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Dec 6, 2022

Team develops photon-efficient volumetric imaging method with light-sheet scanning fluorescence microscopy

Posted by in category: biological

In biological imaging, researchers aim to achieve 3D, high-speed, and high-resolution, with low photobleaching and phototoxicity. The light-sheet fluorescence microscope (LSFM) helps meet that aim. Based on a unique excitation and detection scheme, the LSFM can image live specimens with high spatiotemporal resolution and low photobleaching. It has shown great potential for 3D imaging of biological samples.

The principle of LSFM technology is to illuminate the sample with a thin and then collect the emitted fluorescence along the axis perpendicular to the transmission of the light-sheet. Therefore, only fluorophores close to the are excited and detected. Using a thinner light-sheet improves the axial , while a longer light-sheet improves the (FoV) and imaging speed. Tradeoffs are required, as it is difficult to generate a thin, uniform light-sheet.

Multiple light-sheets can be tiled to generate a virtual light-sheet with a higher aspect ratio. However, multiple beams also introduce sidelobes, decreasing the axial resolution and optical sectioning. Axially swept light-sheet microscopy (ASLM) uses a slit to reject the sidelobes. It uses the rolling shutter of the sCMOS, which naturally serves as a slit, to synchronize beam scanning. ASLM can image an arbitrarily large FoV with optimal axial resolution. However, the fluorescence signal outside the rolling shutter will be rejected, so a larger FoV comes at the price of lower photon efficiency.

Dec 6, 2022

Chip lets scientists study biocement formation in real-time

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, engineering, health

Scientists from EPFL and the University of Lausanne have used a chip that was originally designed for environmental science to study the properties of biocement formation. This material has the potential to replace traditional cement binders in certain civil engineering applications.

The chip is the size of a credit card and its surface is engraved with a flow channel measuring one meter from end to end that is as thick as a human hair. Researchers can inject a solution into one end of the channel and, with the help of time-lapse microscopy, observe the solution’s behavior over several hours. Medical scientists have used similar chips for health care applications, such as to examine how arteries get clogged or how a drug spreads into the bloodstream, while environmental engineers have applied them to the study of biofilms and contaminants in drinking water.

Now, a team of civil engineers at EPFL’s Laboratory of Soil Mechanics (LMS), together with scientists from the Faculty of Geosciences and Environment at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), have repurposed the chip to understand complex transport-reaction phenomena involved in the formation of new kinds of biocement.

Dec 6, 2022

Simulations show how bridges are damaged during earthquakes, and how we can prevent it

Posted by in category: futurism

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have carried out a detailed simulation showing how a common type of bridge fails during large-scale earthquakes. They modeled I-shaped girder bridges, looking at the step-by-step mechanism by which they yield and deform under lateral forces, starting at the ends. Reinforcing ribs were shown to be effective against lateral forces and improve load-bearing capacity. Their work points bridge engineers to rational design strategies to make more resilient infrastructures.

Major earthquakes can have a devastating impact on infrastructure. The effects of a severely damaged bridge, for example, are not limited to the tragedy that befalls people on it but extends to how the loss of access affects emergency services, evacuation efforts, and the transport of crucial supplies. Understanding how seismic activity impacts common bridge structures is therefore crucial, not only to build bridges that can withstand strong quakes, but how to prevent the failure of existing ones through effective reinforcement.

Though numerous models exist that are used to assess the resilience of bridge superstructures, for the most part, there are very few examples that examine how each part of the whole bridge structure behaves during large-scale earthquakes.

Dec 6, 2022

SpaceX rolls out new business line focused on military satellite services

Posted by in categories: business, government, internet, military, satellites, surveillance

SpaceX revealed a new business segment called Starshield aimed at U.S. national security government agencies. “While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use, with an initial focus on three areas: Earth observation, communications and hosted payloads,” the company said on its website.

This is a big deal as SpaceX is currently burning through $2 billion/year as it works to develop Starlink and Starship. So SpaceX wouldn’t mind some extra cash!


WASHINGTON — SpaceX on Dec. 2 revealed a new business segment called Starshield aimed at U.S. national security government agencies.

Continue reading “SpaceX rolls out new business line focused on military satellite services” »

Dec 5, 2022

Elon Musk is an ‘avid’ reader of science-fiction and likes to text about it, says Affirm CEO

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, futurism

Elon Musk has talked about his love for sci-fi books and movies in the past, including “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and “Rick and Morty.”

Dec 5, 2022

Cryonics Institute Home

Posted by in categories: cryonics, life extension

You can arrange for automatic PayPal payment of Yearly Membership Dues on a Quarterly or Yearly basis AFTER you have filled-in and submitted a membership application and paid the initiation fee which have been received and approved. (You can pay the initiation fee by going to PayPal. From the top menu, select “Personal Send and receive Send Money.” Enter for the email address and make your payment of $75.) Note that when arranging for automatic Quarterly or Yearly payment, the first Quarterly or Yearly payment is made IMMEDIATELY upon arranging for automatic payment.

Dec 5, 2022

Astronomers Discover Supermassive Black Hole Pointing Directly at Earth

Posted by in category: cosmology

Earlier this year, scientists discovered that a “jet,” created by a very distant supermassive black hole, sent an accumulation of various space matter rocketing directly toward Earth. Scientists haven’t expressed any need for concern about the jet. However, they are intrigued by the sheer brightness of it and the vast distance between it and Earth.

Dec 5, 2022

Asymmetry Detected in the Distribution of Galaxies

Posted by in category: space

Two new studies suggest that certain tetrahedral arrangements of galaxies outnumber their mirror images, potentially reflecting details of the universe’s birth. But confirmation is needed.

Dec 5, 2022

Can a Playlist Be Your Therapist? Balancing Emotions Through Music

Posted by in category: media & arts

Summary: A new musical app takes listeners on an emotional “rollercoaster ride”, leaving them in a more positive emotional a focused state than when they first started listening to the soundtrack.

Source: Acoustical Society of America.

Music has the potential to change emotional states and can distract listeners from negative thoughts and pain. It has also been proven to help improve memory, performance, and mood.

Dec 5, 2022

Researchers harness bacteria-eating viruses to create powerful food decontamination spray

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, food, nanotechnology

Researchers at McMaster University have created a powerful new weapon against bacterial contamination and infection.

They have developed a way to coax bacteriophages—harmless viruses that eat bacteria—into linking together and forming microscopic beads. Those beads can safely be applied to and other materials to rid them of harmful pathogens such as E. coli 0157. Each bead is about 20 microns, (one 50th of a millimeter) in diameter and is loaded with millions of phages.

The McMaster engineering team behind the invention, led by professors Zeinab Hosseinidoust, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Bacteriophage Bioengineering, and Tohid Didar, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Nano-Biomaterials, and graduate student Lei Tian, have created a spray using nothing but the microbeads.