Impact Lab – Page 295 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

Scientists Grow Plants in Moon Soil for First Time: ‘Everything Sprouted’

May 29, 2022

A plant grown during the experiment is transferred to a vial for analysis.

By Eric Mack

Are we looking at our future lunar lunch?

When NASA launches Artemis astronauts back to the surface of the moon in the years to come, they should be able to grow their own salad. That’s just one ramification of a historic experiment in which scientists used samples of lunar surface material, called regolith, to grow plants here on Earth.

The scientists planted seeds of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, which is related to mustard greens, in tiny samples of the regolith collected on three different Apollo missions a half century ago.

But while the seeds germinated and grew, they didn’t exactly thrive.

new technology

This new piece of MIT technology uses sugar from the human body to create power

May 29, 2022

Silicon chip with 30 individual glucose micro fuel cells, seen as small silver squares inside each gray rectangle.

By Gwen Egan

The glucose fuel cell is 1/100 the diameter of a single human hair and could power miniature implants inside the human body.

What if there was a piece of ultrathin technology that was powered by sugar from the human body?

Researchers at MIT and the Technical University of Munich are answering that question with a new piece of mini tech — a tiny, yet powerful, fuel cell.

This new and improved glucose fuel cell takes glucose absorbed from food in the human body and turns it into electricity, according to MIT News. That electricity could power small implants while also being able to withstand up to 600 degrees Celsius — or 1112 degrees Fahrenheit — and measuring just 400 nanometers thick.

400 nanometers is around 1/100 of the diameter of a single human hair.

DNA

A One-and-Done CRISPR Gene Therapy Will Aim to Prevent Heart Attacks

May 28, 2022

By Shelly Fan

In a few months, a daring clinical trial may fundamentally lower heart attack risk in the most vulnerable people. If all goes well, it will just take one shot.

It’s no ordinary shot. The trial, led by Verve Therapeutics, a biotechnology company based in Massachusetts, will be one of the first to test genetic base editors directly inside the human body. A variant of the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, base editors soared to stardom when first introduced for their efficiency at replacing single genetic letters without breaking delicate DNA strands. Because it’s safer than the classic version of CRISPR, the new tool ignited hope that it could be used for treating genetic diseases.

Verve’s CEO, Dr. Sekar Kathiresan, took note. A cardiologist at Harvard University, Kathiresan wondered if base editing could help solve one of the main killers of our time: heart attacks. It seemed the perfect test case. We know one major cause of heart attacks—high cholesterol levels, particularly a version called LDL-C (Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol). We also know several major genes that control its level. And—most importantly—we know the DNA letter swap that can, in theory, drastically lower LDL-C and in turn throttle the risk of heart attacks.

There’s just one problem: we don’t know how base editors will behave inside a living human body.

Nanotechnology

Tiny nanobots in teeth can kill bacteria, help better dental treatment

May 28, 2022

DEVELOPED by the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, the nanonbots can be injected into the teeth and controlled using a device.

The team has tested the dental nanobots in mice models and found them to be safe and effective.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru have developed tiny nanobots that can be injected into the teeth to kill bacteria and better Root Canal Treatment (RCT). The latest ingenuity can better dental treatment by killing germs deep inside dentinal tubules.

RCT is a common technique to treat tooth infections, which involves removing the infected soft tissue inside the tooth, called the pulp, and flushing the tooth with antibiotics or chemicals to kill the bacteria that cause the infection.

In a new study, researchers at IISc have detailed the development of helical nanobots made of silicon dioxide coated with iron, which can be controlled using a device that generates a low-intensity magnetic field. The study has been published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.

“The dentinal tubules are very small, and bacteria reside deep in the tissue. Current techniques are not efficient enough to go all the way inside and kill the bacteria,” Shanmukh Srinivas, Research Associate at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), IISc said.

Driverless cars

UK public want self-driving cars to be labelled

May 28, 2022

The finalized prototype of Google self-driving car.

Nearly nine out of 10 people in the UK (86%) want self-driving vehicles to be labeled so they can be clearly distinguished from human-driven vehicles, according to a major new survey led by UCL researchers.

The research team surveyed 4,860 members of the British public in late 2021 about their attitudes to self-driving vehicles. The questions were created following interviews with 50 experts involved in developing the technology.

The researchers found that, while experts tended to downplay concerns about self-driving vehicles, members of the public were more skeptical. This skepticism, the researchers said, would not be resolved with better public understanding of the technology, but reflected real uncertainties that developers needed to address.

Most survey respondents were uncomfortable with the idea of using self-driving vehicles (58%) or sharing the road with them (55%)—a trend that has remained consistent over five years of public surveys.

Futurati Podcast

Ep. 85 with Nam Sarder

May 27, 2022

Watch our interview with Nam Sardar on Youtube or listen on the Futurati Podcast website.

Nam Sardar is the founder and CEO of Neel Capital, a returns-focused cryptoasset investment firm that combines fundamental analysis with an active management approach. She became interested in cryptocurrency and DeFi in early 2020, and has since made it her mission to help others understand blockchain technology and its potential, hedge against inflation in a sustainable and emerging asset class, and generate & securely store wealth.

