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Have you ever wondered about the strength of steel? Well, you will be surprised to know that nanocellulose (NC) is 8 times the strength of stee l . It is also known that NC is stiffer than Kevlar®. In addition to strength, nanocellulose has many properties that make it a sustainable and versatile material for the packaging industry. Brief overview of the packaging industry: The packaging industry has been using materials, based on glass, aluminium, tin and fossil-derived synthetic plastics to protect consumer goods. Owing to the growing economical and environmental concerns of these materials, alternatives are being considered. Recently, the benefits of cellulose-based packaging materials, particularly, nanocellulose, have been considered. Apparently, the prolonged use of such by-products, could help solve the unsustainability, costs and disposal challenges that the industry faces. These nano-sized particles form part of the renewable resources that can potentially solve the susta...

  By Thuy Ngo |  January 8th, 2018 | Natural Resources |     Hydrogen, an energy carrier, exists abundantly in nature. However, it is always married to other elements in the form of water, hydrocarbons and other organic compounds. For use as an industrial gas or energy carrier, people need hydrogen unattached to other elements. In 1783, Jacques Charles first used hydrogen as “energy” to lift his balloon flight. Since then, hydrogen has been used in various daily applications. Hydrogen is mainly produced from fossil fuels such as methane by the steam reforming method. Although this process has a low cost, it emits a large amount of greenhouse gas pollution.  Hydrogen produced from water by renewable energy: Fortunately, alternative methods exist to produce hydrogen, such as electrical water electrolysis, photoelectrochemical water electrolysis and biological processes. So far, electrical water electrolysis has the most developed technologi...

A little something about the Gs: We are living in a decade where wireless technologies have become an irreplaceable part of our daily life. It all started in the 80s with the analog technology referred to as the first generation wireless technology – 1G. The “large brick phones” had a poor battery life and a maximum speed of 2.4 Kbps. Then, 2G came in as a big leap in mobile technologies and allowed upgrading to digital technology. Call and text encryption, SMS, MMS and picture messages were introduced by the 2G network. In 1998, 3G was established in the next generation series which made video calling and faster data transmission possible. 3G had a speed around 2 Mbps which was succeeded by 4G in 2008. 4G paved the way into some salient features such as mobile gaming, HD TV and video conferencing at much higher speeds. The next evolution in mobile networking is going to be 5G, which holds huge promises . In the following sections, we will be going through 5G and its anticipated imp...

  Since the days of snake-oil peddlers, and even long before, the art of marketing has been to reach for that secret ‘buy button’ in the mind, to tickle the subconscious into purchasing whatever it is that needs to be sold. Along came the 21st century, and with it came neuromarketing. What is this new technology, and what can we expect from it? According to the Neuromarketing Science & Business Association (NMSBA), “Neuromarketing is the use of modern brain science to measure the impact of marketing and advertising on consumers.” It includes techniques for measuring neural activation, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG). Neuromarketing also uses more indirect methods like galvanic skin response (essentially the degree of skin sweatiness), eye tracking or automated face reading. Its aim is typically to gauge the response of consumers to marketing materials such as (online) ads, television commercials, or even shelf-displays...

  Artіfісіаl intеllіgеnсе (AI) is currently taking the retail world by storm and will increasingly continue to do so. Thе mаrkеt ѕіzе оf AI ѕоftwаrе аnd ѕуѕtеmѕ is expected to reach $38 million by 2025, and the potential opportunities for interacting with customers in new and increasingly customized ways are causing retailers to invest in such technologies.  AI to Enhance the Overall Customer Experience: AI is in fact an umbrella term for 3 distinct capabilities: machine learning, natural language processing and optimization. These technologies are being applied across the entire рrоduсt аnd service cycle – from product assembly tо роѕt-ѕаlе customer service іntеrасtіоnѕ. The main goal is to develop leaner, more optimized operations and to enhance the overall customer experience. By 2020, 85% of customer interaction in retail will be managed by AI, according to Gartner . Consumer-goods companies have been at the forefront of the current rise in digital innovation in ...

A person becomes a doctor by graduating from medical school, but becomes a good doctor only after years of experience. What if we could give doctors the intuition that comes from years of experience on their first day? Several companies believe they can help every doctor achieve the same outcomes as top experts with tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI). AI is a term used for computer programs that can do things that we think of as “human”. Scientists use AI to automate complex tasks like driving a car or stock trading. AI has also been used in the development of new drugs . More recently, scientists have begun to train computers to provide better healthcare. In this article, we highlight two leaders in this space, Babylon Health and IBM Watson. AI for the patient and provider: Babylon Health wants everyone with a smartphone to have access to affordable healthcare. They believe an app that offers instant diagnosis is the key. As their CEO, Ali Parsa, ex...

Halloween is around the corner and with it the scares and excitement. Over the last few years, we have seen how technology has influenced the frightening season with decorations that jump, and candy bowls that shake. But, what about what we are wearing? Is there any new tech that can put your costume over the top this year? Wearable tech has come a long way; it can prevent sports injuries , and detect asthma attacks . While your tech still cannot tell you how much candy you are going to eat Halloween night, there are some fun new ideas in what to wear. It may depend on your creativity; a smartwatch makes a decent start to a James Bond costume. Or, you may be looking to invest in a winning outfit. Workable tech costumes : Nothing says high tech like robots. Today, there are many options for a complete robot look, including a pink pig-tailed female bot, or a robot with an LED screen built in the chest. If you have money to invest then becoming a robot is the most tech-savvy choic...