Groundbreaking project at Taubman College involving novel 3D concrete printing method

If you thought 3D printing was just for small-scale items, think again! A company called Shell Wall is using this technology to create large-scale, customizable concrete walls. Not only is this method faster and more efficient than traditional construction methods, but it also allows for more intricate and detailed designs. Plus, the walls are eco-friendly and made with sustainable materials.
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Rice lab’s tech could deliver time-released drugs, vaccines for months


Bioengineers from Rice University have developed a technology to make time-released drugs, offering a solution to a huge problem in the treatment of chronic diseases, namely missed or incorrectly taken doses. The cylinders, made of a polymer called PLGA, can be loaded with drugs using four different methods to ensure a steady and more effective delivery of the medicine. Scientists have also come up with a way of sealing the cylinders, making the technology scalable and capable of long-term release. The team's motivation for the technology came from vaccination, where multiple doses spread out over the course of months are often required. However, testing has shown that these cylinders can release medicine for months after injection, making it a possible solution for the treatment of chronic diseases.

🚀 Exciting news from the world of space exploration! The Webb space telescope has captured a stunning new image of Uranus, revealing its beautiful rings in unprecedented detail. This is another exciting discovery, adding to our knowledge of our solar system and beyond 🪐

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The volcanologists in Kamchatka (Russia) were caught in an intense ashfall near the Bezymyanny volcano. Rocks and small volcanic formations called lapilli, as big as a small fist, started falling down. To ensure their safety, the team immediately took action and quickly removed the sleds from the snowmobiles. They then used the sleds to create an improvised shelter.

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Successful lift-off of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft. This mission is a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and various international partners, and it aims to study Jupiter's icy moons, including Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

The JUICE spacecraft was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. Over the next seven years, it will travel nearly 600 million kilometers to reach Jupiter and its moons, where it will study their composition, geology, and potential habitability.

The JUICE mission is a significant milestone in our ongoing exploration of the solar system and our search for life beyond Earth. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting mission!

The first biodegradable seed robot, able to change shape in response to humidity

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Researchers have made a breakthrough in the treatment of glaucoma with gene therapy. Glaucoma affects millions of people worldwide, leading to blindness due to high intraocular pressure (IOP). While the first-line treatment for glaucoma is eye drops, they don't work for everyone, and many people struggle with high IOP. The new gene therapy approach is incredibly promising, and researchers have used adeno-associated viruses (AAV) to deliver instructions for creating an enzyme called matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3). This enzyme aids the outflow of the aqueous humor, which reduces IOP and helps prevent blindness. Researchers have successfully tested this therapy on mice and human donor eyeballs, with significant findings. This therapy holds great promise in the future, and researchers are hopeful they can develop similar treatments for other blinding eye diseases.

Scientists at USF study sea urchins to learn the source of a mass die-off in 2022.

The long-spined sea urchin population in the Caribbean and other regions had been under attack from a mystery disease that caused a rapid die-off event with urchins showing erratic locomotion and loss of control over their tube feet. This rapid spread of the infection had baffled researchers and triggered fears of a potential ecological disaster. However, a team of experts has now managed to crack the case and identify the culprit - a ciliate microorganism called a scuticociliate.

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. The two potato-shaped objects have puzzled planetary scientists for a long time. What is their origin? Are they captured asteroids or were they once part of the Red Planet, like the Moon was part of ours? Now, the closest images ever taken of Deimos appear to indicate the latter.

The Emirates Mars Mission's Hope Probe has been studying the Red Planet for several years when last summer it undertook a course correction to slightly change its target of focus from Mars to Deimos, the planet’s smaller and outermost moon. Several flybys took the probe as close to Deimos as 100 kilometers (61 miles), the closest humans have ever been to the small rocky body.

An 'underwater spring' at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, which could trigger a magnitude-9 earthquake, has been captured on underwater video.

The vent releases liquid which has been trapped 2.5 miles below the seafloor into the ocean.

The fluid acts as a lubricant between tectonic plates and its release could mean that any earthquake which does occur could be worse.

With heavy bodies and small flippers, seals aren’t the most graceful movers out of water. But despite appearances, a robot that imitates the way they flop over dry land might be effective in search and rescue operations where a wheeled robot would struggle, says the team that made it.

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Octopuses are fascinating and intelligent creatures, with a unique ability to solve complex problems and learn from their experiences.

A groundbreaking new study has revealed a never-before-seen brain wave pattern in octopuses, suggesting that they have evolved a sophisticated neural network capable of processing complex information in a way that is similar to vertebrates. This study not only sheds new light on octopus cognition but also offers insights into the evolution of intelligence, as the last common ancestor of humans with octopuses was a flatworm that lived on the seafloor about 750 million years ago. These findings provide exciting new avenues of research into the cognitive abilities of octopuses and the evolution of intelligence.

Music Rejuvenates: The Benefits of Musicianship in Aging

In the metaphorical river of age, an elderly musician moves against the current, rejuvenated by the power of music. As the fish represent the aging brain, they gradually get younger as they swim upstream. This imagery is not far from reality, as studies have shown that musicians have better preserved functions in the sensorimotor cortical areas of the brain.

In particular, Zhang et al. conducted research that showed how even in old age, musicians can distinguish speech well in noisy environments, unlike those who have not engaged in music. This suggests that musicianship can mitigate age-related declines in audiovisual speech-in-noise perception, allowing for better communication abilities in older adults.

These findings were published in the scientific journals Neuron and Cell, highlighting the significance and impact of the research. It is clear that music has the power to rejuvenate and preserve cognitive abilities, making it a valuable activity for people of all ages.

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Crown Flash Over Miami Beach

One of the rarest natural phenomena - the “dancing beam” resembles a bright searchlight among the clouds.

It's funny, but scientists do not have a clear explanation of what is happening. One of the most popular hypotheses states that the effect is produced when light passes through ice crystals, which change their position due to a change in the electric field of the cumulonimbus cloud.

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Amazing visualization from NASA: the size of black holes in the universe.

DeepMind has developed miniature humanoid robots and taught them basic football skills using Deep Reinforcement Learning (RL) technology.

Newly minted football players quickly reacted to the sword, ran across the field, got up after a fall, and at times even showed a rough game, pushing the opponent.

Fabric that changes color and shape when exposed to heat and electricity

Researchers from Canada have come up with a fabric that can change two of its properties at once under different external influences.

They combined polyethylene terephthalate, thermochromic microcapsules and stainless steel fibers into a material using a loom-like device. The resulting fabric, on the one hand, is durable, and on the other hand, it retains flexibility and softness.

If the fabric is heated (for example, with a hairdryer) to a temperature of 20 to 60 ° C, then it will evenly change color from purple to blue, and upon subsequent cooling, it will return to its original color.

When the fabric is heated, applying electricity to it, it changes not only the color, but also the shape. The researchers were even able to selectively activate different areas of the tissue by applying power to specific points.

The material changes properties when applied as little as 5 V for 20 seconds, which means that it can be used in small portable devices.