Why is Monero better than Bitcoin and Ethereum?

drones, Science & Technology News

Postie of the future? Royal Mail is building a fleet of 500 DRONES to carry mail to remote communities in the UK including the Isles of Scilly and the Hebrides

May 27, 2022

By JONATHAN CHADWICK

Royal Mail will create over 50 new postal drone routes over the next three years
Long term, the ambition is to deploy a fleet of 500 servicing all parts of the UK
It has already successfully trialed drone deliveries over Scotland and Cornwall

Royal Mail is building a fleet of 500 drones to carry mail to remote communities all over the UK, including the Isles of Scilly and the Hebrides.

The postal service, which has already conducted successful trials over Scotland and Cornwall, will create more than 50 new postal drone routes over the next three years as part of a new partnership with London company Windracers.

They offer an alternative to currently-used delivery methods that can be affected by bad weather – ferries, conventional aircraft and land-based deliveries.

They can also take off from any flat surface (sand, grass or tarmac) providing it is long enough.

Drones are usually thought of as small devices, but each of Royal Mail’s craft have a hefty wingspan of over 30 feet (10 metres).

Space Flight

Avio has successfully tested the new M10 liquid methane and liquid oxygen engine

May 27, 2022

Avio has successfully carried out the first test of the new M10 liquid oxygen-liquid/methane engine, the first of its kind to be successfully tested in Europe. The M10, which will be a new generation green engine, will provide 10 tons of thrust and it is manufactured with extensive use of additive layer manufacturing technologies (ALM).

The M10 engine is a key part of the development of the future Vega E launcher, a project coordinated by ESA (European Space Agency) aimed at qualifying the successor of Vega C starting from 2026.

The project has been supported from start by the Italian Government and in particular by the Minister for Technological Innovation and Digital Transition, Vittorio Colao, in view of the positive effects in terms of innovation and sustainability at the National and European level.

The development of M10 started a few years ago with an initial cooperation between Avio and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), through which some key technologies were developed. The program was then established within the European Space Agency as a prospective solution for the upper stage of Vega E.

Robots

Autonomous robots can pick up to 25,000 raspberries per day

May 27, 2022

University of Plymouth spinoff Fieldwork Robotics has commercially deployed its raspberry picking robots in two locations in Portugal.

The autonomous robots feature four arms for picking, using sensor technology and grippers to curb harvesting times and reduce slippage.

Fieldwork is now working to accelerate the robots’ picking speed, aiming for each robot to collect 4 pounds of fruit per hour or more than 25,000 raspberries a day. The average human picking rate of 15,000 in a standard eight-hour working day. The team is also working to cut costs on the design by adapting the materials used for the robots, according to www.iotworldtoday.com

Medical Breakthrough

Designer Neurons Offer New Hope for Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

May 26, 2022

Summary: Researchers have designed a new method of converting non-neural cells into functioning neurons that are able to form synapses, dispense dopamine, and restore the function of neurons undermined by Parkinson’s associated destruction of dopaminergic cells.

Neurodegenerative diseases damage and destroy neurons, ravaging both mental and physical health. Parkinson’s disease, which affects over 10 million people worldwide, is no exception. The most obvious symptoms of Parkinson’s disease arise after the illness damages a specific class of neuron located in the midbrain. The effect is to rob the brain of dopamine—a key neurotransmitter produced by the affected neurons.

In new research, Jeffrey Kordower and his colleagues describe a process for converting non-neuronal cells into functioning neurons able to take up residence in the brain, send out their fibrous branches across neural tissue, form synapses, dispense dopamine and restore capacities undermined by Parkinson’s destruction of dopaminergic cells.

The current proof-of-concept study reveals that one group of experimentally engineered cells performs optimally in terms of survival, growth, neural connectivity, and dopamine production, when implanted in the brains of rats.

The study demonstrates that the result of such neural grafts is to effectively reverse motor symptoms due to Parkinson’s disease.

Medical Breakthrough

Scientists Reverse Ageing In Old Mice Using Brain Fluid From Younger Mice

May 26, 2022

By Bharat Sharma

Scientists recently “rejuvenated” old mice using injections containing brain fluid sourced from younger mice. According to a new study that was published in the journal Nature, memory problems associated with old age (in mice) can be reversed by taking cerebrospinal fluid from young mice. The study essentially examined the link between memory and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the composition of which changes with age

Scientists recently “rejuvenated” old mice using injections containing brain fluid sourced from younger mice. According to a new study that was published in the journal Nature, memory problems associated with old age (in mice) can be reversed by taking cerebrospinal fluid from young mice.

The study essentially examined the link between memory and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the composition of which changes with age.

Cancer

TOPICS:Cancer DNA Molecular Biology Public Health Yale University

May 26, 2022

Illustration of human cancer cells.

By YALE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

A team of researchers led by Yale University scientists can now quantify the factors causing changes in the DNA that contribute most to cancer growth in tumors of most major tumor types

In a new paper published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, they say that their new molecular analysis approach clarifies a long-standing debate about how much control humans have over cancer development over time.

Looking at the instances of specific genetic mutations can reveal the extent to which preventable exposures like ultraviolet light caused tumor growth in 24 cancers, said Jeffrey Townsend, Ph.D., the Elihu Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Biostatistics at Yale School of Public Health (YSPH).

“We can now answer the question — to the best of our knowledge — ‘What is the underlying source of the key mutations that changed those cells to become a cancer instead of remaining normal tissue?’” he said.

Some of the most common cancers in the United States are known to be highly preventable by human decisions. Skin cancers, such as melanoma, emerge in large part because of prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light, and lung cancers can often be traced back to tobacco use. But scientists have long struggled to gauge how much any individual’s tumor developed as a result of preventable actions versus aging or “chance.”

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