Author: Somto K.
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Laser welding for crack-free EV battery housings
What is this about?Car and aircraft makers join metal parts by melting and fusing them together — that’s welding. Traditionally some welds need a separate “filler” wire (like extra metal solder) to make a strong seam. Fraunhofer IWS has shown a laser method that controls the molten metal so precisely that the filler wire isn’t…
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Pressure on Australia’s Home-Care Waitlist: Status, Drivers, and How Better Data Profiling Could Help
Australia’s home-care system—designed to help older people live safely at home—faces a fast-growing waitlist. Recent reporting highlights tens of thousands of approved older Australians still waiting for services, while even more are waiting just to be assessed. Advocacy groups and cross-bench MPs are urging the government to accelerate package releases before the new Aged Care…
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Japan’s Petabit Internet Speed: What It Means for Everyday Life
1) Introduction – What Just Happened? Japan’s scientists have smashed the internet speed record, moving data at 1.02 petabits per second (Pb/s) across nearly 1,800 km of fibre. That’s equal to 125 terabytes per second. ➡️ To picture this: imagine downloading the entire Netflix library in seconds, or every single UK NHS medical record in…
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Japan’s new plasma route to perovskite solar: what it is, why it matters, and how data/AI can make it work
Introduction & definitions Perovskite solar cells use a family of light-absorbing crystals (with the “perovskite” structure) that can be made at low temperatures on thin, flexible substrates. They promise silicon-like efficiencies with far less energy to manufacture and the potential to turn windows, façades and lightweight surfaces into power sources. shi.co.jp In August 2025, Sumitomo…
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Digital Mental Health Tools: Are They the Future of Care or Just Quick Fixes?
Introduction: What Are Digital Mental Health Tools? Digital mental health tools refer to apps, platforms, and wearable technologies designed to support mental wellbeing. These range from simple meditation apps like Headspace to clinically guided platforms offering cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), remote counselling, or even AI-powered chatbots for crisis support. The rise of these tools reflects…
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Addressing England’s Homelessness Crisis: How Data and AI Could Make a Difference
The Homelessness Monitor: England 2023, led by Crisis in partnership with Heriot-Watt University, offers a stark and urgent snapshot. It reveals mounting pressures: over 290,000 households sought help in 2021–22, including a 10 % rise in those at risk of losing their homes and a 4 % drop in confirmed homelessness. Services are stretched like…
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Turning Waste into Growth: The Solar Reactor That Transforms Urine into Fertiliser
Imagine fertilising crops, generating electricity, and cleaning wastewater—all using something we flush away every day: urine. Stanford researchers have developed a photovoltaic–thermal electrochemical stripping (solar-ECS) system that does exactly that. By harvesting waste heat from solar panels, this compact reactor both cools the solar cells—boosting energy output by nearly 60%—and extracts valuable nitrogen as fertiliser,…
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A New Weapon Against Superbugs: How AI Is Redefining Antibiotic Discovery
A growing global health threat—drug-resistant infections—is being targeted with a breakthrough approach. According to Euronews, scientists at MIT have harnessed artificial intelligence (AI) to create novel antibiotics effective against notoriously stubborn bacteria like MRSA and gonorrhoea. euronews These newly discovered compounds emerged from AI-driven design, which sifted through millions of theoretical molecules to find ones…
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A Ground-Breaking Step—or a Step Too Far? China’s Pregnancy Robot Explained
At the 2025 World Robot Conference in Beijing, Dr Zhang Qifeng of Kaiwa Technology unveiled a concept that feels straight out of sci-fi: the world’s first humanoid robot capable of pregnancy—right from conception to delivery Interesting Engineering, Hespress. Unlike neonatal incubators, this isn’t just a shell. It’s a lifelike figure with a built-in artificial womb.…
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UK Digital Banks: Hitting a Wall or Finding a Second Wind?
A few years ago, digital-only banks like Monzo, Starling and Revolut felt unstoppable. They grew quickly, attracted millions of customers, and made traditional high-street banks look old-fashioned. But as we move through 2025, the picture is starting to change. A new report from RFI (Retail Finance Intelligence) shows that digital banks’ share of “main bank”…