Breakthroughs and trends in the world of technology.
Optics
Bright Ideas
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but without illumination, there’s nothing to see. “Light,” an interactive exhibit at the Kaneko in Omaha, merges design and technology to probe the physiology of perception—as well as photonics, sustainability, and creativity. Escape reality in California media artist Refik Anadol’s Infinity Room, part of his Temporary Immersive Environment Experiments, where cinematic projections in a mirrored cube blur the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds. Skyglow, by celebrated time-lapse filmmakers Harun Mehmedinovic and Gavin Heffernan, explores the impact of artificial lighting on our rapidly vanishing dark night skies, while Triph, Circus Family’s participatory installation, changes color, intensity, and sound when visitors move through its large geometric sculptures. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extreme Light Laboratory’s research also is on display, in the form of videos and light experiments. The lab’s ultrahigh-intensity DIOCLES laser system produces the strongest light on Earth, hotter than a billion suns, and one day could spark such breakthroughs as a way to detect tumors that current X-rays cannot, or an ultrafast camera that can capture the motion of chemical reactions. – Mary Lord
©Tom Kessler
Biomining
Pollution Solution
Tailing ponds, which hold the toxic byproducts of tar sands and other mining operations, are an environmental scourge. But could their cleanup generate revenue? Researchers at several Canadian universities think so. The key: using microorganisms in the wastewater to extract valuable metals from poisonous slurry. “All tailing ponds contain sulfide minerals and can be treated theoretically by tailoring biomining technology to the chemistry and mineralogy of the tailings,” explains University of Toronto chemical engineering professor Vladimiros Papangelakis. As he told Ontario’s Sudbury Star, “the best bacteria” already have adapted to the chemistry, metals, and toxicity of their environment. “We will simply try to make these bacteria happier by changing the conditions and how we feed them in order to steer certain chemical reactions in the direction we want to remediate and to try to recover some metals.” Papangelakis reckons the residue from Sudbury’s mines could contain $7 billion-worth of nickel alone. – Pierre Home-Douglas
©Sean Caffrey
Aeronautical Engineering
Pilot Light
As Prism reported last year, the most likely first commercial use of battery-powered electric planes will be short-range urban commuters that take off and land vertically. British start-up Autonomous Flight is taking the concept a step further: ditching the human pilot. The company plans to sell electric drones capable of shuttling two passengers around the greater London area. Unmanned test flights already have taken place, and entrepreneur Martin Warner, who heads Autonomous Flight, expects to test the Y6S drone with people on board later this year—though not over London. Warner told the satellite channel Sky News that the drone can fly between Heathrow Airport and Charing Cross rail station in central London in 12 minutes, compared with an hour by taxi if there are no serious traffic problems. To reassure jittery passengers about safety, he told Sky News, the drones would be engineered to include “multiple flight redundancies” so they could either reach their destination or land immediately in an emergency. According to the company’s website, the Y6S can cruise at 70 mph at an altitude of 1,500 feet and has a range of 80 miles. One of Warner’s past start-ups was an online film distribution and streaming service. If his passenger drones take off, he will have turned a sci-fi movie mainstay into a real-life business success. – Thomas K. Grose
©Autonomousflight
Genetic Engineering
Immune Response
The CRISPR gene-editing tool uses one of two types of Cas9, a common bacterial protein that can conduct precise editing of DNA sequences within a cell. One version comes from Staphylococcus aureus, which causes staph infections, the other from Streptococcus pyogenes, which causes strep throat. This year, a host of trials are set to begin that use CRISPR therapies on diseases ranging from sickle-cell anemia to beta thalassemia, a blood disorder. However, a new study suggests that CRISPR systems may not work in most humans. Stanford University researchers recently sampled the blood of 22 newborns and 12 adults and found antibodies to the editing tool’s two proteins in more than 65 percent of those tested. This could mean many of us would reject gene therapies because we’ve built up immunities to the bacteria they use. But as the Atlantic reports, there are several ways to work around the problem. Among them: Edit the genes in the lab, then return the cells to the body without the Cas9 proteins; use CRISPR in areas unprotected by the immune system; find ways to camouflage the proteins so they escape detection by antibodies; find and use new types of bacteria that also have CRISPR systems but are harmless to humans; and program the bacteria to express Cas9 for only the time it takes to do the edit. In other words, if CRISPR ultimately fails to make good on its promise of treating now untreatable diseases, it probably won’t be our immune system’s fault. – T. G.
©Thinkstock
Intelligence Analysis
Missed by a Mile
Last May, North Korea launched a medium-range missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam. Two months later, it successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile, followed by November’s launch of an improved ICBM with a range of more than 8,000 miles—putting all of North America at risk. The rapid advances surprised U.S. intelligence agencies, which estimated early last year that Pyongyang was three to five years from developing a missile that could strike the continental United States. How could the spies have erred so badly? A recent New York Times article suggested a number of miscalculations, including the assumption that it would take North Korea as long to master rocket technology as it took the Cold War superpowers. Analysts also hadn’t counted on Kim Jong Un’s regime getting boosts from advanced computer modeling and foreign experts, nor did they appreciate that Kim would place a higher priority on developing nuclear weapons than did his father and grandfather, the Times contends. Despite the advances, big challenges remain. U.S. officials note the difficulty of making nuclear warheads that can survive reentry into the atmosphere, and one expert quoted in the Times figures that North Korea still needs at least two years to perfect the technologies needed to hit U.S. cities. South Korea’s foreign minister told CNN in December that there is “no concrete evidence” that its dangerous neighbor has achieved either of those technical capabilities. – T. G.
