January Current Events 2024: Science & Technology News

Updated January 26, 2024 | Infoplease Staff

World News | U.S. News | Disaster News | Current Events This Week

The world is a very busy place, and it's hard to stay on top of everything. Infoplease has got you covered. Here are the Science & Technology news events you need to know so far for January 2024.

  1. Space X Planning To Launch New Communications Technology Into Space
  2. The White House Plans To Spend $623m On Electric Vehicle Chargers
  3. The Japanese Moon Sniper Races Towards Lunar Touchdown
  4. Researchers Project The Possibility Of Using Simple Blood Test To Diagnose Alzheimer’s

Space X Planning To Launch New Communications Technology Into Space

Current Events

Photo Source: AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Wednesday, January 3, 2024 – SpaceX has launched the first batch of Starlink satellites, which can beam signals directly from space to smartphones. The satellites, which will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will provide network access to phone users in "dead zones" via Starlink. 

The satellites were in low-Earth orbit, according to T-Mobile US. Text messaging will be the first feature of the direct-to-cell service, followed by phone and data capabilities in the coming years. T-Mobile intends to rapidly scale up the project, and Sara Spangelo, senior director of satellite engineering at SpaceX, describes the launch as an important milestone. 

Mike Katz, T-Mobile's president of marketing, strategy, and products, hoped that dead zones would become obsolete. Other cellular companies around the world will work with SpaceX to deploy direct-to-cell technologies, including Japan's KDDI, Australia's Optus, New Zealand's One NZ, and Canada's Rogers.

Source: The Guardian 

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The White House Plans To Spend $623m On Electric Vehicle Chargers

Current Events

Photo Source: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

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The Japanese Moon Sniper Races Towards Lunar Touchdown

Current Events

Photo Source: AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

Thursday, January 18, 2024 – Japan is now making significant progress towards being the fifth nation to successfully land on the moon. This achievement would mark a notable turnaround in its fortunes, as it strives to participate in the international competition focused on exploring the enigmatic lunar terrain.

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) is scheduled to start its landing lunar surface at midnight on Friday (1500 GMT) and is expected to make contact around 20 minutes thereafter, as stated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The spacecraft is projected to touch down on a crater that is thought to provide access to the moon's mantle, which is the inner layer located under its crust.

The spacecraft, which will be live-streaming its landing attempt, will only have one opportunity to successfully touchdown on a rocky terrain. Therefore, accuracy will be crucial to settle on the designated spot.

Source: The Guardian 

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Researchers Project The Possibility Of Using Simple Blood Test To Diagnose Alzheimer’s

Current Events

Photo Source: AP Photo/Teresa Crawford

Tuesday, January 23, 2023 – Researchers have uncovered evidence that inexpensive blood tests may equal pricey brain scans or invasive lumbar punctures in terms of accuracy, increasing the prospect of using them to identify Alzheimer's disease more quickly.

Recent research has pushed the idea of accurate blood testing for dementia closer to reality. Researchers in the UK began a £5 million initiative last year to allow patients to be diagnosed in seconds on the NHS within five years.

Ashton and colleagues wrote in the journal Jama Neurology that the protein p-tau217 was a well-known biomarker for brain alterations linked with Alzheimer's disease.

Previous research has shown that it may be used to distinguish Alzheimer's from other neurodegenerative illnesses and identify the disease even in the presence of modest cognitive impairment. Measurements of this protein in blood have shown potential as a diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease. However, such assays are not widely available for research or clinical usage.

Source: The Guardian 

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