The 2020 Abel prize was awarded to mathematicians Hillel Furstenberg and Gregory Margulis for their use of probability and dynamics in group theory, number theory and combinatorics
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https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237832-mathematicians-who-revealed-the-power-of-random-walks-win-abel-prize/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home
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The number of sensors all around us is rapidly increasing. From smartwatches and heart-rate monitors to smart refrigerators and thermostats, everything is measured and tracked. All these sensors for the Internet of Things (IoT) devices need batteries and they consume a lot of power. The project ZERO (Towards Energy Autonomous Systems for IoT) aims to create efficient devices that exploit the energy already around them, such as light, vibration and heat.
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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-future-decrease-temperature-mobile-devices.html
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Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Brown University have developed new approaches that significantly improve the accuracy of an important material testing technique by harnessing the power of machine learning.
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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-machine-learning-technique-sharpens-material-mechanical.html
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KUALA LUMPUR: Sectors affected by the Covid-19 outbreak will be given electricity bill discounts, said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah.
In a statement today, he said it was one of the measures that would be implemented under the 2020 Economic Stimulus Package announced in February.
“I will also ensure that the country’s electricity supply industry supports the government’s efforts to implement the economic stimulus package by accelerating the implementation of renewable energy projects as well as the development of the country’s electricity supply infrastructure,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Shamsul Anuar said his ministry was currently reviewing plans made in the energy sector to ensure that the initiatives were in line with the new government’s desire and policies.
He said the direction of the country’s power generation industry under the new government would also be announced after he received detailed input over the matter.
Shamsul said the agenda to boost renewable energy growth would also continue in line with the government’s aspirations under the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030. — Bernama
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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/covid-19-affected-sectors-to-get-electricity-bill-discounts-CC2127523
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Nations around the world risk wasting $640 billion by continuing to prop up the coal industry rather than investing in less expensive and environmentally friendlier wind and solar power initiatives.
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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-world-fritters-trillion-dollars-coal.html
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Photovoltaic solar cells are a promising alternative to fossil fuels, but they need to be a lot more efficient before they can go into widespread use. Scientists have pushed current supercomputing power to the limit looking for that improved efficiency, but the arrival of exascale computing within the next few years will allow them to take this quest to the next level.
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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-lab-collaborates-photovoltaic-materials-exascale.html
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A few years ago, several nuclear reactors in the United States were facing the possibility of unforeseen shutdowns in the wake of disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant. The 2011 accident prompted worldwide scrutiny of nuclear power safety—especially regarding boiling water reactors, or BWRs.
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ESA has backed the creation of this flexible, ultra-thin solar cell to deliver the best power to mass ratio for space missions.
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is building the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant, capable of generating 700 megawatts. During daylight, solar power will provide cheap electricity, and at night the UAE will use stored solar heat to generate electricity.
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Twenty-five years ago, two global events – the International Conference on Population and Development and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing – formally recognized that women’s health and reproductive choices cannot be separated from the social context of their lives.
Now, researchers have created a dataset which brings together national surveys from 74 countries, representing 3 million women. For the first time, it allows them to describe trends in demand/use of modern contraceptives alongside social and economic indicators.
The data is published in The Lancet Global Health and is authored by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organization.
It shows that, over time, women are more likely to have their demand for modern contraception met in countries where gender equality and their educational opportunities improve.
Trends in sexual activity and demand for use and use of modern contraceptive methods in 74 countries: a retrospective analysis of nationally representative surveys finds that met need for modern contraception is strongly correlated with positive shifts in social structures.
For every 0.1-point increase in a country’s gender development index, it found a 6.7% rise in women who were sexually active and did not want to conceive. Of those women, an additional 13.5% used modern methods to prevent a pregnancy.
Expectations of every girl’s right to education also made a difference. Each extra year in schooling is linked to an increase of 2.3% in demand, and a 4.7% increase in use of modern contraceptive methods.
“This study shows how every woman must negotiate her reproductive autonomy within the social framework in which she lives, responding to barriers and opportunities as they emerge,” says Dr Lale Say, one of the authors of the study and Unit Head at WHO and HRP.
“Gender equality is both a precondition and a driving force for securing women’s reproductive health and rights – as well as the sustainable development targets, which are our best chance for delivering health and well-being for all.”
Overall, the data reinforce global trends: more time spent sexually-active and single, postponement of parenthood, and the near-universal desire for smaller families.
The study also highlights where action is needed at country-level to avoid family planning services falling behind demand.
Out of the 74 countries analyzed, 42 showed an increase in demand for contraception. Only 37 countries show an increase in use of a modern method to prevent pregnancy.
Although unmet need for contraception declined in 34 countries, it increased in 14 countries. Significantly more progress is needed, and faster, to ensure each girl and woman is able to access the sexual and reproductive health services she needs.
Gender equality can affect contraceptive use in many ways. From the personal and political degree to which women are free to choose their sexual activity, to accessing family planning services it can also shape any power imbalances within personal relationships. This study supports recent efforts by WHO to adopt a broader, integrated concept of sexual and reproductive health – and to translate it into a framework for policy and practice.
The authors argue that family planning targets in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will not be met without a profound shift: from focus on ‘access to contraception’, to broader aspects of sexual health and social context.
Since reproductive health and women’s empowerment are intertwined, trends in contraceptive use can also reveal progress towards another global target: progress towards gender equality.
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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/10-03-2020-the-unmet-need-for-social-context-in-family-planning
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