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Reprogrammed bacterium turns carbon dioxide into chemicals on industrial scale

Process achieved at industrial scale in 120 litre reactor.


Factory

The 120 litre LanzaTech pilot plant that can convert carbon dioxide into acetone and isopropanol.

Industrial scale carbon-negative production of two commodity chemicals has been achieved for the first time using a genetically modified bacterium that can turn waste carbon dioxide into acetone and isopropanol. The work, which offers a blueprint for making other chemicals, holds promise for a more sustainable, renewable and environmentally-friendly chemical industry as the world strives to shift from fossil fuels to a circular carbon economy.

I’ve Dealt With Foreign Cyberattacks. America Isn’t Ready for What’s Coming

Yet the United States lacks an organized response. The weekly reports of ransomware attacks and data breaches make it clear that we’re losing this battle. That’s why America’s leaders must rethink the current cyberdefense system and rally around a centralized regulator to defend both citizens and the private sector against current and future attacks.

The decentralized nature of the American government does not lend itself to fighting foreign cyberthreats. Government agencies handle cyberregulation and threats in the sectors they oversee — an inefficient and ineffective way to address an issue that cuts across our entire economy. In just the past few months, the D.H.S.’s Transportation Security Agency announced new cybersecurity requirements for pipelines and railroads; the Federal Communications Commission put out its own proposal for telecommunication companies; the Securities and Exchange Commission voted on rules for investment advisers and funds; and the Federal Trade Commission threatened to legally pursue companies that fail to fix a newly detected software vulnerability found in many business applications. And on Capitol Hill, there are approximately 80 committees and subcommittees that claim jurisdiction over various aspects of cyberregulation.

These scattered efforts are unlikely to reduce, let alone stop, cybercrime.

Here’s why NASA plans to let the International Space Station disintegrate into the atmosphere

One of the greatest achievements of mankind is the International Space Station, which brings together astronauts from across the globe to cooperate on groundbreaking research. The International Space Station (ISS) will be decommissioned in 2024, following which a new generation of space stations will take its place. When more people are able to travel space, new political and economic conflicts will be inevitable.

Low-Earth orbit is becoming less important as NASA shifts its attention to transporting people to the moon and ultimately Mars. During this transition, the space agency plans to lease out space stations operated by private corporations for its astronauts to use. ISS will burn up and disintegrate in the atmosphere when the new stations are ready.

Anyone who wants to work in space at some time in the future will be forced to pick among a number of different locations. That implies that governments will not only be employing these new stations to improve their national space programs but also as lucrative economic endeavors, too.

Future Day talk

Topic: James Hughes — The Future of Work (Future Day Talk) Time: Mar 1, 2022 08:00 AM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81306102463?pwd=eDBldno3cUdZZGcxVHoxNEJ1RkgrUT09 Meeting ID: 813 0610 2,463 Passcode: Q6VzpF

As part of the annual Future Day celebration, James Hughes will join us that may concern you — ‘The Future of Work’. Zoom details coming soon!

Abstract: The pandemic has launched a debate about the future of work around the world. Those who can work remotely have often found they prefer remote or flexible, hybrid options. The Great Resignation has put upward pressure on wages and benefits in the service sector, encouraging the implementation of automation. Climate change mitigation is encouraging a shift towards “green jobs.” Rapid changes in the labor market have made the payoffs of higher education uncertain for young people, while many societies are entering an old-age dependency crisis with too few workers paying taxes for growing numbers of pensioners. Before the pandemic proposals for universal basic income (UBI) were seen as necessary adaptations to imminent technological unemployment, and the during the pandemic many countries provided temporary UBI to keep people safe. We are now poised for a global discussion about whether we need to work at all, and what kinds of jobs are desirable.

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