Show Notes 3 January 2025
Story 1: Solar-powered plasma technology offers a sustainable solution for seed germination challenges
Source: Phys.org Story by Frontiers Journals
Link: https://phys.org/news/2024-12-solar-powered-plasma-technology-sustainable.html
See also: https://journal.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/10.15302/J-FASE-2024573
- Here’s a key problem facing agriculture worldwide – The aging of seeds held in seed bank storage facilities is a critical challenge for the worldwide agricultural industry.
- Side note – There are 20 U.S. Government seed banks in the United States. These seed banks are crucial for preserving genetic diversity and ensuring the future of agriculture. They store a wide variety of seeds, including modern, historical, and wild relatives of crops. Source: https://www.thedailyscoop.com/news/us-governments-20-seed-banks
- As seeds age in storage facilities it results in significant reduction in germination rates, seedling vigor and undermines efforts to preserve genetic diversity.
- Researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a new sustainable and cost-effective solution: a solar-powered plasma water generator capable of rejuvenating aged seeds and promoting robust seedling growth.
- The researchers developed a novel corona dielectric barrier discharge microreactor that produces plasma-activated water using solar energy. This innovative system effectively enhances seed germination by modifying the chemical and hormonal environment essential for seed development.
- Side note – Plasma-activated water (PAW) is water that has been treated with atmospheric pressure plasma. This process generates a mixture of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) such as ozone, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals.
- Side note – Atmospheric pressure plasma is a type of plasma generated at atmospheric pressure. Created using electric discharges (e.g., corona discharges, dielectric barrier discharges) at atmospheric pressure. Plasma is often referred to as the fourth state of matter, consisting of highly energetic ions and electrons. Unlike the plasma found in stars or lightning, atmospheric pressure plasma operates under normal atmospheric conditions, making it more practical for everyday applications.
- The researchers demonstrated that spinach seeds stored for 23 years showed a remarkable 135% increase in germination rates and significantly improved seedling growth after plasma-activated water treatment, compared to untreated seeds.
- Key to this success is the biochemical transformation induced by plasma-activated water.
- The treatment lowers water pH, increases oxidation-reduction potential, and elevates nitrate levels, creating an ideal environment for germination.
- Furthermore, plasma-activated water influences key plant hormones, such as gibberellins and abscisic acid, to break seed dormancy and promote growth.
- Side note – Gibberellins are a group of plant hormones that play a crucial role in regulating various developmental processes in plants. Abscisic acid (ABA) is another important plant hormone that plays a crucial role in regulating various physiological processes.
- These findings suggest that the solar-powered plasma water generator not only restores the vitality of aged seeds but also offers insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying seed rejuvenation.
- A lead scientist on the University of Arkansas team noted, “This solar-powered technology is a significant step forward in sustainable agriculture. It provides a low-cost, environmentally friendly method to enhance the germination of aged seeds, which are often discarded due to their diminished viability. By harnessing renewable energy, this innovation addresses critical challenges in food production while reducing waste.”
Story 2: Circuit boards made from leaves could green up electronics’ act
Source: Anthropocene Story by Anthropocene Team
See also: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adq3276
- Today, the world produces over 50 million metric tons of electronic waste a year. That number is slated to double by 2050. And printed circuit boards – the flat boards onto which all the circuit chips, wires and other components of an electronic gadget are soldered–-constitute a big share of this e-waste.
- Printed circuit boards are typically made of fiberglass or a composite plastic. The material is difficult to recycle and is usually either dumped in landfills or burned to separate the valuable metals for reuse.
- In a new spin on green electronics, researchers from the Dresden University of Technology have made a biodegradable electronic circuit board from tree leaves. Such leaf-based electronics, or “leaftronics” as the team has dubbed it, could reduce millions of tons of waste that humans produce every year.
- As detailed in the journal Science Advances, the team used the veiny, webbed skeleton [or veins] of leaves to create their biodegradable substrates.
- The research team started by stripping away the cells of a magnolia leaf to leave behind the white veined skeleton. They dipped the vein scaffold into ethyl cellulose, a tough biodegradable polymer.
- The resulting leaftronics substrate is smooth, flexible, transparent, and can handle high temperatures. In that sense it rivals plastic and glass, the Dresden University of Technology research team notes, but is biodegradable. The researchers noted they could use a laser to cut the substrate, print circuits on it, and solder electronic components on top.
Story 3: Artificial photosynthesis could transform power generation
Source: Earth.com Story by Rodielon Putol
Link: https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-photosynthesis-could-transform-power-generation/
- This news is all about using sunlight, instead of electricity, to split water molecules, leading to the generation of green hydrogen as a sustainable fuel source.
- In a decisive step towards the future, a team from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) and the University of Tokyo have taken a leaf out of nature’s book.
- They have created an inventive new hydrogel that could drastically improve clean energy production [of hydrogen] by harnessing the power of photosynthesis.
- This bioinspired hydrogel is capable of producing hydrogen and oxygen through a process that closely mirrors photosynthesis, offering a unique method for [hydrogen] energy generation.
- Sunlight, instead of electricity, is used to split water molecules, leading to the generation of hydrogen.
