Tag: team

Researchers grew a fully mature human egg in a lab

Researchers in the UK and the US have taken human eggs in their most early stage and developed them to maturity in a lab for the first time. It’s a big achievement that could open up new avenues for infertility treatment and give scientists a better understanding of how the egg development process works and how it can go wrong. While this has been done before in mice, experiments of which have resulted in live offspring, this is the first time it has been done with human eggs. The research team had previously developed a protocol wherein they could take eggs in later stages of development and bring them to maturity, and they expanded that protocol in an attempt to develop eggs from start to finish in the lab. They took samples of ovarian tissue from 10 women while they were undergoing caesarean section surgery and cultured sections of that tissue that have the ability to release an egg, structures known as follicles. The follicles were cultured in a multi-step procedure that allowed for eggs to develop. At the end of each step, follicles, and eventually eggs, that had successfully matured further were moved to the following step. The team initially isolated 87 follicles and by the end of the 21-day procedure, nine eggs reached a stage of maturity that would in theory allow them to be fertilized with sperm and develop into an embryo. While only 37 percent of the early-stage follicles resulted in a fully grown egg and only 10 percent achieved levels of maturity that could allow for reproduction, it’s still an important step in the study of egg development, or oogenesis. Ali Abbara, an endocrinology senior lecturer at the Imperial College of London who wasn’t involved with the study, told Reuters , “The technology remains at an early stage, and much more work is needed to make sure that the technique is safe and optimized before we ascertain whether these eggs remain normal during the process, and can be fertilized to form embryos that could lead to healthy babies.” Evelyn Telfer, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh and the leader of the study, told Reuters that the team is now working on optimizing this process and evaluating how healthy the resulting eggs are. One next step is to try to fertilize the eggs with sperm to see if they can result in a viable embryo — work that requires a licence that the team doesn’t yet have. This work could help improve IVF treatments in the future and could particularly help girls with cancer. They typically have pieces of their ovaries removed and preserved prior to receiving cancer treatments that might damage their follicles. However, if there’s a chance that the tissue has cancer cells, it can’t be reimplanted later on. If doctors could mature those eggs outside of her body, those eggs could still be used without introducing risk to the woman. Additionally, in cases where women have a condition that prevents the development of their eggs, this type of research could help scientists understand why that happens. “There are several conditions in which women lose their eggs much earlier in life, or they don’t grow, ” Telfer told New Scientist . “If we could understand the process…we could develop treatments for that.” The research was published in Molecular Human Reproduction . Via: Reuters Source: Molecular Human Reproduction

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Researchers grew a fully mature human egg in a lab

Bloodhound preps for land speed record with 200MPH test run

It’s finally happened. Nine years after the Bloodhound project was announced at London’s Science Museum , the supersonic car has completed its first test runs. At a closed-off airstrip near Newquay airport, Cornwall, the monstrous vehicle roared across the tarmac at roughly 200 MPH. That figure is a long way off the team’s ultimate goal of 763 MPH, however, and a new world land speed record. Eventually, the team hopes to crack 1, 000 MPH at the dusty Kalahari desert in South Africa. Before then, however, the team had to prove that the car was more than vapourware and broken promises. Today, the car relied on a Eurojet EJ200 jet engine for thrust. That on its own could take the car to 650 MPH. The final configuration will also have a rocket system provided by Nordic aerospace company Nammo. For the initial record attempt, the Bloodhound will use a single monopropellant rocket which can produce around 40kN of thrust. It will then be swapped out for a hybrid rocket system that, combined with the jet engine, can carry the car to 1, 000 MPH. In total, the vehicle will produce 212kN of thrust, which is eight times the power output of a Formula 1 starting grid. To install the rocket system, however, Bloodhound needs cash. Funding has always been a problem for the team in Bristol, which relies on sponsorship and fan donations to operate. The trial runs in Cornwall, then, serve two purposes; they’re a vital form of testing, giving the team valuable data and insight into the practicalities of running the vehicle. They are, though, also a marketing tool which the team hopes will attract the interest and, ultimately, the cash of a deep-pocketed investor. Without extra funding, the team will have to delay its record attempt in late 2018. Bloodhound is driven by Andy Green, an RAF pilot who set the previous world land speed record with the Thrust SSC in 1997. He’ll be piloting the vehicle both for the initial land speed record (the team hopes to hit about 800 MPH) and the 1, 000 MPH attempt. Bloodhound is a complicated and intimidating car to operate, measuring 13.4 meters and weighing roughly seven and a half tonnes. In Cornwall, however, Green seemed unfazed —excited even — as he clambered into the cockpit. We’re not surprised; he’s waited as long as the public to finally push the accelerator pedal. Here’s hoping it won’t be quite as long before we see Bloodhound run again.

