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This New Battery Is Made From Low-Cost Materials
Will this new battery be the next cheap alternative for limited power sources in a container?Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new battery from inexpensive materials that are very much available in big amounts in the world. This project was done to provide an alternative option to lithium-ion batteries, which are too expensive for operations and other processes.The new battery architecture uses aluminum, sulfur, and a molten salt electrolyte to provide power to machines and systems. The researchers used aluminum and sulfur as the electrode materials for the battery in charge of providing electrons to the external circuit. Researchers picked aluminum for being the second most abundant metal in the market, as it has the right electrochemical properties for an efficient battery. The dominant one, iron, did not fit what the experts wanted for their battery.Sulfur became the second electrode material because of its accessibility and cheap market price. The salt electrolyte was chosen because the team didn’t want to use volatile, flammable organic liquids. This is because they can lead to fires in cars and other technologies that need a battery.The study was done by MIT Professor Donald Sadoway, along with 15 others at MIT and in China, Canada, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Image credit: Rebecca Miller#MIT #research #development #battery #aluminum #sulfur #alternatives #energy #power #science
Mosquito Larva Catches Prey by Launching Its Head like a Tiny Harpoon
Who knew that even at such an early stage in their lives, these insects are already killing it (quite literally).In research that spanned over a decade, scientists have finally published their findings on how mosquito larvae actually get their prey for nourishment. It turns out that these baby insects react with lightning speed. As published in the journal Annals of the Entomological Society of America, the researchers showed that two species of mosquitos, namely, Toxorhynchites amboinensis and Psorophora ciliata display unique mannerisms when it comes to hunting their prey. The larvae of these insects can launch their heads to snap up a meal in just 15 milliseconds. This was found through high-speed film footage obtained by the researchers. According to lead study author Robert Hancock, it was all just a blur to them. "We all saw a blur; then we saw a captured larva being shoveled into the mouth of a predator. That's all we saw," he said.Image credit: Hancock et.al#research #insects #science #biology #larvae #mosquitos
High School Student Invented a Low-Cost, Mind-Controlled Prosthetic Arm That Doesn't Require Brain Surgery
Are you smarter than a high schooler? I bet you are not smarter than Benjamin Choi, a high school student who invented a low-cost, mind-controlled prosthetic arm.Creating things like this must really spark joy in Benjamin Choi. He went from participating in robot-building competitions when he was younger to eventually teaching himself coding and computer programming. Choi’s device was inspired by a documentary he saw that discussed mind-controlled prosthesis. He turned this fascination with prosthetics into something that is real and functional. He worked around 16 hours daily in his basement, where he designed the robotic arm using a 3D printer. Although he did not have the best laboratory or the best printer in the market, this did not stop Choi's resourcefulness. Now, the robotic arm is made from engineering-grade materials and has a total unit cost of only around $300.The arm is operated using an algorithm driven by artificial intelligence. The promising features of the invention earned him a spot in the top 40 finalists of Regeneron Science Talent Search 2022.Image credit: Society for Science#ArtificialIntelligence #Prosthetic #Invention #Science #RegeneronScienceTalentSearch
12 Gross Things People Did In the Name of Science
The yearning for knowledge often leads scientists to do things that would make the rest of us queasy. Charles Darwin famously ate every animal he discovered. He no doubt learned how they tasted. There are scientists who subject themselves to experiments that they didn't want to ask others to endure, or maybe they tried but couldn't get any volunteers. But occasionally, it was to prove another scientist wrong.
