Impact Lab – Page 287 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

New protocol can develop safe, efficient pluripotent stem cell-based therapies for macular degeneration

June 23, 2022

As we age, so do our eyes; most commonly, this involves changes to our vision and new glasses, but there are more severe forms of age-related eye problems. One of these is age-related macular degeneration, which affects the macula -; the back part of the eye that gives us sharp vision and the ability to distinguish details. The result is a blurriness in the central part of our visual field.

The macula is part of the eye’s retina, which is the light-sensitive tissue mostly composed of the eye’s visual cells: cone and rod photoreceptor cells. The retina also contains a layer called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), which has several important functions, including light absorption, cleaning up cellular waste, and keeping the other cells of the eye healthy.

The cells of the RPE also nourish and maintain the eye’s photoreceptor cells, which is why one of the most promising treatment strategies for age-related macular degeneration is to replace aging, degenerating RPE cells with new ones grown from human embryonic stem cells.

Scientist have proposed several methods for converting stem cells into RPE, but there is still a gap in our knowledge of how cells respond to these stimuli over time. For example, some protocols take a few months while others can take up to a year. And yet, scientists are not clear as to what exactly happens over that period of time.

Automobiles

Hyundai is turning its walking car concept into reality

June 22, 2022

Ultimate Mobility Vehicles, revealed in 2020 and 2021, were concepts looking pretty far from becoming real. Now Hyundai has invested 20 millions to design and manufacture them.

By Andrea Nepori

Founded in 2020, New Horizons Studio is a division of Hyundai Motor Group tasked with designing futuristic mobility projects. Since its inception, the Studio has attracted widespread attention thanks to its Ultimate Mobility Vehicles (UMVs) concepts, such as the Hyundai Elevate. UMVs, in Hyundai’s vision, are vehicles capable of driving on any off-road terrain, either conducted by a human crew or unmanned. Think space rovers, but for the harshest off-road conditions on Earth.

The UMVs employ a combination of robotics and advanced locomotion technology to achieve the goal. The Elevate, for example, is a concept vehicle that can cross any rocky or rough area thanks to 4 electric wheels attached to extendable robotic “legs.” New Horizons Studio’s concepts seemed mostly a design exercise to explore the future of off-road mobility. Instead, with a surprising announcement, Hyundai has decided to fund the Studio with a $20 million investment over the next five years to try and manufacture its UMVs. The funds will go towards a new Research, Development, and Lab Center located within the Montana State University’s Innovation Campus in Bozeman, Montana. According to Hyundai’s estimate, the new facility will employ about 50 people.

Amazon.com, Science & Technology News

AMAZON WILL LAUNCH DRONE DELIVERY FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS WITH PRIME AIR ELIGIBLE ITEMS

June 22, 2022

By Cortney Drakeford

Some California residents will begin receiving their Amazon deliveries from drones later this year.

On Monday, Amazon announced it plans to use drones for customer deliveries in Lockeford, California. The move will mark the first time the e-commerce company will use drones to deliver packages to customers in the United States.

The Amazon drones will deliver packages to the backyard of Lockeford, California residents. The area is located around 40 miles south of Sacramento.

Cancer

Scientists Develop “Nanomachines” That Can Penetrate and Kill Cancer Cells

June 22, 2022

A research team from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology has developed ‘nanomachines,’ which use mechanical molecular movements to penetrate and destroy cells. Selective cancer cell penetration is also possible by using a latch molecule released near cancer cells.

Researchers have created ‘nanomachines’ that use mechanical molecular motions to enter and destroy cells.

Cancer is a condition where some of the body’s cells grow out of control and spread to other bodily regions. Cancer cells divide continually, leading them to invade surrounding tissue and form solid tumors. The majority of cancer treatments involve killing the cancer cells.

According to 2020 estimates, 1.8 million new instances of cancer were diagnosed in the US, and 600,000 people passed away from the condition. Breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer are the most common cancers. The average age of a cancer patient upon diagnosis is 66, and individuals between the ages of 65 and 74 account for 25% of all new cancer diagnoses.

Proteins are involved in every biological process and use the energy in the body to change their structure via mechanical movements. They are referred to as biological ‘nanomachines’ since even minor structural changes in proteins have a substantial impact on biological processes. To implement movement in the cellular environment, researchers have focused on the development of nanomachines that imitate proteins. However, cells use a variety of mechanisms to defend themselves against the effect of these nanomachines. This restricts any relevant mechanical movement of nanomachines that could be used for medical purposes.

