The Homely Scientist

LOL!  Not really, but learning from how gecko’s stick to walls and even glass, scientists are working on better and better adhesives.

Unbundled, their nanotube tape was nearly as adhesive as a live gecko, but as these same tubes were clustered into bundles, their strength went up. By the time the authors optimized the combination of fiber length and bundle width, their tape was over four times stronger than a gecko: a square centimeter was sufficient to support nearly four kilograms. Although this was weaker than the initial strength of a standard piece of adhesive tape, the “gecko tape” had staying power. Its adhesive properties remained stable over time, while those of the adhesive tape dropped below those of the gecko tape after about five minutes.

Because of its reliance on van der Waals forces, the gecko tape had some unusual properties. These forces can work between any two surfaces, allowing the tape to stick to Teflon with roughly half the efficiency of its adhesion to a charged surface. Because the forces are proportional to surface area, peeling the tape works remarkably well: for most angles, peeling gently reduced the surface area, allowing the tape to come off with little force and no damage. Source: Gecko-inspired tape sticks to Teflon

See van der Waals forces are a really cool part of physics.  It’s attraction between molecules that can now be tapped into with carbon nanotubes.  Will we see this gecko tape soon? Probably not, but we could have some cool products coming from nanotube research anytime now.

Hat tip to Wired

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 There are very few medical advances that hold both tremendous promise and equal controversy as embryonic stem cells.  Stem cells have the ability to “become” (grow into) any cell in the body.  Embryonic stem stems are the most powerful stem cells, for obvious reasons–they need to make a complete person.  One problem, the only source of embryonic stem cells are human embryos and obtaining them, means destruction of the embryo.  I will not get into this controversy here.  I read today that scientists have been able to take stems cells from mice skin and make them behave like embryonic ones:

(AP) Three teams of scientists say they have produced the equivalent of embryonic stem cells, at least in mice, without taking the controversial step of destroying embryos.
Their procedure makes ordinary skin cells behave like stem cells. If the same can be done with human cells — a big if — the procedure could lead to breakthrough medical treatments without the contentious ethical and political debates surrounding the use of embryos. Source: Stem Cell Breakthrough?, Scientists Say They Have Produced The Equivalent Of Embryonic Stem Cells In Mice - CBS News

The potential here is tremendous.  We have unlimited skin stem cells and getting a few is no problem at all.  If this pans out in people, then the promise of helping cure a myriad of diseases (diabetes, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and more) could be realized.  Let’s hope so. 

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While we’re not the to point of Johnny Mnemonic, this is a step towards artificial human memory that could be implanted into your brain:

The journey to pack more (proverbial) internal storage into the human brain has been going on for years, but a recent development at Tel-Aviv University could actually bring us one step closer to storing rudimentary memories on a manmade device. Reportedly, a new experiment has shown that it is indeed possible to store said memories “in an artificial culture of live neurons,” which is a fairly significant step towards the “cyborg-like integration of living material into memory chips.” Source: ‘Living’ cyborg chip stores rudimentary memories - Engadget

Of course the implications are huge.  Storing memories of people getting Alzheimer’s, helping people with brain damage, replacing short-term memory problems.  Then we get into the cool stuff like storing the information stored in a genius’ brain before he/she passes on or getting a chip with the entire OED on it implanted into your skull.

Just amazing.

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 Every summer NASA flies over the Greenland ice sheet to determine its “health”–that is thickness, size, and height.  Essentially how fast is it shrinking:

This summer’s NASA expedition to Greenland has returned with fresh data. Now the analysis begins. One piece of equipment used is an ice-penetrating radar that can find bedrock up to 2 miles below the ice surface. NASA estimates an average drop of 9 inches in the height of Greenland’s glaciers would result in a 0.12-inch rise in global sea levels. Source:Greenland’s ice sheet: The annual checkup | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

 I’m sure when the news comes out later this summer, it isn’t going to be good.  The question, of course, is that fine we’re all hyped about global warming now, but is it too late?

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We all know that cleaning a wound is essential to preventing infection. Infected wounds are also irrigated with sterile saline solution to clean them out and reduce infection. So what about water that actually help promote healing by killing pathogens? Pharma company Oculus thinks they are onto something here:

The firm’s Dermacyn topical wound care is an “oxychlorine formulation” using the company’s own Microcyn concoction, which is made by “taking purified water and passing it through a semi-permeable sodium chloride membrane to produce the oxychlorine ions,” and essentially contains “electrically charged molecules which pierce the cell walls of free-living microbes.” Source: Engadget

The first tests will be to treat diabetic foot infections.

Okay so that’s the news, what’s the deal? This is pretty amazing stuff really. The science of passing things through membranes to have some kind of beneficial outcome is really centuries old, you probably do it everyday … making coffee.

