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05/19/2016 : 130357
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Mind-Reading Tattoos Transform Real-Time Brainwave Monitoring
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Posted by Okachinepa on 12/02/2024 @
Courtesy of SynEvol
Crwdit: Nanshu Lu
To track brain activity, researchers have created a novel liquid ink that can be printed directly onto a patient's head for the first time. This cutting-edge technology, which was published on December 2 in the journal Cell Biomaterials, offers a quicker and easier way to track brainwaves and diagnose neurological disorders than conventional techniques. Additionally, it has a lot of potential to advance non-invasive brain-computer interface technology.
According to Nanshu Lu, co-corresponding author and researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, "Our advancements in sensor design, biocompatible ink, and high-speed printing pave the way for future on-body manufacturing of electronic tattoo sensors, with broad applications both within and beyond clinical settings."
An essential diagnostic technique for a number of neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, brain tumors, seizures, and brain traumas, is electroencephalography (EEG). In a conventional EEG test, personnel use rulers and pencils to measure the patient's scalp and mark more than a dozen sites on which electrodes will be adhered. These electrodes are then connected to a data-collection device via lengthy wires to track the patient's brain activity. Many patients find this setup to be inconvenient and time-consuming, and they have to endure hours of sitting for the EEG exam.
Known as electronic tattoos, or e-tattoos, Lu and her colleagues have been at the forefront of the development of tiny sensors that monitor physiological data from the human skin's surface. Researchers have used e-tattoos on the chest to gauge heart activity, on muscles to gauge muscular exhaustion, and even beneath the armpit to gauge sweat components.
Traditionally, e-tattoos were applied to the skin after being printed on a thin layer of glue, but this only worked on places without hair.
According to Lu, "one of the ongoing challenges in e-tattoo technology has been designing materials that are compatible with hairy skin." The group created a kind of liquid ink using conductive polymers to get around this. After drying, the ink functions as a thin-film sensor that detects brain activity through the scalp after passing through hair.
The locations for the EEG electrodes on the patient's scalp can be created by the researchers using a computer program. After that, they apply a thin coating of the e-tattoo ink to the areas using a digitally controlled inkjet printer. According to the researchers, the procedure is rapid, doesn't involve contact, and doesn't make patients uncomfortable.
Five volunteers with short hair had e-tattoo electrodes printed onto their scalps by the researchers. Alongside the e-tattoos, they also affixed traditional EEG electrodes. When it came to identifying brainwaves with less noise, the team discovered that the e-tattoos fared similarly well.
The gel on the traditional electrodes began to dry out after six hours. While the majority of the remaining electrodes had less skin contact, which led to less precise signal detection, more than one-third of these electrodes were unable to detect any signal at all. In contrast, the e-tattoo electrodes demonstrated consistent connectivity for a minimum of twenty-four hours.
In order to replace the wires used in a typical EEG test, researchers also modified the ink's formula and printed e-tattoo lines that extend from the electrodes to the base of the head. According to co-corresponding author Ximin He of the University of California, Los Angeles, "this modification allowed the printed wires to conduct signals without picking up new signals along the way."
Then, between the tattoos, the researchers connected much shorter physical cables to a tiny gadget that records brainwaves. In order to accomplish a completely wireless EEG procedure, the researchers stated that they intend to incorporate wireless data transmitters inside the e-tattoos in the future.
"Our research has the potential to transform the design of non-invasive brain-computer interface devices," says José Millán, co-corresponding author from the University of Texas at Austin. In order to operate an external device without requiring the user to move a muscle, brain-computer interface devices record brain activity related to a function, such voice or movement.
These days, these gadgets frequently require a big, difficult-to-use headgear. According to Millán, e-tattoos might take the role of an external device and print the electronics straight into a patient's head, increasing accessibility to brain-computer interface technology.
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The Innovation in Nanotechnology Driving Tomorrow's Technology
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Posted by Okachinepa on 11/30/2024 @
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: Second Bay Studios
Scientists have broken a speed record in nanoscience, opening the door to possible breakthroughs in fields including biosensing, soft robotics, neuromorphic computing, and speedier battery charging.
