A battery breakthrough made by researchers in Japan could pave the way for next-generation batteries to finally enter mass production. A team from Tokyo University of Science discovered a way to build sodium-ion batteries with an equivalent performance to conventional lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion, or li-ion, batteries are found in everything from electric cars to smartphones, however they are made from difficult-to-extract and expensive resources, while also containing liquid electrolytes that are toxic and flammable. By contrast, sodium-ion batteries are cheaper, offer stability against extreme temperatures, and pose no risk of overheating. Until now, their main limitation has been a lower energy density compared to li-ion batteries. To overcome this limitation, the scientists developed a high-capacity electrode made from nanostructured hard carbon, which they were able to optimise and then incorporate into an actual battery. The researchers said the new electrodes deliver “unprecedented performance” and offer a viable option for producing next-generation batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles. “This value is equivalent to the energy density of certain types of currently commercialised lithium-ion batteries... and is more than 1.6 times the energy density of the first sodium-ion batteries, which our laboratory reported back in 2011,” said Professor Shinichi Komaba from Tokyo University of Science. The breakthrough could also make sodium-ion batteries viable for other practical applications, such as low carbon footprint energy storage systems for solar and wind farms. The research was detailed in a study, titled ‘New template synthesis of anomalously large capacity hard carbon for Na- and K-ion batteries’, published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials. Read More Breakthrough solar system outperforms military-grade diesel generator

A new report claims that Strava could be used to track people down – despite the platform’s efforts to make their data anonymous. Strava is a fitness tracking platform that allows people to log their exercises as well as engage with other based on their workouts. But it also includes other tools, such as its heatmap feature, which is intended to anonymously gather together people’s journeys and show them on one map. The tool is intended to allow people to see which parts of the world are particularly active, which can be helpful for finding particularly good areas for workouts or trips. But it can also be used to find out people’s personal information, according to a new report. That heatmap data is anonymised, so that it shows more general trends and cannot be used to track specific people who might mark their routes private. But the new research suggests that it is possible to de-anonymise that data, at least in some cases, to work out who lives where. The paper, published by three computer science researchers at North Carolina State University, says that “the home address of highly active users in remote areas can be identified, violating Strava’s privacy claims and posing as a threat to user privacy”. They detailed a complicated process that they claimed was able to find addresses and then combine that with other data from Strava to find the home address of a certain individual. In short, they were able to use the heat map to identify locations where people lived, and then take other location data to work out who might live at that specific house. The attack will not work on everyone: they need to live in remote areas where people’s houses stand on their own, those users need to have the heat map setting switched on, and might run in patterns that do not identify their home addresses, for instance. But the researchers claimed that a significant number of users could be identified based on publicly available information on Strava. That is a “violation of user privacy”, the researchers said. And it could also pose a threat to those users, by allowing people’s addresses to be made public, and then matched to certain activities, such as when they work out or where they tend to travel. The researchers suggested two ways to avoid the attack. One would be to remove heat map data that is clearly near a home, and another would be to add Strava’s existing “privacy zones” tools that block out data from certain locations to its heat map, which is not currently the case. Strava said that it looks to ensure users’ data stays private, and suggested that people concerned about potential issues turn off the use of aggregated user data on their account. “The safety and privacy of our community is our highest priority. We’ve long had a suite of privacy controls (including Map Visibility Controls) that give users control over what they share and who it’s shared with,” the company said. “Strava does not track users or share data without their permission. When users share their aggregated, de-identified data with the Heatmap and Strava Metro, they contribute to a one-of-a-kind data set that helps urban planners as they develop better infrastructure for people on foot and bikes, and makes it easy to plan routes with the knowledge of the community. “The Global Heatmap displays aggregated data from a subset of Strava activities and will not show ‘heat’ unless multiple people have completed an activity in a given area. Any Strava user who does not wish to contribute to the Heatmap can toggle off the Aggregated Data Usage control to exclude all activities or default their Activity Visibility to be only to themselves (’Only You’) for any given activity. “We are consistently strengthening privacy tools and offering more feature education to give users control over their experience on Strava. This includes simplifying our Privacy Policy with our Privacy Label at the top.” Read More Breakthrough could soon allow us to actually use quantum computers, scientists say Three and Vodafone are merging. Here’s what that means for your phone McDonald’s, Delta among websites down after Amazon Web Services cloud crashes Breakthrough could soon allow us to actually use quantum computers, scientists say Three and Vodafone are merging. Here’s what that means for your phone McDonald’s, Delta among websites down after Amazon Web Services cloud crashes

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -California's autos regulator said on Friday it is investigating "recent concerning incidents" involving autonomous vehicles operated by

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 1, 2023--

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will resolve its two-year investigation into Tesla

Many have questioned Ava's gender after she was featured on many of IShowSpeed's videos

A 4,000-year-old site reminiscent of Stonehenge has been uncovered in the Netherlands for the first time. The monument was uncovered by Dutch archaeologists on Wednesday (21 June), uncovering an ancient religious site that has been nicknamed the “Stonehenge of the Netherlands”. Uncovered in the dig was a burial mound containing the remains of 60 men, women and children. The mound also served as a solar calendar, with the Sun shining directly through passages on the shortest and longest days of the year. Digging at the so-called “open-air sanctuary”, located in the town of Tiel, began in 2017, but the results of the archaeologists’ findings were only recently made public. A post on the town’s Facebook page, read: “What a spectacular archaeological discovery! Archaeologists have found a 4,000-year-old religious sanctuary on an industrial site.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It continued: “This is the first time a site like this has been discovered in the Netherlands.” By comparing different samples of clay and their composition, three burial mounds were located during the excavation. The mounds are located just a few kilometres from the bank of the Waal River, with the main mound measuring 20 meters wide and its passages perfectly aligned to serve as a solar calendar. One of the archaeologists explained: “People used this calendar to determine important moments including festival and harvest days.” Dutch national broadcaster, NOS, added: “This hill reminded one of Stonehenge, the well-known mysterious prehistoric monument in Britain, where this phenomenon also occurs.” Other fascinating discoveries at the site included a single glass bead found inside a grave – analysis showed it originated in Mesopotamia, which is Iraq today. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2023--

Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan will meet with employees later this month to discuss his clean

LONDON (Reuters) -Ocado Group shares surged by over 40% on Thursday after The Times newspaper reported speculation of possible bid

A fan lauded Amouranth and wrote, 'She's clearly putting in the hard work necessary to become a ring technician. Good for her!'