Impact Lab – Page 101 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

Economy

Addressing South Korea’s Demographic Crisis: Strategies for Reversing the Decline in Birth Rates

June 1, 2024

South Korea’s total fertility rate, the number of children an average woman is expected to have over her lifetime, was just 0.72 in 2023. This figure is a mere third of the 2.1 minimum required for population maintenance and signals a significant demographic crisis. In the last three months of 2023, the rate further decreased to 0.65, with projections suggesting it may drop to around 0.6 for 2024.

At this pace, Statistics Korea forecasts that the population will fall to approximately 36 million in 50 years. This is a stark contrast to the population growth from 32 million in 1970 to 50 million in 2012, now rapidly reversing as if the population boom were a fleeting dream.

Science & Technology News

Pioneering Thermal Desalination: A Breakthrough in Water Security

May 30, 2024

“It’s exciting to see a phenomenon that no one has seen before,” said Shuqi Xu, a PhD candidate at the Australian National University (ANU). “I don’t want people to think I am a workaholic, but I often come to the lab on Sundays. I can’t wait to find out the results of our experiments.”

Xu’s dedication has led to the world’s first thermal desalination method where water remains in the liquid phase throughout the process. This power-saving and potentially lifesaving approach is detailed in a new study published in Nature Communications.

Robots

Revolutionizing Impact Absorption: Boston University’s Autonomous Robot Pushes the Limits

May 30, 2024

Inside a lab at Boston University’s College of Engineering, a robot arm meticulously drops small, plastic objects into a box on the floor. These feather-light, cylindrical pieces, no bigger than an inch tall, are the results of an ongoing experiment in robot autonomy. Independently learning and adapting, the robot is on a mission to create the most efficient energy-absorbing shape ever conceived.

The process begins with the robot 3D printing a small plastic structure, recording its shape and size, and then placing it on a flat metal surface. The robot then crushes the structure with pressure equivalent to the weight of an adult Arabian horse standing on a quarter. It measures the energy absorbed by the structure, analyzes its deformation, and logs every detail into a vast database. The crushed object is then dropped into the box, and the robot prepares to print and test the next iteration.

Medicine

Unveiling the Symphony of Sensory Processes: Innovations in Neural and Vascular Imaging

May 30, 2024

Pain is no ordinary phenomenon—it’s a symphony of neural and vascular interactions orchestrated by the brain and spinal cord. Attempting to dissect this intricate process by focusing on a single region is like trying to understand a complex melody by listening to just one instrument. It’s incomplete, potentially misleading, and may result in erroneous conclusions.

Enter the Carney Institute’s team of visionaries. Their mission? To develop tools that allow unprecedented observation of neural and vascular activity within the brain and spinal cord. They tackled two critical fronts: imaging hardware and bioluminescent (BL) molecular tools.

Brain

Pioneering Breakthrough: World’s First Human Mini-Brain with Functional Blood-Brain Barrier Developed

May 29, 2024

In a groundbreaking achievement, a research team led by experts at Cincinnati Children’s has developed the world’s first human mini-brain that incorporates a fully functional blood-brain barrier (BBB). This significant advancement, published on May 15, 2024, in Cell Stem Cell, promises to accelerate the understanding and treatment of various brain disorders, including stroke, cerebral vascular disorders, brain cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative conditions.

“Lack of an authentic human BBB model has been a major hurdle in studying neurological diseases,” says lead corresponding author Ziyuan Guo, PhD. “Our breakthrough involves generating human BBB organoids from human pluripotent stem cells, mimicking human neurovascular development to produce a faithful representation of the barrier in growing, functioning brain tissue. This is an important advance because animal models we currently use in research do not accurately reflect human brain development and BBB functionality.”

Internet

Harvard’s Quantum Leap: Toward an Unhackable Quantum Internet

May 29, 2024

A quantum internet, offering unhackable communication, promises to securely transmit sensitive information like financial and national security data, distinct from the memes and cat pictures of today’s traditional internet. Building and scaling such quantum communication systems is a complex task, but scientists are steadily progressing. A recent breakthrough by a Harvard team marks a significant step forward. In a study published in Nature, the researchers report sending entangled photons between two quantum memory nodes 22 miles (35 kilometers) apart using existing fiber optic infrastructure under Boston’s busy streets.

“Demonstrating that quantum network nodes can be entangled in the real-world environment of a very busy urban area is an important step toward practical networking between quantum computers,” said Mikhail Lukin, the project leader and a physics professor at Harvard, in a press release.

AI

The New Contenders in AI Hardware: Challenging Nvidia’s Dominance

May 28, 2024

In recent years, Nvidia has achieved significant success by pivoting to artificial intelligence (AI), with large language models and GPU-accelerated “premium AI PC” experiences becoming the hot trend in 2024. However, newer and smaller companies are now vying for market share, and they are not the usual suspects.

