Science is Cool....

[Fish]

This is a repository for all cool scientific discussion and fascination. Scientific facts, theories, and overall cool scientific stuff that you'd like to share with others. Stuff that makes you smile and wonder at the amazing shit going on around us, that most people don't notice.

Post pictures, vidoes, stories, or links. Ask questions. Share science.

Why should I care?:

[Otter]

My kind of news day:

"Geologist Finds Rare Formation Inside Rock That Looks Exactly Like Cookie Monster on Sesame Street" pic.twitter.com/rKftbLw804

— Dr. Jacqueline Antonovich (@jackiantonovich) January 23, 2021

[Hydrae]

Originally Posted by Otter

My kind of news day:

"Geologist Finds Rare Formation Inside Rock That Looks Exactly Like Cookie Monster on Sesame Street" pic.twitter.com/rKftbLw804

— Dr. Jacqueline Antonovich (@jackiantonovich) January 23, 2021

You can see the holes they drilled into the one to make the eyeball. I suspect the same is true for the other one as well.

I have seen (and own) quite a few geodes (and thundereggs if you are familiar with those) and have never seen one with a hole to the outside. If it had a hole then the inside would not have formed.

[Otter]

Originally Posted by Hydrae

You can see the holes they drilled into the one to make the eyeball. I suspect the same is true for the other one as well.

I have seen (and own) quite a few geodes (and thundereggs if you are familiar with those) and have never seen one with a hole to the outside. If it had a hole then the inside would not have formed.

I don't much about geology so I'm easily fooled in that category. To be honest, when I first saw the picture I thought they were sushi rolls.

[Otter]

If these didn't come from NASA I'd swear they were Photoshoped....

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/j...ges/index.html

[Fish]

Yale scientists repair injured spinal cord using patients’ own stem cells

Intravenous injection of bone marrow derived stem cells (MSCs) in patients with spinal cord injuries led to significant improvement in motor functions, researchers from Yale University and Japan report Feb. 18 in the Journal of Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery.

For more than half of the patients, substantial improvements in key functions — such as ability to walk, or to use their hands — were observed within weeks of stem cell injection, the researchers report. No substantial side effects were reported.

The patients had sustained, non-penetrating spinal cord injuries, in many cases from falls or minor trauma, several weeks prior to implantation of the stem cells. Their symptoms involved loss of motor function and coordination, sensory loss, as well as bowel and bladder dysfunction. The stem cells were prepared from the patients’ own bone marrow, via a culture protocol that took a few weeks in a specialized cell processing center. The cells were injected intravenously in this series, with each patient serving as their own control. Results were not blinded and there were no placebo controls.

Yale scientists Jeffery D. Kocsis, professor of neurology and neuroscience, and Stephen G. Waxman, professor of neurology, neuroscience and pharmacology, were senior authors of the study, which was carried out with investigators at Sapporo Medical University in Japan. Key investigators of the Sapporo team, Osamu Honmou and Masanori Sasaki, both hold adjunct professor positions in neurology at Yale.

Kocsis and Waxman stress that additional studies will be needed to confirm the results of this preliminary, unblinded trial. They also stress that this could take years. Despite the challenges, they remain optimistic.

“Similar results with stem cells in patients with stroke increases our confidence that this approach may be clinically useful,” noted Kocsis. “This clinical study is the culmination of extensive preclinical laboratory work using MSCs between Yale and Sapporo colleagues over many years.”

“The idea that we may be able to restore function after injury to the brain and spinal cord using the patient’s own stem cells has intrigued us for years,” Waxman said. “Now we have a hint, in humans, that it may be possible.”

[Fish]

Two fighter pilots passed out over Nevada last year. Software saved them both.

In separate incidents, F-16 aviators were rendered unconscious, but a ground-collision avoidance system righted the aircrafts.

On January 23 of last year, a pilot flying a single-seat F-16 over Nevada lost consciousness. Around 6 months later, on July 16, another pilot operating the same type of fighter jet, also in Nevada, passed out as well. Both of them would have almost certainly been killed were it not for built-in software that took over the controls before they crashed.

