Month: June 2020

Suspended Animation

Most science fiction movies have concepts of space travel which that every 11-year-old wants to take. However, is it possible in real life? Can we travel through space through extended periods or is it just science fiction?

In movies we have often seen humans that are sent into extended periods of a deep sleep just so they can survive their journey in space by flash freezing their bodies. This may still be far off in the future, but there has recently been some progress made.

A team of scientists has been researching suspended animation in mice. They wanted to see whether mice would be able to survive suspended animation or not by putting the mice into a state of hibernation by stimulation of certain neurons in their brain that could control hibernation-like behavior.

It is the first time in history that such neural progress has taken place.

In a journal titled Nature, a paper was published which explained how the researchers had found that certain brain pathways existed within the hypothalamus. These were said to be responsible for the state of hibernation-like sleep that mice would fall into. This state occurs when the body temperature of the mice decreases down to 20 degrees while the metabolic rate also decreases.

Researchers believe that body temperature is vital for most animals. It is vital in keeping them alive. In humans, if the body temperature were to fall by even a few degrees, the human would go into hypothermia and die. However, in the hibernation that is created by the research, the body temperature falls drastically and is controlled.

However, one should note that there is still much research that needs to be done in the field of human hibernation and how to sustain, maintain, and create it. It’s a task that will take many years to master.

Researchers believe that the research right now is not strong enough and not extensive enough for them to start thinking of humans. However, their end goal is to induce a similar state within humans by identifying neural processes that could do so.

Genetically Modified Moths

Moths are insects that a lot of people are scared of. They are also known to eat and destroy crops and ruin harvests. To reduce these losses, scientists have come up with a plan.

The Diamond Back moth is a huge moth that ruins tons of harvests and leads to around 5 billion dollars of losses every single year. Teams of researchers have been hired to take care of this issue and try to suppress the population of the Diamond Back moth.

To do so, a genetically modified Diamond Back moth has been created which will help reduce the population of moths that can ruin the harvest. These moths have just recently been put out into the wild.

The process that will take place will be that the moths that have been released will mate with female moths and the offspring will not be able to survive beyond the caterpillar age, which will eventually begin to lessen the population of moths. However, the catch is that only the female offspring will die, the male offspring will survive and mate with females again to breed offspring in which the female moth dies. When this continues for a while, the species will begin to suppress and they will be much less in number than before. However, it cannot completely erase the Diamond Back moth as the gene will rectify after a few generations.

This technique of creating sterile insects was created back in the 1950s. Now with updated technology and vast research, scientists have used a similar technique to reduce or suppress the population of the Diamond Back moth, so it does not harm or ruin the crops leading to huge losses.

Before the modified moths were released in the wild, they were marked on their bodies with fluorescent powder so they could easily be identified. This then allowed the team of researchers to observe the behavior of the moths and the way they interacted with their community.

They saw the released male moths behaved in the same manner as other male moths do in terms of survival and distance traveled, and this then helped their plan for insect suppression move forward.

However, one thing to note is that when a species is genetically modified, there is always a concern about the impact it will have on the environment.

Alien Pathogens

Travelling to outer space is fascinating, but little do we think about what happens when distant planets are visited by humans, or when those humans come back to Earth. Critical to the survival of any planet is the close connection between everything in nature, which also affects us.

While it is a huge achievement to be able to visit outer space, it has raised many questions for scientists. One of the most important risks from such activities is the exposure to bacteria. One possibility is an astronaut contaminating their destination planet, while the other is bringing harmful bacteria back to Earth.

Scientists refer to these bacteria as alien pathogens and some believe it could be potentially harmful for the human population. This is a cause for concern as the world is currently in a terrible state due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other environmental issues.

However, many also believe that these pathogens do not pose too much risk to human health, claiming that the chance of one infecting Earth are zero. Scientists say that these pathogens react differently compared to the ones typically found on Earth.

Even if that is the case, astronauts still have a responsibility when travelling to distant planets to avoid contaminating those planets. Humans must avoid treating other planets the same way they have treated Earth. The consequence of our carelessness is clear.

Space travelers must be educated on ethical travelling to rule out even the slightest chances of pollutants from other planets infecting any planet.

Every day scientists are making new discoveries and the potential for travelling to Mars and other planets has drastically improved. Ways to ensure that these activities do not disrupt the life on any planet must be considered.

Scientists have come up with ways to minimize the after-effects of such activities, including chemical cleaning and heat sterilization to stay safe.

There has been news that NASA has already carried out decontamination processes for a mission that is set to launch this year. This is a proactive approach that could save nature and the human race from major catastrophes.

Million Mile Battery

More businesses are now moving towards efficient practices to save the environment from further damage. Companies like Tesla are doing so by building solar powered electric cars. And recently, Tesla showed its interest in developing a million mile battery.

Tesla believes that the introduction of such a battery will reduce the cost of electric vehicles (EVs) by a significant amount. To be more exact, the company says that there will be little variation between the prices of EVs and gas engine cars.

Million mile battery users will have to worry less about frequent repairs and replacements of the battery as the million battery is designed to improve performance and longevity, as well as running costs.

The battery is yet to be manufactured and once introduced, it will be used in Tesla’s Model 3 luxury Sedan and is expected to be sold in China by the end of this year or early next year, before making it widely available in other parts of the world.

To make it happen, Tesla has recruited experienced academic battery experts who are working day and night to introduce this surprising invention to the world very soon.

The successful introduction of the million mile battery will make EVs much more accessible than they currently are. If that happens, the damage caused by regular vehicles on our atmosphere could be greatly reduced. This is one of the biggest milestones of the automobile industry in recent times.

It demonstrates that companies are now passionately finding ways to incorporate efficient practices for the good of the planet, and encouraging others to take more responsible steps to keep up with the changes in the market.