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Washington State University have found a way to boost ion flow in hybrid organic ion-electronic conductors by more than ten times. These special materials combine the electron signaling present in contemporary computers with the ion signaling utilized by biological processes, including the human body.
This discovery, which was published on November 19 in Advanced Materials, is based on molecules that direct and concentrate ions into specific nanochannels, so forming a miniature "ion superhighway" that significantly speeds up their motion.
According to Brian Collins, a physicist at WSU and the study's principal author, "it's pretty powerful to be able to control these signals that life uses all the time in a way that we've never been able to do." "Energy storage may also benefit from this acceleration, which could have a significant impact."
Because they permit simultaneous passage of ions and electrons, these conductors have a great deal of potential for energy storage and battery charging. They also drive innovations like neuromorphic computing, which aims to replicate the way the human brain and nervous system think by fusing biological and electrical systems.
It is unclear exactly how these conductors coordinate the flow of electrons and ions, though. Collins and his colleagues noticed that ions traveled within the conductor somewhat slowly as part of their research for this work. The electrical current was additionally slowed by the slow ion mobility due to their coordinated movement.
"We discovered that while the ions were moving freely in the conductor, they had to pass through this matrix, which is similar to a rat's nest of pipelines, in order for electrons to move. The ions were being slowed down by it," Collins stated.
The researchers developed a straight, nanometer-sized conduit specifically for the ions in order to get around this issue. The ions then needed to be drawn to it. They looked to biology for that. Collins' team exploited a similar process found in cells: molecules that love or hate water. Ion channels are used by all live cells, including those in the human body, to transfer substances in and out of cells.
In order to draw in the ions dissolved in water, or electrolyte, Collins' team first lined the channel with hydrophilic molecules that love water. After that, the ions traveled through the channel at a rate that was more than ten times faster than what they would have done through water alone. The ions' motion set a new global record for the fastest ion speed ever recorded in any substance.
On the other hand, ions avoided the channel and were compelled to pass through the slower "rat's nest" when the researchers lined it with hydrophobic, water-repelling molecules.
Collins' group discovered that the molecules' attraction to the electrolyte could be reversed by chemical processes. In a similar manner to how biological systems regulate access via cell walls, this would open and stop the ion superhighway.
The team's research included developing a sensor that could swiftly identify a chemical reaction adjacent to the channel because the reaction would force the ion superhighway to open or close, producing an electrical pulse that a computer could read.
One of the many possible applications of the research, according to Collins, is the ability to detect at the nanoscale, which might aid in the detection of environmental pollutants or the firing of neurons in the body and brain.
"Learning all the basic mechanisms to control this ion movement and bring this new phenomenon to technology in a variety of ways is really the next step," he stated.
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How Beetles Developed Their Own Biochemical Lab to Take Over the Earth
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Posted by Okachinepa on 11/30/2024 @
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: J. Parker
Some groups of species remained very limited—or even vanished entirely—while others were extraordinarily diversified as life on Earth progressed. For scientists researching the origins of life, one of the most important questions has been why evolution favored some groupings over others.
One of the best examples of evolutionary success is the beetle. Their diversity is unparalleled, with over 400,000 species known to exist—nearly a fifth of all recorded life forms—and countless more that are probably undiscovered. Both co-discoverers of natural selection, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace, were enthralled by their beauty and diversity when they were younger.
However, why are beetles so common? Their evolution of elytra, which are toughened, shield-like structures that protect their delicate flight wings, is one widely accepted theory. Because of this adaption, beetles may flourish in settings that many other insects cannot reach. According to a different view, beetles and flowering plants co-evolved, diversifying as the insects adapted to consume the plants.
The rove beetles (Staphylinidae), a vast radiation of over 66,000 species, are not only the largest family of beetles but also the largest family in the entire animal kingdom. Nevertheless, neither of these theories can adequately explain the largest beetle group of all. They appear to have both abandoned, highly defensive elytra and are mostly predatory rather than plant-eating, which makes roving beetles a mystery. However, within the last 200 million years, they have exploded throughout the biosphere of Earth, occupying every conceivable terrestrial niche.