Both pilots experienced an aviation phenomenon called G-LOC, which stands for G-induced loss of consciousness, and both were operating in the Nevada Test and Training Range. And in each case, the onboard software system saved the aviators’ lives, according to the Air Force.

The software that saved them is known as Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System, or AGCAS, and in the January instance, it engaged when the jet was about 2,600 feet above ground level. In the July incident, the software activated at about 4,000 above the deck.

The Air Force Safety Center explained via email to Popular Science that in both cases, “AGCAS is credited with saving the pilots’ lives.”

The Safety Center added: “In both incidents, the pilots were able to regain consciousness during the AGCAS pull-up and they assisted in the recovery of the aircraft; however, their actions alone would not have been in time to prevent collision with the ground.”

[...]

[Otter]

[Otter]

NZ to trial world-first commercial long-range, wireless power transmission

If I was in charge I would demand that the people implementing this live right in between these two towers. Also, I think I see potential for a Predator sequel in this pic.



https://newatlas.com/energy/long-ran...zealand-emrod/

A New Zealand-based startup has developed a method of safely and wirelessly transmitting electric power across long distances without the use of copper wire, and is working on implementing it with the country's second-largest power distributor.

The dream of wireless power transmission is far from new; everyone's favorite electrical genius Nikola Tesla once proved he could power light bulbs from more than two miles away with a 140-foot Tesla coil in the 1890s – never mind that in doing so he burned out the dynamo at the local powerplant and plunged the entire town of Colorado Springs into blackout.

Tesla's dream was to place enormous towers all over the world that could transmit power wirelessly to any point on the globe, powering homes, businesses, industries and even giant electric ships on the ocean. Investor J.P. Morgan famously killed the idea with a single question: "where can I put the meter?"

It has taken 120 years, but New Zealand company Emrod appears to have finally convinced a major power distributor to have a crack at going wireless in a commercial capacity. Powerco, the second-biggest distributor in New Zealand, is investing in Emrod, whose technology appears to be able to shift large amounts of electricity much more efficiently, between any two points that can be joined with line-of-sight relays.

"We’re interested to see whether Emrod’s technology can complement the established ways we deliver power," said Powerco’s Network Transformation Manager Nicolas Vessiot. "We envisage using this to deliver electricity in remote places, or across areas with challenging terrain. There’s also potential to use it to keep the lights on for our customers when we’re doing maintenance on our existing infrastructure."

Emrod currently has a working prototype of its device, but will build another for Powerco, with plans to deliver by October, then spend several months in lab testing before moving to a field trial. The prototype device will be capable of delivering "only a few kilowatts" of power, but can easily be scaled up. "We can use the exact same technology to transmit 100 times more power over much longer distances," said Emrod founder and serial entrepreneur Greg Kushnir. "Wireless systems using Emrod technology can transmit any amount of power current wired solutions transmit."

The system uses a transmitting antenna, a series of relays and a receiving rectenna (a rectifying antenna capable of converting microwave energy into electricity). Each of these components appear in these images to simply look like big ol' squares on poles. Its beams use the non-ionizing Industrial, Scientific and Medical band of the radio spectrum, including frequencies commonly used in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Unlike Tesla's globally-accessible free power dream, the power here is beamed directly between specific points, with no radiation around the beam, and a "low power laser safety curtain" immediately shuts down power transmission before any object, like a bird, drone, power thief or helicopter, can touch the main beam. There will be no difficulties this time working out where to place the meter.

Emrod says it works in any atmospheric conditions, including rain, fog and dust, and the distance of transmission is limited only by line of sight between each relay, giving it the potential to transmit power thousands of kilometers, at a fraction of the infrastructure costs, maintenance costs and environmental impact a wired solution imposes.

Indeed, Emrod sees wireless transmission as a key enabling technology for renewable power, which is often generated far from where it's needed. This kind of system could be terrific for getting the products of offshore and remote renewable energy generation into the city grids without the need for giant storage batteries and the like.

