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A new type of killer T-cell can stop attacks on healthy tissue | Interesting Engineering (01:14)

A team of scientists has discovered a brand new form of human T cell that suppresses attacks on healthy tissues, which could lead to treatments for illnesses ranging from lupus to cancer.T cells are significant white blood cells in the immune system, playing a crucial role in adaptive immune response by killing diseased or malignant cells

Studies in mice have shown that some of these cells may also kill T cells responsible for orchestrating autoimmune responses.Believed that humans share the same cells but not able to prove it

The newly discovered class of T cells in the human immune system may be capable of killing other T cells, Aid in the healing of infections and reducing autoimmune disorders.

Stanford researchers evaluated the number of these human cells in patients with autoimmune illnesses like multiple sclerosis, lupus, and celiac disease to see if they are immunological inhibitors. Saw that the specific T cells (CD8) were more abundant in patients' blood than in healthy people's blood.

Gathered in regions of the body that had been injured by the autoimmune response like the joints in people with rheumatoid arthritis 

The researchers looked at genetically altered mice that had 50 percent to 75 percent fewer suppressive CD8 cells than normal mice to see how much protection the cells provide against autoimmunity.Experienced kidney inflammation after being exposed to viruses that can cause autoimmune illness. (Control did not)

The paper provides data that these CD8 cells exist in humans, and could indicate that techniques that enhance the number of cells in the body may aid in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

 

Tiny 'skyscrapers' help bacteria convert sunlight into electricity | TechXplore (05:24)

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, used 3D printing to create grids of high-rise 'nano-housing' where sun-loving bacteria can grow quickly.3D-printed custom electrodes out of metal oxide nanoparticles that are tailored to work with the cyanobacteria as they perform photosynthesis.

Developed a printing technique that allows control over multiple length scales, making the structures highly customisable

They extracted the bacteria's waste electrons, left over from photosynthesis, which could be used to power small electronics.

These researchers have found that providing the bacteria with the right kind of home increases the amount of energy they can extract by over an order of magnitude.

For several years, researchers have been attempting to 're-wire' the photosynthesis mechanisms of cyanobacteria in order to extract energy from them.

Lead researcher,  Dr. Jenny Zhang, stated: “There's been a bottleneck in terms of how much energy you can actually extract from photosynthetic systems, but no one understood where the bottleneck was … Most scientists assumed that the bottleneck was on the biological side, in the bacteria, but we've found that a substantial bottleneck is actually on the material side."

Dr. Zhang ends it off by talking on cyanobacteria:“Cyanobacteria are versatile chemical factories. Our approach allows us to tap into their energy conversion pathway at an early point, which helps us understand how they carry out energy conversion so we can use their natural pathways for renewable fuel or chemical generation."

Concept Touchscreen Uses Temperature to Create Feel of Friction | Gizmodo (10:34)

Researchers at Texas A&M have come up with a novel way for touchscreens to feel more than just perfectly smooth by fooling a user’s sense of touch through temperature changes.

Some theorize a full touchscreen future, but the article argues that being able to feel physical keys with our fingers is an important part of the muscle memory that allows many of us to type at impressive speeds without having to look down and hunt-and-peck on a keyboard.

The researchers in a recent study, found th

News

Sound Waves Convert Stem Cells Into Bone in Regenerative Breakthrough | Good News Network (01:30)

Researchers, from RMIT, have used sound waves to turn stem cells into bone cells through the precision power of high-frequency sound waves.Tissue engineering advance

Help patients regrow bone lost to cancer or degenerative disease.

A key challenge in regrowing bone is the need for large amounts of bone cells that will thrive and flourish once implanted in the target area.Process right now of converting stem cells is complicated and expensive. 

Let’s not forget that most of the previous research used stem cells extracted from bone marrow, a highly painful process.

The research team showed stem cells treated with high-frequency sound waves turned into bone cells quickly and efficiently.Effective on multiple types of cells including fat-derived stem cells, which are far less painful to extract from a patient.

The high-frequency sound waves used in the stem cell treatment were generated on a low-cost microchip device developed by RMIT.Can be used to precisely manipulate cells, fluids or materials.

