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A robot made from radish sprouts and the rise of plant-based machines

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  New research takes a revolutionary approach to robotics, suggesting that plants could provide the muscle power driving future machines. While the idea of moving plants may sound like something straight out of John Wyndham’s Day of the Triffids, these motile plants would serve Earth and humanity rather than threaten them, functioning as eco-friendly robotic systems. Instead of the menacing Triffids from that post-apocalyptic tale, future humans could even consume these plant-based robots after their work is done. A new take on robotics Humanity’s growing reliance on robots is set to continue, fueling the demand for sustainable robots that reduce resource consumption and can harmlessly break down in nature without leaving behind any mechanical remains. According to a paper published in the journal Advanced Science, plants could meet both these needs. “We humans can move by muscles,” said Jun Shintake, an assistant professor at the University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo and one
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Nobel prizes are still failing to celebrate the diversity of science

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The Nobel committees seem to have an unfortunate habit of overlooking women and Black people when it comes to science – this must change, says Alexandra Thompson It is that time of year when congratulations are in order, as some of the best minds in science are awarded a Nobel prize. The latest winners have a few things in common: they undoubtedly have an impressive body of work – and they are all men, they live in high-income countries and none of them is Black. Gary Ruvkun and Victor Ambros won the prize for physiology or medicine for their discovery of microRNAs and the role they play in controlling genes, which could help treat cancer. A string of papers led to this discovery, many of which list Rosalind Lee – Ambros’s wife – as an author. The Nobel committee for physiology or medicine was keen to recognise Lee on social media , but didn’t go as far as awarding her a medal. Maybe it thinks that one per household is good enough. Lee’s omission may seem familiar. In 1962, James Wats
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Anion-exchange membrane reactor for electrocatalytic hydrogenation of pyridines to piperidines. (IMAGE)

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Electrocatalytic hydrogenation is a cutting-edge technique in sustainable chemistry that allows for the efficient conversion of various organic compounds using electrical energy. One such promising application is the hydrogenation of pyridines to piperidines, vital intermediates in pharmaceutical , agrochemical, and fine chemical industries. This transformation is traditionally carried out using metal catalysts under high pressure and temperature, which can be energy-intensive and generate unwanted by-products. However, anion-exchange membrane (AEM) reactors offer a more environmentally friendly alternative through the use of electrochemical methods, simplifying the process and reducing energy consumption. In an AEM reactor, the core component is the membrane, which selectively allows the passage of anions while separating the two chambers of the reactor. The membrane facilitates the movement of negatively charged ions from the cathode to the anode, while the electrochemical reacti
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An mRNA vaccine protected mice against deadly intestinal C. difficile bacteria

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Clostridioides difficile is a notoriously nasty intestinal bug, with few effective treatments and no approved vaccines. But the same technology that enabled the first COVID-19 vaccines has shown early promise, in mouse experiments, against this deadly infection, which kills 30,000 people in the United States each year. An mRNA vaccine designed to target C. difficile and the toxins it produces protected mice from severe disease and death after exposure to lethal levels of the bacterial pathogen, researchers report in the Oct. 4 Science. While it will take much more research to see whether the vaccine is safe and effective for humans, the results hint that an mRNA vaccine might succeed where more conventional vaccines have failed. C. difficile is an opportunistic pathogen that often wreaks intestinal havoc after a course of antibiotics clears out healthy gut bacteria (SN: 10/24/18). The bacterium infects around 500,000 people in the United States each year , and the toxins it secretes
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Computer scientist finds a way to prevent wireless bike shifters from being hacked

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Earlence Fernandes is a computer science professor at UC San Diego. He’s also a cycling geek. He stands next to his bike at UCSD ’s computer science building and tells how he commutes to work on his bike and rides for recreation. “I mostly get into it because it’s an incredibly calming experience,” he said. “When you’re out in the mountains it makes me feel incredibly good.” He also follows professional cycling, though he knows it has a terrible problem with corruption and cheating. Performance enhancing drugs have been a problem for decades, and it doesn’t end with that. This year he realized another way to cheat is hacking into someone’s wireless shifter. He said he does not race but he uses an electronic shifter on one of his bikes. He explained how buttons on his handlebar send a signal to his derailleur on the rear hub to change the position of the chain, in a way that is very precise. “I used to use mechanical systems all the time. I did not know how good electronic shifting was
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US scientist and family appear on a ‘kill list’ for working with China

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  A leading US disease ecologist says he has faced death threats and harassment because of his work with Chinese   scientists   on virus research before the Covid-19 pandemic – an experience he describes as a “medieval” witch hunt. Peter Daszak, president of scientific research organisation  EcoHealth Alliance  (EHA), said he and the non-profit had endured four years of “relentless” and “damaging”  attacks , online and in the press, including actions directed at him and his family. He said an envelope containing white powder had been sent to his home address in the United States, while the names of his children and wife had appeared on a “kill list” on 4chan, an anonymous online forum. “That is not appropriate or normal for a scientist to be put through. And you get zero sympathy for this,” Daszak told the Post in an interview “You talk to the FBI to try and help. They are the same guys investigating you and do not believe that you did not do something wrong. It is awful.” “No one has
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A blast of X-rays from a nuclear explosion should be enough to save Earth from an incoming asteroid, according to the results of a first-of-its-kind experiment. The findings, published 1 on 23 September in Nature Physics, “showed some really amazing direct experimental evidence for how effective this technique can be”, says Dawn Graninger, a physicist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “It’s very impressive work.” Nathan Moore, a physicist at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and his colleagues designed the experiment to simulate what might happen if a nuclear bomb was detonated near an asteroid. Previously, scientists have studied the momentum of a bomb’s shock wave — which results from the expansion of gas — pushing against an asteroid. However, Moore’s team says that the huge amount of X-rays produced in the explosion would have a bigger effect in changing an asteroid’s trajectory. The team used Sandia’s vast Z machin
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