The principle, of course, is that a membrane will let some things through and others are blocked. For coffee, the filter keeps the grounds out, but lets coffee steeped water pass through. For reverse-osmosis filters, you are blocking out molecules that aren’t water (this is a big part of making salt water fresh in the Middle East). Sometimes, in the case above for example, the interaction between the fluid and the membrane brings another result–a new compound.

Back in the day I used a ton of filters in my lab work. My favourite was the filter that was really just cloth to get fine particles out of my samples and leave only the “good stuff”.

Tags: Dermacyn, oxychlorine, Oculus

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This is HUGE.  Sure a successful quantum computer has been tested, but making the chips is the important thing.  Without chips that can be mass produced, making quantum computers is just as much a dream as warp drive.  Now … we’re a step closer:

Enter RIKEN, a team of Japanese researchers who now are able to “controllably couple qubits.” Thought not the first to accomplish this (a team at UC Berkley did so last year), the Japanese findings confirm that qubit coupling is the real deal. Wired calls qubit coupling “analogous to the wiring of transistors on a circuit board. When qubits are coupled, they can affect one another — thus acting as something like classical logic gates.”
Source: Scientists Figure Out How to Wire Quantum Computers

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No, I’m not kidding:

The real world version of “kryptonite” – which according to media reports will be officially named “jadarite,” after the place where it was discovered and because it does not contain the element krypton – is white, does not glow and is reportedly harmless to humans and/or natives of the planet Krypton.

Despite the harmless nature of this world’s kryptonite, Superman is far from off the hook. The first storyline in the newly-launched ongoing SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL series, from writer Darwyn Cooke (New Frontier) and artist Tim Sale (whose work has been featured on NBC’s “Heroes”), revealed a new take on Superman’s first encounter with the malicious mineral, and how it affected a young Superman’s early career as a hero.

The mineral, which is a potential source of lithium and boron, will be put on display tomorrow at the West London museum. Reports that the mineral will be encased in lead are unconfirmed.
Source: Real Krypotonite discovered in Serbia

Really.  Read the BBC if you don’t believe me, and check the calendar, it is April 25th.  In any case it’s a fun thing to think about.  Although I think the Scientific American got it right on their blog.  What we really want is Adamantium.

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Big news yesterday…

A team of astronomers announced they have discovered the smallest and potentially most Earth-like extrasolar planet yet. Five times as massive as Earth, it orbits a relatively cool star at a distance that would provide earthly temperatures as well, signaling the possibility of liquid water.

“The separation between the planet and its star is just right for having liquid water at its surface,” says astronomer and team spokesperson Stephane Udry of the Observatory of Geneva in Versoix, Switzerland. “That’s why we are a bit excited.”
Source: All Wet? Astronomers Claim Discovery of Earth-like Planet: Scientific American

Wow!  Cool!  Let’s move!  Umm.  Not so fast.  Okay, first thing it’s five-times more massive than Earth.  Meaning … gravity is, what, at least five times stronger (hmm maybe good for an Olympic training camp). Okay then there is the other detail.  It’s orbiting a star in Libra … 20 freakin’ light years away!  So until Zefram Cochrane invents warp drive in 2063, we’re kinda hooped.

For other thoughts on Earth 2.0, read David at science base …

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One of the huge problems with solar energy has been a materials science one.  Silicon-based cells are expensive, fragile, and have limited places they can be applied (easily).  Looks like that’s all going to change:

New solar cells developed by Massey University don’t need direct sunlight to operate and use a patented range of dyes that can be impregnated in roofs, window glass and eventually even clothing to produce power.

This means teenagers could one day be wearing jackets that will recharge their equivalents of cellphones, iPods and other battery- driven devices.
Source: Solar power breakthrough at Massey - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz (See also: Sea Eagle)

These solar cells are based off of research into plant photosynthetic compounds.  Essentially, what makes plants so darn efficient at using the Sun.  While these dye-based cells are only in the proof-of-concept stage, the implications are amazing.  Mind boggling.

Just read and let me know what you think.

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This isn’t something that I thought I would come across on Zane’s blog, but anyway researchers up here in the Great White North (that would be Canada) have found that a little bacteria loves sugar maple sap and the “output” of that love are some cool bio-polymers:

Researchers in Canada have discovered that maple syrup may aid in the production of bioplastic. It turns out that a form of bacteria called alcaligenes latus has a sweet tooth, and behaves particularly ravenously when exposed to maple sap and syrup. Researchers found that the bacteria not only thrive when added to maple syrup, but also transform the sugars in the sap into a family of natural polymers that can be used to make plastic-like materials that are biodegradable – everything from “green” food packaging to drug-delivery films that dissolve harmlessly in the body.
Source: Using Maple Syrup To Make Bioplastics (TreeHugger)

So, no you’re not going to see LEGO made from maple syrup, but there could be lots of other things that you could see.  Man and as if maple syrup wasn’t expensive enough.  Oh well, if it helps to improve the planet.

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