Co-lead researcher Dr Amy Gelmi said the new approach was faster and simpler than other methods:“The sound waves cut the treatment time usually required to get stem cells to begin to turn into bone cells by several days … This method also doesn’t require any special ‘bone-inducing’ drugs and it’s very easy to apply to the stem cells. Our study found this new approach has strong potential to be used for treating the stem cells, before we either coat them onto an implant or inject them directly into the body for tissue engineering.”

The next stage in the research is investigating methods to upscale the platform, working towards the development of practical bioreactors to drive efficient stem cell differentiation.

 

Artificial neurons connect to biological ones to control living plants | New Atlas (06:48)

Researchers at Linköping University have created artificial organic neurons and synapses that can integrate with natural biological systems, and demonstrated this by making a Venus flytrap close on demand.They're made out of polymers that can conduct either positive or negative ions.

The team optimized these transistors and used them to build artificial neurons and synapses, and connect them to biological systems.Transistors detect concentrations of ions with certain charges, they switch, producing a signal that can then be picked up by other neurons. 

Importantly, biological neurons operate on these same ion signals, meaning artificial and natural nerve cells can be connected.

To demonstrate the new system, the researchers hooked their artificial neurons up to a live Venus flytrap. And sure enough, electrical pulses from the artificial neurons were strong enough to trigger the flytrap to close its jaws, but at under 0.6 volts, gentle enough to not harm the plant.

The researchers believe they could find themselves bridging the gap between artificial and natural neurons for more responsive prosthetic limbs, implants, and robotics.

 

Meta announces plans to build an AI-powered 'universal speech translator' | The Verge (10:05) 

Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has announced an ambitious new AI research project to create translation software that works for “everyone in the world.” Part of an event focusing on the broad range of benefits Meta believes AI can offer

The company says that although commonly spoken languages like English, Mandarin, and Spanish are well catered to by current translation tools, roughly 20 percent of the world’s population do not speak languages covered by these systems.

Meta says it wants to overcome these challenges by deploying new machine learning techniques in two specific areas. 

First Focus, dubbed No Language Left BehindConcentrate on building AI models that can learn to translate language using fewer training examples.

The second, Universal Speech Translatoraim to bui

News:

Scientists create universal blood type organs for transplant | Interesting Engineering (01:34)

There are 106,435 people in the United States waiting for an organ transplant.

Someone in need of a heart or lung spends an average of four months on the recipient list before a suitable organ becomes available.Waiting for a kidney typically lasts five years.

These averages don't reflect the patient's blood type

Marcelo Cypel, a thoracic surgeon, tells IE that people with type O blood are 20 percent more likely to die while waiting for a lung than patients with type A blood. 45 percent of people in the U.S. having type O blood

The reason for that disparity lies in the immune systemSomeone with type O blood has an immune system that will attack a transplanted organ that comes from a donor of any other blood type.

The differences in blood type can be fatal: A blood transfusion of just 50 milliliters of incompatible blood can kill a person.

The separation by blood type also leads to missed opportunities for a new lease on life if someone has the wrong blood type.Cypel expands on that stating, “There are situations where we may get a B donor, but we don't have a B recipient … In that case, today, we just don't use that organ; that organ gets buried.”

In a recent study, researchers provide a potential solution: They used a combination of technologies to convert eight type-A lungs into type-O lungs, which are far less likely to be attacked by a patient's immune system, regardless of their blood type.

People with type O blood are highly desirable organ donors because their antigens are not adorned with the type-A triangles or type-B squares that would provoke the other's immune systems. The researchers figured out how to use enzymes to remove billions of type-B squares or type-A triangles while leaving the circles intact. 

Convert lungs to type O by cutting off the extra sugars. 

By showing that the enzymes can dramatically lower the number of antigens on lungs that weren't suitable for transplantation into human patients, the researchers have taken a big step toward proving to stakeholders that the research could be transformative.

Scientists boost the mosquito-killing effect of natural clove oil | New Atlas (07:16)

The best method of limiting the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases is to kill the mosquito larvaeInvolves the use of synthetic insecticides, which accumulate in soil, water and food potentially causing health problems in both people and wildlife

Mosquitoes typically build up a resistance to insecticides over time.

A new study now suggests a method of improving the effectiveness of a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative – clove oil.

A substance called Eugenol, which is found in clove (Syzygium aromaticum), can kill the larva of the dengue mosquito in 24 hours.Can be prepared at home by blending 60 clove buds and a cup of water. 

