Technology Tuesday: February 9
This week: Radically extending lifespans with genetic engineering, wirelessly charging self-driving cars, suturing wounds with lasers, mile high skyscraper to be built in Japan, and Elon Musk wants to build an electric powered jet that can vertically take of and land.
Scientists Can Now Radically Extend The Lifespans of Mice – And Humans Could Be Next
With a bit of clever genetic engineering, a team of scientists has just found an astonishing way to significantly expand the natural lifespan of mice. Now, at least one biotech company hopes to translate this breakthrough to fight aging in humans.
Google Wants Its Self Driving Cars To Wirelessly Charge
What’s the point of having a self-driving car if you still have to get out to plug it in? That’s a good question, says Alphabet, Google’s parent company. With that in mind, it is testing wireless charging systems for its electric self-driving cars. Documents filed at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) suggest that Google is working toward cutting its robocars’ charger cables and beaming power to them instead.
Suturing Wounds With A Laser
A certain medical dye will stick together when hit by a laser, effectively suturing a wound without the need for staples or traditional sutures. But the dye will only penetrate as deep as the light does, so this method only works on superficial wounds. The solution is a biological wave guide to direct the light deeper into the wound.
Japan Planning on Building Mile High Skyscraper
Plans for a mile high skyscraper in Tokyo could be twice as tall as the current tallest building in the world, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.
This super-tall building is set to reach a height of 5,577ft and host up to 55,000 people in Tokyo bay, an inlet southeast of the Japanese capital.
If the plans are accepted – the ‘Sky Mile Tower’ would be surrounded by a series of man-made hexagonal islands, Architectural Digest reports.
Vertically Launching Electric Jet
Electric cars and and commercial spaceflight are clearly not enough. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he’s mulling how to provide super-convenient, electric-powered air travel.
When asked to reveal his “next great idea” during a brief Q&A session this week, Musk answered: “Well I have been thinking about the vertical takeoff and landing electric jet a bit more. I mean, I think I have something that might close. I’m quite tempted to do something about it.”
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