discuss Science & Technology news & discussion

[CraigD]

Post and discuss interesting articles & videos about science and technology.

You don't need to be an expert - just interested in the wonders of modern science, technology, and the history of these fields.

Please keep it rational, and post articles from reputable sources.
Try not to editorialise headlines and keep the copy to just a paragraph with a link to the original source. When quoting excerpts from articles, I think the best method is to italicise the copy, and include a link to the source.

Have some fun with your comments and discussions... just keep the sources legitimate.

Other threads:
The Break Room has a number of other popular threads, so there is no need to post material here that is better suited to these other threads:

- Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news
- Conspiracy Thread Free For All
- The *religious* discussion thread

Please enjoy!

 

[CraigD]

The payload NASA shot Iinto sky with giant gun came down so hard they needed to dig it out with an excavator​

Last month, space launch startup SpinLaunch shot a payload tens of thousands of feet into the air using a gigantic slingshot for the tenth time.

And what comes up must come down.

As expected, the payload came crashing down — but even harder than one might think, requiring a massive excavator to exhume it.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/payload-nasa-spinlaunch-excavator

 

[CraigD]

Just like in Jurassic Park.


I believe CIA in interested in this technology to study future weaponization.

As Monty Python eloquently put it in the film classic The Life of Brian:

Reg: I'm not oppressing you, Stan -- you haven't got a womb. Where's the fetus going to gestate? You going to keep it in a box?"

 

[koolishman]

Microplastics have even found their way into the placenta, increasing exposure

Plastic breaks down into microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics. These plastics can be found almost everywhere around the globe.

Researchers can now confirm the presence of microplastics in the placenta and in newborns. The possible effects of nano- and microplastics on children's health and development intensifies the interest in this topic.

“It’s quite possible that children are more exposed to microplastics than adults, similar to children’s greater exposure to many other environmental toxic chemicals,” says Kam Sripada.

Sripada is a neuroscientist from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and heads the Centre for Digital Life Norway (DLN), a national centre for biotechnology, research and innovation.

Babies have air pollution in their lungs and brains before they take their first breath

Unborn babies have air pollution particles in their developing lungs and other vital organs as early as the first trimester, new research has revealed.


Scientists at the University of Aberdeen, UK, and Hasselt University, Belgium, studied air pollution nanoparticles, called black carbon - or soot particles - to see whether these can reach the foetus.

The ground-breaking findings published in Lancet Planetary Health show that the newborn baby and its placenta are exposed to air pollution black carbon nanoparticles proportionally to the mother’s exposure.

 

[J Sokol]

New York City kicks off borough-wide curbside composting for the first time

The issue of food waste in New York went viral some years ago, when a rodent was captured on video dragging a slice of what may have been a slice of margherita pizza down the steps of a subway station. That was how the world became acquainted with Pizza Rat. Since then, its ranks have been joined by Avocado Rat and Pretzel Rat.


Rats to the rescue: could pesky rodents finally get New Yorkers composting?
Read more

But now, in at least one major part of the city, food rats may become fewer and farther between. America’s largest city is launching an equally large organic waste composting program, which will turn food and plant waste from 2.2 million residents into soil for city parks and community gardens, and an energy source called biogas.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/09/new-york-city-organic-waste-composting-queens

 

[koolishman]

Chinese space designers eye moon base in volcanic caves for long-term stays after 2035 ​

Space architects in China are designing a moon base carved out of volcanic caves, as the country looks at long-term stays for astronauts after 2035.

The tunnels, also known as underground lava tubes, were carved out of molten rock during ancient volcanic eruptions. While the outside of the lava flow cooled more quickly and solidified, the rest poured out to leave a hollow elongated shell behind.

The vertical core cabin would be the control centre of the base, equipped with sophisticated instruments and connecting the “doorway” with the working and living areas.

The work and living areas would feature pressurised interiors topped by inflatable arches, which would be simple and fast to deploy as there is no air or wind on the moon, Pan said. Lunar concrete, produced from rocks and dust on the moon and additives brought in from the Earth, would then be filled into the archways to form permanent structures.