It'll also be handy in certain unplanned outage events; a truck can be fitted out with a rectenna, and then driven anywhere in visual range of a relay to create a temporary wireless power connection.

The company has been liaising with the Radio Spectrum Management authorities in New Zealand throughout its development process, with a view to meeting every safety standard even once the technology scales right up to high power levels, a process Kushnir says has also helped Emrod develop guidelines for the companies that will be using the technology.

We've contacted Emrod to ask more about efficiency, the size, shape and state of the current prototype, future plans and what indeed would happen if you stuck your hand in the middle of the beam, and will bring you more information when we can.

[Fish]

Scientists clone the first U.S. endangered species

A black-footed ferret was duplicated from the genes of an animal that died more than 30 years ago.



CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Scientists have cloned the first U.S. endangered species, a black-footed ferret duplicated from the genes of an animal that died over 30 years ago.

The slinky predator named Elizabeth Ann, born Dec. 10 and announced Thursday, is cute as a button. But watch out — unlike the domestic ferret foster mom who carried her into the world, she’s wild at heart.

“You might have been handling a black-footed ferret kit and then they try to take your finger off the next day,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service black-footed ferret recovery coordinator Pete Gober said Thursday. “She’s holding her own.”

Elizabeth Ann was born and is being raised at a Fish and Wildlife Service black-footed ferret breeding facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. She’s a genetic copy of a ferret named Willa who died in 1988 and whose remains were frozen in the early days of DNA technology.

Cloning eventually could bring back extinct species such as the passenger pigeon. For now, the technique holds promise for helping endangered species including a Mongolian wild horse that was cloned and last summer born at a Texas facility.

“Biotechnology and genomic data can really make a difference on the ground with conservation efforts,” said Ben Novak, lead scientist with Revive & Restore, a biotechnology-focused conservation nonprofit that coordinated the ferret and horse clonings.

[...]

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Otter

NZ to trial world-first commercial long-range, wireless power transmission

The charge [npi] that wireless was killed because it couldn't be metered is cynical. It's other biggest drawback is losses/inefficiency.

If your criticism is the overall level of energy production and the byproducts of said production, wireless means you are producing more for convenience sake, and just releasing it back into the 'ether' through transmission losses.

This is less of a problem with renewables, because you are essentially rounding up energy available around you [wind, light, water], directing it for potential useful purpose, and whatever doesn't get used or gets wasted is just released back to nature.

Think of it like this loose analogy. Suppose you lived by a lake and wanted access to water in your little village. Wireless is somewhat like putting a big pump in the lake and spraying water over the village, so it's just perpetually 'raining' throughout the village. All you need to do to get water is set a pot outside your house and wait, and supposedly the excess will return to the water table and eventually the lake. It's more convenient than plumbing and sewers for every house, but it's also less efficient.

[Fish]

Gravity, trajectory, and retrogrades....

[Fish]

US Army's New Night-Vision Goggles Are Worthy of Super Soldiers

The Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular (ENVG-B) is designed by soldiers for soldiers.



The U.S. Army's troops won't have any issues seeing in the dark, through thick mist, or in obscure settings thanks to its new night-vision goggles. The Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular (ENVG-B) goggles are a clear creation of how the Army is embracing modernization.

And quite frankly, as the Lancer Brigade said on Twitter, "You've never seen night vision like this!"

Instead of the typical laser-green monochrome you'd expect to associate with night-vision goggles, the ENVG-B ones offer views that would fit right into a futuristic video game. Clear neon white outlines of people and artillery, detailed trees and brush, bright light blue figures, and tactical information are all displayed right in front of the soldier's eyes.

Aside from creating seriously cool scenarios, these goggles have a much more serious purpose: they provide the Army's close combat forces "an extra capability to observe and maneuver in all weather conditions, through obscurants, during limited visibility, and under all lighting conditions," as ACS Army said.

There's nothing these soldiers won't be able to see. They'll enhance their fighting abilities, as well as keep themselves, and their team safer as they'll be able to see and understand what's going on around them more quickly than other troops. These goggles will also make it easier for soldiers to differentiate between potential enemies in front of them and the background they're hiding in.

