A virus wiped out anti-biotic resistant bacteria in an immunocompromised patient
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Anti-Biotic resistance is a growing problem, and researchers and governments are increasingly desparate for solutions – this could be one. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my...
Scientists developed a device that enables two way communication with plants
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Plants are a rich source of information – if you can communicate with them that is … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. In the past couple of years I’ve seen scientists...
New tests prove Covid-19 virus wasn’t made by humans in a lab
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As our mastery of synthetic biology improves so too does our ability to create new types of artificial bio-weaponry, and it’s freaking governments out. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. A decade or so ago the mere thought...
Scientists hunt for “Kryptonite to stop CRISPR,” the world’s most powerful gene editing tool
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In time the cost and ease of modifying any living organisms genome and genetic makeup, for better and worse, will fall to almost zero, and as gene editing tools become democratised and sought after by Bio-Terrorists, researchers are trying to find the technology’s Kryptonite –...
Scientists create edible electronics using Graphene to improve food safety
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to quickly and easily tag foods and other products with sensors and other electronics that can be safely eaten could improve food safety and security. James Tour believes anything can be turned into the wonder material, Graphene, a material so versatile it...
Fast, deadly laser wielding underwater robots revolutionise fish farming
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Inventors have found a novel way to combine new technologies together to help fish farmers reduce pollution, reduce costs and improve the yield, and health, of their farm reared Salmon. When you think about laser-wielding robots that are equipped with the latest machine vision...
Syria returns 50,000 seeds to the Global Seed Bank
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The global seed bank at Svalbard in the depths of the Arctic Circle is humanity’s last line of defence that prevents crucial crops being lost forever Today, the seeds of over 50,000 different varieties of crops, including cabbages, wheat, lettuce, sweet peas, and many others,...
Genetically modified super cows are resistant to tuberculosis
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Every year in the UK over 36,000 cattle that contract TB are culled, but now that might end up being a thing of the past. Tuna and pigs recently got their own slice of emerging technology action by getting their own blockchains, but now...
World first as scientists sequence the genome of the Ash tree
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In recent years Ash trees have been decimated by ash dieback disease, now that scientists have sequenced their genome conservations can craft new ways to save them for future generations. The genome of the Common Ash tree, fraxinus excelsior, has been sequenced for the first...
The ultimate bioweapon, scientists have developed an Extinction Gene
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Scientists now have the knowledge and the tools they need to create, and deliver, Doomsday genes which can selectively target and exterminate entire species. Here’s a question that occurs only to madmen and geneticists… How do you get a gene that kills a species...
DARPA wants to use genetically modified bugs to rejuvenate dead and dying crops
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Global food production is already being stretched by Earths growing population with the price of staple foods increasing by over 20% in just the past few years alone, as a consequence companies, governments and institutions are looking for new ways to increase yields in a...
Brazil releases billions of genetically modified Mosquitos to combat Zika
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF There will always be questions about the viability and impact of releasing genetically modified organisms into our environment but with billions of mosquitos being released it might already be a moot point Every Saturday morning, Maria do Carmo Tunussi goes door to door asking...
Australia unleashes starfish hunter-killer robots onto the Great Barrier Reef
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Bleaching and new invasive species like the Crown of Thorns wreak havoc on the Barrier Reef, but technology is helping conservationists fight back. Climate change, pollution, invasive species and unsustainable fishing practices have blighted the world’s largest coral structure for decades but there’s now an...
Florida to unleash Lionfish hunter-killer robots onto its reefs
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When are killer robots a good thing? When they’re saving the Earth. Where there are robots there’s always inevitably talk about the emergence of killer robots that will destroy humanity, and while killer robots are often seen as a bad thing sometimes – apparently,...