Scientists Create Artificial Skin That Can Feel Pain
"There, there" is what I would tell this robot hand since it feels pain.Engineers from the University of Glasgow created the artificial skin with a new type of processing system that shows a remarkable ability to learn to react to external stimuli. After decades of building artificial skin with touch sensitivity, the robot they created finally reacted to pain, showing a withdrawal reflex. The method is inspired by how the human peripheral nervous system processes impulses from the skin. This robot breakthrough enhances the current state of the craft in touch-sensitive robotics. Robots with artificial skin will be useful in the future, especially in simulations in the medical industry.Video credit: BEST Group #Robot #Technology #Science
Scientists Have Created Artificial Photosynthesis to Grow Food Without Sunshine
Photosynthesis is a biological process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar. Scientists at UC Riverside and the University of Delaware have now found a way to do this process artificially. This process breaks through the limits of biological photosynthesis.Their process boosts the conversion efficiency of sunlight into food and makes it up to 18 times more efficient for some foods. Why does this technique have such a promising future? The answer is because, as food production becomes more efficient, less land is required. Thus there is a reduction in the environmental effect of agriculture. There are countless possibilities with this technology.Image credit: Marcus Hardland-Dunaway#Photosynthesis #Artificial #Science #Agriculture #Bioengineering
CRISPR Cat: Genetically Engineering a Hypoallergenic Cat
Are you a cat lover that cannot fully enjoy a feline’s presence due to allergic reactions? Well, it seems that there’s hope for cat lovers like you in the future thanks to gene editing.You might have to wait for a few years, but there is progress on creating a hypoallergenic cat. Scientists from US-based company InBio are attempting to create hypoallergenic cats through CRISPR gene editing. The experts are trying to lower the levels of Fel d 1, a protein that causes allergic reactions in humans, in these genetically edited cats.Hopefully, we get to have hypoallergenic cats in the future!Image credit: Yerlin Matu#cats #genetics #geneediting #science #hypoallergenic #CRISPR
Scientists Translated Spider's Web Into Music
These scientists never run out of new ideas, huh!Spider's Canvas is an interactive musical instrument that was derived from the three-dimensional structure of a spider’s web and translated into music. This project was a result of a collaboration between scientists and artist Tomás Saraceno. The researchers behind the instrument now refined and built a new interactive virtual reality feature that allows people to interact with the web. "The spider lives in an environment of vibrating strings," engineer Markus Buehler of MIT explained in 2021. "They don't see very well, so they sense their world through vibrations, which have different frequencies."Image credit: Torbjørn Helgesen#music #spider #science #research #SpidersCanvas
Do Mushrooms Communicate with Each Other with Electrical Impulses as "Words"?
The short answer is: sort of. The rest of the scientific community still wants more studies to be conducted, though.Experts have noticed that fungi tend to send electric signals to one another. A mathematical analysis of these signals shows a pattern that is somehow similar to human speech. Scientists hypothesized that there is a possibility that fungi use this electrical “language” to share information about food or injury with distant parts of themselves, or with hyphae-connected partners such as trees.Sure, it's like a messaging system. With the similarities noticed in the electrical signals sent by fungi and human speech, an interesting question was raised: do they actually use human words [or the equivalent of it]?University of the West of England’s Andrew Adamatzky aimed to answer this question by analyzing the signals sent by a species of fungi – enoki, split gill, ghost, and caterpillar fungi. “We do not know if there is a direct relationship between spiking patterns in fungi and human speech. Possibly not,” Adamatzky said. “On the other hand, there are many similarities in information processing in living substrates of different classes, families and species. I was just curious to compare.”Image credit: Hans Veth#fungi #mushroom #communication #science #research #electricsignals
Scientists Can Now Make Tissue Samples and Body Parts Transparent
All it needs is some good tissue cleaning.Experts from Scripps Research developed a new cleaning method that allows large biological samples to turn transparent. As to the importance of having that kind of opacity for samples, it turns out that this would make it easier for scientists to visualize and study biological processes occurring across multiple organ systems. According to the study’s senior author, Li Ye, PhD, the method is a “simple and universal tissue-clearing technique for studies of large body parts or even entire animals.” The new method uses a combination of organic solvents and water-based detergents, which can be used in an ordinary lab. For protecting the molecules within the tissue during the cleaning processes, water-based hydrogels will be used. “In many cases, you can just put the whole thing in a jar and keep it in a shaker on your benchtop until it’s done,” said co-first author Victoria Nudell. “This makes it practical and scalable enough for routine use.”Image credit: Ye et.al #tissue #research #study #biology #science #cleaning #solvents