Researchers in the lab of Joe Parker, an assistant professor of biology and biological engineering, Chen Scholar, and director of Caltech's Center for Evolutionary Science, have conducted a new study that aims to determine what caused this extraordinary result. The study, which was led by former postdoctoral scholar Sheila Kitchen and published online on June 17 in the journal Cell, identifies the evolution of two cell types that form a chemical defense gland within the bodies of these beetles as the driving force behind their worldwide radiation.
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: J.Parker
The "tergal gland," a feature at the tip of rove beetles' flexible abdomens, was the subject of a 2021 study by Parker lab researchers. Using two distinct cell types, the scientists demonstrated how the tergal gland produces toxic substances called benzoquinones and a liquid combination (or solvent) into which the benzoquinones dissolve to form a powerful cocktail that the beetle releases at predators.
In the new study, Kitchen, Parker, and their colleagues compiled whole genomes from a wide range of species across the evolutionary tree of rove beetles and examined the genes expressed by the two cell types of the gland. By doing this, they were able to discover an old genetic toolbox that gave these insects their potent chemical defenses and evolved more than 100 million years ago.
"We were astounded by how similar the gland's genetic architecture was across this enormous group of beetles when we were piecing together the genomes," says Kitchen, who is currently an assistant professor at Texas A&M University. When we began examining particular gene families, we discovered a small but crucial group of evolutionarily new genes in addition to hundreds of ancient genes that had discovered new roles within the gland. The remarkable chemistry of roving beetles evolved thanks in large part to these new genes. Our outstanding multidisciplinary team of evolutionary biologists, chemical ecologists, protein biochemists, and microscopists enabled us to tell this story.
The team discovered a significant evolutionary breakthrough in the way the beetles developed to safely produce the toxic benzoquinones by retracing the molecular stages in gland evolution. The method of poison secretion that rove beetles discovered is remarkably similar to how plants regulate the release of chemical compounds that discourage herbivores. Only until the chemical is safely released outside of the beetle's own cells do they break the toxin from the sugar after binding it to the sugar molecule and making it inactive.
Parker says, "It's pretty amazing that chemically defended beetles put together essentially the same cellular mechanism as plants to prevent themselves from poisoning themselves with their own nasty chemicals."
The beetles began to spread out into tens or perhaps hundreds of thousands of species when they developed this technique in the Early Cretaceous. "It is the quintessential key innovation." Evolutionarily speaking, they advanced significantly once they discovered this solution, according to Parker. With few tens to hundreds of species, related rove beetle lineages lacking the gland have not undergone the same evolutionary diversification.
Through examining the chemistries of several species, the researchers discovered that, astonishingly, although the two cell types that make up the gland have remained mostly unchanged, the chemicals they produce can change significantly, allowing rove beetles to adapt to various ecological niches. A beetle species can create the chemicals it needs to survive in new surroundings by using the gland as a sort of chemical laboratory. In order to live symbiotically with and even prey on worker ants, one group of rove beetles evolved to prey on mites and repurposed the gland to secrete mite sex pheromones. Another group of beetles lives inside ant colonies and produces chemicals that calm the otherwise extremely aggressive worker ants.
"This amazing, reprogrammable mechanism for creating new chemistries and developing new interactions is the rove beetle tergal gland," adds Parker. These beetles were able to attain tremendous ecological specialization because of it. The strange and amazing niches that these beetles have found themselves in would not have been accessible without the gland.
Paradoxically, the team discovered that the gland was overproduced in one set of beetles. "Apparently, you no longer need the gland once you have lived inside an army ant colony of millions of aggressive ants for a sufficient amount of time," Kitchen said. We discovered that beetles that have successfully enticed ants to accept them into their communities had evolved without glands. Many inactivating mutations had accumulated in their gland toolkit genes. Most animals would find an ant colony threatening, but these beetles see it as a safe haven because they have tricked the ants into defending them.
The new study demonstrates how cellular evolutionary changes can have significant, long-term effects on ecological and evolutionary diversification. In this instance, helping to the excessive love of bugs in nature.
