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Category: engineering – Page 92

Lithium-ion batteries made with recycled materials are better than new

Recycling spent lithium-ion batteries plays a significant role in alleviating the shorting of raw materials and environmental problems. However, recycled materials are deemed inferior to commercial materials, preventing the industry from adopting recycled materials in new batteries.

Now, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts have demonstrated that the recycled materials from used lithium-ion batteries can outperform new commercial materials, making the recycled materials a potentially green and profitable resource for battery producers. Led by Yan Wang, professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, the team of researchers used physical tests, imaging, and computer simulations to compare new cathode materials recovered from old electric vehicle batteries through a recycling process, which is being commercialized by Battery Resourcers Inc. of Worcester.

The technology involved shredding batteries and removing the steel cases, aluminum and copper wires, plastics, and pouch materials for recycling. Researchers then dissolved the metals from those battery bits in an acidic solution. They by tweaking the solution’s pH, the team removed impurities such as iron and copper and recovered over 90% of three key metals – nickel, manganese, and cobalt. The recovered metals formed the basis for the team’s cathode material.

‘Swarmalators’ better envision synchronized microbots

Imagine a world with precision medicine, where a swarm of microrobots delivers a payload of medicine directly to ailing cells. Or one where aerial or marine drones can collectively survey an area while exchanging minimal information about their location.

One early step towards realizing such technologies is being able to simultaneously simulate swarming behaviors and synchronized timing—behaviors found in slime molds, sperm and fireflies, for example.

In 2014, Cornell researchers first introduced a simple model of swarmalators—short for “swarming oscillator”—where particles self-organize to synchronize in both time and space. In the study, “Diverse Behaviors in Non-uniform Chiral and Non-chiral Swarmalators,” which published Feb. 20 in the journal Nature Communications, they expanded this model to make it more useful for engineering microrobots; to better understand existing, observed biological behaviors; and for theoreticians to experiment in this field.

George Church: Biomanufacturing, CRISPR,1 million cell edits, Woolly mammoth-Learning with Lowell-164

George Church is a geneticist known for his pioneering work in developing new technologies for genome sequencing, editing, and synthesis. He has also been involved in research on genome engineering and gene therapy.

Links.

George Church, Ph.D.


https://arep.med.harvard.edu/

PODCAST INFO:
The Learning With Lowell show is a series for the everyday mammal. In this show we’ll learn about leadership, science, and people building their change into the world. The goal is to dig deeply into people who most of us wouldn’t normally ever get to hear. The Host of the show – Lowell Thompson-is a lifelong autodidact, serial problem solver, and founder of startups.

LINKS
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzri06unR-lMXbl6sqWP_-Q
Youtube clips: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B5x371AzTGgK-_q3U_KfA
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lowell-thompson-2227b074
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LWThompson5
Website: https://www.learningwithlowell.com/

Timestamp / show notes.
00:00 Intro.
00:40 Changing millions of lives.
01:35 Unknowns in Biology / Fan question.
04:30 Space / Aliens.
05:18 Exciting projects.
08:15 Sequencing 8 billion people.
10:25 Making Organisms Virus proof.
12:00 Viruses adapting to changing.
15:55 Making IP actionable.
18:25 Transition to startups / issues.
22:30 Longevity and healthspan for older populations.
27:20 Rejuvenation vs cure.
29:40 Last 5 years/ surprises.
33:10 1 million cell edits.
34:40 Reduced returns with more edits at one time.
38:20 Software as biology / opportunity in biotech.
41:35 Hiding data in cells.
43:40 Synthetic biology relieving poverty.
47:45 Biohacking, chinese box, relieving poverty continues.
50:53 Producing good/submarine.
53:25 Synthetic biology for energy production.
57:51 Wooly mammoth genes / fan q.
1:02:30 Control characteristics with food.
1:03:50 Expediting gestation period.
1:06:00 External womb.
1:08:55 Problems /tools he wishes he had.
1:12:25 Cost of gene therapies from rejuvenation bio / fan question.
1:18:22 Virus gene drive.
1:21:10 Next 10 years.
1:23:02 CIRSPR CRPS pain question.
1:26:33 Books.
1:32:42 Calico lab CTO?

#georgechurch #syntheticbiology #biomanufacturing

Continue reading “George Church: Biomanufacturing, CRISPR,1 million cell edits, Woolly mammoth-Learning with Lowell-164” | >

Physics of Superpropulsion: Super-Fast Sharpshooter Insect Urination Using a “Butt Flicker”

Tiny insects known as sharpshooters excrete by catapulting urine drops at incredible accelerations. Their excretion is the first example of superpropulsion discovered in a biological system.

