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Advances in technology across industry

Ai learns the language of chemistry

Researchers have designed a machine learning algorithm that predicts the outcome of chemical reactions with much higher accuracy than trained chemists and suggests ways to make complex molecules, removing a significant hurdle in drug discovery.

University of Cambridge researchers have shown that an algorithm can predict the outcomes of complex chemical reactions with over 90% accuracy, outperforming trained chemists. The algorithm also shows chemists how to make target compounds, providing the chemical ‘map’ to the desired destination..

A central challenge in drug discovery and materials science is finding ways to make complicated organic molecules by chemically joining together simpler building blocks. The problem is that those building blocks often react in unexpected ways.

“Making molecules is often described as an art realised with trial-and-error experimentation because our understanding of chemical reactivity is far from complete,” said Dr Alpha Lee from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory, who led the studies. “Machine learning algorithms can have a better understanding of chemistry because they distil patterns of reactivity from millions of published chemical reactions, something that a chemist cannot do.”

The algorithm developed by Lee and his group uses tools in pattern recognition to recognise how chemical groups in molecules react, by training the model on millions of reactions published in patents. Visit: www.alphagalileo.org

Kyocera’s Green Curtains

As temperatures rise across the globe, Kyocera Document Solutions Europe is one of the divisions benefitting from Kyocera Corporation’s innovative Green Curtains strategy, aimed at reducing the energy used for air conditioning in offices and manufacturing facilities whilst also helping to absorb CO2 emissions.

The idea behind the Green Curtains technique is to keep buildings cool by reducing their exposure to direct sunlight. Plants are grown on the outer surface of site windows and external walls, and on nets put up in surrounding areas. This serves to block out the natural sunlight and provide more shade. This approach can bring down the temperature inside by as much as two degrees Celsius, reducing the need for air conditioning and subsequent energy consumption.

Just one square metre of Green Curtain is enough to neutralise 3.4 kilograms of CO2 each year, meaning that with almost 2,900m2 of Green Curtain, Kyocera absorbs almost 10,000kg of CO2 every year. When considering the total impact of the scheme, which has been running since 2007, the total amount of CO2 neutralised exceeds 100,000kg.

Going beyond the obvious environmental and aesthetic value, this green initiative has also given the company’s installations a new purpose. Among the plants and trees, fruit and vegetables can be grown and are then used in the company’s cafeterias or shared with employees to take home. These include typical Japanese ingredients such as gourd.

Now active across 27 different sites, ranging from factories to office buildings, Kyocera also provides seedlings to their employees so that they can grow their own Green Curtains at home. Visit: www.kyocera.com

abb awarded unique aquaculture project

Arctic Offshore Farming is developing a new concept for salmon farming using remote controlled and submersible fish pens based on offshore technology. ABB will have a comprehensive system responsibility for electrical, automation, instrumentation and telecom solutions.

The offshore farm consists of two large fish cages that are placed in the Norwegian Sea outside Troms, in an area where weather and wave conditions are far more demanding than inside the fjords, where traditional farms are located.

Placing the farm offshore reduces its environmental footprint, while providing an opportunity to study if this can provide a healthier environment for the fish. But the harsh climate also means stricter safety requirements are required. ABB will be responsible for designing the monitoring and control systems that will make it possible to operate the plant safely. This means, among other things, that there are back-up solutions, or redundancy, in critical systems such as energy supply and communication.

Among the most critical systems are the pontoon ballast water systems, designed to ensure that the pens are stable. ABB will deliver the control system with sensors, monitoring, automation and interfaces for the remote control of the pumps. The harsh climate in the Norwegian Sea presents challenges with fouling and icing, which will cause time-varying weight changes challenging the constructions ballast system supplied by ABB.

The system also collects environmental data including as meteorological conditions, ocean currents, oxygen level and sea temperature. It also monitors the pH at different depths and the amount of biomass in the cages, amongst others.