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Clean Energy Breakthrough Converts Waste Heat to Electricity
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Posted by Okachinepa on 11/30/2024 @
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: Tokyo University of Science
In order to capture waste heat and turn it into useful power, thermoelectric materials—which turn heat into electricity—are essential. These materials improve energy efficiency by producing more power, which is especially helpful in industries and automobiles where engines generate a lot of waste heat. Additionally, they have potential for portable power applications where conventional power sources might not be practical, including satellites and remote sensors.
The voltage produced by conventional thermoelectric devices, sometimes referred to as parallel thermoelectric devices, follows the direction of heat flow. P-type and n-type parallel materials, which generate voltages in opposite directions, provide the basis for these devices. They provide a higher voltage when connected in series, but this arrangement adds more contact points, which raises electrical resistance and energy loss.
Conversely, transverse thermoelectric devices provide a clear advantage by producing electricity perpendicular to the heat flow. These devices allow for more effective energy conversion with fewer contact points. Materials with "axis-dependent conduction polarity" (ADCP), commonly referred to as goniopolar conductors, are a potential class for these devices. These substances conduct n-type (negative) charges in one direction and p-type (positive) charges in another. But up until now, little research has been done on the transverse thermoelectric effect (TTE), despite its potential.
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: Ryuji Okazaki
According to this perspective, a Japanese research team led by Associate Professor Ryuji Okazaki of Tokyo University of Science's (TUS) Department of Physics and Astronomy, along with Mr. Shoya Ohsumi of TUS and Dr. Yoshiki J. Sato of Saitama University, achieved TTE in the semimetal tungsten disilicide (WSi2). WSi2 has ADCP, as demonstrated by earlier research, however trials have not found its source or the expected TTE.
As a new fundamental technology for sensors that can measure temperature and heat flow, transverse thermoelectric conversion is becoming more and more popular. There aren't many of these materials, though, and there aren't any set design standards. Prof. Okazaki says, "This is the first direct proof of the transverse thermoelectric conversion in WSi2.
Through a combination of computer models and practical testing, the researchers examined the characteristics of WSi2. At low temperatures, they investigated a WSi2 single crystal's thermopower, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity along its two crystallographic axes. They discovered that WSi2's distinct electronic structure, which includes mixed-dimensional Fermi surfaces, is the source of its ADCP. The existence of electrons and holes (positive charge carriers) in distinct dimensions is demonstrated by this structure.
The hypothesized geometrical surface that divides the occupied and unoccupied electronic states of charge carriers within a solid substance is known as a Fermi surface. In WSi2, holes create quasi-two-dimensional Fermi surfaces and electrons create quasi-one-dimensional ones. The TTE effect is made possible by the direction-specific conductivity produced by these special Fermi surfaces.
In line with earlier study, the researchers also noticed differences in these charge carriers' electrical conductivity between samples. The researchers demonstrated through first-principles simulations that these variances resulted from variations in the way charge carriers scatter as a result of flaws in the WSi2 crystal lattice structure. This realization is essential for improving the substance and creating dependable thermoelectric devices. By introducing a temperature differential along a certain angle with respect to both crystallographic axes, they also showed direct TTE creation in WSi2, producing a voltage perpendicular to the temperature differential.
"WSi2 is a
promising candidate for TTE-based devices, according to our results." We anticipate that this research will result in the identification of novel transversal thermoelectric materials and the creation of new sensors," Prof. Okazaki says.
This work advances the development of new materials that can more effectively convert heat into electricity, paving the way for a greener future by clarifying the mechanism of TTE generation in WSi2.
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Could Life on Europa Be Found by NASA's Tiny Robots?
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Posted by Okachinepa on 11/28/2024 @
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: NASA
Using a suite of potent scientific instruments, NASA's Europa Clipper will make 49 flybys of Jupiter's moon Europa in 2030 in an effort to find evidence that life could exist in the ocean beneath the frozen crust. The most cutting-edge scientific equipment ever transported to the outer solar system is aboard the spaceship, which launched on October 14. However, NASA researchers are already working on the next generation of robotic explorers to push the limits of scientific discovery as it embarks on its mission, exploring Europa's subsurface ocean and beyond.
Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers, or SWIM for short, is one such creative idea. This concept envisions the deployment of a swarm of tiny, cellphone-sized, self-propelled robots. An ice-melting cryobot would transport these robots to the ocean below. After being set free, they would disperse and investigate, looking for temperature and chemical cues that might indicate the existence of life.
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: NASA
Why is NASA creating an underwater robot for space travel, one would wonder? It's because we believe that life requires water, and there are locations in the solar system where we wish to search for life. According to Ethan Schaler, lead investigator on SWIM at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, "we therefore need robots that can explore those environments — autonomously, hundreds of millions of miles from home."
A set of prototypes for the SWIM idea, which is being developed at JPL, recently braved the waters of a competitive swimming pool at Caltech in Pasadena, which is 25 yards (23 meters) long. The outcomes were positive.
The most recent version developed by the SWIM team is a 3D-printed plastic prototype that uses inexpensive, commercially available motors and electronics. The prototype, which was propelled by two propellers and had four steering flaps, showed off its ability to maneuver under control, stay on course, and explore in a back-and-forth "lawnmower" pattern. It handled everything on its own without the team's direct assistance. Even "J-P-L" was written out by the robot.
During each test, an engineer with a fishing rod ran alongside the pool, and the robot was connected to a fishing line in case it needed to be rescued. A coworker nearby examined the robot's movements and sensor information on a laptop. The group tested several prototypes in pairs and at the pool for almost 20 rounds of tanks at JPL.
"Building a robot from the ground up and watching it function well in a relevant environment is amazing," Schaler remarked. "This is only the first of many concepts we would have to go through to get ready for a voyage to an ocean planet, and underwater robots in general are really difficult. However, it demonstrates that we can construct these robots with the required capabilities and start to comprehend the difficulties they would encounter on a mission that takes place underground.
The wedge-shaped prototype, which weighed five pounds (2.3 kilograms) and measured roughly 16.5 inches (42 centimeters) in length, was utilized in the majority of the pool tests. The robots, as designed for spaceflight, would be around three times smaller than current autonomous and remotely operated underwater scientific vehicles. In addition to using a unique wireless underwater acoustic communication technology for data transmission and position triangulation, the palm-sized swimmers would have miniature, specially designed components.
These tiny robots were tested digitally, albeit in a computer simulation rather in a swimming pool. Five-inch (12-centimeter) robots regularly searched for possible indications of life in a virtual swarm that replicated the pressure and gravity they would likely experience on Europa. The development of algorithms that would allow the swarm to explore more effectively was facilitated by the computer simulations, which also helped identify the boundaries of the robots' capacity to gather scientific data in an unfamiliar setting.
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit:NASA
Additionally, by taking into consideration tradeoffs between battery life (up to two hours), the amount of water the swimmers could explore (roughly 3 million cubic feet, or 86,000 cubic meters), and the number of robots in a single swarm (a dozen, sent in four to five waves), the simulations gave the team a better understanding of how to maximize science return.
Additionally, a group of researchers at Georgia Tech in Atlanta created and tested an ocean composition sensor that would allow each robot to measure temperature, pressure, conductivity, chemical composition, acidity or alkalinity, and other factors all at once. The chip, which is only a few millimeters square, is the first to house all of those sensors in a small container.
Naturally, a few more years of study would be necessary to prepare such a sophisticated concept for a potential future flight trip to an icy moon, among other things. Schaler envisions SWIM robots being further improved to perform scientific tasks here at home, such as assisting with oceanic studies or making vital observations beneath arctic ice.
Courteey of Synevol
Credit: Ethan Schaler
Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) oversees SWIM, a cutting-edge NASA project supported by the agency's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, which encourages creative concepts for upcoming space travel. In the initiative, a swarm of tiny, self-sufficient swimming robots would scout underground seas on frozen moons like Europa for evidence of life. Delivered by an ice-melting cryobot, these cellphone-sized robots would disperse to look for temperature and chemical cues that might point to habitability or life.
SWIM, which is funded by NIAC Phase I and II grants under NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, is a component of a program that assesses innovative technologies that have the potential to revolutionize missions in the future. This program encourages proposals from researchers in academia, industry, and the U.S. government, pushing the frontiers of space exploration and aerospace.
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