Oxytocin AKA The Love Hormone Makes Lions Mellow and Friendly
Lions have long been known as the "King of the Jungle", because of their strength, power, and fierceness. Researchers working on a wildlife reserve in Dinokeng, South Africa, however, discovered that an intranasal administration of oxytocin, the "love hormone" might make lion encounters less dangerous. Their findings were published in the journal iScience on March 30.The author, Jessica Burkhart, said that by spraying the oxytocin up the lion's nose, it can travel to the trigeminal and olfactory nerves straight to the brain. Burkhart and her colleagues found that the 23 lions administered oxytocin were more tolerant of other lions in their habitat and demonstrated less alertness towards intruders after these treatments. This gives some people look hope that through Science, they might finally be able to pet lions in the future.Image credit: Jessica Burkhart#Lions #Animals #Wildlife #Oxytocin #Science
Amazing Photos of Cold-Water Invertebrates by Marine Biologist Alexander Semenov
These are absolutely stunning!At first glance, one might think that the images were taken by a drone or a robot during an expedition and then edited or processed for better quality. Nope.It was all the work of marine biologist Alexander Semenov. In an article he wrote for Nature, he explained how he started taking these awe-inspiring photos. Semenov got obsessed with the beauty of the animals living in the waters of the White Sea in Primosrskiy, Russia. Semenov then decided to start taking photos of them to capture their unique beauty and strangeness. The marine biologist shared that he pulled invertebrates out of the water and took pictures of them in the laboratory without special lighting. After a few experimental setups to further enhance the quality of his images, he was able to find his groove. Semenov now has the compilation of cold-water invertebrates, some of the least-photographed creatures in the world. Check out more of his stunning work below!Image credit: Alexander Semenov#marine #animals #invertebrates #photography #science
Squid-Skin Inspired Material Can Keep Your Coffee Hot
One of the pet peeves of hot coffee drinkers is that having their cup of hot coffee immediately turn cold, especially on a cold winter day.Technology engineers at the University of California, Irvine have invented an adaptive composite material that allows for the insulation of different packaging. One kind of packaging is a beverage cup. The design is inspired by cephalopod skin and is an infrared-reflecting metalized polymer film that regulates heat by using reconfigurable metal structures. The mechanism is comparable to chromatophore expansion and contraction in a squid's skin. The new material not only helps the coffee drinker maintain the temperature of their coffee, it also keeps keeping skin safe from the heat. The invention is also environmentally friendly because it is sustainable.#Coffee #Science #Technology #Invention #SquidSkin #UniversityOfCalifornia
TickleFoot is a Foot-Tickling Machine That Discovered the Most Ticklish Spot on the Human Foot
Science and technology allow the innovation of the most useful, and also the oddest gadgets. One such machine is called the “TickleFoot”, and is a foot-tickling machine.With the use of magnet-driven brushes, researchers found the most ticklish locations of the feet of 13 participants. The data that was gathered was used to create an insole with tickling actuators that hit the average highest-scoring spots on their feet. This machine could serve as a stress reliever by inducing uncontrollable laughter. Science has shown that laughter decreases stress hormones and also triggers endorphins. These chemicals are known as "feel-good hormones."Video credit: New Scientist [YouTube]#TickleFoot #Science #Innovation #Tickle
It Took AI Less Than 6 Hours to Invent 40,000 Potentially Lethal Toxins
This feels like the start of the real-life adaptation of Resident Evil, to be honest. I hope it doesn’t happen, though!An AI created by scientists at Collaborations Pharmaceuticals Inc. was put into a “bad actor mode” to see how easily it could be abused as a biological weapon. It certainly did its part well, developing and inventing 40,000 potentially lethal molecules in less than six hours. The machine’s original purpose was to search for helpful drugs, following the company’s goal of finding drug treatments for rare diseases. The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.According to Fabio Urbina, a senior scientist at the company and the lead author of the study, they used datasets of molecules that have been tested for their toxicity to train the AI. The AI learned how to make toxins from the information it collected from those datasets. The researchers saw the model producing molecules similar to chemical warfare agents in just a short period of time. Urbina shared to The Verge that the most concerning thing that they learned from this study was how easy it was for artificial intelligence to create just from the information available. “If you have somebody who knows how to code in Python and has some machine learning capabilities, then in probably a good weekend of work, they could build something like this generative model driven by toxic datasets. So that was the thing that got us really thinking about putting this paper out there; it was such a low barrier of entry for this type of misuse.” Urbina stated. Image credit: Urbina, et.al #toxins #artificialintelligence #ai #science #CollaborationsPharmaceuticals