How do they do it?
These ENVG-B goggles have a double-tubed binocular system for better situational awareness and depth perception, they have a higher resolution thanks to their phosphorescent white colors, they use a fused thermal imager, they use AR aspects, and use wireless interconnectivity.

It's easy to see the vast improvement they offer on night-vision compared with traditional goggles.

And it was about time night-vision goggles saw a decent upgrade. These contraptions have been assisting soldiers in certain parts of the world since WWII, and more widely since the Vietnam War. A number of different generations of night-vision goggles have seen the light of day — or rather, night — since then, they help see with improved vision and reduced prices. And the latest ENVG-B goggles are just one addition to the U.S. Army's already-increasing selection of goggles.

The Army is also developing Integrated Augmented Vision System (IAVS) goggles, which allow soldiers to see through walls, around corners, in the dark, too, and they display tactical data onto the soldier's viewing screen. It's not only developing goggles for its foot soldiers, U.S. military dogs will also be donning AR goggles on their missions. Talk about including everyone.

[Fish]

Party time!

Revelers gather for UK rave experiment without social distancing

Crowds of revelers descended on the city of Liverpool in northwest England on Friday for a live music event held without masks or social distancing.

The British experiment was held without Covid-19 restrictions. It was part of the government's Events Research Program (ERP) and will provide scientific data to help officials plan how nightclubs and live events might return to the UK this summer.
Liverpool's director of public health Matt Ashton said the rave gave a "glimpse of what we think the future might hold."
Speaking to the BBC, Ashton said it was "wonderful" to see the looks on people's faces as they gathered in a specially converted warehouse on Friday.
But he stressed that the event was a scientific experiment and that attendees would now have to return to following coronavirus restrictions. Attendees who test positive for the virus will have to self-isolate as normal.
"We have to deal with Covid still as if it is still around because it is, even if it is at low levels, so we have to be cautious in our approach," Ashton said.

"And for me that's why it is so important that we collect the science around this to allow us to do this safely and properly in the future."
The health official said such pilot events were crucial in opening up the economy.
"This is going to be part I think of a longer journey of understanding how we live with Covid more safely in the future," Ashton said.
Social distancing restrictions and lockdowns have hit the British live music industry hard.
"This hasn't been an easy process, and it's particularly hard as the night time sector hasn't been open for over a year," Claire McColgan, Liverpool's Director of Culture said in a council statement released before the event.
On Sunday, British music fans will be able to revel another live event as part of the ERP, held at Liverpool's Sefton Park.
The sold-out music event will be held in a "huge" big top tent and once through the gates, attendees will not have to wear face coverings or maintain social distancing, according to a statement by the host Festival Republic.
"[This event is] about demonstrating our absolute commitment that we can and will open on June 21st. We want to get festival fans back at events safely this year. We all need a summer of live music," Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn said in a statement.

[Fish]

TR 4.

So, there's actually a pretty significant threat to the modern banana right now. To the point that the extinction of the modern banana is actually a possibility. As I've posted about previously, the modern banana is a completely sterile species. Called triploid hybrids. It has no seeds, and the only way to make new bananas is to cut living pieces of existing bananas. The current Cavendish banana genome strain(technically not the only banana strain) is the only real commercially viable strain of banana right now. It's being decimated by a fungus called TR4. One of the only potential fixes is genetic engineering...



CRISPR-Edited Bananas

In the British Drama, Years and Years, they imagine the very near future. I do wonder what someone from 2010 would have thought about a tv show accurately depicting 2020. In any case, one of the throw-away lines of the show was that there are no more bananas. The writers did their research – that the Cavendish banana will disappear sometime in the 2020’s is extremely likely. It is being threatened by a fungus called Tropical Race 4 (TR4), which a century ago wiped out the previous commercial dessert banana, the Gros Michel (it’s not extinct, but cannot be grown commercially anymore).