The research team headed by Dr. Youngdo Jeong from the Center for Advanced Biomolecular Recognition at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has reported the development of a novel biochemical nanomachine that penetrates the cell membrane and kills the cell via the molecular movements of folding and unfolding in certain cellular environments, such as cancer cells. They collaborated with the teams of Professor Sang Kyu Kwak from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and Professor Ja-Hyoung Ryu from the Department of Chemistry at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), and Dr. Chaekyu Kim of Fusion Biotechnology, Inc.

SpaceX

Elon Musk’s SpaceX pulls another $1.7 billion in funding

June 21, 2022

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule docks at the International Space Station in April. ASSOCIATED PRESS

By Claudia Assis

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, has pulled in another $1.7 billion in equity funding, according to a filing Monday.

Privately held SpaceX, led by Tesla Inc. TSLA, 12.25% Chief Executive Elon Musk, sold about $1.68 billion in new equity in a $1.72 billion offering, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The first sales occurred late last month, it said.

The round brings the company’s valuation to about $125 billion, from about $100 billion late last year.

AI

Logy.ai Introduces India’s First AI-based Cataract Screening Solution with Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals

June 21, 2022

Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals introduces an AI-based cataract screening solution available on Whatsapp with Logy.ai technology, which yields an accuracy of 92%.

By Disha Chopra

Logy.ai, in collaboration with Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals, New Delhi, has introduced AI as a screening solution to identify cataracts with an accuracy of 92%. The innovation presents a simple chatbot on WhatsApp and would not require any additional application. The screening can be done in rural areas.

Logy.ai is an intelligent care service provider aiming to bring AI with a user-friendly interface. In recent developments, the company has helped Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals to solidify its position as a leading eye care provider that uses AI for health screening. The latter is an established eye care provider with over 10 lakh successful procedures and surgeries in its 14 facilities in North and East India centers.

Priyanjit Ghosh, Co-founder, and CEO, of Logy.ai, expressed that Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals is a proactive partner with the firm. Their partnership synergizes with Logy.ai’s vision of new-era technologies like AI to promote health screening. The collaboration aims to build top-of-the-line AI products in the healthcare domain and bridge the gap between technology and medicine.

3D Printer

Airbus is sending Metal 3D Printer to International Space Station; Plans to set up an Orbital Satellite Factory

June 21, 2022

Above: International Space Station/Image Source: European Space Agency

Airbus, a European multinational aerospace corporation, is preparing to send a metal 3D printer to the International Space Station as early as next year, as the first step in its plans to establish an orbital satellite factory.

Metal3D printers can work with metals that melt at temperatures of up to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit (1,200 degrees Celsius). The company was overjoyed to announce that its printer will be the first metal 3D printer on the space station, allowing astronauts to print parts like radiation shields and various tools.

Future versions of the 3D printer, according to the company, will be able to create objects out of lunar soil and recycle parts from decommissioned satellites onboard an orbital satellite factory.

SpaceX

Elon Musk’s dream Mars rocket gets green light to launch, with conditions

June 20, 2022

SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket standing at its Texas launch pad. Elon Musk’s company is looking to attempt the first orbital test flight of the nearly 400-foot-tall Starship sometime this year.

While the US government has found “No Significant Impact”, it is placing some limitations on launches and conditions that need to be met to operate the futuristic base.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX cleared a major hurdle as the US government concluded an environmental review of its gigantic, futuristic Starship base in Texas. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) saw no environmental concerns but laid down 75 conditions to reduce the impact on the region.

The environmental review was for the proposed SpaceX Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket program in Boca Chica located at the southernmost tip of Texas, about 1,000 miles west of Cape Canaveral where SpaceX launches astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station for Nasa.

Following the decision, SpaceX tweeted, “One step closer to the first orbital flight test of Starship.”

However, there’s no guarantee a launch license will be issued, since other factors such as safety and financial responsibility requirements still must be met at the Boca Chica site, according to the FAA. The agency said as a result of the requirements there will be more advanced notice of launches to reduce a highway closure during launch operations.

