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Jun 27, 2023

Electron tunneling associated with ferritin in vivo in the retina, the cochlea, macrophages and other tissues

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Electron tunneling associated with ferritin was proposed as early as 1988, but it is still viewed skeptically despite substantial evidence that it occurs. In our recent paper published in IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-Scale Communications, my co-authors and I review the evidence of electron tunneling in ferritin, as well as the evidence that such electron tunneling may be used by biological systems that include the retina, the cochlea, macrophages, glial cells, mitochondria and magnetosensory systems.

While these diverse systems fall in different fields of study, we hope that this article will raise awareness of the mechanism of electron tunneling associated with and encourage further research into that phenomenon in that incorporate ferritin, particularly where there is no apparent need for the iron storage functions of ferritin in those systems.

Ferritin is an iron storage protein that self-assembles into a 12-nanometer diameter spherical shell that is 2 nanometers thick, and it can store up to ~4,500 iron atoms in an 8-nanometer diameter core. With an evolutionary history that appears to stretch back more than 1.2 billion years, it might seem rather old, but it should be kept in mind that are believed to have first evolved ~3.5 billion years ago. As such, it may have taken more than 2 billion years for ferritin to evolve. When the first multicellular organisms evolved ~600 million years ago, members of the ferritin family of proteins were likely present, and they can be found today in almost all plants and animals.

Jun 27, 2023

ChargePoint joins Tesla’s NACS, will offer connector on new and existing stations

Posted by in category: futurism

ChargePoint announced today that it is adopting Tesla’s NACS connector, which will be offered on new and existing charging stations.

Soon after Ford and then GM/Rivian announced that it was adopting NACS, Tesla’s proprietary connector that it decided to open to the rest of the industry, virtually all charging station manufacturers and operators announced that they will offer NACS connectors on their charging stations.

But there was a big one missing: ChargePoint.

Jun 27, 2023

Human brain-inspired computer memory design set to increase energy efficiency and performance

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

CasarsaGuru/iStock.

However, researchers at the University of Cambridge have recently made a discovery that could revolutionize computer memory, addressing energy efficiency and performance.

Jun 27, 2023

Cybertruck automatic tailgate drop for truck bed extension and new storage vault shown along with ventilated seats and rear steering

Posted by in category: transportation

The Tesla Cybertruck automatic tailgate and tonneau cover motions, as well as its interior have been extensively filmed during its chief designer visit to an EV exhibit inauguration at Peterson’s museum. The new shots also revealed a cool storage space under a lid in the truck bed as well as possibly vented seats.

Jun 27, 2023

Researchers detect 14 new active galactic nuclei

Posted by in category: cosmology

Using the Spectrum–RG (SRG) spacecraft and two ground-based telescopes, Russian astronomers have observed X-ray sources in the eastern Galactic sky. The observational campaign resulted in the detection of 14 new active galactic nuclei. The findings were presented June 6 in the journal Astronomy Letters.

An (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy, more luminous than the surrounding galaxy light. AGNs are very energetic due either to the presence of a black hole or star formation activity at the core of the galaxy.

Astronomers generally divide AGNs into two groups based on emission line features. Type 1 AGNs show broad and narrow emission lines, while only narrow emission lines are present in Type 2 AGNs.

Jun 27, 2023

Prototype Drone Can Fly Into Burning Buildings, Forest Fires

Posted by in category: drones

A prototype drone developed at Imperial College London is able to withstand temperatures of up to 200°C for 10 minutes.

The so-called FireDrone (Opens in a new window) is designed to fly into burning buildings or forest fires and provide “crucial first-hand data” otherwise unavailable to first responders. For example, identifying where people are trapped in a burning building without fire fighters needing to perform a room-by-room search.

Jun 27, 2023

Europe to Open Artificial Intelligence ‘Crash Test’ Centers

Posted by in categories: food, health, robotics/AI

The Europe Union is introducing “crash test” systems for artificial intelligence to ensure new innovations are safe before they hit the market.

The trade bloc launched four permanent testing and experimental facilities across Europe on Tuesday, having injected €220 million ($240 million) into the project. The centers, which are virtual and physical, will from next year give technology providers a space to test AI and robotics in real-life settings within manufacturing, health care, agriculture and food, and cities.

Jun 27, 2023

AI comes to the farm: New technology tackles acres of weeds quickly by using robotics and lasers

Posted by in categories: business, food, robotics/AI, sustainability

Weeds are one of the most “tedious, time-consuming and challenging” elements of farming, Carbon Robotics told Fox Business via email.

The LaserWeeder can eliminate over 200,000 weeds per hour and offer up to 80% cost savings in weed control.

Carbon Robotics CEO and founder Paul Mikesell “knows farmers and has a lot of friends who are farmers,” he said.

Jun 27, 2023

Drones take to the waves: Saildrones are getting data where people can’t

Posted by in categories: alien life, drones, robotics/AI

Science fiction often paints a terrifying picture of the future—think aliens decimating humanity, à la The War of the Worlds. But sometimes the future becoming the present can be pretty amazing—who doesn’t love successful space launches majestically catapulting humans skyward?

Or take Earth’s oceans, which are currently in the middle of a technological revolution that, outside of some very nerdy circles, has gone largely unnoticed.

“We’re at the cusp of a proliferation of lots of autonomous vehicles in the ocean,” said Alex De Robertis, a biologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “Things that were science fiction not so long ago are kind of routine now.” That includes saildrones, which look like oversized orange surfboards, each with a hard, carbon-fiber sail (called a wing) and a stash of scientific equipment.

Jun 27, 2023

“I’m really into planetary defence”: Meet the 13-year-old whose science project could protect Earth from asteroids

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, physics, science, space

Do you ever mesh your other hobbies with the space stuff? Yes. I once turned the results of one of my experiments into a musical. In 2020, during the lockdowns, I put a scientific instrument on my balcony to measure light, sound and pollution before and after the pandemic. I ended up with several graphs and thought, Why not turn these into a musical? So, me and my brother got several musical instruments and played notes according to how high or low each point on the graph was. We actually submitted that to the NASA SpaceApps COVID-19 Challenge and became one of the top six global winners.

Do you think you’ll study space science at university when you’re older? I think so. Either aerospace or astrophysics, or maybe both.

Continue reading “‘I’m really into planetary defence’: Meet the 13-year-old whose science project could protect Earth from asteroids” »