The oil is safe for the environment, and the cloves from which it's made are inexpensive and readily available in regions where mosquito-transmitted diseases such as malaria, Zika and dengue fever are widespread.

Scientists from India's Gauhati University set out to boost the oil’s larvae-killing capabilities.They found that a liquid organic compound by the name of piperonyl butoxide (PBO) had a particularly pronounced lethal effect on Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae.

Assoc. Prof. Bulbuli Khanikor stated, “The use of synergists, either synthetic or natural, along with insecticides like eugenol helps to prevent resistance development … In the present study, combining synergists like piperonyl butoxide with eugenol was found to enhance the effectiveness of eugenol significantly."

It should be noted that while PBO is considered to be only minimally toxic to humans, it is highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates and tadpolesIdeally be limited to the puddles where mosquitos frequently breed, as opposed to larger marshes or ponds.

Easy aluminum nanoparticles for rapid, efficient hydro

News:

Next-generation spinal implants help people with severe paralysis walk, cycle, and swim | Science.Org (01:40)

New Synthetic Tooth Enamel Is Harder and Stronger Than the Real Thing | SciTechDaily (09:05)

We Just Got Closer to Finding a Link Between Alzheimer's And Circadian Rhythms | Science Alert (14:16)

Microsoft Mitigates 3.47Tbps DDoS Attack, a New Record | PCMag (21:29)

Major breakthrough on nuclear fusion energy | BBC News (25:24)

NEWS:

"Impossible" 2D material is light as plastic and stronger than steel | New Atlas (01:53)

Team develops new therapy using magnetic seeds to heat and kill cancer | MedicalXPress (9:09)

Michigan wants to develop a wireless EV-charging road by next year | Teslarati (15:33)

Tesla Model S Goes 752 Miles on Startup's Battery Swap | The Drive (19:44)

New 'game-changing' technology removes 99% of carbon dioxide from the air | Interesting Engineering (25:36)

News:

Robot successfully performs keyhole surgery on pigs without human help | Unexpectech (01:24)

Frog regrows amputated leg after drug treatment  | The Guardian (08:47)

Anti-aging vaccine clears out dysfunctional cells that cause disease | New Atlas (15:01)

Using 3D printing for alloy materials innovation | TechXPlore (19:46)

A Shipping Group Has Launched the World's First Offshore Charging Station | Interesting Engineering (24:40)

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NASA Solar Sail Spacecraft to Chase Tiny Asteroid After Artemis I Launch | SciTechDaily (01:25)

Altos bursts out of stealth with $3B, a dream team C-suite and a wildly ambitious plan to reverse disease | FierceBiotech (08:11)

Patient-specific spinal model may predict the effect of disc implants | New Atlas (16:28)

Intel Is Investing $20 Billion Towards a Massive New Semiconductor Plant | Interesting Engineering (21:10)

Elon Musk's brain chip firm Neuralink lines up clinical trials in humans | The Guardian (27:10)

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NEWS:

'Ocean battery' targets renewable energy dilemma | TechXplore (00:57)

A wind turbine sitting idle on a calm day or spinning swiftly when power demand is already met poses a problem for renewables, and is one researchers think can be tackled under the sea.

The company, Dutch startup Ocean Grazer, has come up with the concept of a “ocean battery”

relies on massive flexible bladders on the seabed, which are filled up with seawater by the wind farm.

When the power is needed, the pressure of the ocean squeezes the water through the system on the seafloor that includes turbines—and the result is electricity.

Systems that rely on pressure are already used in hydroelectric dams that pump water into the reservoir behind the dam when electricity demand falls, effectively storing it to come back through the facility's turbines.

Bliek, the Ocean Grazer CEO, said undersea systems take advantage of the pressure below the ocean that is free, while creating a system that he said is about 80 percent efficient in storing energy.

Bliek said his company aims to have an offshore system in place by 2025, though one will be deployed onshore in the northern Netherlands by 2023.

Though various aspects of energy storage via pressure are not new, the pairing of it with green energy sources carries significant potential.

 

Compelling Evidence That Multiple Sclerosis Is Caused by Epstein-Barr Virus | SciTechDaily (06:37)

Multiple sclerosis (MS), a progressive disease that affects 2.8 million people worldwide and for which there is no definitive cure, is likely caused by infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), according to a study led by Harvard researchers.