 

[koolishman]

New system retrofits diesel engines to run on 90% hydrogen​

Engineers from UNSW Sydney have successfully converted a diesel engine to run as a hydrogen-diesel hybrid engine—reducing CO2 emissions by more than 85% in the process.

The team, led by Professor Shawn Kook from the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, spent around 18 months developing the hydrogen-diesel direct injection dual-fuel system that means existing diesel engines can run using 90% hydrogen as fuel

 

[Cannuck]

Nasa invents ‘incredible’ battery for electric planes​

Nasa has invented a new type of high-performance battery that researchers claim could be used to power fully electric airplanes.

The US space agency made the breakthrough following investigations into solid-state batteries, which hold more energy and are lighter than industry-standard lithium-ion batteries.

Solid-state batteries also perform better in stressful environments, as they are less prone to overheating, fire and loss of charge over time, however they typically cannot discharge energy at the same rate as li-ion batteries.

Until now, this has made them unsuitable for powering large electronics, such as electric vehicles, as they require batteries capable of discharging their energy an incredibly fast rate.

This issue was solved by researchers at Nasa’s Solid-state Architecture Batteries for Enhanced Rechargeability and Safety (SABERS) unit, who were able to increase the battery’s discharge rate by a factor of 10 using innovative new materials that have yet to be used in batteries.

“We’re starting to approach this new frontier of battery research that could do so much more than lithium-ion batteries can... Not only does this design eliminate 30 to 40 per cent of the battery’s weight, it also allows us to double or even triple the energy it can store, far exceeding the capabilities of lithium-ion batteries that are considered to be state of the art.”

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/technology/nasa-invents-incredible-battery-for-electric-planes

 

[koolishman]

World’s fastest internet network has been upgraded to mind-boggling 46 Terabit/s​

America's fastest internet has become faster. The Department of Energy's (DOE) dedicated science network, ESnet (Energy Science Network), has been upgraded to ESnet6, boasting a staggering bandwidth of 46 Terabits per second (Tbps). Before you get any ideas, hold up. For now, it's strictly for scientists.

 

[koolishman]

Human brain cells transplanted into baby rats’ brains grow and form connections​

When lab-grown clumps of human neurons are transplanted into newborn rats, they grow with the animals. The research raises some tricky ethical questions.

Human neurons transplanted into a rat’s brain continue to grow, forming connections with the animals’ own brain cells and helping guide their behavior, new research has shown.

In a study published in the journal Nature today, lab-grown clumps of human brain cells were transplanted into the brains of newborn rats. They grew and integrated with the rodents’ own neural circuits, eventually making up around one-sixth of their brains. These animals could be used to learn more about human neuropsychiatric disorders, say the researchers behind the work.


Now streaming on netflix , these rats escape from lab and reach sewers of NYC.

 

[koolishman]

Lab-grown brain cells play video game Pong​

Researchers have grown brain cells in a lab that have learned to play the 1970s tennis-like video game, Pong.

They say their "mini-brain" can sense and respond to its environment.

Writing in the journal Neuron, Dr Brett Kagan, of the company Cortical Labs, claims to have created the first ''sentient'' lab-grown brain in a dish.

Other experts describe the work as ''exciting'' but say calling the brain cells sentient is going too far.
"We could find no better term to describe the device,'' Dr Kagan says. ''It is able to take in information from an external source, process it and then respond to it in real time."

 

[koolishman]

A Scientist Just Mathematically Proved That Alien Life In the Universe Is Likely to Exist​

To tug on this thread, Whitmire developed a mathematics-based argument that builds on the analogy with the help of the so-called “old evidence problem” in Bayesian Confirmation Theory, which concerns the incorporation of newly-acquired data into existing hypotheses.

The details are pretty complicated, but the gist is that while Carter holds that old evidence (i.e. the existence of life on Earth) has no influence on the probability of its occurrence elsewhere, Whitmire’s paper attempts to show that, actually, this “old evidence” does in fact increase the probability of it occurring in the first place. Under this novel framework, both abiogenesis on Earth and Whitmire’s conception are more likely to have been easy than hard, which suggests that life on other planets may be common.

