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800V systems in EVs enable longer ranges, faster chargingSome automakers are already starting to embrace this technology. For instance, Porsche fitted an 800V system in their full-electric Taycan sports car, which was launched last year. The automaker claims that the model can travel up to 420km between charges. Such systems enable greatly reduced charging times, […]

The eccentric engineer: the catastrophic outcome of trying to reengineer a mountainRarely is physical engineering seen more spectacularly than in hydroelectric dams. Apparently taming whole wildernesses is the apogee of the discipline for many. Yet structural engineering is at least in part about knowing your limitations, as the workers of Vajont found out to their […]

Agency for high-risk, high-reward research up and running by 2022Plans for a research agency dedicated to this type of research were first announced in 2019. The agency is inspired by the Pentagon’s Darpa, which has been instrumental in the development of technologies such as GPS and the internet. The government said the agency will “help […]

‘We owe our lives to innovations in technology’: Jim Al-Khalili  As the only physicist on the panel of judges on this year’s Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, Jim Al-Khalili says that initially a feeling of ‘impostor syndrome’ fleetingly entered his mind, “but I think as a scientist I’m there to offer a different perspective.” After […]

Boys who play video games regularly ‘at lower risk of depression’The study conducted by researchers at University College London (UCL) also found that girls who spend more time on social media appear to develop more depressive symptoms. Taken together, the findings suggest that different types of screen time can positively or negatively influence young people’s mental […]

Festering fatberg the weight of a small bungalow removed from London sewerA fatberg is typically a rock-like mass of waste matter that builds up in sewer systems, formed by the combination of flushed non-biodegradable solids, such as wet wipes, and congealed grease or cooking fat. A large-scale 2017 study carried out by trade body Water […]

Facebook and Instagram launch vaccination campaign driveThe new initiative allows users to update their profiles with a range of specially designed profile frames and graphics, including artwork featuring the NHS and the Premier League. People can use these to show “I’ve had my vaccine” or make a pledge that “I will get my vaccine” when […]