"Opposites Attract" Debunked by Science: Friends and Lovers Actually Tend to Share Core Beliefs, Values and Hobbies
Would you actually spend long periods of time with someone who doesn’t have the same interests, beliefs, or values as you? Let’s ponder a more specific example. Would you willingly spend time or romance someone who has different political and moral values than you? Personally, not really. Most friendships and relationships to some extent rely on people having almost similar or compatible interests and beliefs. With that being said, does that mean that the phrase “opposites attract” still applies? Apparently not. According to science, that is.Clinical psychologist Ramani Durvasula believes, “people who have shared interests, temperaments and all that do tend to be more likely to date.” Other researchers have also debunked the idea of “opposites” dating for years. Studies show that friends and romantic partners tend to share core beliefs, values and hobbies. In addition, some suggest that people go for others with similar personalities. Aside from debunking this popular trope in romance, research also points to opposites repelling. In a world where social, political, and cultural awareness is much more evident, it is less likely that people will fall for someone who thinks very differently from them. Image credit: Annette Sousa#romance #research #science
China's First Moon Rock
China’s Chang’e-5 spacecraft brought back the country’s first lunar rocks in December 2020. The samples are the first brought back to Earth since NASA’s Apollo and the Soviet Union’s Luna missions more than 40 years ago. With that long period of time, the arrival of these rare specimens motivated many lunar experts in China to conduct research studies on and about the samples. For reference, the Chang’e-5 recovered basalt. Basalt is a loose volcanic material from the vast lava plain in Moon’s northern region. Some of the collected specimens were given by the China National Space Administration to 31 scientific projects that applied for them. This could be the cause of approximately half a dozen papers published in the past six months regarding the lunar rock samples. Most of these studies were presented at the Lunar And Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas. The material collected by the spacecraft confirmed that the Moon was still active a billion years later than the samples from the Apollo mission suggested. While an established timeline as to the lunar volcanic activity is known, the reason behind the activity remains a mystery. Image credit: NASA#space #lunarresearch #Moon #China #science #Change5
Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse is a Newly Discovered Fish in the Maldives
Oh, this fish is pretty!The Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa) is a newly-discovered fish species off the coast of Maldives. The creature’s pink hues earned it the name ‘finifenmaa’ which meant ‘rose’ in the local Dhivehi language. In addition, its name was a tribute to the island nation’s national flower. Local Maldinevian scientists were involved in describing and analyzing the new species. “This time it is different and getting to be part of something for the first time has been really exciting, especially having the opportunity to work alongside top ichthyologists on such an elegant and beautiful species,” said study co-author and Maldives Marine Research Institute biologist Ahmed Najeeb.The researchers involved in the study took note of the anatomy and other details of the fish and compared it to a discovered specimen (C. rubrisquamis ) to confirm that C. finifenmaa is indeed a unique species. They have discovered that the two species are unique and are different from each other. However, before the C. finifenmaa was given its scientific name, it had already been exploited through the aquarium hobbyist trade. Image credit, in order of appearance: Yi-Kai Tea; Luiz Rocha © California Academy of Sciences#marinebiology #science #research #Maldives #newspecies
Neuroscientists Identify Neurons in the Brain that Light Up When We Hear Human Singing But Not Other Types of Music
