April 2021 show notes
Story 1: GM unveils plans for lithium-metal batteries that could boost Electric Vehicle range
Source: Engadget.com Story by S. Dent
In March General Motors released more details about its next-generation Ultium [that’s U L T I U M] batteries that use lithium-metal technology to boost performance and energy density.
GM claims these next generation batteries will deliver nearly double the energy storage capacity of current lithium-ion car battery cells.
And to make them a reality GM recently signed an agreement to work with
SolidEnergy Systems.
SolidEnergy Systems is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinoff that developed the new approach for lithium-metal battery technology.
Lithium-metal batteries are not new, but, until now, would only work when heated up to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
But SolidEnergy developed an electrolyte coating for lithium metal foil that works at room temperature.
And here’s another real breakthrough — The new SolidEnergy lithium-metal batteries offer the same energy storage capacity as a traditional lithium-ion car battery cell, but in half the size!
Story 2: The World Just Moved Even Closer to a Real, Working Warp Drive
Source: Popular Mechanics Story by Tim Childers
Link: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a35820869/warp-drive-possible-with-conventional-physics/
Scientists now have a new theoretical model for faster-than-light travel that is based on conventional physics.
We’re talking about the fantasy of Star Trek’s “Warp Drive” perhaps becoming a
reality in the future.
There’s a ton of mind-bending science behind this breakthrough, which is really well explained in the Popular Mechanics article.
But I’ll give a few highlights:
To date, scientists have explored the idea of faster-than-light travel by relying on theories based on bizarre physics and exotic matter.
But Erik Lentz, who is an astrophysicist at Germany’s Göttingen [Got in Gin] University, has created a theoretical design for a warp drive that’s actually grounded in conventional physics.
Previous ideas for a warp drive required a source of exotic matter.
Exotic matter refers to matter that would violate the known laws of physics, such as a particle having a negative mass.
Lentz’s theory overcomes this barrier by reimagining the shape of warped spacetime to allow for normal matter and energy to be used instead.
Time out – what’s this warped spacetime bit about?
Remember Einstein theorized that space and time can be pushed and pulled and warped by matter.
With Lentz’ warp drive spacecraft could reach our nearest neighboring star system Alpha Centauri in four years, instead of 100,000 years with conventional rockets.
Story 3: IBM showcases new energy-efficient Artificial Intelligence accelerator chip
Source: ZD Net Story by Daphne Leprince-Ringuet
Link: https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-ibm-showcases-new-energy-efficient-chip-to-power-deep-learning/
Here’s what makes IBM’s new Artificial Intelligence accelerator chip highly energy efficient.
First, the chip is made using seven-nanometer technology.
Computer chips today are made using billions of tiny transistors.
The transistors in the new IBM AI accelerator chip are only seven billionths of a meter in size – or “seven-nanometers”!
The smaller the transistors are in a chip the less power is needed to operate.
And on top of the tiny size of the transistors, and resulting energy efficiency, IBM’s new Artificial Intelligence chip has four cores.
Computers today have multi-core processors, meaning a computer’s Central Processing Unit has within it multiple cores [or brains].
So, IBM’s AI chip has four cores [or “brains”] working together to accelerate AI programs.
The combination of seven-nanometer technology, the power efficiency that this delivers, and four cores makes the new IBM AI accelerator chip a real turn on for geeks.
Story 4: University of Buffalo computer scientists develop tool to spot deepfake photos
Source: University of Buffalo press release/news
University of Buffalo’s computer scientists have developed a tool that can identify deepfake facial photos by analyzing light reflections in the eyes.
The tool proved to be 94% effective with portrait-like photos in experiments.
The scientists realized that the two eyes of a person in a photo should have very similar reflective patterns because they should be seeing the same thing.
However, most deep fake facial images generated by artificial intelligence software fail to accurately produce similar reflective patterns in both eyes.
This may be caused when many digital photos are combined to generate the fake facial image.
The tool the University of Buffalo team created works by comparing in great detail the potential differences in shape, light intensity and other features of the reflected light in the eyes to quickly identify what’s real or a fake facial image.
Story 5: Phosphorus for Earth’s earliest life may have been forged by lightning
Source: ScienceNews.com Story by Maria Temming
Link: https://bit.ly/2OWVwOf
Until now, scientists believed that phosphorus, a key ingredient for the creation of life on earth, came to our planet via meteorites.
The phosphorus that went into building the first DNA and RNA molecules is thought to have come from a mineral called schreibersite, which is typically found in meteorites.
But researchers at the University of Leeds in England conducted an analysis of minerals forged by a lightning strike that suggests that lightning may have produced enough schreibersite on early Earth to help kickstart life.
The researchers analyzed a hunk of glassy material, which formed when lightning zapped the ground.
