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Those who witnessed the first takeoff of an Airbus A380 Superjumbo from Zurich airport at the end of January know that elegant is not the right word for the aircraft.

Turbines installed in water could cause drop in temperature; land turbines could cause rise MIT analysis suggests wind turbines could cause temperatures to rise and fall New microscopy technique offers close-up, real-time view of cellular phenomena CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Although wind power has emerged as a viable renewable energy source in recent years ? one that proponents say could lessen the threat of global warming ? a new MIT analysis may serve to temper enthusiasm about wind power, at least at very large scales.

Jason Petta, an assistant professor of physics, has found a way to alter the property of a lone electron without disturbing the trillions of electrons in its immediate surroundings. Such a feat is an important step toward developing future types of quantum computers.

Engineers at the University of Birmingham, with local company, Ntec, have invented a new casting process that could reduce the energy costs of light-metal foundries. The technology, called CRIMSON, means that foundries need only heat the quantity of metal required to fill a single mould rather than whole batches that use unnecessary energy and create waste.

Oerlikon Space is currently testing an autonomous robotic vehicle for Mars; in the year 2015, as part of its ExoMars scientific mission, the European Space Agency (ESA) plans to land an autonomous robot of this type on the Red Planet to search for signs of life there.