Establishing a causal relationship between the virus and the disease has been difficult because EBV infects approximately 95% of adults, MS is a relatively rare disease, and the onset of MS symptoms begins about ten years after EBV infection.

A study was conducted on more than 10 million young adults on active duty in the U.S. military and identified 955 who were diagnosed with MS during their period of service.

The team analyzed serum samples taken biennially by the military and determined the soldiers’ EBV status at time of first sample and the relationship between EBV infection and MS onset

the risk of MS increased 32-fold after infection with EBV

Serum levels of neurofilament light chain, a biomarker of the nerve degeneration typical in MS, increased

The delay between EBV infection and the onset of MS may be partially due the disease’s symptoms being undetected during the earliest stages and partially due to the evolving relationship between EBV and the host’s immune system.

Alberto Ascherio, senior author of the study stated, “This is a big step because it suggests that most MS cases could be prevented by stopping EBV infection, and that targeting EBV could lead to the discovery of a cure for MS.”

Regrowing knee cartilage with an electric kick | MedicalXPress (12:57)

Arthritis is a common and painful disease caused by damage to our joints. Normally pads of cartilage cushion those spots. But injuries or age can wear it away. 

As cartilage deteriorates, bone begins to hit bone

The best treatments available try to replace the damaged cartilage with a healthy piece taken from elsewhere in the body or a donor

healthy cartilage is in limited supply

The best possible treatment would be to regrow healthy cartilage in the damaged joint itself.

"The regrown cartilage doesn't behave like native cartilage. It breaks, under the normal stresses of the joint", says UConn bioengineer Thanh Nguyen.

Nguyen's lab has also been working on cartilage regeneration, and they've discovered that electrical signals are key to normal growth.

A steady electrical field encourages cells to colonize and grow into cartilage.

They designed a tissue scaffold made out of nanofibers of poly-L lactic acid (PLLA), a biodegradable polymer often used to stitch up surgical wounds.

has a neat property called pi

MIT Engineers Test An Idea For A New Hovering Rover | Brighter Side News (01:28)

Due to the lack of atmosphere, the moon and other airless bodies such as asteroids can build up an electric field.Because of direct exposure to the sun and surrounding plasma.

Moon’s electric charge is strong enough to levitate dust more than 1 meter above the ground.

Engineers at NASA and elsewhere have recently proposed harnessing this natural surface charge to levitate a gliderMylar wings, which is a material that holds the same charge as surfaces on airless bodies. 

Thinking of magnets, the same charged sides would repel causing a levitation effect 

A design would likely be limited to small asteroids, as larger planetary bodies would have a stronger, counteracting gravitational pull. Or would it?MIT’s rover could get around this

The concept resembles a retro-style, disc-shaped flying saucer, and uses tiny ion beams to both charge up the vehicle and boost the surface’s natural charge.Generates a relatively large repulsive force between the vehicle and the ground with a small amount of power

 In an initial feasibility study, the researchers show that such an ion boost should be strong enough to levitate a small, 2-pound vehicle on the moon and large asteroids.

Large asteroid using a 10-kilovolt ion source

The Moon the same rover would need a 50-kilovolt source

Design relies on the use of miniature ion thrusters, called ionic-liquid ion sources

Using a basic disc model with ion thrusters

Could achieve levitation of about one centimeter off the ground

Co-author Paulo Lozano explains why levitation on a rover would be good:“With a levitating rover, you don’t have to worry about wheels or moving parts … An asteroid’s terrain could be totally uneven, and as long as you had a controlled mechanism to keep your rover floating, then you could go over very rough, unexplored terrain, without having to dodge the asteroid physically.”

 

MIT unveils the world's longest flexible fiber battery. You can weave and wash it in fabrics | ZME Science (08:01)

Engineers at MIT have created a rechargeable lithium-ion battery in the form of very long fiber.Could be used to 3D print batteries in any shape.

The proof of concept is 140 meters long, making it the longest flexible fiber battery thus far.Length is arbitrary according to the engineers since they could do much longer lengths.

Fiber batteries are not new, however previously they have all the lithium and other key materials outside the fiber, which would leave them unprotected.This Fiber is the opposite with the new system embedding the battery inside the fiber 

This provides a protective outside coating, which gives the fiber both stability and waterproofing.

