panels. As a point of reference, there are one million megawatts in a terawatt, so the startup will have a long road ahead to meet its terawatt scale goals. "Our only hope to truly solve the climate crisis is to deploy clean technologies at a much larger scale to reach different areas of the economy than before. The Terabase platform is an exciting innovation to deploy more solar faster, and we are delighted to be a Terabase partner," said Sheldon Kimber, CEO of Intersect Power, a Terabase customer.

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THE HOTTEST SPOT IS IN LIBYA The fiery award for Earth’s hottest spot goes to El Azizia, Libya, where temperature records from weather stations reveal it hit 136 degrees Fahrenheit (57.8 degrees Celsius) on Sept. 13, 1922, according to NASA Earth Observatory(opens in new tab). There have likely been hotter locations beyond the network of weather stations.

St. Claret Institute of Management | 10

THERE ARE GIANT STALAGMITES Spelunkers ahoy! The largest confirmed stalagmite in the world can be found in Cuba in the Cuevo San Martin Infierno, according to the journal Acta Carsologica(opens in new tab). This behemoth rises 220 feet (67.2 meters) tall. (Shown here, a photo of a stalagmite in a northwest Yucatan peninsula cave.)

THERE'S UNEVEN GRAVITY Because our globe isn't a perfect sphere, its mass is distributed unevenly. And uneven mass means slightly uneven gravity. One mysterious gravitational anomaly is in the Hudson Bay of Canada . This area has lower gravity than other regions, and a 2007 study finds that now-melted glaciers are to blame.The ice that once cloaked the area during the last ice age has long since melted, but the Earth hasn't entirely snapped back from the burden. Since gravity over an area is proportional to the mass atop that region.

The world's most powerful earthquake The largest yet recorded earthquake hit 100 miles off the coast of Valdivia in Chile in May of 1960. It had a whopping magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale, and this "record" is yet to be topped.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 11

Remains of small armor-plated dinosaur unearthed in Argentina

Palaeontologists heralded the discovery of a previously unknown small armored dinosaur in southern Argentina, a creature that likely walked upright on its back legs roaming a then-steamy landscape about 100 million years ago. The Cretaceous Period dinosaur, named Jakapil kaniukura, would have been well-protected with rows of bony disk-shaped armor along its neck and back and down to its tail, they said. It measured about 5 feet (1.5 metres) long and weighed only 9 to 15 pounds (4-7 kg), similar to an average house cat. Its fossilized remains were dug up over the past decade near a dam in Patagonia in Rio Negro province's La Buitrera paleontological zone. The scientists described Jakapil in a study published in the journal Scientific Reports. The scientists said Jakapil marks a first-of-its-kind discovery of an armored dinosaur from the Cretaceous in South America. It is part of the thyreophora dinosaur group that includes the likes of Stegosaurus, known for its bony back plates and spiky tail, and tank-like Ankylosaurus, covered in armor and wielding a club-like tail.Lead paleontologists Sebastian Apesteguia and his colleagues found a partial skeleton of Jakapil along with 15 tooth fragments featuring a leaf-like shape, similar to iguana teeth. Jakapil resembles a primitive form of thyreophoran that lived much earlier, making it a surprise that it dated from the Cretaceous. Apesteguia said never before has such a thyreophoran been dug up anywhere in the southern hemisphere. @mbahoudinis

St. Claret Institute of Management | 12

SPONGE-FILLED SYRINGE SPONGE-FILLED SYRINGE SPONGE-FILLED SYRINGE Sponge-Filled Syringe For Plugging Wounds

On the battlefield, every second counts, especially for medics treating the wounded. Treating wounds and stopping bleeding usually comes down to packing the wound with gauze, which isn’t always effective. In fact, if bleeding continues, a medic has to pull out the gauze he’s already put in it and start packing the wound again. However, a group of veteran medics and scientists have teamed up to create something better: a syringe filled with tiny sponges that can not only stop the bleeding in such wounds, but do it quickly and more effectively than any other modern method. The company, RevMedx, found inspiration in Fix-A-Flat foam, used for tire repair. They wanted something similar for wounds: something that could be applied to the wound, would expand and soak up all the bleeding, as well as prevent further bleeding. Foam, however, wouldn’t work: gushing blood would just push it back out of the wound. The answer for the right material was obvious: sponges. RevMedx's experiments began with regular sponges that they cut into small pieces and then tested on animals. Their results were so impressive that the U.S. Army gave them $5 million to create their new product. Unfortunately, the team knew that they couldn’t use regular non-sterile sponges in the human body. Instead, they created their own with wood pulp and shrimp shells. They also marked each small piece of sponge so that if one got accidentally left inside a body, it would turn up on an x-ray. These new sponges were just as effective as their initial experiment and succeeded in stopping bleeding from an animal’s wound in just 15 seconds. Only one question remained: how do you deliver the sponges into the body? The idea is to pack a wound as close to an artery as possible. The research team settled on a syringe that injects the small pieces of sponge directly into the wound. Even better, the syringe is lightweight and less bulky than the many rolls of gauze that medics carry in their bags.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 13