By firing lasers, X-rays and electrons at the hunk of glassy material, and observing how those beams interacted with it, the researchers discovered that the hunk of glassy material was studded with tiny kernels of schreibersite – which in turn provides phosphorus.
Story 6: 195 megabits per second Wi-Fi on planes coming next year
Source: SciTechDaily.com EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY (ESA) announcement
And for information about Wi-Fi speeds today: https://simpleflying.com/in-flight-wifi/
Next year commercial flight passengers may be able to enjoy a huge boost in Wi-Fi speeds – up to 195 megabits per second!
And that speed is a bit better than my home Wi-Fi network
A new inflight Wi-Fi technology is being developed by communications company OneWeb and SatixFy, a British manufacturer of electronic components.
Today’s inflight Wi-Fi technologies typically offer up to12 megabits per second using ground-based or satellite-based technology.
The ground based relies on an antenna on the airplane connecting to ground-based cell towers.
The satellite-based approach relies on geostationary satellites.
The onboard Wi-Fi aircraft terminals OneWeb and SatixFy are developing will connect to a hybrid combination of OneWeb’s low-Earth orbit satellites and existing geostationary satellite networks.
To boost speed, the terminals will use electronically steered multi-beam antenna technologies to operate simultaneously via many different satellites.
OneWeb currently has 110 satellites, with plans to expand to 650.
Certification and inflight testing will begin in 2022.
Story 7: FDA clears first AI device to spot hidden signs of COVID-19
Source: Engadget.com Story by S. Shah
Link: https://www.engadget.com/fda-clears-first-ai-covid-19-screening-device-135131666.html
The FDA recently cleared the first artificial intelligence-based screening device
designed to pinpoint lurking signs of COVID-19 in asymptomatic people.
Dubbed the Tiger Tech COVID Plus Monitor, the armband device uses light sensors and a small computer processor to check for biomarkers of the virus, such as hypercoagulation — a COVID-19 abnormality that causes the blood to clot more easily.
Once strapped to a person’s arm, the monitor’s onboard sensors start collecting pulse signals from blood flow over a period of three to five minutes.
The processor then extracts the key information from the measurements and feeds them through the device’s artificial intelligence machine learning model.
Final results, including whether the test shows positive biomarkers or is inconclusive, are represented by different colored lights.
The FDA stressed that the armband is not meant to diagnose COVID-19 or to be a substitute for a regular test.
Instead, it’s intended as more of a back-up to be deployed alongside a temperature check.
Story 8: Lab-Generated Heart Valves Grow Inside Body
Source: MedGadget.com Story by Conn Hastings
Link: https://www.medgadget.com/2021/03/lab-generated-heart-valves-grow-inside-body.html
There’s a great deal of amazing science behind this stunning achievement that’s fully covered in the article. But I’ll just provide a few key highlights.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a tissue-engineered heart valve replacement that can grow within a patient.
This breakthrough could allow children with congenital heart defects to avoid repeated surgeries to replace heart valves they have outgrown.
To create the valves, the researchers cultured donor cells and grew a heart valve within a bioreactor.
Reminder: A bioreactor is an apparatus for growing organisms [or tissue] that are used in the production of pharmaceuticals, or for the bioconversion of organic waste.
Story 9: 30 NASA Inventions We Still Use Everyday
Source: 24/7Tempo.com Story by Josie Green
Link: https://247tempo.com/30-nasa-inventions-we-still-use-everyday/
This is a really fun article, I’ll highlight five examples that caught my eye:
Eye Tracker used for laser eye surgery
Technology used to track astronauts’ eyes in space, originally intended to assess how a human’s frame of reference is affected by weightlessness, evolved to become an essential part of laser eye surgery.
The technology tracks a patient’s eye position while the surgeon operates.
Advanced water filtration devices
In the 1970s, NASA developed filtration systems that utilized iodine and cartridge filters to ensure that astronauts had access to safe, tasteless water.
This filtering technology is now used around the world to purify water in at-risk communities.
Cellphone Cameras
In the 1990s, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory invented a light, miniature imaging system that required little energy in order to take high-quality photographs from space.
The cameras in our cellphones and computer webcams today can trace their origin back to this groundbreaking technology.
CAT Scans
NASA’s digital signal technology, originally used to recreate images of the moon during the Apollo missions, is the underlying technology that makes CAT scans and MRIs possible.
DustBuster
For the Apollo moon landings, NASA partnered with Black & Decker to invent battery-powered tools for drilling and taking rock samples. This led to the creation of the cordless DustBuster.
Story 10: MIT Engineers have developed self-cooling fabrics from polyethylene, a material commonly used in plastic bags
Source: MITnews Story by Jennifer Chu
Link: https://news.mit.edu/2021/plastic-bags-recycle-fabrics-0315
This just blows my mind. Americans use an estimated 100 billion plastic bags a year! And only 1% are recycled.