TR4 is now on every continent that grows bananas. It is literally just a matter of time before the entire commercial Cavendish market is wiped out. TR4 and similar funguses also threaten other banana varieties (more like plantains) that provide a staple source of nutrition for large segments of the world (about 400 million people). So this is not just about no longer having access to a favorite dessert fruit – this can create a serious threat to food security in parts of the world.

Part of the problem is that all Cavendish banana plants are clones. The plants are triploid hybrids, which is why they don’t produce seeds. This also makes them sterile. They are reproduced by taking new shoots that grow off the underground bulb (or corm). For this reason the entire Cavendish industry is basically comprised of clones. This is the ultimate monoculture – which leaves them particularly susceptible to disease, such as TR4.

One solution is to do what they did after the Gros Michel crop was lost – cultivate a new banana that is resistant to TR4. But few cultivars have all the traits necessary for a commercial banana. It has to ripen slowly, so it ships well, and has to taste good. Cavendish bananas, apparently, are a pale comparison to their tastier predecessor, and many were concerned they would not be accepted. There are many local varieties of dessert bananas, some are quite tasty (I have tried a few, like apple bananas, which are good). But these varieties don’t ship as well as the Cavendish, which is why they are mostly available locally.

The other solution is to breed or genetically engineer the Cavendish (or the Gros Michel, for that matter) to be highly resistant to TR4. Then we could at least get another century out of the banana, hopefully. A research group in Australia is working on a CRISPR edited version of the Cavendish that is resistant to TR4. Fortunately, nature already has a partial solution – some wild type bananas have a gene, RGA2, that provides resistance to TR4. In fact, the RGA2 gene is already present in the Cavendish, it is just expressed 10% of that of the resistant varieties. So all the scientists have to do is activate the expression of the already present RGA2 genes in the Cavendish. They have done this and are already in field trials, which are showing enhanced resistance.

There is also a gene from a nematode, the Ced9, which confers resistance to TR4. This is not being used by the Australian group, but is another path to resistant bananas. We may end up needing this gene as well at some point.

There is a bit of news in that Del Monte has agreed to fund the Australian group developing the Cavendish with enhanced RGA2. Hopefully this will help bring the resistant banana to market in time to save it. And of course, there are anti-GMO activists who against this banana – for no legitimate reason. They just oppose everything GMO for misguided ideological reasons.

Clearly we are in an arms race against infectious disease. This extends beyond the banana – our entire farming infrastructure is a constant battle with pests and diseases. We need to use a multi-pronged defense, something called “integrated pest management”, for example. We need to maintain output to feed the world, but at the same time adjust our practices to minimize the threat of crop disease. This will be a never-ending battle. Also, we will need every tool we have, including genetic engineering, in order to keep up. Without genetic modification, the banana industry is going away. Other crops are similarly threatened – genetic engineering has already saved the papaya industry in Hawaii. Citrus greening threatens our citrus industries.

I do wonder what this will be like in 50, 100, or 500 years. Can we get into a sustainable loop, where we abandon certain crops for resistant ones, but eventually can return to them once the diseases that were specific to them wane (similar to antibiotic resistance)? Or perhaps we will need to develop farmland on the Moon or Mars, or in orbiting stations, that are entirely sterile except for the crops themselves and beneficial bacteria in the soil – but no pests. They could be run by robots, and entirely sealed off from any possible contamination.

Another benefit to off-worlding our food production is that more of the Earth’s surface can be returned to natural ecosystems. Right now about half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture. This is perhaps the biggest negative effect on other species, the loss of habitat due to agriculture. This, of course, is a far future (at least a few centuries) solution, but I do wonder if this will be an ultimate solution.

In the meantime, genetic engineering is probably our best chance to keep one step ahead of the worst pathogens like TR4.

[Fish]

Here's something weird... Technically, purple is a product of your imagination... Your brain fakes the color purple. Or basically guesses as best it can.

Purple is a "non-spectral color", which means that it exists only in our minds: there is no wavelength of light that corresponds to it. Our brain perceives purple when it sees a mixture of strong red and strong blue light, without any green.



A good explanation, if you have 15 minutes to kill...