As reported by The Economist, there are noteworthy developments in the GPU field beyond Nvidia and AMD, driven by the demands of AI computing. Today’s large language models often run on setups featuring interconnected GPUs and memory, exemplified by Cerebras Systems’ innovative hardware.

Science & Technology News

Revolutionary Ferroelectric Diode Enables Computing in Extreme Heat

May 28, 2024

A groundbreaking development in computing storage, capable of operating at temperatures so high that rock begins to melt, promises to enable computers to function in the harshest environments on Earth and even on Venus for the first time.

Current non-volatile memory (NVM) devices, such as solid-state drives (SSDs), fail at temperatures of 572 degrees Fahrenheit (300 degrees Celsius). However, scientists have now developed a new ferroelectric diode—a semiconductor switching device—that remains functional for hours at a staggering 1,112 degrees Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius). This advancement means that sensors and computing devices using this diode can be used in extreme environments, such as nuclear plants, deep-field oil and gas exploration, and our solar system’s hottest planet, where previous devices would fail within seconds.

Medicine

Breakthrough in Eye Care: 3D-Printed Intraocular Lenses for Customized Vision Correction

May 28, 2024

An artificial intraocular lens (IOL) is essential for people with cataracts, a condition where the eye’s natural lens becomes cloudy, impairing vision. IOLs are also used to correct refractive errors such as myopia (near-sightedness), hyperopia (far-sightedness), and presbyopia (the gradual loss of the eye’s ability to focus on close objects, a normal part of aging).

“For the first time, we have developed a resin that can be used to print ocular devices directly,” said Dr. Aram Saeed, Associate Professor in Healthcare Technologies at UEA’s School of Pharmacy. “While still in the early stages, the ability to 3D print these lenses could significantly enhance eye care for patients by offering unprecedented levels of customization and design precision, potentially leading to better clinical outcomes.”

Medicine

IV-Lab: Revolutionary Implantable Multi-Sensor Device to Monitor Cardiovascular Health

May 27, 2024

The EU-funded project IV-Lab, coordinated by the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology), has officially launched. This innovative project aims to develop a multi-sensing device that can be implanted into blood vessels, such as peripheral veins or arteries, to monitor various body parameters and the overall health of individuals. Once implanted in patients with cardiovascular diseases, the microsensor system will create a versatile platform capable of detecting both hemodynamic and biochemical parameters.

The IV-Lab project, which stands for “In-vessel implantable smart sensing device for personalized medicine,” has secured more than 4 million euros from the European Innovation Council (EIC) under the Horizon Europe program for research and innovation. Coordinated by Virgilio Mattoli, a researcher at IIT in Pisa, the project involves several IIT groups: the Soft Micro-Electronic Materials Group at the Center for Materials Interfaces (CMI) in Pontedera, the Printed and Molecular Electronics group in Milan, and the Electronic Design Laboratory in Genoa.

Science & Technology News

Reimagining the Future: The Power of Backcasting

May 27, 2024

In science fiction, the Grandfather Paradox suggests that traveling into the past and altering key events can dramatically change or even obliterate the future. But what if we flipped this idea on its head? Instead of worrying about the potential disruptions of time travel, we could define a desirable future and then reverse engineer the necessary steps to achieve it. Unlike the Grandfather Paradox, which resides in the realm of sci-fi, the concept of backcasting is not only feasible but also practical.

Backcasting, first outlined by Professor John B. Robinson from the University of Waterloo nearly 35 years ago, starts with a clear vision of the end goal and works backward to identify the steps needed to achieve it. This method contrasts with traditional forecasting, which predicts the future by extrapolating from past trends. In 2014, futurist Thomas Frey presented eight backcasting scenarios to better understand the future. These scenarios included ambitious visions such as controlling hurricanes or extending human lifespan beyond 200 years, and then mapped out the necessary technologies, policies, and actions to realize these visions.

Batteries

Breakthrough in Sodium-Based Batteries Could Revolutionize Electric Vehicles

May 27, 2024

Korean researchers may have solved a significant issue that makes some consumers hesitant to transition to electric vehicles (EVs). A team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed a sodium-based battery capable of charging in mere seconds, as reported by Techopedia.

This groundbreaking technology could significantly boost the EV industry, making the adoption of electric vehicles more appealing and potentially benefiting both humanity and the planet. Although daily charging isn’t always necessary, lengthy charging times have been a deterrent for many consumers, according to studies by the International Energy Agency and other sources. Extended charging sessions also pose safety concerns, particularly for women. The U.S. Department of Energy noted that from 2020 to 2023, the average time spent at a paid fast-charging station was 42 minutes, often including time spent in nearby stores.