 

[koolishman]

New antibiotic hiding in diseased potatoes thwarts fungal infections in plants and humans​

Exciting new research from Europe details the discovery of a new antifungal antibiotic called solanimycin hiding within a bacteria which causes disease in potatoes.

Most therapeutic antibiotics actually come from soil microbes, so this discovery broadens the search for new compounds to plant-based microorganisms.

“We have to look more expansively across much more of the microbial populations available to us,” said Dr. Rita Monson a microbiologist at the University of Cambridge and one of the study’s authors.

 

[koolishman]

‘We’ve Never Seen Anything Like This Before:’ Black Hole Spews Out Material Years After Shredding Star​

In October 2018, a small star was ripped to shreds when it wandered too close to a black hole in a galaxy located 665 million light years away from Earth. Though it may sound thrilling, the event did not come as a surprise to astronomers who occasionally witness these violent incidents while scanning the night sky.


But nearly three years after the massacre, the same black hole is lighting up the skies again — and it hasn’t swallowed anything new, scientists say.

The team concludes that the black hole is now ejecting material traveling at half of the speed of light, but are unsure why the outflow was delayed by several years. The results, described this week in the Astrophysical Journal, may help scientists better understand black holes’ feeding behavior, which Cendes likens to “burping” after a meal.

 

[koolishman]

Researchers develop new technique that charges EV battery in just 10 minutes

A breakthrough in electric vehicle battery design has enabled a 10-minute charge time for a typical EV battery. The record-breaking combination of a shorter charge time and more energy acquired for longer travel range was announced today (Oct. 12) in the journal Nature.

The technology relies on internal thermal modulation, an active method of temperature control to demand the best performance possible from the battery, Wang explained. Batteries operate most efficiently when they are hot, but not too hot. Keeping batteries consistently at just the right temperature has been major challenge for battery engineers. Historically, they have relied on external, bulky heating and cooling systems to regulate battery temperature, which respond slowly and waste a lot of energy, Wang said

 

[Cannuck]

Lab-grown brain cells play video game Pong​

Researchers have grown brain cells in a lab that have learned to play the 1970s tennis-like video game, Pong.

It ain't gonna beat AI any time soon, but we're definitely one step closer to augmented/mixed reality intelligence.

Next, a modern Prometheus? Mary Shelley would be proud.

 

[koolishman]

Oxford University: Goldfish do have good memories, scientists find​

Scientists have proved goldfish do have good memories and are able to navigate their surroundings.

A team from Oxford University trained nine fish to travel 70cm (2.3ft) and back, receiving a food reward at the end.

Researchers said it showed the fish could accurately estimate distance.

The study disproves the long-held belief goldfish have little or no memory.

 

[Cannuck]

James Webb space telescope captures 'star dance'...

 

[koolishman]

OHSU scientists discover mechanism of hearing​

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University have revealed, for the first time and in near-atomic detail, the structure of the key part of the inner ear responsible for hearing.

The discovery reveals the architecture of the inner ear complex that converts vibrations into electrical impulses that the brain translates as sound. Known as mechanosensory transduction, the process is responsible for the sensations of balance and sound.

Scientists exploited the fact that the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans harbors a mechanosensory complex very similar to that of humans.

 

[J Sokol]

Vaccines to treat cancer possible by 2030, say BioNTech founders​

Vaccines that target cancer could be available before the end of the decade, according to the husband and wife team behind one of the most successful Covid vaccines of the pandemic.

Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, who co-founded BioNTech, the German firm that partnered with Pfizer to manufacture a revolutionary mRNA Covid vaccine, said they had made breakthroughs that fuelled their optimism for cancer vaccines in the coming years.

https://www.theguardian.com/society...cancer-possible-by-2030-say-biontech-founders

 

[Cal2]

Rooftop wind system delivers 150% the energy of solar per dollar​

Aeromine says its unique "motionless" rooftop wind generators deliver up to 50% more energy than a solar array of the same price, while taking up just 10% of the roof space and operating more or less silently. In independent tests, they seem legit. .......

It's very quiet, very safe and very cheap to build; you don't need any fancy materials like carbon fiber, there's nothing special about the fan itself, and the whole thing comes apart for transport and a relatively simple construction process on site. ...

