Author: Anthony King

On 1 June 2024, a spacecraft touched down on the Moon as part of a Chinese space mission called Chang’e 6. Its goal was to study the dark side of the Moon and return lunar samples from there for the first time. Edouard Lepape, managing director of NanoXplore, a French company that develops advanced microchips for use in the space industry, is proud of the part his company played in the mission.To the Moon and back“One of our components is on the Moon right now,” said Lepape. The component in question is a computer chip, a little like those used in…

Read More

Whoever thinks research is not exciting might be in for a surprise. In 2025, we could witness genetic decoding of the human brain, collect solar energy in space, and walk across a bridge built of electronically controlled fungi. Cracking the brain’s genetics with AI’s help Detailed maps of the human brain drawn up by the EU-funded Human Brain Project are ready for prime time and should start to come into their own in 2025. Katrin AmuntsThese maps will help scientists and doctors navigate towards new treatments for patients with brain disease, according to Prof. Katrin Amunts, a German neuroscientist at the University of Dusseldorf and Forschungszentrum…

Read More

If 3D printing makes good on its promise, it will fundamentally change the way things are manufactured. And it could also become everyone’s best friend. Just imagine if for any broken part in your household, you could simply make a new one with your home printer.Thanks to advances made by an EU-funded research team, it is now possible to print advanced parts for motorbikes, cars, aircraft and even satellites using different materials and shapes while producing much less waste. It is even possible to embed electrical conductors or optical fibres that can act as sensors.Multilayered manufacturing This is because 3D printing…

Read More