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Bloodhound preps for land speed record with 200MPH test run

Synthetic muscle breakthrough could lead to ‘lifelike’ robots

A breakthrough in soft robotics means scientists are now one step closer to creating lifelike machines. Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a 3D printed synthetic tissue that can act as active muscle. The material, which can push, pull, bend, and twist (thanks to its use of silicon rubber and ethanol-dispensing micro-bubbles) is also capable of carrying 1, 000 times its own weight. Not only could the invention result in super-strong machines (like a Terminator that works in manufacturing ), but it will also release soft robots from their current shackles. You see, synthetic muscle tech is presently reliant on tethered external compressors or high voltage equipment. But, robots fitted with this new tissue could theoretically be freed up to move around like humans, enabling them to better grip and pick up objects. Which is a big deal, because the plan is to eventually get these bots to help with non-invasive surgeries and to care for the elderly — among other tasks. The researchers are touting the material as the first synthetic muscle that can withstand both high-actuation stress and high strain. “We’ve been making great strides toward making robots minds, but robot bodies are still primitive, ” said lead scientist Hod Lipson. “This is a big piece of the puzzle and, like biology, the new actuator can be shaped and reshaped a thousand ways. We’ve overcome one of the final barriers to making lifelike robots.” After 3D printing it into the desired shape, the team electrically actuated the artificial muscle using a thin resistive wire and low-power (8V). They then tested it in a variety of robotic applications, where it demonstrated significant expansion-contraction ability. The researchers claim the synthetic tissue is also capable of expanding up to 900 percent when electrically heated to 80°C. Building on their initial findings, the team plans to incorporate conductive materials to replace the need for the connecting wire. Further down the line, they intend to combine it with artificial intelligence that can learn to control the muscle, resulting in (they hope) “natural” movement. Source: Columbia Engineering

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Synthetic muscle breakthrough could lead to ‘lifelike’ robots

Crowdfunded reMarkable e-paper tablet ships on August 29

 The idea of using technology to replicate the simplicity and versatility of paper is an enduring one, but no device has nailed it just yet. That may change with the reMarkable, a unique and ambitious tablet that aims to do what paper does, but better. And four years after the concept was first proposed, the team is finally shipping its first devices on August 29. Read More

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Crowdfunded reMarkable e-paper tablet ships on August 29

A nearby Sun-like star hosts four Earth-sized planets

Exoplanet discoveries are getting pretty common , so it takes something special to catch our attention. A star called Tau Ceti fits the bill, as it’s just 12 light years away and unlike the Trappist-1 red dwarf, is very similar to our own yellow dwarf (G-type) sun. Researchers have determined that it probably hosts planets like Earth that sit in its habitable zone. The only hitch is that the star is known to have a massive debris disk that probably bombards its worlds with asteroids, so living there would be a pretty big challenge. Four rocky worlds were found, with two in the habitable zone, about 0.5 and 1.25 times as far from their star as the Earth is from the Sun. That works out well, as Tau Ceti is a bit smaller (78 percent) than the Sun, and is correspondingly less intense. The smallest of the worlds is about 1.7 times the size of Earth, but the habitable zone planets are much larger “super Earths” that could potentially support life. However, Tau Ceti is known to have a big debris disk that probably produces far more impact events via comets and asteroids than we have on Earth. While that makes life improbable, the discovery is still important because of the techniques used. On smaller stars, planets can be detected by the “transit method, ” observing the dimming of light as planets pass in front. That doesn’t work as well for bigger stars like Tau Ceti though, as the light levels drown out any dimming. The W.M. Keck HIRES-MAGIQ detector Instead, the team observed wobbles in the star’s movement as small as 30 centimeters (one foot) per second. That has only become possible recently by combining multiple observations from different instruments and sophisticated modeling. In this case, the team obtained observations from the HARPS spectrograph on the European Southern Observatory in Chile, and Keck HIRES (above) on the W.M. Keck Observatory in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. “We can [now] disentangle the noise due to stellar surface activity from the very tiny signals generated by the gravitational tugs from Earth-sized orbiting planets, ” said UC Santa Cruz Professor and co-author Steven Vogt. “Our detection of such weak wobbles is a milestone in the search for Earth analogs.” Using the new techniques, the same team actually ruled out two planets they previously identified in 2013 as planets. “But no matter how we look at the star, there seem to be at least four rocky planets orbiting it, ” said coauthor Mikko Tuomi. We can disentangle the noise due to stellar surface activity from the very tiny signals generated by the gravitational tugs from Earth-sized orbiting planets. Our detection of such weak wobbles is a milestone in the search for Earth analogs. The team hopes to refine the techniques to find wobbles as small as 10 cm (4 inches) per second, small enough to detect Earth-sized planets. That could be crucial, because while its easier to spot exoplanets around dim red dwarf stars like Trappist-1 using the transit method, astronomers are beginning to wonder if such stars can actually support life. Planets tend to get tidally locked to red dwarf stars early in their life because their years are so short — often a week or less. As a result, much like our moon is to the Earth, one side is constantly exposed to radiation and the other is in the dark. “Because of the onslaught by the star’s radiation, our results suggest the atmosphere on planets in the Trappist-1 system would largely be destroyed, ” said researcher Avi Loeb . That makes the likelihood of life just one percent compared to Earth. Since life has enough challenges already, it’s probably got a much better shot on a planet around a type-G, main sequence star. We know for a fact that those can support life, as here we are. Via: CNET Source: UC Santa Cruz

