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Elon Musk’s nickel supply challenge for Tesla batteries answered by Canada miners

During the second quarter earnings call, Elon Musk called on miners to efficiently mine more nickel. According to Musk, nickel miners could be assured of massive contracts with Tesla, provided that their mining practices are efficient and environmentally conscious. If recent reports are any indication, it appears that a Canadian mining company has recently answered the CEO’s call.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Toronto-based Canada Nickel Co. stated that it is poised to build a facility that has the capability to process zero carbon nickel. The need for such a product was highlighted by Canada Nickel Chief Executive Officer Mark Selby to the publication. “The electric vehicle chain and broader market in general is crying out for zero-carbon product,” he said.

Researchers Use Pencil to Draw Bioelectronic Devices on Human Skin

Scientists from the University of Missouri, the University of Illinois and Yale University have demonstrated that a combination of pencils and paper could be used to create on-skin bioelectronic devices that might be used to monitor personal health. They’ve fabricated and evaluated a rich variety of pencil-paper-based bioelectronic devices, ranging from biophysical sensors and sweat biochemical sensors to thermal stimulators, ambient humidity energy harvesters, and transdermal drug-delivery systems.

Brain cell types identified that may push males to fight and have sex

Two groups of nerve cells may serve as “on-off switches” for male mating and aggression, suggests a new study in rodents. These neurons appear to send signals between two parts of the brain—the back tip, or posterior, of the amygdala and the hypothalamus—that together regulate emotions including fear, anxiety, and aggression.

Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the study showed that male mice struggled to have sex in experiments that blocked signals from one cell group that communicates with the hypothalamus (MPN-signaling ). When the same signals were instead bolstered, the animals were not only able to mate but would repeatedly court unreceptive females, something they would not do normally.

Similarly, when the action of a second cell group in the amygdala that also communicates with the hypothalamus (VMHvl-signaling cells) was blocked, the rodents attacked unfamiliar males half as often. When these same neurons were triggered, the mice became unusually aggressive, even attacking their female mates and familiar males.

Single cells have their own defenses against pathogens

In the fight against pathogens, most researchers have focused on the diverse immune system arsenal that protects people against infection. However, the lab of Yale microbiologist Jorge Galan explored an evolutionarily ancient defense system possessed by every individual cell in the body.

In work published July 24th in the journal Science, Galan’s lab describes the role played by the mitochondria, the cell’s energy-producing organelle, in creating an anti-microbial compound capable of combatting Salmonella Typhi, the cause of typhoid fever. Using advanced imaging technology, Galan and colleagues show how the compound itaconate, produced in the , can penetrate cellular defenses that protect the pathogen and disrupt its metabolism and ability to grow.

A Possible Weapon Against the Pandemic: Printing Human Tissue

Bioprinting could be used for testing potential treatments for Covid-19, cancer and other diseases.

Bioprinting’s importance for pharmaceutical analysis is paramount now, not only for potential Covid-19 treatments, but also for testing treatments for cancer and other diseases. Dr. Atala says that the organoids allow researchers to analyze a drug’s impact on an organ “without the noise” of an individual’s metabolism.

He cited Rezulin, a popular diabetes drug recalled in 2000 after there was evidence of liver failure. His lab tested an archived version of the drug, and Dr. Atala said that within two weeks, the liver toxicity became apparent. What accounts for the difference? An organoid replicates an organ in its purest form and offers data points that might not occur in clinical trials, he said, adding that the testing is additive to, rather than in lieu of, clinical trials.

Paul Ziolo — interview

Interviewed by mika curtis, for the space renaissance academy mentorship programme.

We are honored and proud to publish this interview with Prof. Paul Ziolo, Psychohistorian, Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool, who kindly accepted to reply to some questions about his role as a Mentor of the Space Renaissance Academy. https://youtu.be/1UDJB7DS1Lo

The Space Renaissance Academy Mentorship Programme is a wide and very ambitious initiative. Our goal is to provide help to all students willing to have an active role in the incoming space settlement! We are realizing short video-recorded interviews to our Mentors: in 15 minutes, our anchorwomen are asking them about their interest for human expansion into space, their vision and how they think to motivate and inspire young generations to engage in space settlement. The SRI Volunteers team: Bharathi Sharma, Sachika Bhatia (Space Renaissance India), Corrinne Graham (Space Renaissance USA), Mika Curtis (Space Renaissance UK).

Here’s a presentation of the SR Academy Mentorship Programme. https://spacerenaissance.space/the-space-renaissance-acade…/

You are also invited, if you didn’t yet, to check our updated questionnaires about Mentorship Disciplines and Themes for Graduate Theses, indicating your preferred disciplines and themes. https://spacerenaissance.space/themes-for-graduate-works/ https://spacerenaissance.space/themes-for-graduate-works/

Don’t forget to subscribe to the SRI youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7nbRtSj7Q2q_MWRtFws3gA

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Artificial Intelligence Identifies Prostate Cancer With Near-Perfect Accuracy

A study published today (July 27, 2020) in The Lancet Digital Health by UPMC and University of Pittsburgh researchers demonstrates the highest accuracy to date in recognizing and characterizing prostate cancer using an artificial intelligence (AI) program.

“Humans are good at recognizing anomalies, but they have their own biases or past experience,” said senior author Rajiv Dhir, M.D., M.B.A., chief pathologist and vice chair of pathology at UPMC Shadyside and professor of biomedical informatics at Pitt. “Machines are detached from the whole story. There’s definitely an element of standardizing care.”

To train the AI to recognize prostate cancer, Dhir and his colleagues provided images from more than a million parts of stained tissue slides taken from patient biopsies. Each image was labeled by expert pathologists to teach the AI how to discriminate between healthy and abnormal tissue. The algorithm was then tested on a separate set of 1,600 slides taken from 100 consecutive patients seen at UPMC for suspected prostate cancer.