Expanded carrier screening: Is it worth it? Carrier screening tests would-be parents for hidden genetic mutations that might affect their children. It initially involved testing for specific genes in at-risk populations. Expanded carrier screening takes things further, giving would-be parents an option to test for a wide array of diseases in prospective parents and egg and sperm donors. The companies offering these screens "started out with 100 genes, and now some of them go up to 2,000," Sara Levene, genetics counsellor at Guided Genetics, said at a meeting I attended this week. "It's becoming a bit of an arms race amongst labs, to be honest."

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already part of our lives and is extensively entering the space sector to offer value-added Earth Observation (EO) products and services. Copernicus data and other georeferenced data sources are often highly heterogeneous, distributed and semantically fragmented. Large volumes of satellite data (images and associated metadata) are frequently coming to the Earth from Sentinel constellation, offering a basis for creating value-added products that go beyond the space sector. The analysis and data fusion of all streams of data need to take advantage of the existing DIAS and HPC infrastructures, as well as the Galileo-enabled mobile devices when required by the involved end users to deliver fully automated processes in decision support systems. CALLISTO project integrates Copernicus data, already indexed in DIAS platforms such as ONDA-DIAS, utilizing High Performance Computing infrastructures for enhanced scalability when needed.

The Government of India is bringing in reforms to allow private enterprises to participate in end-to-end space activities and help achieve the country's goal of enhancing its share in the global economy. The government officials also highlight the importance of space robotics and artificial intelligence in the space domain. "India is revising its existing policies and is also in the process of bringing in new ones to increase industry participation in the space sector," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr K. Sivan said, via a video message during the inaugural session on'Future of Space-International Participation and Collaborations' at The India Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai. He emphasized that the recent reforms in the sector has ensured that the role of the private sector has evolved from being just suppliers to partners in the process. He also highlighted that space is one of the significant areas that India is looking at for international cooperation.

It is just over a week until this years Maker Faire even in Rome and this is the largest even of its kind in Europe. The fair will start on Friday, open to school groups only in the morning then fully opening at 2 pm. This year there will be seven themed pavilions for an exhibition surface area of over 100,000 square metres. The subdivision of the pavilions proposed by the curators invites visitors to become active participants, already starting from their names: Re-think, Learn, Create, Discover, Make, Research. During the Call for Makers over a thousand projects from over 40 countries were submitted with 600 being chosen for exhibition at the fair.

World Space Week begins today, Thursday 4 October – a global series of global events hosted by the United Nations. This year's theme: 'Space unites the world'. Three new reports published today by the UK Space Agency emphasise how the potential of the space industry lies in not just in gazing out from Earth to the cosmos, but also in looking back to Earth from orbit in order to solve terrestrial problems. The reports reveal how the industry can help to save lives and livelihoods from natural disasters, address the major challenges confronting the agriculture sector, and deliver better management of forests to improve production and protect nature on a global scale. The first document, Space for Disaster Resilience in Developing Countries, explains how the space sector is well placed to contribute new types of information.

The Space Growth Partnership (SGP), an industry led initiative, has published a strategy document which sets out a vision for enhanced growth in the UK space sector over the next decade. The'Prosperity from Space' document has committed to improving low-cost access to space, advancing in-space robotics, improving global connectivity, and building on earth information services, which includes navigation, analytics and security. "This sector-led strategy sets out the ambition of the companies, institutions, academics and entrepreneurs of the UK's space sector," said Andy Green, Chair of the Space Sector Council and President of UKspace. "Space delivers tangible benefits to everyone in the UK, improving communications, travel and security amongst much else. "We will build on our successful partnership with Government to create high value jobs and growth across the UK for the benefit of all.

Driverless cars, drones and a proposed first commercial spaceport for the UK will feature in the Queen's speech. The Department for Transport has said such cutting-edge technologies are crucial to the country's economy and that its proposals, to be unveiled on Wednesday, will help deliver jobs. Legislation will be introduced to enable driverless cars, already trialled in the UK, to be insured under ordinary policies. The government has said that the spaceport will be constructed by the end of the current parliament. The self-driving car market is currently growing at 16% a year and could be worth up to 900bn worldwide by 2025, while the port is part of the government's plan to raise revenues in the space sector from 12bn to 40bn by 2030, which would mean capturing about 10% of the sector worldwide.