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A nearby Sun-like star hosts four Earth-sized planets

Antarctica’s ‘Dragon Skin’ Ice Is Incredible

Dragon skin ice sounds like something you’d encounter beyond The Wall in the Game of Thrones fantasy realm. But good news nerds, you can find this magical-sounding stuff right here on Earth—though you’ve gotta be lucky, and willing to travel to some of the most hostile environments on the planet. Like the team of… Read more…

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Antarctica’s ‘Dragon Skin’ Ice Is Incredible

‘Avatar’ sequels start arriving on December 18th, 2020

James Cameron has spent years drumming up hype for his Avatar sequels with little to show for it (the first sequel was originally due this December). However, his team is finally ready to commit to specific release dates — for all the new movies. The production team has revealed that Avatar 2 should arrive on December 18th, 2020, with the rest staggered throughout the next few years. The third movie is slated for December 17th, 2021. There will be a 3-year gap between that and the fourth movie, which debuts on December 20th, 2024. The fifth and final (?) title will appear on December 19th, 2025, 16 years after the first. Cameron and crew have started “concurrent” production of the sequels, which are poised to make cases for both high frame rate video as well as Avatar ‘s signature blend of CG with real-world acting. In theory, this gives the team a better sense of the timing than it might have if it was taking a serial approach. With that said, you may still want to take these dates with a grain of salt. It’s not just that the releases have been pushed back in the past, it’s that the scope has changed over time. Cameron added a fourth sequel to the mix just in 2016, so it won’t be surprising if the schedule shifts due to further creative changes or unforeseen challenges. Really, the big news is simply that the director is getting the ball rolling after years of prep — the dates just give you a rough idea of what to expect. Via: Variety Source: Avatar (Facebook)

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‘Avatar’ sequels start arriving on December 18th, 2020

Tiny liquid battery cools chips while powering them

Scientists from IBM and ETH Zurich university have built a tiny “flow” battery that has the dual benefit of supplying power to chips and cooling them at the same time. Even taking pumping into account, it produces enough energy to power a chip while dissipating much more heat than it generates. The result could be smaller, more efficient chips, solar cells that store their own energy or devices used for remote monitoring that don’t require external power sources. “Redox flow” batteries that use liquid electrolytes are normally used on a large scale to store energy. For instance, Harvard Researchers recently created one that can last over ten years with very little degradation, making it ideal to store solar or wind energy. Building them on a scale tiny enough for chips is another matter, however. The team from ETH Zurich and IBM managed to find two liquids that are suitable both as flow-battery electrolytes and cooling agents that can dissipate heat from chips in the same circuit. “We are the first scientists to build such a small flow battery so as to combine energy supply and cooling, ” says doctoral student Julian Marschewski. Using 3D printing, the team developed a wedge-shaped micro-channel system that supplies the system with electrolytes using very little pumping power. The resulting electrodes press liquid into the membrane layer where ions can flow, generating power. The result is a system that generates 1.4 watts per square centimeter, with 1 watt left over to power the battery after taking pumping into account. Moreover, it gets rid of a lot more heat than it makes, pulling off the neat trick of powering and cooling chips at the same time. The battery needs to generate more electricity than it does right now, so the idea now needs to shift from the research into the engineering stages. However, the team thinks that it has a lot of potential for not just chips, but also lasers that require internal cooling, solar cells that store electricity directly in the battery cell and even large flow batteries optimized with liquid cooling channels. Source: Eth Zurich