The thickness of the fiber device is only a few hundred microns, much thinner than any previous attempts at a fiber battery.

To demonstrate the functionality of this proof of concept, the researchers used the fiber battery to power a “Li-Fi” communications system, the kind that uses pulses of light to transmit data rather than radio waves. Includes a microphone, pre-amp, transistor, and diodes

The 140-meter-long battery fiber has a rated energy storage capacity of 123 milliamp-hours  Enough to power a smartwatch or phone. 

Battery fibers could be woven to produce two-dimensional fabrics like those used for clothing, but could also be used in 3-D printing to create solid objects, such as casings.Because the system creates it all without having to add anything else it would be one-step printing.

 

Scientists Can Now Print Metal Objects That Are Only 25 Nanometers Long | Interesting Engineering (13:08)

A group of scientists has set a new benchmark in 3D printing by succeeding in fabricating ultrasmall metal objects using a new technique.

According to the team, their system can be used to make objects out of copper just 25 billionths of a meter in diameter (equivalent to 25 nanometres).Equivalent to 195 copper atoms in a row.

Their elect

Launch Day From Nasa.gov:

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched at 7:20 a.m. EST Saturday (Dec. 25th) on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America.A joint effort with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, 

The Webb observatory is NASA’s revolutionary flagship mission to seek the light from the first galaxies in the early universe and to explore our own solar system, as well as planets orbiting other stars, called exoplanets. 

Ground teams began receiving telemetry data from Webb about five minutes after launch.`

Approximately 30 minutes after launch, Webb unfolded its solar array, and mission managers confirmed that the solar array was providing power to the observatory.

Engineers and ground controllers will conduct the first of three mid-course correction burns about 12.5 hours after launchFiring thrusters to maneuver the spacecraft on an optimal trajectory toward its destination in orbit about 1 million miles from Earth.

 Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2 (L2)

The world’s largest and most complex space science observatory will now begin six months of commissioning in space. At the end of commissioning, Webb will deliver its first images. 

Webb’s program director at NASA Headquarters, Gregory L. Robinson, talks about the launch: “The launch of the Webb Space Telescope is a pivotal moment – this is just the beginning for the Webb mission … Now we will watch Webb’s highly anticipated and critical 29 days on the edge. When the spacecraft unfurls in space, Webb will undergo the most difficult and complex deployment sequence ever attempted in space. Once commissioning is complete, we will see awe-inspiring images that will capture our imagination.”

 

The Time Machine from The Conversation:

Benefit of the James Webb Telescope, and most space telescopes, is that they are time machines.Any light that hits a telescope (i.e. image) you will be looking at old light. For instance looking at an object 10,000 light years away if you have an image you will be looking at 10,000 years in the past.Light would take 10,000 years to reach Earth.

The further out in space astronomers look, the further back in time we are looking.JWST is trying to look FAR back. 

JWST is specifically designed to try to look at light from the end of the Dark Ages by detecting the faint infrared light of the earliest stars or galaxies. Dark Ages: Around 400,000 years after the Big Bang, the universe was 10 million light years across and the temperature had cooled to 5,500 F (3,000 C). 

The universe would have been glowing dull red like a giant heat lamp.

As the expanding universe became bigger and colder, the high energy particles thinned out and everything faded to black. 

The Dark Ages ended when gravity formed the first stars and galaxies that eventually began to emit the first light.

Compared to massive, bright galaxies of today, the first objects (i.e stars & galaxies) were very small. Additionally, due to the constant expansion of the universe, they’re now tens of billions of light years away from Earth.

This leads to the why infrared is important:As the universe expands, it continuously stretches the wavelength of light traveling through it. That leads to a “redshift.”

Light shifts from shorter wavelengths – like blue or white light – to longer wavelengths like red or infrared light when stretched.

Therefore, by the time light emitted by an early star or galaxy 13 billion years ago reaches any telescope on Earth, it has been stretched by a factor of 10.It arrives as infrared light!

Comparing it to Hubble,  JWST has a 15 times wider field of view on its camera, collecting six times more light and its sensors are tuned to be most sensitive to infrared light.

How will Data be collected?

The strategy will be to stare deeply at one patch of sky for a long time, collecting as much light and information from the most distant and oldest galaxies as possible. 

What to look for in the next 6 mont