SciTech Briefs

NASA probe to explore plume of saturn’s moon

​On Wednesday, Oct. 28, NASA’s Cassini probe flew just 30 miles above the icy surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn’s 62 moons, to collect samples of the plume that is emitted from the moon’s south polar region. A plume is a mass of material that diffuses from a specific source, and scientists at NASA believe that Enceladus’s plume originates from the liquid-water ocean underneath the moon’s surface. The presence of water on the moon raises the possibility of generating and sustaining life on Enceladus.

The Cassini probe is collecting plume samples emitted from the ocean, and scientists will then analyze these samples to confirm that the plume contains molecular hydrogen, which would indicate a potential energy source for life. Scientists also hope to characterize the chemical content of the plume, which could potentially contain organic compounds conducive to forming life. By collecting and analyzing these samples, scientists hope to assess Enceladus’s capability of forming and possibly even hosting life.

The Cassini probe will fly over Enceladus a second time on Dec. 19 in order to determine the amount of heat flow coming from Enceladus.

Source: Scientific American

Users placed inside perspective of inanimate object

Japanese startup Adaniya recently developed software that allows a user to look through the eyes of a teddy bear via headset. The teddy technology operates in much the same way as FaceTime, except that it allows the user to feel as if he is inhabiting the teddy bear’s body. Additionally, the teddy bear interprets the user’s movements based on the software embedded within the headset and then replicates them; if the user moves his arm left, for example, the teddy bear responds by moving its left arm as well.

The teddy bear also comes equipped with a microphone and speakers that allow the user to talk and listen through the bear’s interface. Adaniya hopes this technology will better facilitate communication across large distances by allowing users to feel as if they are physically in the same room as those people they are talking to. This invention, specifically aimed at children, could have possible effects in the realm of therapeutics.

“Having a person take the form of a robot might be a boon in situations where a child needs to talk with an unfamiliar adult, such as a therapist or tutor,” said Cindy Bethel, director of the Social, Therapeutic and Robotic Systems Laboratory at Mississippi State University.

Source: MIT Technology Review

Mars shows signs of having flowing water

​Scientists recently confirmed that the surface of Mars contains flowing liquid water, which raises the possibility that life could eventually form and persist there. Although Mars has shown signs of having water billions of years ago, what makes this finding significant is that this water is flowing, much like a gully, as opposed to stagnating, as in a pool. This discovery adds new support to attempts to find life beyond Earth.

Scientists confirmed the presence of flowing water by detecting waterlogged molecules on Mars’ surface during an orbital data collection. These molecules exhibit properties of hydration, meaning that they are quenched in water. Although scientists are not sure what the source of the water is, this finding nevertheless encourages the possibility that life exists outside Earth. The research was presented in a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

NASA’s associate administrator for science, John M. Grunsfeld, talks about sending a spacecraft to one of the water-based regions of Mars during the 2020s to search for signs of life. “I can’t imagine it won’t be a high priority with the scientific community,” Gunsfeld said.

Source: NY Times

Scientists use electronics to remedy paralysis

​Scientists at Case Western Reserve University recently released to the press a prototype of an electronic device designed to help overcome a man’s paralyzing spinal injury by using electrodes and brain implants to generate muscle movement. The device uses electrodes placed on the paralyzed man’s arm and hand that connect to implants in his brain inserted via surgery. Electrical signals from the brain implants run through the electrodes into the man’s arm and hand, causing muscles to contract similar to the way they do naturally from electrical impulses sent through non-paralyzed muscles.

Despite this breakthrough in the area of biomedical research known as functional electrical stimulation (FES), the technology still has obstacles to overcome. The patient’s body movements are not fluid, and additionally the FES technology still has bugs when working with paralyzed body parts, which are often weak and deteriorated from inactivity.

Nonetheless, the breakthrough provides incredible development towards a more efficient technology potentially capable of overcoming paralysis.

Source: MIT Technology Review

Researchers work on improving lithium-ion batteries

​Lithium-air batteries have a high energy density— approximately equivalent to that of gasoline —and have the potential to store enough energy to power electric cars and grid-scales for city power supplies. Despite their amazing features, lithium-air batteries have several practical issues that must be tackled before they can reach the battery market. Scientists at the University of Cambridge are working to overcome these issues and improve the feasibility of an industrially applicable lithium-ion battery.

One improvement they have made is the development of a highly porous graphene electrode to act at the negative terminal of the battery. This highly porous negative electrode improves the electric conductivity of the battery, allowing it to operate more efficiently than before. While these researchers claim that a practical lithium-air battery won’t likely reach the market for at least another decade, they nonetheless are working to overcome the battery’s barriers in order to make a lithium-air battery feasible.

The results of the research suggest promising future studies, and were published in the journal Science.

Source: ScienceDaily

Scientists postulate discovery of earliest form of life

​A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences proposes that the earliest signs of life may date back as far as 4.1 billion years, which is 300 million years farther than geologists previously thought. In this study, scientists examined zircons, which are large, mostly indestructible crystals, which were dated up to 4.4 billion years old. The study looked at zircons from the Jack Hills in Western Australia. This location is a gold mine for geological samples, providing more samples from the Hadean era than any other location on Earth.

In one 4.1 billion year-old zircon crystal, they discovered small specks of undisturbed graphite, which is a carbon mineral. Carbon compounds are conducive to generating organic life, and the ratio of heavy to light carbon atoms within the graphite sample the researchers analyzed match similar atomic carbon ratios in organic life today. Although the study does not claim that specks of graphite are definitive signs of life, the study concludes the specks are indicative of the possibility that life could have formed far earlier than geologists initially believed.

Source: Science Magazine