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Tiny liquid battery cools chips while powering them

Humanity is on the cusp of de-extincting the Wooly Mammoth

After successfully extracting sequenceable DNA from a pair of Woolly Mammoth carcasses pulled from Siberia’s permafrost in 2014, a team of Harvard researchers announced on Thursday that they are tantalizing close to cloning the (currently) extinct pachyderms. The team made the announcement ahead of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting this week. They estimate that they’re just two years away from creating a viable hybrid embryo. That is, they take a modern day asian elephant embryo and splice in DNA from the Mammoth to get a fuzzy “mammophant, ” as the team calls it. “Our aim is to produce a hybrid elephant-mammoth embryo, ” Harvard Professor George Church told the Guardian . “Actually, it would be more like an elephant with a number of mammoth traits. We’re not there yet, but it could happen in a couple of years.” So far, the team hasn’t progressed passed the cellular stage in creating one of these beasts though they have managed to splice in as many as 45 mammoth genes, up from their initial 15. Within a few years, the team expects to ramp their efforts up to the embryonic stage but it’ll likely be quite a while until they can birth a living mammophant. Since the Asian elephant is itself endangered, this hybridizing technique could help preserve the species. At the same time, the Harvard team doesn’t want to put one of these valuable animals at risk carrying a mammophant fetus to term, so they’re looking into gestating it in an artificial womb. That’s where the delay comes in. While Church’s team has managed to grow a mouse in an artificial womb for ten days — half its normal gestation period — the technology for doing that for an elephant-scale animal likely won’t be feasible for at least a decade. And even once that technology has matured, there are still a host of hand-wringing ethical arguments that will have to be sorted before Church’s team gets the green light to proceed further. Source: Guardian

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Humanity is on the cusp of de-extincting the Wooly Mammoth

Ultrafast lasers capture elusive photosynthesis reactions

Using ultra-rapid lasers, researchers have created the first “movie” of photosynthesis chemical reactions that shows exactly how fast they happen. The finding proves that a key process that strips electrons from water, starting the conversion of solar into chemical energy, happens more quickly than previously thought. “We can now see how nature has optimized the physics of converting light energy to fuel, ” says study author Jasper van Thor. The work could help scientists improve artificial photosynthesis to produce biofuels more efficiently. The researchers from Imperial College London wanted to find out exactly how fast the so-called Photosystem II enzyme reaction works. That process, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, was thought to be the bottleneck, or slowest part of photosynthesis. In contrast, the first part of photosynthesis, where light is harvested by an “antenna complex” of proteins and clorophyll molecules, was thought to be faster. Can we mimic it or tune it to make artificial photosynthesis more efficient? These questions, and many others, can now be explored. Slow and fast are relative terms here, because the process actually happens in picoseconds, or trillionths of a second. To measure it more precisely, scientists first created crystals of the Photosystem II enzyme, then zapped them with a sophisticated laser system. The process, which was developed in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is described in an earlier paper . Using infrared spectroscopy, the team was able to measure electron movements across tiny parts of the system to see when energy was transferred. Their measurements proved that the water-splitting process happens more quickly than the antenna complex light harvesting, a result that upends decades of teachings. “We can now show that what I was lectured as an undergraduate in the 1990s is no longer supported, ” van Thor says. Furthermore, the team has essentially created a movie of key parts of the photosynthesis process, which lasts just a few nanoseconds (billionths of a second). This lets scientists understand what the molecule is doing in very small time slices during the process, helping them better understand and even improve it. “Can we mimic it or tune it to make artificial photosynthesis more efficient? These questions, and many others, can now be explored, ” says van Thor. Via: Imperial College London Source: Nature

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Ultrafast lasers capture elusive photosynthesis reactions