We’re not specifically talking about a new type of visual wizardry here. It’s not about going to the movies to watch Ironman 4 or Fast and The Furious 7 in the 5th dimension.
What we’re talking about is a new breakthrough that could mean all your digital data is safe and secure, forever. Well actually the timeframe is more like one million years, but that’s pretty much forever right?
Scientists at the University of Southampton have recorded and retrieved five-dimensional digital data. They’re saying that this technique means, ‘360 TB/disc data capacity, thermal stability up to 1000°C and practically unlimited lifetime.’
This kind of breakthrough is nanotech science at its finest. Using nanoscale lasers in glass crystals they were able to store a 300kb digital text file in all five dimensions. Just in case you weren’t sure, the extra two dimensions aside from the normal three are size and orientation.
The scientists have coined the crystals the ‘Superman Crystals’ for their resemblance to the ‘memory crystals’ from the Superman movies.
But superheroes aside, the university is now looking for commercial partners to bring this new kind of data storage to commercial reality.
Commercialisation of this tech is a part of the explosion of Big Data. If you’re unaware, Big Data is the term given to the unbelievable amounts of data we now generate in the world.
To understand how much data, we’re talking in the realm of Zetabytes. One Zetabyte is the equivalent of streaming the entire Netflix catalogue 3.17 million times. With all that data, it needs to be stored somewhere. And traditional storage systems are simply running out of space.
Thankfully scientific research will more often than not help solve our problems. And with this kind of breakthrough our Big Data problem will stop becoming a problem and start becoming a benefit.
The Netherlands is a progressive country, from the liberal city of Amsterdam to piezo-electric dancefloors. They’ve always had a very forward approach towards the liberties and living standards of their citizens.
As well as having (on average) the tallest citizens in the world, certain studies also suggest they’re the happiest country in the world. And we’re starting to see why.
Imagine living in a country that looks to the future and thinks about the big issues that face its people. A country where they do their upmost to plan and implement the means to allow free and happy living for all citizens. We’d be pretty happy too in that environment.
Don’t get me wrong, the Netherlands have their fair share of issues too. But on the balance of it, it’s an innovative, progressive country. And the same goes for Dutch companies too. There are a number of innovative Dutch companies that look to the future and think about ways to make the world a better place.
Fastned is one of those progressive companies. Back in January 2012, Fastned approached the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure. Their goal was to get permits to deploy 245 electric charging points at services stations across the Netherlands.
By the 16th of January (within a couple of weeks) Fastned had approval for 173 stations. Straight away they began the process to build electric charge-stations across the country. Now that’s how the application process should work in all government!
Source: Fastned
Fastned are currently in progress with their lofty goal. All stations are due for completion at the end of 2015. When it’s finished you’ll be able to drive across the Netherlands in an electric car and never be more than 50kms away from a charging station.
As Fastned explain on their company website, ‘Chicken-or-egg — If you cannot charge your battery, you will not be able to drive an electric car. As long as there are few fast-charging stations, electric vehicle adoption will be limited and vice versa.’
They’re on track to make the Netherlands the most populous nation to roll out an electric car charging network. It’s this kind of forward thinking and innovation that hopefully sets the scene for other countries to follow.
It seems as though there are a lot of very smart scientists at the University of Southampton. Aside from the ‘Superman Crystals’ mentioned earlier, another group of scientists from the University have discovered a new way to kill cancer cells.
This particular method of cancer fighting is different to traditional methods. This new way keeps healthy cells alive and only attacks the cancerous cells.
Importantly this isn’t a target treatment for one particular type of cancer cell. The discovery includes the ability to attack various types of cancer.
What the researchers have done is use a molecule from our own body, the CD27 molecule, manipulate it and have it fight cancer. Not only is this discovery breakthrough, the university now holds it as a patent in the US.
With a new method to fight cancer and now a patent under their belt, this means a spin-off company is likely, which means commercial opportunities. This is one we’d be keeping an eye on.
There are numerous efforts to rid the world of cancer, or at least make a big dent in its occurence. Inevitably there will be a cure, but it might not necessarily come in the way we’d all hope.
When most people think of a cure for cancer, the vision is of a pill or injection. In this case and in all reality it’s likely that we’ll have multiple cures of cancer in the future. And it will be nano sized techniques and methods of going about it.
However, we all hope for a ‘silver bullet’. As unlikely as that may be, this kind of research from the University of Southampton is the first step in maybe one day getting the complete cure we need.
Sam Volkering+
Technology Analyst, Revolutionary Tech Investor
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