- The key to making this work is meticulously planned polymer networks .These networks govern the vital electron transfer required for water-splitting. Packed with functional molecules, like ruthenium complexes and platinum nanoparticles, the hydrogels replicate photosynthesis to generate hydrogen.
- This discovery has significant implications for clean energy. The dawn of a future where renewable hydrogen could drive industries, transport, and energy storage systems is closer than ever.
Story 4: ‘Electronic’ scalp tattoos could be next big thing in brain monitoring
Source: LiveScience.com Story by Emily Cooke
See video here: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/VOXuFPvf
- Scientists at the University of Texas, in Austin have developed a new technology that can measure brain waves using electronic, temporary tattoos.
- The researchers say the method could act as a quicker and more convenient way to monitor brain activity and diagnose neurological conditions, such as seizures, epilepsy and brain tumors, compared to traditional electroencephalogram (EEG) tests.
- During an EEG test, technicians normally use rulers and pencils to mark up a person’s head before gluing electrodes across the scalp. These electrodes are then connected via long wires to equipment that records brain activity. Alternatively, a cap with electrodes can be directly placed on the head.
- However, this whole process is time-consuming and inconvenient. It generally takes around one to two hours to set up an EEG test. The electrodes then need to be monitored about every two hours because the glue that attaches them to the scalp dries up.
- The new technology created by researchers at the University of Texas, on the other hand, uses a robot that is programmed to precisely dispense ink made of conductive material onto specific positions on a person’s scalp — saving both time and labor, say the researchers.
- The temporary electronic ink tattoos dry into a thin film that are 30 micrometers thick — approximately half the width of a human hair. Like regular EEG electrodes, these e-tattoos can then be used to detect changes in the electrical activity of the brain.
- The University of Texas researchers tested the technology on five people with short hair to compare it to conventional EEG technology. They found that the e-tattoos were just as good at detecting brain waves as the conventional EEG electrodes that were placed next to them.
- Reality Check – Currently, this new printing process still takes an hour as the team must manually correct for a persons’ head movements. However, if future adaptive robotic printing can be fully automated, the whole printing process the team believes can be done within 20 minutes.
Honorable Mentions
Story: Rocket fuel-inspired tech captures football field’s worth of CO2 in 1 teaspoon [of an innovative new material]
Source: Cornell Chronicle Story by Syl Kacapyr
Link: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/12/rocket-inspired-reaction-yields-carbon-record-surface-area
- Using a chemical reaction inspired by rocket fuel ignition, Cornell researchers have engineered a nanoporous carbon with the highest surface area ever reported, a breakthrough that is already proving beneficial for carbon-dioxide capture and energy storage technologies.
- Scientists are continually striving to enhance the porosity of carbon, which exposes more of the material’s surface and optimizes its performance in applications such as adsorbing pollutants and storing electrical energy.
- A new synthesis technique detailed Nov. 22 in the journal ACS Nano pushes carbon’s surface area to an unprecedented 4,800 square meters per gram, equivalent to about the size of a football field packed into a teaspoon of material.
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Story: CO₂-eating bacteria can recycle carbon from chimney smoke directly into new products
Source: Phys.org Story from Aarhus University
Link: https://phys.org/news/2024-12-bacteria-recycle-carbon-chimney-products.html
- Researchers from Aarhus University (AU) have developed a new technology that uses microorganisms to convert the CO2 in flue gas directly for new purposes—for example fuels or substances for the chemicals industry.
- The technology can exploit CO2 as a raw material, unlike conventional carbon capture and storage (CCS), which captures carbon from flue gas and converts it into solid matter that can then be stored underground, for example. The research has recently been published in the journal Nature Communications.
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Story: Bacteria-inspired solar lasers could power space missions one day
Source: Heriot Watt University
Link: https://www.hw.ac.uk/news/2024/nature-inspired-solar-lasers-could-sustainably-power-space-missions
- International scientists, including a team from Heriot-Watt University, has announced plans to develop a revolutionary new way of harvesting solar energy in space.
- The team aim to realize a new technology that directly converts sunlight into laser beams, facilitating the transmission of power over vast distances such as between satellites, from satellites to lunar bases, or even back to Earth. Their approach is inspired by the way bacteria and other plants and organisms convert light energy into chemical energy – a process known as photosynthesis. Repurposing natural photosynthetic structures from nature will form a key component in the new laser technology.
- If successful, their innovative technology could help global space agencies to power future endeavors like lunar bases or missions to Mars, as well as open new pathways for terrestrial wireless power transmission and sustainable energy solutions globally.
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Story: What Is Quantum AI? Everything to Know About This Far-Out Tech
Source: CNET Story by Barbara Pazur
- Artificial intelligence has been infiltrating our daily workflows and routine tasks for while now. It may be AI working in the background, as with Gemini’s integration across Google products, or you may be engaging more directly with popular content generators such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Dall-E. Looming in the not-too-distant future are amped-up virtual assistants.
- As if AI itself weren’t futuristic enough, now there’s a whole new leap forward on the horizon: quantum AI. It’s a fusion of artificial intelligence with unconventional and still largely experimental quantum computing into a super-fast and highly efficient technology. Quantum computers will be the muscles, while AI will be the brains.
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