Show notes for 18 March 2022
Story 1: Scientists are transforming wastewater pollution into a valuable resource
Source: C/Net Story by Monisha Ravosetti
Source 2: Stanford Engineering https://tinyurl.com/489hh5xy
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFEOR9E01iA
- One in four people in the world don’t have access to clean drinking water.
- To tackle this problem scientists have been working for years on ways to purify wastewater so it can be added back to the world’s fresh water supply.
- One solution, anaerobic filtration, is popular as it uses very little energy to convert lots of sewage water into a consumable form.
- Anaerobic filters are used in sewage treatment digester tanks, which contain a filter medium filled with microbial organisms [which are microscopic organisms that can live without oxygen].
- These microbial organisms break down the organic contaminants present in the wastewater.
- Anaerobic filtration systems work, but there’s a glaring problem.
- While cleaning up water, anaerobic filtration systems create extremely harmful byproducts called sulfides.
- For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that inhaling hydrogen sulfide emitted by anaerobic filtration systems could lead to symptoms like difficulty breathing, tremors, eye and skin irritation, loss of consciousness and, at high concentrations, even death.
- To date scientists have tried to tackle the sulfide problem by using certain chemicals to separate the sulfur derivatives into nontoxic components. But that, the researchers say, often corrodes purification system pipes, thus lowering overall effectiveness of clean water generation.
- Recently Stanford researchers announced a new electrochemical sulfur oxidation method to convert these toxic sulfides into, for example, sulfuric acid, which can be used in many manufacturing processes and fertilizers.
- Basically, this new process offers the option to morph the toxic sulfides into other sulfur derivatives.
- Making novel use of scanning electrochemical microscopy – a technique that facilitates microscopic snapshots of electrode surfaces while reactors are operating – the researchers quantified the rates of each step of electrochemical sulfur oxidation along with the types and amounts of products formed.
- They found, among other things, that varying operating parameters, such as the reactor voltage, could facilitate low-energy sulfur recovery from wastewater.
- According to the Stanford University team, their new electrochemical procedure requires so little energy that it could be fully powered by renewable sources [such as wind or solar power] and be applied to sewage supplies of entire cities.
Story 2: How ocean and freshwater mussels attach to rocks has inspired scientists to invent a powerful synthetic glue for binding wounds, and more!
Source: Daily Beast Story by Miriam Fauzia
Link: https://www.thedailybeast.com/mussel-proteins-inspired-this-new-synthetic-glue
- Mussels make nature’s Gorilla Glue. Found in both fresh and saltwater, they anchor themselves to rocks using an adhesive made up of sticky threads of liquid protein.
- The key ingredients of this quick-setting natural cement are called mussel adhesive proteins.
- For years, scientists have been investigating mussel adhesive proteins to make their own synthetic glues inspired by mussel adhesives.
- But, artificially emulating millions of years of evolution in the lab has proven challenging, until now.
- Northwestern University researchers recently announced they found a way to bypass nature’s R&D by finding a way to rearrange the chemical structure of mussel adhesive proteins.
- New materials built from these new synthetic mussel adhesive chemical structures exhibit the same kind of tough adhesion as the mussel adhesive proteins themselves, but are much, much easier to derive.
- As a result, it may be possible to develop an ultra-strong, ultra-flexible adhesive that could be used to create durable wound adhesives, improve drug delivery, or play a role in other human health applications.
- Here’s how the did it:
- In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the Northwestern team explained how it created its new synthetic adhesive by hitting on a breakthrough involving something called tandem repeat proteins—long chains of amino acids that repeat over and over again that help build larger proteins like mussel adhesive proteins.
- Typically, the structure and function of a protein is determined by its amino acid chain. Chemical interactions influence how the chain folds itself, similar to the way the notches in a Lego dictate the other pieces it can connect with and what shapes it can make.
- The team’s eureka moment came when they decided to think outside the box:
- What if instead of replicating a large protein, they isolated its tandem repeat proteins—the chemical component responsible for adhesive properties—linked them together into a manageable single-file chain, and molded their shape into the final protein they desired?
- The final result is a structure with a synthetic backbone and sticky tandem repeat proteins attached along the sides—akin to a molecular cleaning brush.
- The researchers tested the strength of this new synthetic glue against native mussel adhesive proteins, applying a single layer to multiple glass plates, and applying a layer of cells from three different cell lines onto the plates, and then washing them.
- Much to the team’s surprise, the pieces of glass that still had cells attached after washing were ones with the synthetic glue, outperforming a mussel’s own adhesive proteins.
Story 3: GE’s new Artificial Intelligence-driven snake robot uses cockroach-inspired antenna-like “whiskers” to navigate sewage pipes
Source: TechCrunch.com Story by Brian Heater
See also GE’s announcement: https://www.ge.com/research/newsroom/fatbergs-beware-ge-research-demonstrates-autonomous-pipe-worm-robot-can-demolish-hard
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmJIuns9nRk&t=16s
- Snake robotics are nothing new, of course. It’s a clever form factor capable of making tight squeezes that would be otherwise impossible for more conventional systems.
- Carnegie Mellon University, for one, has been developing them for a long time, as has NASA.
- GE’s new giant snake, [or earthworm-like robot], actually started life as part of DARPA’s Underminer program designed to develop tunneling operations for the military.
- GE’s new robot [named Pipe-worm, short for Programmable Worm for Irregular Pipeline Exploration] combines fluid-powered muscles with a system of cockroach-inspired whiskers that help it navigate through pipes.
- Using tactile feedback, it’s able to determine things like pipe diameter, joints and turns.
- This artificial intelligence-enabled autonomous robot has the ability to inspect and potentially repair pipelines all on its own, breaking up the formation of solid waste masses like fatbergs that are an ongoing issue with many of our nation’s sewer systems.
- The cockroach-like whiskers added to its body gives the robot greatly enhanced levels of navigational perception to make sharp turns or negotiate its way through dark, unknown portions of a pipeline network.
- The company believes the robot could be deployed for all manner of subterranean inspection, from power plants to fiber optic cables.
Story 4: Scientists Have Created Microscopic Magnets That Let You Remote Control the Brain
Source: Daily Beast Story by Miriam Fauzia
Link: https://www.thedailybeast.com/microscopic-remote-control-magnets-could-help-treat-brain-diseases
- A research team at the University College London has found a way to attach tiny magnetic particles, or micromagnets, to brain cells called astrocytes.
- Astrocytes are the most numerous cell type within the central nervous system and are critical for keeping the brain healthy.
- In recent years, scientists have increasingly explored the role of astrocytes in regulating physiology, cognition, and behavior.
- In one experiment, the University College London researchers injected micromagnets directly onto the surface of astrocytes in the brains of lab rats.
- When the researchers exposed the rats to a large external magnet, the magnetic forces triggered a mechanical stimulation that revved up cell activity in the astrocytes.
- For example, if switched on in the part of the brain that regulates blood pressure (called the brainstem), the result was an increase in blood pressure.
- Not even layers of tissue, bone, and muscle can prevent the magnetic interactions from occurring—which means this is a completely non-invasive way to modify brain function.
- The University College London researchers say controlling astrocytes with micromagnets might open up a whole new way to study neurological ailments like epilepsy and stroke.