SciTech #ScienceSunday Digest - 29/2016.
SciTech #ScienceSunday Digest - 29/2016.
Permalink here: http://www.scitechdigest.net/2016/07/dna-origami-surfaces-robots-walk-like.html
DNA origami surfaces, Robots walk like humans, Printable metal filament, Machine learning tissue scanning, Transparent skull window, Drone vaccine delivery, Retinal Alzheimer’s detection, Inheriting differential cellular damage, Bacteria in brainstem, Molecular electronics.
1. Precise Surface Functionalisation via DNA Origami
Electron-beam lithography chip fabrication tools can create surfaces etched with photonic crystal cavity arrays, tuned to particular wavelengths of light, that contain up to seven distinct internal surface structures to which precise DNA origami shapes can bind to https://www.caltech.edu/news/dna-origami-lights-microscopic-glowing-van-gogh-51280. With fluorescent molecules (whose light emittance is chosen to match the cavity) attached to specific DNA origami shapes, each cavity can now be precisely filled with from zero to seven fluorescent molecules, and so providing a colour scale with eight shades that the group used to create a dime-sized copy of Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” containing over 65,000 distinct pixels. This is an exciting platform for building precisely patterned functional surfaces; one can imagine the fluorescent molecules being replaced with sensors, quantum dots, enzymes, and other DNA origami structures, perhaps as mini production lines.
2. Human-Like Robotic Gait
DURUS is a robotic platform recently used to demonstrate hyper-efficient, human-like robotic gait and bipedal locomotion http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/durus-brings-humanlike-gait-and-fancy-shoes-to-hyperefficient-robots. DURUS walks nearly 20x more efficiently than the original ATLAS humanoid robot, has human-like heel-toe walking, and can wear human shoes while doing so. The most important facet here is that, while some hardware innovations were involved, the platform is mainly improved software that can be used with different hardware configurations and doesn’t suffer from the same restraints as before. More complex tests are planned for running and walking, and the platform should also prove just as useful in providing much improved prosthetics for amputees.
3. Metal Filament for 3D Printers
Filamet is the name for a new metal-based 3D printing filament launched by The Virtual Foundry that any standard plastic-filament-based 3D deposition printer can use to produce custom metallic objects http://3dprintingindustry.com/news/now-can-print-metal-3d-printer-85255/. The first filaments on offer contain either copper or bronze metallic powder in a resin that is only 11.5% plastic, 88.5% metal, that can be used to print a mostly-metal object that can be polished or else post-processed to remove the remaining plastic to achieve 99%+ pure metal. However, while other metals and even glass and ceramic versions are planned, such objects will be structurally composite in nature and won’t achieve the consistency and strength of a conventional metal object.
4. Machine Learning Tissue Scanning
3Scan is a company that produces knife-edge scanning microscopes for very finely slicing tissue samples and imaging these to produce virtual 3D models, and now plans to use machine learning techniques to further speed up and automate this virtual model reconstruction http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2016/07/11/tissue-analyzer-3scan-builds-out-machine-learning-with-14m-series-b/. This will be particularly interesting for slicing, scanning, and producing ever-larger brain connectome maps in future. Talking of virtual models of neurons and chunks of brain tissue, the Allen Institute for Brain Science has launched the comprehensive Allen Brain Observatory to further boost progress in this area http://www.alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/brain-science/news-press/articles/introducing-allen-brain-observatory.
5. Embedding a Transparent Window in the Skull
A new transparent form of the material yttria-stabilised zirconia was developed as part of the Window into The Brain project, aiming to utilise this material to replace sections of a human skull to allow optical access to the brain whenever needed http://www.gizmag.com/transparent-brain-window/44286/. Recent animal studies show that (i) lasers can pass through the device to not only treat neurons but also destroy bacteria that may be present due to surgery etc, and (ii) the material is tolerated extremely well by the body and avoids inflammation and immune rejection. It’ll be interesting to start to see this used with optogenetics.
6. Remote Vaccine Delivery via Drone
Drones are to be used to deliver vaccine-coated food pellets to remote wilderness areas in order to vaccinate ferrets against a particular disease and prevent their ongoing population decline http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/07/14/u_s_fish_and_wildlife_announces_plan_to_use_drones_and_candy_to_deliver.html. There are some very interesting biocontrol applications here, for example to combat invasive pest species. In related news the robust SwagBot robot has been developed to help remotely herd cattle on large Australian ranches, and might be used to monitor animal health and take samples as needed http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/swagbot-to-herd-cattle-on-australian-ranches. The group are next looking to develop and test more autonomous versions.
