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This week, we have some more interesting breakthroughs in STEM for you to browse through!
Though reading someone's mind has long been considered a thing of fantasy, recent progressions in technology have made it possible to send signals from the brain to something like a computer interface using small implants. Not only that, but researchers have found a way to insert these implants without invasive skull surgery. A new innovation called a "Stentrode" has recently finished its first clinical trial in humans. This device, much as its name suggests, resembles a stent--a mesh-like tube placed into a blood vessel to hold it open. A Stentrode is inserted through a blood vessel and moved into place in the superior saggital sinus, a vein that is adjacent to the motor cortex in our brains. From there, it can be expanded like a stent to hug the walls of the blood vessel. Its vantage point in the brain allows it to pick up on signals and transmit them via a wire to a small device implanted in the chest. This device can wirelessly send those signals to devices like computers, where they can be mapped to functions like typing. Technology like this could be immensely helpful to those with paralysis that limits upper-body motor function, among other things.
Teleportation is another idea straight out of the storybooks. However, its-real world applications are not nearly as novel as reading someone's thoughts. Scientists have been "teleporting" quantum particles since the 1990s, changing the properties of one particle to perfectly resemble the properties of another particle that is far away from it . Nowadays, teleportation technology is one crucial aspect of quantum research laboratories, and many think that it will serve as a backbone for the quantum-based internet of the future. But what if you could teleport energy? Well, as of recently, this idea has been proven possible--even using market-grade quantum hardware. The details of this process are difficult to convey without technical understanding, but this discovery represents another forward step towards making quantum computers viable as the next generation of digital devices. Check out the article above to learn more!
Cyborgs are another fantastical concept that has found a recent parallel in scientific process. Though these cyborgs aren't humans with robot parts, they are cells that have been modified with synthetic components to become stronger than their ordinary counterparts. In a recent study, scientists injected bacterial cells with components of a synthetic polymer. They then exposed these cells to UV light, which caused the polymer to link together inside the cell. This new implement prevented the cells from dividing, but, in return, it made them much more hardy. These modified cells were able to withstand challenges like hydrogen peroxide, antibiotics, and high pH much better than their ordinary counterparts. Even better, they could be programmed to serve certain purposes. The study was able to program the cyborgs to infiltrate cancer cells grown in the laboratory, suggesting that these modified cells could become a useful tool for targeting and eliminating cancer in the human body. Though a great deal of further research, as well as some ethical negotiations, must be pursued before this concept could ever see commercial use, it offers a fascinating look into our ability to develop "living technology" to address difficult problems.
Carbon emissions are one of the great scientific quandaries of the modern world. Researchers are working tirelessly to develop new solutions for the current carbon crisis, and one of these solutions is known as carbon capture. The chief problem for the environment is not the fact that carbon dioxide is released but, rather, the fact that it is released much faster than it can be "captured" into organic materials--like plant matter. By making systems that capture carbon artificially, we can counterbalance the carbon we produce through industry. These systems already exist; however, their operation can be expensive. Higher expense means that less industrial forces will be willing to adopt them, so researchers are now working to find ways to capture carbon with the least amount of expense. Recently, a new carbon capture system was unveiled that cut carbon capturing costs to the lowest they've ever been: about $39 per metric ton of carbon dioxide. Not only that, but this system can capture carbon into commercially useful substances like methanol and methane. As this technology continues to improve, researchers envision a future where "carbon dioxide refineries" are built onto things like power plants, helping to recycle carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.
One of the big struggles in modern nanotechnology is creating vessels that can be both firm and flexible. It's very difficult to create a substance that can be both, but a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania have recently managed to do so. Their miniature "robot" is an innovative mixture of the liquid metal gallium and tiny pieces of magnetic materials like iron and neodymium. The end result is a piece of technology that can shift between solid and liquid form through the use of magnetic forces. The level of flexibility it displays is unlike any other nanotechnology that exists today, and it holds promise for performing precise actions in close quarters--like traveling through the human digestive tract to envelop harmful substances or solder machinery in areas that would be difficult or dangerous to reach. While this new technology requires a lot of further testing, particularly to see use in medicine, it's a rather incredible innovation. Check out the article above to see some videos of this "meltable robot" in action!
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