Tracking Covid Variants

The pandemic spurred extraordinary investment in genome sequencing and significantly increased global capability for this sort of surveillance. Scientists have been able to trace the spread of the covid virus and swiftly detect and warn about new variations thanks to improved surveillance.

A Grid Battery with A Long Life

We're using more renewable energy than we've ever used before. What happens, though, when the sun sets or the wind dies? Grid operators require a method of storing electricity for later use. New iron-based batteries might be able to handle the job. They're manufactured from common materials and could be less expensive and more practical than other grid storage options.

Protein Folding with AI

Proteins are involved in nearly every action that your body takes. And a protein's activity is determined by how it folds. However, determining the structure of proteins can take months. Now, an AI known as AlphaFold2 has solved this long-standing biological riddle, potentially allowing for the rapid development of medications for a wide spectrum of ailments.

Vaccine for Malaria

Malaria kills about 600,000 people each year, the majority of them are children under the age of five. The World Health Organization has approved a novel malaria vaccine that might help save hundreds of thousands of lives each year. It's also the world's first parasitic illness vaccine.

Evidence of Risk

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency devices consume a lot of electricity. This is due to the new way transactions are confirmed, which necessitates a lot of processing power. Proof of stake is a method of verifying transactions without consuming a lot of energy. Ethereum intends to switch to the system this year, reducing energy consumption by 99.95%.

An Anti-covid Pill

Pfizer has released a novel medicine that offers effective and wide protection against the covid-19 virus, including the most recent versions. Similar drugs are now being developed by other businesses. These medicines, when combined with immunizations, may provide a method for the globe to eventually escape the pandemic.

Fusion Reactors in Practice

Researchers have been trying to make fusion power work for decades because of the promise of unlimited, carbon-free electricity. One startup now hopes to have it connected to the grid by the early 2030s. Its design is based on a powerful new magnet that has broken records and will enable the business to manufacture smaller, less expensive reactors.

A Carbon Removal Factory

Reduced emissions are a critical component of climate change mitigation. According to the United Nations, however, this is insufficient. We must also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to avert catastrophic future warming. To that end, Iceland recently established the world's largest carbon removal facility.

(This is a slightly modified version of an article originally published in Technology Review. The original article can be found at https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/02/23/1045416/10-breakthrough-technologies-2022/#breakthrough-technology-poll)