Show Notes 21 April 2023
Story 1: Breakthrough discovery suggests gravity created light in the earliest days of the universe
Source: BGR.com Story by Joshua Hawkins
Link: https://bgr.com/science/breakthrough-discovery-suggests-gravity-can-create-light/
- According to a new paper authored by an international team of scientists, gravity may have created light in the earliest days of the universe.
- The researchers contend that early gravitational waves may have been so strong that they created radiation because they shook space-time so hard.
- Space-time, in physical science, is a single concept that recognizes the union of space and time, first proposed by the mathematician Hermann Minkowski in 1908 as a way to reformulate Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity (1905).
- Quick refresh on the special theory of relativity: Essentially, it’s a theory of gravity. The basic idea is that instead of being an invisible force that attracts objects to one another, gravity is a curving or warping of space. The more massive an object, the more it warps the space around it.
- See video tutorial on gravitational waves here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhbMpe17fzA&t=1s
- The basic theory behind the belief that gravity could create light rests heavily on the forcefulness and strength of gravitational waves found in the early universe, back when the early universe formed and experienced an event that scientists call inflation.
- According to this proposed theory about the “inflation” event, the universe expanded greatly in a very short time, creating a sloshing mess of gravitational waves that would have collided with each other over and over again.
- In the days of the early universe, gravity-driven waves may have become very strong, giving them the ability to create light in an entirely new way.
- Scientists also say it’s possible that some of the gravitational waves in the early universe were almost frozen in place, holding massive amounts of energy in one location.
- The scientists propose that these areas may have excited the universe’s electromagnetic field at the time, creating radiation and light.
Story 2: World’s first commercially available smart gun featuring fingerprint unlocking
Source: Axios Story by Esteban L. Hernandez
Source: Gizmodo.com Story by Mack DeGeurin
Link: https://gizmodo.com/smart-gun-firearm-biofire-technologies-1850337102
Link: https://smartgun.com/ [website for the company making the gun]
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI35-4GdyLo
- The first thing that came to my mind is this would be a gun you’d expect James Bond to have – one only he could use!
- It’s what Biofire Technologies, a company based in Broomfield, Colorado, on Thursday April 13 announced what the company claims is the world’s first biometric handgun, the Biofire Smart Gun.
- The 9mm handgun is designed for home defense, and to prevent firearm deaths among children, according to Kai Kloepfer, Biofire Technologies’ founder.
- The gun has been in development for more than a decade, with founder Kloepfer telling Bloomberg News he started working on the project following the Aurora theater shooting in 2012.
- The gun uses fingerprints and 3D infrared facial recognition technology to allow only authorized people to shoot it.
- The gun automatically locks when it leaves the authorized person’s hand.
- For authorized users, the Biofire Smart Gun operates just like any other firearm.
- Biofire’s proprietary Guardian Biometric Engine uses integrated fingerprint and 3D facial recognition systems to verify your identity in any situation.
- Users can instantly unlock your firearm just by picking it up – no codes, buttons, or gadgets required.
- Biofire claims a user’s biometric data is stored on the gun and never leaves it.
- It’s powered by a rechargeable, lithium-ion battery, and uses encryption technology to ensure it can’t be modified into a conventional handgun.
- The cost: The gun can be preordered with a refundable $149 deposit and will cost $1,499.
- And here’s something interesting from the company website, checkout the “Where we come from” listing below:
- Biofire’s new smart gun will have plenty of competition soon.
- Multiple startup smart gun manufacturers, including LodeStar Works and SmartGunz LLC are both planning to release their models which rely on a mix of fingerprints and radio frequencies for identity verification in the near future.
Story 3: New electronic multifunctional patch for plants offers early detection of disease and other issues
Source: Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News
Link: https://www.genengnews.com/agbio/plant-disease-early-detection-via-use-of-multifunctional-patch/
Source 2: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ade2232
- Scientists at North Carolina State University report that they have developed an electronic patch that can be applied to the leaves of plants to monitor crops for different pathogens—such as viral and fungal infections—and stresses such as drought or salinity.
- The patches are placed on the underside of leaves, which have a higher density of stomata (the pores that allow the plant to “breathe” by exchanging gases with the environment).
- The patches themselves are small–only 30 millimeters long [about 1.2 inches]–and consist of a flexible material containing sensors and silver nanowire-based electrodes.
- In testing, the researchers found the patch was able to detect a viral infection in tomatoes more than a week before growers would be able to detect any visible symptoms of disease.
- According to one of the lead researchers: “This is important because the earlier growers can identify plant diseases or fungal infections, the better able they will be to limit the spread of the disease and preserve their crop.”
- In addition, the more quickly growers can identify abiotic stresses, such as irrigation water contaminated by saltwater intrusion, the better able they will be to address relevant challenges and improve crop yield.
- Abiotic means physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.
- The new patch tracks both biochemical and biophysical signals of the plant and its microenvironment. Sensors for detecting volatile organic compounds, temperature, plant water loss, and humidity are integrated into a single platform.
- A machine learning model was also developed to analyze multichannel sensor data for quantitative detection of tomato spotted wilt virus as early as four days after inoculation.
- The researchers say they are two steps away from having a patch that growers can use.
- First, they need to make the patches wireless
- And next they need to test the patches in the field, outside of greenhouses, to ensure the patches will work under real-world conditions.
Story 4: Scientists have learned how to turn blood sugar into electricity to power insulin pump implant
Source: Popular Mechanics Story by Tim Newcomb
Source: ETH Zurich press release
- In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. This means that patients have to obtain the hormone externally to regulate their blood sugar levels.
- Today, this is mostly done via insulin pumps that are attached directly to the body.
- These devices, as well as other medical applications such as pacemakers, require a reliable energy supply, which at present is met primarily by power from either single-use or rechargeable batteries.
- Now, a team of researchers from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel have put a seemingly futuristic idea into practice.
- They have developed an implantable fuel cell that uses excess blood sugar (glucose) from tissue to generate electrical energy. The researchers have combined the fuel cell with artificial beta cells developed by their group several years ago.
- Beta cells are cells that make insulin, a hormone that controls the level of glucose (a type of sugar) in the blood.
- These artificial beta cells produce insulin at the touch of a button and effectively lower blood glucose levels much like their natural role models in the pancreas.
- At the heart of the fuel cell is an anode (electrode) made of copper-based nanoparticles, which the team created specifically for this application that splits glucose into gluconic acid and a proton to generate electricity, which sets an electric circuit in motion.
- Wrapped in a fabric and coated with alginate, an algae product approved for medical use, the fuel cell resembles a small tea bag that can be implanted under the skin. The alginate soaks up body fluid and allows glucose to pass from the tissue into the fuel cell within.
- In a second step, the researchers coupled the fuel cell with a capsule containing artificial beta cells. These can be stimulated to produce and secrete insulin using electric current or blue LED light.
- The result:
- The system combines sustained power generation and controlled insulin delivery.
- As soon as the fuel cell registers excess glucose, it starts to generate power.
- This electrical energy is then used to stimulate the artificial beta cells to produce and release insulin into the blood.
- As a result, blood sugar dips to a normal level. Once it falls below a certain threshold value, the production of electricity and insulin stops.
- This is a prototype, and it is unclear whether it will be brought to market.