Beetle Inspired Coating Stops Frost

An advanced coating, inspired by a beetle’s shell, could be used to prevent frost forming on components including aircraft parts and windscreens a team of US researchers has claimed. The technology, which has been developed at Virginia Tech, uses photolithography to create chemical micropatterns to control the growth of frost caused by condensation. According to a paper in the online journal Scientific Reports, the technique takes its inspiration from the Namib Desert Beetle, which has a water repellent surface studded with bumps that attract water. These bumps enable it to collect airborne water, which then flows down water-repellant channels towards the insect’s mouth. Jonathan Boreyko, an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering said that by mimicking this ability to control where dew-drops grow it’s is possible to create frost-proof surfaces. The journey of frost across a surface begins with a single, frozen dewdrop, the researchers said. By controlling spacing of the condensation, the researchers were able to control the speed frost grows across surfaces, or completely prevent frost. “We made a single dry zone around a piece of ice,” Boreyko said. “Dew drops preferentially grow on the array of hydrophilic dots. When the dots are spaced far enough apart and one of the drops freezes into ice, the ice is no longer able to spread frost to the neighbouring drops because they are too far away. Instead, the drops actually evaporate completely, creating a dry zone around the ice.” Creating frost-free zones on larger surfaces could have a variety of applications – including on wind turbines or aeroplane wings, where a huge amount of energy I currently used up on frost reduction. This isn’t the first time that engineers have been inspired by the beetle’s elegant water gathering technique. Back in 2012, US start-up NBD Nano announced that it had copied the insect’s ability to develop a self-filling water bottle.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 14

Meta injecting code into websites to track its users, research says Owner of Facebook and Instagram is using code to follow those who click links in its apps, according to an ex-Google engineer Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has been rewriting websites its users visit, letting the company follow them across the web after they click links in its apps, according to new research from an ex-Google engineer. The two apps have been taking advantage of the fact that users who click on links are taken to webpages in an “in-app browser”, controlled by Facebook or Instagram, rather than sent to the user’s web browser of choice, such as Safari or Firefox. “The Instagram app injects their tracking code into every website shown, including when clicking on ads, enabling them [to] monitor all user interactions, like every button and link tapped, text selections, screenshots, as well as any form inputs, like passwords, addresses and credit card numbers,” says Felix Krause, a privacy researcher who founded an app development tool acquired by Google in 2017. In a statement, Meta said that injecting a tracking code obeyed users’ preferences on whether or not they allowed apps to follow them, and that it was only used to aggregate data before being applied for targeted advertising or measurement purposes for those users who opted out of such tracking. “We intentionally developed this code to honour people’s [Ask to track] choices on our platforms,” a spokesperson said. “The code allows us to aggregate user data before using it for targeted advertising or measurement purposes. We do not add any pixels. Code is injected so that we can aggregate conversion events from pixels.” They added: “For purchases made through the in-app browser, we seek user consent to save payment information for the purposes of autofill.”

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 15

New £20m superyacht destroyed by fire weeks after delivery to owner

Crew and passengers escape after Aria SF catches fire while anchored off Spanish island of Formentera A brand-new £20m superyacht has been destroyed by fire in the Balearics weeks after it was delivered to its multimillionaire owner, the Italian car industry boss Paolo Scudieri. The 43.7-metre Aria SF caught fire on Thursday afternoon while anchored at Cala Saona, on the west coast of Formentera, according to Salvamento Marítimo, the Spanish sea search and rescue agency. Seven crew members and nine passengers on the ship were unharmed and evacuated to other boats nearby, but the Aria is thought to be unsalvageable. The cause and origin of the fire are as yet unknown. The yacht will be towed to Ibiza later on Friday. The yacht, which had a gym and a pool and could accommodate up to 10 guests across five staterooms, was delivered to Scudieri late last month.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 16



They're small. They're green. They're crustaceans. And now, they're in whiskey. Green crabs are the invasive pests that have plagued North America's marine ecosystems for more than 200 years. A New Hampshire distillery is taking on the problem by using them to make green crab-flavoured whiskey. Green crabs are so abundant that it's going to take a lot more than whiskey to curb the population, but some hope bringing awareness to the issue will lead to creative solutions. Tamworth Distilling's Crab Trapper whiskey gets some of its flavour from green crabs caught off the coast of New Hampshire. The crabs hitched a ride to the United States on ships coming from Europe around the 1800s. Here, they eat tons of shellfish and destroy estuaries and fish habitats. Will Robinson, the product developer at Tamworth Distilling who had the idea for the project, said the crabs were cleaned and prepared just like any other crab you might order at a restaurant. First, they make a crab stock. Then, they distil it using a vacuum still — a glass machine that allows for precise temperature control. "It looks like a crazy piece of laboratory equipment," Robinson said. "It preserves the flavor and aroma molecules that would get destroyed if we were to boil it. "The stock is mixed with spices – like mustard seed, coriander, and cinnamon – then combined with a bourbon base. Robinson calls it a "thinking, sipping" drink. "It's meant for you to explore your own perception through your olfactory senses." Each bottle of whiskey uses about a pound of green crabs, but one distillery alone isn't going to make much of a dent in the green crab population. That's because their numbers are out of control, says Dr. Gabriela Bradt, a marine biologist and fisheries specialist at the University of New Hampshire.

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St. Claret Institute of Management | 17

THE SCIM

PEDAGOGY

LEARNING

BEYOND CLASSES

PASSING OF THE BATTON