Scientists, following the same vein of research in specific areas of the brain that work during different tasks, have successfully identified the part of the human brain that lights up when we hear singing. It is important to note that this area only responds when the combination of voice and music is heard. The area, found in the auditory cortex, does not respond to regular speech or instrumental music.Neuroscientists from MIT followed up a 2015 study that they worked on. The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify a population of neurons in the brain’s auditory cortex that responds specifically to music. This new study used a different method to determine brain activity through recordings of electrical activity taken at the surface of the brain to obtain more information. According to Sam Norman-Haignere, the lead author of the study, the recordings gave them a higher resolution where they were able to pick the neurons apart.Image credit: Josh Rocklage#neuroscience #brain #neurons #research #study #science
Dance Your PhD
Since she was young, Antonia Gronberg has always been passionate about science and dancing. When she heard about Science's "Dance Your Ph.D." competition, she knew she just had to join. For someone who loves science and dancing, it was a perfect competition.Groneberg's performance, which is based on her doctoral thesis, tells how the motions of groups of zebrafish larvae affected the brain development and behavior of each one of them. The performance video was created with the help of Groneberg's colleagues, dance students, and children of the adult participants.Groneberg's zebrafish dance won the social science category of the competition as well as the overall prize.Here is Groneberg's dance.(Image Credit: DieTonella/ YouTube)#Science #InterpretativeDance #Zebrafish #Neuroscience
DeepMind AI Can Control Superheated Plasma Inside a Nuclear Fusion Reactor
UK-based AI firm DeepMind collaborated with the Swiss Plasma Center at EPFL in Switzerland to create an algorithm that would control the plasma inside a nuclear fusion reactor. The program is tasked to hold the plasma, forcing it to hold its shape long enough to extract energy from it. The resulting AI was able to control the reactor without any fine-tuning. While the model controlled the plasma for only two seconds, that short amount of time was longer than how long reactors can run before getting too hot.The breakthrough can help experts understand how nuclear fusion works. Additionally, it can hopefully help in more ways to stabilize the plasma in reactors to harness a potentially unlimited source of clean energy. Image credit: Curdin Wüthrich, SPC/EPFL#nuclearfusion #artificialintelligence #research #science #technology #DeepMindAI
Beneath Its Thick Cover of Clouds, the Rocky Surface of Venus Glows Like a "Piece of Iron Pulled From a Forge"
Venus’ rocky surface can clearly be seen in the images captured by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. Thanks to the probe’s Wide-Field Imager (WISPR), the entire nightside of the planet was captured and combined into a video. The video revealed a faint glow from the surface. Continental regions, plains, and plateaus can also be seen on the planet. According to Nicola Fox, division director for the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters, the images can help experts learn more about the geology of the Earth’s twin. The insight the probe has given through these images has thrilled them. “Parker continues to outperform our expectations, and we are excited that these novel observations taken during our gravity assist maneuver can help advance Venus research in unexpected ways,” Fox added.The images are the first instance that the planet’s surface can be seen at visible wavelengths, as the surface is blocked by a thick atmosphere. The WISPR cameras were able to pick up the wavelengths that got through the clouds of Venus. Image credit: NASA/APL/NRL #space #Venus #science #WISPR #NASA #ParkerSolarProbe
New Species of Rainfrog in Panama Named after Environmental Activist Greta Thunberg
In 2018, in celebration of its 30th anniversary, US-based nonprofit environmental organisation Rainforest Trust hosted an auction offering naming rights to newly discovered species. One of those species was a rainfrog discovered in Panama, Central America, and the auction winner decided to name the frog in honour of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Brain's "Math Neurons" Fire Specifically When You're Doing Math Calculations
A recent study conducted by the Universities of Tübingen and Bonn in Germany showed that the brain has specific neurons that operate when a person performs different mathematical operations. Some neurons were active only during addition, while some were only active during subtraction. The researchers further discovered that these neurons fire on specific operations even if the calculation instruction was written down as a word or a symbol.Five women and four men who participated in the study had electrodes implanted in their brains to record the activity of nerve cells. During analysis of the participants’ brain activity, the researchers found that aside from specific neurons being active during addition or subtraction, other neurons also became active during one and the same arithmetic task. This phenomenon was referred to by researchers as “dynamic coding.” Image credits: Christian Burkert/Volkswagen-Stiftung/University of Bonn #neurology #brain #neurons #science #research
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