Drone defibrillators and knockout shrimp: six top stories of the week

James Webb Space Telescope completes final phase of testing

New Atlas

The long-awaited James Webb Space Telescope looks set to finally launch in October, after years of delays. The giant telescope, a long-term replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope, has completed its final tests and is now being readied for shipment to the launch facility. 

Scottish engineering rebounds but skills crisis looms

The Herald

Scotland’s engineering sector has enjoyed a second consecutive quarter of strong growth in overall orders, output, exports and staffing, but is facing skills shortages and challenges around material prices and availability and logistics, a key survey shows.

UK car production hits new low amid ‘pingdemic’

Professional Engineering
The number of cars rolling off production lines in the UK dropped by 37.6 per cent in July, to just 53,438, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Cutting HS2’s ‘transformational’ eastern leg dubbed ‘absurd’ by rail experts

New Civil Engineer

Axing the “transformational” eastern leg of High Speed 2 (HS2) Phase 2b will cause the eastern side of the country to “suffer” according to a senior HS2 insider.

Dyson Award winner takes on knife trauma

Eureka

The 2021 UK Dyson Award has been won by Joseph Bentley for his invention REACT, an emergency medical device to reduce blood loss from knife attacks.

Robot mimics the powerful punch of the mantis shrimp

Science Daily

Mantis shrimp pack the strongest punch of any creature in the animal kingdom. How mantis shrimp produce these deadly, ultra-fast movements has long fascinated biologists. Now, an interdisciplinary team of roboticists, engineers and biologists have modelled the mechanics of the mantis shrimp's punch and built a robot that mimics the movement. The research sheds light on the biology of these pugnacious crustaceans and paves the way for small but mighty robotic devices.

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