Circa 2015
New system destructively scans objects transmits them through encrypted communications across any distance and rebuilds it the other side.
“Like you often have to do in science, we first hit the problem with a hammer to see how the system breaks, then backtrack from there,” Simpson said.
By that she means that in order to determine if the gut microbiome influenced drug addiction, they first needed to compare an organism with a normal gut microbiome to one without. To do that, the researchers gave some rats antibiotics that depleted 80 percent of their gut microbes. All of the rats — those with and without gut microbes — were dependent on the prescription opioid pain reliever oxycodone. Then some of the rats from each group went into withdrawal.
“To me, the most surprising thing was that the rats all seemed the same on the surface,” George said. “There weren’t any major changes in the pain-relieving effect of opioids, or symptoms of withdrawal or other behavior between the rats with and without gut microbes.”
It wasn’t until the team looked at the rats’ brains that they saw a significant difference. The typical pattern of neuron recruitment to different parts of the brain during intoxication and withdrawal was disrupted in rats that had been treated with antibiotics, and thus lacked most of their gut microbes. Most notably, during intoxication, rats with depleted gut microbes had more activated neurons in the regions of the brain that regulate stress and pain (periaqueductal gray, locus coeruleus) and regions involved in opioid intoxication and withdrawal (central amygdala, basolateral amygdala). During withdrawal, microbe-depleted rats had fewer activated neurons in the central amygdala, as compared to rats with normal gut microbiomes.
“It was many months of counting black dots,” Simpson said. “But in the end it became clear that, at least in rats, gut microbes alter the way the brain responds to drugs.”
That shift could affect behavior, she explained, because a decrease in neurons recruited in the central amygdala could result in fewer withdrawal symptoms, which can in turn lead to a higher risk of drug abuse.
Researchers at Peking University, Southern University of Science and Technology and the University of Jinan in China have recently designed a ceramic-polymer composite that can be used to print complex 3D grid architectures. This composite, first presented in a paper published in Nano Energy, was found to exhibit a number of desirable properties, including high flexibility and a high electromechanical energy conversion rate.
Piezoelectric ceramic materials, such as Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 (PZT) typically have remarkable electromechanical energy conversion capabilities. However, most of these materials are inherently rigid, which makes them far from ideal for the fabrication of flexible electronics.
“Normally, piezoelectric ceramics are brittle, therefore, they are not suitable for integration into flexible electronics directly,” Shuxiang Dong, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told TechXplore. “We wanted to develop a 3D-printed, soft piezoelectric ceramic composite material that is a heat-curable polymer exhibiting mechanical flexibility and a large electromechanical voltage in response to environmental mechanical vibrations or force stimuli. Luckily, we made it, and our composite has great potential to be used for future soft sensors.”
A recent patent filing offers a window into future forays by Apple into automotive design. Apple is exploring artificial intelligence systems that will enable future motorists to enjoy windows that continuously change characteristics as they drive.
Titled “Systems with adjustable windows,” U.S. Patent No. 10,625,580 envisions glass components that control light, reflection and heat conductance based on both user preference and sensory input.
The smart windows would contain multiple adjustable layers sandwiched between two panes of glass that could perform such functions as keeping a cool interior, providing privacy to occupants, allowing viewing through haze and blocking harmful sunlight radiation.
Could nuclear fusion finally be right around the corner… in 2035?
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, is a 30-year-old project started by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. With tens of billions of dollars on the line, this experimental tokamak fusion reactor—a nuclear fusion plasma reactor where extremely hot, charged plasma spins and generates virtually limitless energy—is one of a handful of extremely costly “miniature suns” around the world.
Learn more about two exceptions birds-of-paradise, the Superb and the Vogelkop. With Vantablack feathers and elaborate mating rituals, they’re very unique.
Quantum computing could help companies without billion-dollar budgets design superbatteries, create complex chemicals and understand the universe.
Valves will keep you more comfortable, but endanger those around you.
[Source Images: 3M, snake3d/iStock].
HELSINKI — China rolled out a Long March 5B launcher Wednesday for a mission to prove space station launch capabilities and test a new spacecraft for deep space human spaceflight.
Images of the Long March 5B shared on Chinese social media indicated that the rollout at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center was completed early April 29.
Launch from the coastal Wenchang launch site can now be expected around May 5. However, an official announcement has not yet been made.