Energy

SCIENTISTS CLAIM TO HAVE DESIGNED A FULLY DECENTRALIZED STABLECOIN PEGGED TO ELECTRICITY

June 20, 2022

By DEREK ANDERSEN

The E-Stablecoin would require several scientific advancements that are already in the works, and would allegedly make it possible to transmit electricity almost for free.

Researchers at the federally funded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have combined statistical mechanics and information theory to design a class of stablecoin dubbed the Electricity Stablecoin (E-Stablecoin) that would transmit energy as a form of information. Livermore’s Maxwell Murialdo and Jonathan L. Belof say their innovation would make it possible to transmit electricity without physical wires or a grid and create a fully collateralized stablecoin pegged to a physical asset – electricity – that is dependent on its utility for is value.

According to the scientists, the E-Stablecoin would be minted through the input of one kilowatt-hour of electricity, plus a fee. The stablecoin could then be used for transactions the same way as any stablecoin, or the energy could be extracted by burning it, also for a fee. The entire process would be controlled by smart contracts with a decentralized data storage cloud. No trusted centralized authority would be needed to maintain or disburse the asset.

Medical Breakthrough

New study could help fight bacterial infections without antibiotics

June 20, 2022

When the bacteria were exposed to an alternating magnetic field, there was a rapid rise in temperature, high enough to destroy them

Researchers at Mohali’s Institute of Nanoscience and Technology have found a novel way to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections — by inducing self-destruction in the bacteria.

Although many potent antibiotics are available in the market, our indiscriminate use has rendered them useless in treating several common bacterial infections. The bacteria have mutated and developed smart techniques to beat the effect of the drugs. Scientists are now actively researching alternative methods to combat drug-resistant bacterial strains, one among them being the nanotechnology-based approach.

Researchers at the Institute of Nanoscience and Technology (INST), Mohali, have found a novel way to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections: By inducing self-destruction in the bacteria.

quantum computing, Science & Technology News

World First Room Temperature Quantum Computer Installed in Australia

June 19, 2022

A quantum-HPC integration serving more than 4,000 researchers.

By Francisco Pires

The world’s first on-premises, room-temperature quantum computer has just been installed in Pawsey’s Supercomputing Research Centre, in Australia. Developed by Australian start-up Quantum Brilliance, the quantum accelerator doesn’t require any exotic cooling methods to maintain quantum coherence, and has even been developed for installation in a typical rack system. The new quantum accelerator will thus be taken for a spin in tandem with Pawsey’s new, state-of-the-art Setonix, its HPE Cray Ex supercomputer.

The room-temperature achievement was unlocked due to Quantum Brilliance’s approach to quantum computing; instead of the more common ion chains, silicon quantum dots, or superconducting transmon qubits, Quantum Brilliance took advantage of specifically implanted nitrogen-vacancy centers in synthetic diamonds (where a carbon atom is replaced by a nitrogen one).

These vacancy centers amount to defects in the diamond’s structure, which feature a photoluminescence capability that allows for the qubits’ spin states to be read based on the emitted light’s characteristics, without directly interacting with the qubits. A number of techniques, such as magnetic or electric fields, microwave radiation, or light (Quantum Brilliance uses a green laser technology for this purpose) can be used to directly manipulate the nitrogen-vacancy center’s qubits. Quantum Brilliance’s qubits are described by the company as being in the “middle of the pack” for coherence times and performance, being slower than superconducting qubits, but faster than the trapped-ion approach of some other providers.

new technology

The World’s Largest Liquid-Mirror Telescope Comes Online

June 19, 2022

Ask any astronomer, astrophysicist, or cosmologist, and they’ll probably tell you that a new age of astronomy is upon us! Between breakthroughs in gravitational-wave astronomy, the explosion in exoplanet studies, and the next-generation ground-based and space-based telescopes coming online, it’s pretty evident that we are on the verge of an era of near-continuous discovery! As always, major discoveries, innovations, and the things they enable inspire scientists and researchers to look ahead and take the next big step.

Take, for example, the research into liquid mirrors and advanced interferometers, which would rely on entirely new types of telescopes and light-gathering to advance the science of astronomy. A pioneering example is the newly-commissioned International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) telescope that just came online at Devasthal Peak, a 2,450 m (8,040 ft) tall mountain located in the central Himalayan range. Unlike conventional telescopes, the ILMT relies on a rapidly-rotating 4-meter (13 ft) mirror coated with a layer of mercury to capture cosmic light.