Masdar Institute of Science and Technology

They would travel trillions of miles; far further than any previous craft. A $100m (£70m) research programme to develop the computer chip-sized “starships” was launched by the billionaire Yuri Milner, supported by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Interstellar travel has long been a dream for many, but significant technological hurdles remain. But Prof Hawking told BBC

Image via Wikipedia Deserts are the obvious locations for solar power plants. The land is cheap and the sunshine is plentiful. Unfortunately so too is the dust, dirt and wind that leads to dirty solar panels that can take a big hit in efficiency. Sending a guy around with a squeegee in the sweltering heat

Moreover, the new technology has one big benefit. SOLAR panels get better and cheaper with every passing year. In one way, though, they are still pretty primitive. They work only with light that falls in the visible part of the spectrum. Yet 40% of the solar energy that reaches the Earth is in, or very

Scientists turn a natural cellular process into a drug-delivery system Scientists have developed a new gene-therapy technique by transforming human cells into mass producers of tiny nano-sized particles full of genetic material that has the potential to reverse disease processes. Though the research was intended as a proof of concept, the experimental therapy slowed tumor

A promising new birth control method for men that’s more easily reversible than vasectomy has been developed in India. Called RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance or Vasalgel in the U.S) the method is claimed to be 100 percent effective in trials, doesn’t contain controversial hormone therapy and it lasts a minimum of 10

We don’t just share our lives with animals; we are animals – a reality that we often choose to forget in modern Western culture. Research published in the June special issue of SAGE journal, Social Science Information (SSI), delves deeper into our relationship with other creatures, critically examining our own animal nature, and looking at

The transportation industry is one of the largest consumers of energy in the U.S. economy with increasing demand to make it cleaner and more efficient. While more people are using electric cars, designing electric-powered planes, ships and submarines is much harder due to power and energy requirements. A team of engineers in the McKelvey School

Mercedes-Benz will introduce a new breed of “switchable” glass roof as an optional extra on the new SLK next year. The panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL can – aside from being quite a mouthful – either be darkened or made transparent at the touch of a button. Based on the physics of a plate condenser,

Researchers at UCL have developed a new antibacterial material which has potential for cutting hospital acquired infections. The combination of two simple dyes with nanoscopic particles of gold is deadly to bacteria when activated by light – even under modest indoor lighting. And in a first for this type of substance, it also shows impressive