When considering materials that could become the fabrics of the future, scientists have, to date, largely dismissed one widely available option: polyethylene – the material used to make plastic wrap and grocery bags.
On the plus side, current fabrics made with polyethylene can keep you cooler than most textiles because it lets heat through rather than trapping it in.
But today’s polyethylene textiles also lock in water and sweat, as they are unable to draw away and evaporate moisture.
Now, engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have spun polyethylene into fibers and yarns that absorb and evaporate water more quickly than even common textiles such as cotton, nylon, and polyester.
The MIT researchers hope that going forward fabrics made from the polyethylene fibers and yarns they’ve developed could now provide a strong incentive to recycle plastic bags and other polyethylene products.
Story 11: Free Open-Access Quantum Computer Now Operational
Source: SciTechDaily.com Sandia National Laboratories announcement
Link: https://scitechdaily.com/free-open-access-quantum-computer-now-operational/
First a quick refresh on quantum computers
Today’s traditional computers use bits —a stream of electrical or optical pulses representing the binary 1s or 0s.
Quantum computers, on the other hand, use qubits, which are typically subatomic particles such as electrons or photons.
Quantum computers are stunningly fast. For example, Google’s quantum computer is 100,000,000 times faster than the typical modern laptop.
And with that kind of power quantum computers have the potential to become major technological drivers over the coming decades.
But to realize their full potential, scientists need to gain access to and experiment with quantum computers that few universities or companies can afford.
And renting computing time on existing quantum computers is an expensive proposition as well.
Alright, here’s the game changing news — A new Department of Energy free-to-use, open-access quantum computer is ready now for the public.
And scientists from Indiana University recently became the first to begin using the DOE’s free, open access quantum computer, which is managed by Sandia National Laboratories.
Story 12: Meet the Oregon robot that could change package delivery as we know it
Source: KGW Channel 8, Portland Oregon Story by Nina Hehlhaf
See video here: https://ktvb.com/embeds/video/283-1fe39cf1-095c-4260-912f-94fdc6350566/iframe?jwsource=cl
And the company’s YouTube videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YrlR1iNVcQ
And here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUhuhIeQNos
Agility Robotics is an Albany, Oregon-based company that makes amazing humanoid robots that can walk standing upright on two legs and use their arms to pick up and carry objects.
Right off the top, however, I have to note that Agility Robotics’ human-like walking robot called Digit looks a lot like those Boston Dynamics has been creating for several years now.
But, still, they are very impressive, and a lot of fun to watch in action.
In fact, the video featured on the KGW web story is really something you have to see to believe.
It’s spooky how much these Digit robots look like humans walking around.
In the video you’ll see Digit humanoid robots crossing streets with cars, as well as traversing uneven surfaces in the woods and even navigating downhill slopes.
Recently the company achieved a milestone with the sale of two of their Digit robots to the Ford Motor Company.
Ford is using one robot to test a package delivery service, and another to practice moving assembly parts in their warehouse.
Story 13: Imagine a commercial airline jet that can fly from LA to Tokyo in three hours
Source: CNN Story by Maureen O’Hare and Paul Sillers
Link: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/aerion-as3-supersonic-jet/index.html
Florida-based aircraft maker Aerion [that’s A E R I O N] recently announced that by the end of this decade we’ll be able to jet between Los Angeles and Tokyo in under three hours!
The company’s Aerion AS3 aircraft, now in development, is a Mach 4, 50 passenger commercial airliner.
By the way, Aerion has a partnership with NASA to focus on commercial flight in the Mach 3-5 range.
To put Mach 4 speed in perspective, that’s just under 3,000 miles per hour, as compared to an average of about 560 miles per hour for a long distance commercial passenger jet.
Work on the Aerion AS3 aircraft is currently under way, with more details set to be revealed later this year.
The last supersonic passenger jet to fly was the Concorde, which ended service more than 17 years ago.
Story 14: Microbubbles Deliver Drugs Directly to Tumors
Source: MedGadget.com Story by MEDGADGET EDITORS
Link: https://www.medgadget.com/2020/12/microbubbles-deliver-drugs-directly-to-tumors.html
When fighting cancerous tumors, all too often the very drugs that can destroy a tumor tend to have significant negative effects on the rest of the body.
Doses have to be maintained at moderate levels to avoid side-effects that are even worse, in some cases, than the disease.
In light of this, researchers have been trying to develop ways to more precisely deliver cancer drugs to only where they are needed.
Now, thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds in England, we have an exciting new approach, which involves using microbubbles [half the size of red blood cells] to deliver drugs directly to cancer tumors.
The University team recently showed that they can load microbubbles with a cancer fighting drug.
Next, they attached antibodies to the microbubbles that seek out a growth hormone associated with a cancer tumor’s blood vessels.
Once the antibodies attached to the microbubbles do their job and find a target cancer tumor, ultrasound is used to break up the microbubbles and release the cancer fighting agent.