7. Early Alzheimer’s Detection via Retina
It appears as though the brain and retina undergo similar changes during the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, but the retina is easily accessible to observation whereas the brain is not - simply by examining the retina (in mice and humans) signs of Alzheimer’s can be detected before the onset of symptoms http://www.kurzweilai.net/how-to-detect-early-signs-of-alzheimers-with-a-simple-eye-exam-before-symptoms-appear. In related news we have yet another experimental Alzheimer’s vaccine showing promise http://blogs.flinders.edu.au/flinders-news/2016/07/13/progress-in-worlds-first-alzheimers-vaccine/.
8. Cell Division Differential in Damage Inheritance
An interesting study suggests that cells in both unicellular and multicellular organisms can, in certain circumstances, undergo differential or asymmetric cell division that results in most and sometimes all of the mutations and damage being inherited by only one of the two daughter cells https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2016/07/studying-bacteria-provides-insight-into-the-origins-of-aging/. In this way only one line of cells accumulates increasing damage with time - aging damage - and there is a population of cells that manages to remain youthful for arbitrary lengths of time, especially during times of stress. While a single cell cannot overcome the accumulation of damage, a group or colony of cells can do so together over time. I wonder if this might be adapted to some sort of anti-aging therapy.
9. How Bacteria Get Into Your Brainstem
In possibly the most terrifying news of the week, a type of bacteria that lives in soil has been found - via an innocuous sniff of the nose - to pass the olfactory mucosa and travel to the central nervous system via the trigeminal nerve https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/news/2016/07/08/deadly-soil-bug-can-reach-the-brain-in-a-day/. From this route the bugs were found in the brainstem and spinal cord; they can cause the potentially fatal disease meliodosis, which can be fatal 50% of the time if it infects the brain. The finding is important as (i) other bacteria are believed to use the same mechanism, (ii) this might now be used to develop treatments and interventions for diseases and persistent pain disorders, and (iii) these are a possible bioweapon. Although I’ll speculate that engineered bacteria might instead be used as therapeutic or enhancement agents via this route.
10. Molecular Electronics Innovations
There were a few interesting molecular electronics items to cover this week. First, functional atomically thin transistors and circuits can be created out of a precise composite of graphene and molybdenum disulfide http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2016/07/11/atomically-thin-transistors/. Second, standard MIMO protocols can be used to boost communications using molecules instead of radio waves http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/for-best-results-send-molecular-messages-through-mimo. Third, single molecule switches can now be reliably operated via mechanochemistry https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2016/07/05/chemists-show-new-way-operate-single-molecular-switch/.
SciTech Tip Jar: http://www.scitechdigest.net/p/donate.html
Permalink here: http://www.scitechdigest.net/2016/07/dna-origami-surfaces-robots-walk-like.html
DNA origami surfaces, Robots walk like humans, Printable metal filament, Machine learning tissue scanning, Transparent skull window, Drone vaccine delivery, Retinal Alzheimer’s detection, Inheriting differential cellular damage, Bacteria in brainstem, Molecular electronics.
1. Precise Surface Functionalisation via DNA Origami
Electron-beam lithography chip fabrication tools can create surfaces etched with photonic crystal cavity arrays, tuned to particular wavelengths of light, that contain up to seven distinct internal surface structures to which precise DNA origami shapes can bind to https://www.caltech.edu/news/dna-origami-lights-microscopic-glowing-van-gogh-51280. With fluorescent molecules (whose light emittance is chosen to match the cavity) attached to specific DNA origami shapes, each cavity can now be precisely filled with from zero to seven fluorescent molecules, and so providing a colour scale with eight shades that the group used to create a dime-sized copy of Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” containing over 65,000 distinct pixels. This is an exciting platform for building precisely patterned functional surfaces; one can imagine the fluorescent molecules being replaced with sensors, quantum dots, enzymes, and other DNA origami structures, perhaps as mini production lines.
2. Human-Like Robotic Gait
DURUS is a robotic platform recently used to demonstrate hyper-efficient, human-like robotic gait and bipedal locomotion http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/durus-brings-humanlike-gait-and-fancy-shoes-to-hyperefficient-robots. DURUS walks nearly 20x more efficiently than the original ATLAS humanoid robot, has human-like heel-toe walking, and can wear human shoes while doing so. The most important facet here is that, while some hardware innovations were involved, the platform is mainly improved software that can be used with different hardware configurations and doesn’t suffer from the same restraints as before. More complex tests are planned for running and walking, and the platform should also prove just as useful in providing much improved prosthetics for amputees.
3. Metal Filament for 3D Printers
Filamet is the name for a new metal-based 3D printing filament launched by The Virtual Foundry that any standard plastic-filament-based 3D deposition printer can use to produce custom metallic objects http://3dprintingindustry.com/news/now-can-print-metal-3d-printer-85255/. The first filaments on offer contain either copper or bronze metallic powder in a resin that is only 11.5% plastic, 88.5% metal, that can be used to print a mostly-metal object that can be polished or else post-processed to remove the remaining plastic to achieve 99%+ pure metal. However, while other metals and even glass and ceramic versions are planned, such objects will be structurally composite in nature and won’t achieve the consistency and strength of a conventional metal object.