Saad Bhamla was in his backyard when he noticed something he had never seen before: an insect urinating. Although nearly impossible to see, the insect formed an almost perfectly round droplet on its tail and then launched it away so quickly that it seemed to disappear. The tiny insect relieved itself repeatedly for hours.

It’s generally taken for granted that what goes in must come out, so when it comes to fluid dynamics in animals, the research is largely focused on feeding rather than excretion. But Bhamla, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), had a hunch that what he saw wasn’t trivial.

Super-fast insect urination powered by the physics of superpropulsion

Saad Bhamla was in his backyard when he noticed something he had never seen before: an insect urinating. Although nearly impossible to see, the insect formed an almost perfectly round droplet on its tail and then launched it away so quickly that it seemed to disappear. The tiny insect relieved itself repeatedly for hours.

It’s generally taken for granted that what goes in must come out, so when it comes to fluid dynamics in animals, the research is largely focused on feeding rather than excretion. But Bhamla, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, had a hunch that what he saw wasn’t trivial.

“Little is known about the fluid dynamics of excretion, despite its impact on the morphology, energetics, and behavior of animals,” Bhamla said. “We wanted to see if this tiny insect had come up with any clever engineering or physics innovations in order to pee this way.”

Researchers uncover new water monitoring technique

Water is a vital resource, and clean water is a necessity. Texas A&M University researchers have developed a new technique to monitor one of the key processes of purifying water in real time.

Raw water contains microscopic pathogens that are too small to remove during water and easily. Chemicals are added to form large clumps called flocs, which are easily filtered out. Flocculation is the process used in water treatment to remove suspended particles from the water.

“Coagulant chemicals need to be added to purify drinking water and remove turbidity (cloudiness) and microbes that are too small to be visible to the ,” said Dr. Kuang-An Chang, professor in the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M.

New material may offer key to solving quantum computing issue

A new form of heterostructure of layered two-dimensional (2D) materials may enable quantum computing to overcome key barriers to its widespread application, according to an international team of researchers.

The researchers were led by a team that is part of the Penn State Center for Nanoscale Science (CNS), one of 19 Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) in the United States funded by the National Science Foundation. Their work was published Feb. 13 in Nature Materials.

A regular computer consists of billions of transistors, known as bits, and are governed by binary code (“0” = off and “1” = on). A , also known as a qubit, is based on and can be both a “0” and a “1” at the same time. This is known as superposition and can enable quantum computers to be more powerful than the regular, classical computers.

New strategy proposed for bandgap engineering and maintaining material properties under high pressure

Prof. Ding Junfeng and his team from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Science, together with Prof. Zhang Genqiang from the University of Science and Technology of China, have achieved band gap optimization and photoelectric response enhancement of carbon nitride in the nitrogen vacancy graphite phase under high pressure.

Their results were published in the journal Physical Review Applied.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has performed well in many fields, such as high-efficiency photocatalytic hydrogen production and water oxidation. However, the wide band gap of 2.7 eV of the original g-C3N4 limits its light absorption in the visible region. High technology is an to change the properties while remaining composition. Therefore, band gap engineering of g-C3N4 by high-pressure technology can significantly enhance its photocatalytic activity and improve its application potential.

Researcher develops new methods to measure ‘forever chemicals’ in both the atmosphere and in aerosol particles

From regulators to researchers and most industries in between, all eyes are on PFAS, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of highly fluorinated human-made compounds that have been used for decades in everything from nonstick cookware and personal care products to fire-fighting foams and school uniforms. Their commonality and extreme resistance to environmental degradation has made them ubiquitous in ground water, soil, and worst of all humans. Linked to a slew of health risks including liver toxicity, bladder cancer, and decreased immune response to vaccinations, exposure to PFAS is concerning. So, how can we eliminate these “forever chemicals?”

Historically, PFAS substances have only been characterized in water and soil, but the emission of these compounds during chemical manufacturing, use, and disposal results in their emission into the air. Ryan Sullivan, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, has been developing new methods to measure PFAS in both the atmosphere and in aerosol particles to answer outstanding questions regarding PFAS atmospheric components that lead to human exposure. His group is also developing new approaches to destroy forever molecules that are not removed by conventional water treatment plants.

The research is published in the journal Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts.