Important Innovations

  54% of 2020 Cars Sold in Norway Are Electric                                           Source:  Norway Electric Cars VW - not Tesla - Is the Leader Electric battery vehicles were the #1 car category sold in Norway in 2020 .  EVs hit a record 54% of Norwegian vehicle sales.  Norway is leading the world in its efforts to make gas powered vehicles obsolete.  And in Norway, Volkswagen has scored a big win.  For 2020, it beat out Tesla as the #1 electric vehicle brand. VW's luxury brand Audi and its e-tron electric vehicles were the #1 EV seller. Norway's Zero Emissions Goals By 2025, Norway wants every new car and van sold to be emissions free.  Norwegian officials says the record EV sales in 2020 put the nation ahead of schedule for its zero emissions goals.  The EV sales numbers are historic and very impressive.  EV market share went from 42% in 2019 to 54% in 2020.  If you add hybrid vehicles to the fully electric car mix, the market share soars to 83%.   Norway' Electric

  Micro Implant That Precisely Delivers Drug Therapies                                                                                Source:  MIT                                                  Source:  MIT Device Triggered by Flash of Light MIT scientists are developing a new way to deliver and target drug therapies.  They've invented an implant that delivers both light and light activated pharmaceuticals.  The system allows the drug to remain inactive in the body until it reaches its targeted location.  It becomes active when hit with a flash of light.  The drugs involved are called photoswitchable drugs containing light sensitive molecules that switch on and become active with a flash of light.  The system is designed to target bomb medication to the area needed, such as a tumor, and thereby avoid side effects. MIT Technology The MIT delivery system is composed of two very thin, side by side fibers that are joined together.  One fiber contains the medication  The other is an o

  New California Institute of Technology Research                                                                 Source:  NASA Milky Way Likelihood of Alien Life on the Milky Way Physicists at California Institute of Technology have used astronomy and statistical modelling to map the probable existence of life on the Milky Way.  Three Caltech physicists have precisely mapped where and when life is most likely to exist in the Milky Way.  Essentially they modelled the evolution of the Milky Way over time.  They used key factors necessary for the development of intelligent life such as Sun-like stars accompanied by Earth-like planets, time necessary for intelligent life to evolve and the frequency of deadly radiation from supernovas. Findings The scientists used time and space metrics to measure the  most likely locations for the presence of life.  They found the greatest probability of the existence of life at 13,000 light years from the galaxy center and 8 billion years after the galax

  World's 4th Largest Automotive Maker                                        Source:  Jeep Assembly Line New Transatlantic Automaker Called Stellantis It is now official.  Shareholders of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler have approved a $52 billion merger with France-based Peugeot/PSA.  They joined Peugeot/PSA shareholders in approving the deal which creates the world's 4th largest automotive company.  The new transatlantic entity is called Stellantis and is expected to sell 8.7 million vehicles yearly.  The company houses brands like Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Maserati, Alfa-Romeo, Opel, Citroen and Vauxhall. Synergies for Electric and Autonomous Vehicles Today's merger approval news ends Fiat Chrysler's decade long search for a merger partner.  It tried but wasn't able to complete mergers with GM and Volkswagen.  Company officials expect many synergies from the merger with Peugeot.  They anticipate billions of dollars in yearly savings.  They also expect

  Tesla EV Sales Top Wall Street Estimates                                                                 Source:  Tesla Concept R                                                                                         Source:  Tesla Roadster Outperforming the Auto Industry Despite Global Pandemic During the 2020 global pandemic, Tesla continued to accelerate its business and outperform the global automotive industry.  Tesla vehicle sales for the entire year of 2020 were far better than expected and beat Wall Street estimates.  The company delivered 499.550 vehicles, well above the estimated 481, 261 for the year.  This was just 450 vehicles short of CEO Elon Musk's ambitious plan to reach a benchmark of 500,000 vehicles delivered in 2020.  Musk tweeted he is proud of what his team has accomplished.  Indeed, during a crippling global COVID pandemic that has brought the global economy and the automotive industry into a very rough place, what Tesla accomplished in 2020 is amazing. 

  Quantum Teleportation                               Source: Quantum Teleportation Image Quantum Internet From NASA, Caltech, Fermilab Scientists from NASA, Caltech and Fermilab have achieved long distance quantum teleportation, which lays the groundwork for quantum internet and quantum computing.  Their achievement is a world first and they sustained the quantum internet for 27 miles.  The exciting potential of this is internet networks that carry data faster than the speed of light.  The scientists add the networks would be un-hackable. Breakthrough Technology The team built a 27 mile long quantum internet linking their California labs.  It teleports signals instantly.  This is the first time that long distance quantum teleportation - the instant transfer of  quantum information or qubits - was demonstrated to work.  It lays the groundwork for  quantum internet, which would revolutionize computing and communications. Working At the Speed of Light Quantum systems are more secure than

  ZEROe Planes In Service by 2035                    Source: Airbus ZEROe Turbofan Hydrogen Plane Flying the World With Zero Emissions Airbus has plans to put into service the world's 1st zero emissions commercial aircraft by 2035. They call it the ZEROe.  The European company is analyzing three different options to use hydrogen as the primary source of power to fly commercial aircraft, carrying as many as 200 passengers to start.  If successful, Airbus would be leading the biggest transition in commercial aviation history.  Its technology would move airplanes from highly polluting jet fuel to zero emissions hydrogen fuel. Airbus believes that hydrogen has tremendous potential to significantly reduce aviation's climate change impact.  Global airline flights are among the top greenhouse gas polluters in the world. Tough Dynamics for the Airline Industry The global aviation industry has committed to cutting their 2005 level of emissions in half by 2050.  To do that, the industry