Your science news and technology news centre

Welcome to planettech

PlanetTech aggregates the very best in science and tech news from around the web and presents it beautifully for your convenience.

SpaceX Launches 60 More Internet Satellites

Posted in Business, Hardware, Online on 12th Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

SpaceX sent another 60 satellites into orbit on Monday, one of many such launches the company hopes to conduct over the next year as it works to build a massive broadband-from-space business.

Germany Solar And Wind Is Triple The Cost Of France’s Nuclear And Will Last Half As Long

Posted in Business, Hardware on 12th Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

From 2006 to 2017, Germany increased the cost of electricity for households by 50%. (per an OECD report) French electricity costs are just 59% of German electricity prices. France produces one-tenth the carbon pollution from electricity compared to Germany.

Lenovo Pilots VR As An Alternative To General Anesthesia For Kids

Posted in Games, Hardware, Medicine on 10th Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

Lenovo and the Starlight Children’s Foundation have been pilot testing virtual reality headsets as an alternative to general anesthetics for kids, alleviating panic and pain by distracting critically ill pediatric patients from what’s actually happening around them.

ESA Studies Growing Blood Vessels In Zero Gravity

Posted in Medicine, Science on 8th Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

In zero gravity, there's nothing to pull or push the cells out of place, allowing them to form themselves into simple 3D structures, including globules and tubes.

NASA Pops Open Its First Untouched Moon Sample In More Than 40 Years

Posted in Science on 8th Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

It is hoped that the study of these pristine samples can enlighten our understanding of the Moon and its resources, which will be a key plank of the Artemis missions slated for touchdown from 2024.

SpaceX And Boeing Could Be Ready To Fly Astronauts In The First Quarter Of 2020

Posted in Business, Hardware, Science on 6th Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

SpaceX’s In-Flight Abort test must go perfectly. The test is scheduled for December. SpaceX crew Dragon’s Demo-2 astronaut launch could occur as early as February or March 2020.

11,000 Scientists Declare Climate Emergency, Outline A Plan Of Action

Posted in Featured, Science on 6th Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

'While things are bad, all is not hopeless. We can take steps to address the climate emergency.'

Microbiome-altering Alzheimer’s Drug Unexpectedly Approved In China

Posted in Medicine on 6th Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

The drug, derived from a marine algae, is the first new Alzheimer’s drug to reach the market anywhere in the world in almost 20 years, and is suggested to reduce neuroinflammation by modulating a person’s gut microbiome.

Deep Sleep Can Rewire The Anxious Brain

Posted in Medicine on 5th Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

“Our study strongly suggests that insufficient sleep amplifies levels of anxiety and, conversely, that deep sleep helps reduce such stress,”

Liquid-in-liquid Printing Method Could Put 3D-printed Organs In Reach

Posted in Medicine on 5th Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

Complex 3D-printed tissues made by including living cells in the ink could soon be within our grasp.

Infrared Solar Cells Will Boost Solar Power By Up To 25% And Eventually Double

Posted in Hardware on 3rd Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

Invisible infrared light accounts for half of all solar radiation on the Earth’s surface, yet ordinary solar energy systems have limited ability in converting it to power.

Race To Be The Fourth Country To Successfully Land On The Moon

Posted in Science on 3rd Nov, 2019
by Alex Muller

The USA, Russia and China have successfully landed people or robotic missions on the moon and India and Israel have recently tried and failed.