The potential here is pretty clear; solar and wind work well in a complementary fashion. Solar's only generating during the sunniest hours, wind can be 24 hours but is totally dependent on conditions. The small rooftop footprint of an Aeromine system makes it possible to cover the rest of the roof in solar panels, then get some on-site battery storage happening and run a decent-sized business more or less off the grid.

So what are the downsides? Well, these things need to be installed in spots where the wind direction is pretty constant, because they don't angle themselves to catch a breeze – and they probably never will, since they're designed to be such a cost-conscious machine. Their height might make them a visual or civic planning issue in some areas, and what's more, they'll cast shadows, which will block the sun from reaching rooftop PV panels unless the building is oriented such that the sun comes from one side and the wind from the other. So there's certainly going to be a limited number of places where they'll work optimally in a hybrid system.

But that's about it at first glance. They're certainly cheaper, hardier, safer and less intrusive than windmill-style designs, and they offer a highly-accessible way to introduce reliable wind energy into a distributed power system.

https://newatlas.com/energy/aeromin...ail&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-e73ae76257-90628689

 

[J Sokol]

No plug? No problem. This 3D-printed humidifier doesn’t use any electricity​

Here’s a clever device that is both deceptively simple and surprisingly effective: a humidifier made of clay, inspired by the way trees absorb and evaporate water, that works without any external power whatsoever. Just physics. And 3D printing.

 

[koolishman]

Neanderthals appear to have been carnivores ​

To determine an individual's position in the food chain, scientists have until now generally had to extract proteins and analyse the nitrogen isotopes present in the bone collagen. However, this method can often only be used in temperate environments, and only rarely on samples over 50,000 years old. When these conditions are not met, nitrogen isotope analysis is very complex, or even impossible. This was the case for the molar from the Gabasa site analysed in this study.

Given these constraints, Klevia Jaouen, a CNRS researcher, and her colleagues decided to analyse the zinc isotope ratios present in the tooth enamel, a mineral that is resistant to all forms of degradation. This is the first time this method has been used to attempt to identify a Neanderthal's diet. The lower the proportions of zinc isotopes in the bones, the more likely they are to belong to a carnivore. The analysis was also carried out on the bones of animals from the same time period and geographical area, including carnivores such as lynxes and wolves, and herbivores like rabbits and chamois. The results showed that the Neanderthal to whom this tooth from the Gabasa site belonged was probably a carnivore who did not consume the blood of their prey.

 

[koolishman]

The Moon Is Rusting, and Researchers Want to Know Why​

While our Moon is airless, research indicates the presence of hematite, a form of rust that normally requires oxygen and water. That has scientists puzzled.

Mars has long been known for its rust. Iron on its surface, combined with water and oxygen from the ancient past, give the Red Planet its hue. But scientists were recently surprised to find evidence that our airless Moon has rust on it as well.

 

[koolishman]

Solar eliminates nearly all grid demand as its powers South Australia during day​

The combined forces of rooftop and utility scale solar met the equivalent of all of South Australia’s electricity demand for more than six hours on Sunday, as “operational demand” was nearly eliminated as it fell to a record low on the same day.

The new benchmark was noted by the Australian Energy Market Operators, and some independent data analysts, and highlights – like the new demand lows in Western Australia – the rapidly changing nature of the country’s electricity grids.

 

[koolishman]

DeepMind breaks 50-year math record using AI; new record falls a week later​

Matrix multiplication is at the heart of many machine learning breakthroughs, and it just got faster—twice. Last week, DeepMind announced it discovered a more efficient way to perform matrix multiplication, conquering a 50-year-old record. This week, two Austrian researchers at Johannes Kepler University Linz claim they have bested that new record by one step.

In 1969, a German mathematician named Volker Strassen discovered the previous-best algorithm for multiplying 4×4 matrices, which reduces the number of steps necessary to perform a matrix calculation. For example, multiplying two 4×4 matrices together using a traditional schoolroom method would take 64 multiplications, while Strassen's algorithm can perform the same feat in 49 multiplications.

Using a neural network called AlphaTensor, DeepMind discovered a way to reduce that count to 47 multiplications, and its researchers published a paper about the achievement in Nature last week.