4. Machine Learning Tissue Scanning
3Scan is a company that produces knife-edge scanning microscopes for very finely slicing tissue samples and imaging these to produce virtual 3D models, and now plans to use machine learning techniques to further speed up and automate this virtual model reconstruction http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2016/07/11/tissue-analyzer-3scan-builds-out-machine-learning-with-14m-series-b/. This will be particularly interesting for slicing, scanning, and producing ever-larger brain connectome maps in future. Talking of virtual models of neurons and chunks of brain tissue, the Allen Institute for Brain Science has launched the comprehensive Allen Brain Observatory to further boost progress in this area http://www.alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/brain-science/news-press/articles/introducing-allen-brain-observatory.
5. Embedding a Transparent Window in the Skull
A new transparent form of the material yttria-stabilised zirconia was developed as part of the Window into The Brain project, aiming to utilise this material to replace sections of a human skull to allow optical access to the brain whenever needed http://www.gizmag.com/transparent-brain-window/44286/. Recent animal studies show that (i) lasers can pass through the device to not only treat neurons but also destroy bacteria that may be present due to surgery etc, and (ii) the material is tolerated extremely well by the body and avoids inflammation and immune rejection. It’ll be interesting to start to see this used with optogenetics.
6. Remote Vaccine Delivery via Drone
Drones are to be used to deliver vaccine-coated food pellets to remote wilderness areas in order to vaccinate ferrets against a particular disease and prevent their ongoing population decline http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/07/14/u_s_fish_and_wildlife_announces_plan_to_use_drones_and_candy_to_deliver.html. There are some very interesting biocontrol applications here, for example to combat invasive pest species. In related news the robust SwagBot robot has been developed to help remotely herd cattle on large Australian ranches, and might be used to monitor animal health and take samples as needed http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/swagbot-to-herd-cattle-on-australian-ranches. The group are next looking to develop and test more autonomous versions.
7. Early Alzheimer’s Detection via Retina
It appears as though the brain and retina undergo similar changes during the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, but the retina is easily accessible to observation whereas the brain is not - simply by examining the retina (in mice and humans) signs of Alzheimer’s can be detected before the onset of symptoms http://www.kurzweilai.net/how-to-detect-early-signs-of-alzheimers-with-a-simple-eye-exam-before-symptoms-appear. In related news we have yet another experimental Alzheimer’s vaccine showing promise http://blogs.flinders.edu.au/flinders-news/2016/07/13/progress-in-worlds-first-alzheimers-vaccine/.
8. Cell Division Differential in Damage Inheritance
An interesting study suggests that cells in both unicellular and multicellular organisms can, in certain circumstances, undergo differential or asymmetric cell division that results in most and sometimes all of the mutations and damage being inherited by only one of the two daughter cells https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2016/07/studying-bacteria-provides-insight-into-the-origins-of-aging/. In this way only one line of cells accumulates increasing damage with time - aging damage - and there is a population of cells that manages to remain youthful for arbitrary lengths of time, especially during times of stress. While a single cell cannot overcome the accumulation of damage, a group or colony of cells can do so together over time. I wonder if this might be adapted to some sort of anti-aging therapy.
9. How Bacteria Get Into Your Brainstem
In possibly the most terrifying news of the week, a type of bacteria that lives in soil has been found - via an innocuous sniff of the nose - to pass the olfactory mucosa and travel to the central nervous system via the trigeminal nerve https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/news/2016/07/08/deadly-soil-bug-can-reach-the-brain-in-a-day/. From this route the bugs were found in the brainstem and spinal cord; they can cause the potentially fatal disease meliodosis, which can be fatal 50% of the time if it infects the brain. The finding is important as (i) other bacteria are believed to use the same mechanism, (ii) this might now be used to develop treatments and interventions for diseases and persistent pain disorders, and (iii) these are a possible bioweapon. Although I’ll speculate that engineered bacteria might instead be used as therapeutic or enhancement agents via this route.
10. Molecular Electronics Innovations
There were a few interesting molecular electronics items to cover this week. First, functional atomically thin transistors and circuits can be created out of a precise composite of graphene and molybdenum disulfide http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2016/07/11/atomically-thin-transistors/. Second, standard MIMO protocols can be used to boost communications using molecules instead of radio waves http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/for-best-results-send-molecular-messages-through-mimo. Third, single molecule switches can now be reliably operated via mechanochemistry https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2016/07/05/chemists-show-new-way-operate-single-molecular-switch/.
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Great invention.
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