©Thinkstock
Public Health
Preemptive Strike
Many virulent diseases that emerged or resurfaced last year—including avian flu, Ebola, yellow fever, and Zika—share a common trait. They all originated in other animals and made the leap to humans either by direct contact or via insect bites. DARPA, the Pentagon’s high-concept research agency, recently announced plans to fund a 3½-year study to curb such crossovers. Called PREEMPT, for Preventing Emerging Pathogenic Threats, the project seeks to model how viruses mutate in animals and then figure out how to halt those mutations before humans are placed at risk. For DARPA, containing disease threats is another way to protect troops, who often must venture into war or disaster zones where the risk of encountering novel pathogens is high. Researchers will be trying to understand how viruses evolve within a species and looking for evolutionary bottlenecks that could be exploited to halt dangerous mutations—like the tiny change that made Zika damage babies’ brains. They also will test intervention approaches in a controlled lab setting. If successful at suppressing interspecies jumps, says a DARPA official, “we’ll vastly diminish the possibility of future viral pandemics.” – T. G.
©DARPA
Information Technology
Memory Loss
IBM released the first magnetic tape storage system in 1952, ushering in the modern computing era. But guess what? According to a recent Public Radio International report, most top tech companies and even research labs like Fermilab still depend on that 20th-century technology to preserve data—as a backup to cloud-based digital technologies for first-line storage. To be sure, today’s magnetic tape cartridges are fairly advanced: They can hold hundreds of terabytes of data, comparable to millions of books. The problem with digital storage, PRI says, is that many media, like CDs, decay over time. That’s led to fears we’re heading toward a “digital dark age” of lost data. There’s also so much digital content being stored in the cloud that it soon may outstrip the ability of hard drives to hold it, Science has reported. In the past two years, we’ve generated more data than all of the preceding years of recorded history. Magnetic tape may not offer a long-term solution, however, because tape can degrade if not properly stored. The best solution may ultimately rest with DNA, the amazing molecule that has safely stored the code for all life for billions of years. Scientists have been making strides in storing digital information on DNA, a single gram of which could hold 215 petabytes of data. That, Science says, would allow all human data ever recorded to be stored in a container no bigger than two pickup trucks. – T. G.
©Miguel Ventura
Robotics
Drop and Gimme 10
Humanoid robots typically move in stilted, often clumsy fashion. Not Kengoro, an athletic machine that can do chin-ups and push-ups, play badminton, and even work up a sweat. Its University of Tokyo inventors note that robots typically are designed on the basis of conventional engineering, mechanics, electronics, and informatics, and thus are built from rigid parts like actuators and motorized gearboxes that limit motion. Humans are far more flexible, thanks to skin, muscle, cartilage, and other malleable materials. Kengoro has actuators—116 of them, located in areas where human muscle would be—but they’re hooked up to wires that contract like human muscle so it can move more smoothly. And the sweat? It’s water vapor, released when the water circulating within Kengoro’s porous metal frame is warmed from the heat produced by the actuators. The robotic sweat is actually a cool way to safely vent heat. And more humanlike movements might make robots better suited for such roles as crash-test dummies or search and rescue crew members. – T. G.
©Asano, Okada, Inaba, Science Robot
Virtual Reality
Mind Reader
Awakening, the world’s first brain-controlled virtual reality game, will hit arcades later this year. Created by Boston start-up Neurable, it uses a brain-computer interface (BCI) that lets players move objects merely by thinking about them. “We’ve essentially created a brain mouse,” CEO Ramses Alcaide tells IEEE Spectrum magazine. In addition to a VR headset, players must strap on a brain-scanning headband containing seven electrodes that can pick up electroencephalography (EEG) signals. Those signals are sent to a software program that interprets them, the magazine explains. Movable objects in the game flash with lights, which causes certain neurons to fire that the headband can track. The software translates the brainwaves into a game command to move the object. Awakening is just an early example of what a recent Economist essay calls the quickening pace of BCI research and product development. Beyond games, other frontrunners will likely have medical applications, such as restoring movement to the paralyzed. Many hurdles remain, however. EEG headbands or caps aren’t very effective, and brain implants that could do a better job at reading firing neurons are a long way from being ready for commercialization. Some BCI technologies may fail for lack of interest. For instance, the magazine asks, will consumers really want to type messages using their thoughts when a reliable voice assistant already does a nifty job? Listen up, Alexa! – T. G.
©Neurable
Developmental Biology
Lab-Sown Wild Oats
In an advance that one day could let same-sex couples have children with DNA from both parents or give infertile women the option of lab-grown eggs, researchers at the University of Cambridge have nearly coaxed stem cells to develop into human sperm. Earlier efforts by Chinese and Japanese scientists produced healthy mouse pups from artificial sperm and eggs. But it takes only 13 days for mice stem or skin cells to develop into either sperm or eggs—a process called meiosis. Humans require eight weeks. The Cambridge team, led by developmental biologist Azim Surani, has been able to track the process for up to four weeks, including witnessing the beginning of a meiosis milestone called “erasure.” That’s when genetic changes caused by environmental factors are wiped from the cells, so offspring don’t pick up DNA mutations. Researchers eventually must figure out how to get skin or stem cells to morph into either sperm or eggs. Moreover, Surani tells the Guardian newspaper, they will need to ensure that the lab-grown eggs or sperm perfectly replicate those produced by the body. Says Surani: “You can make an egg that looks like an egg, but it might not be the right cell in molecular detail. You could get a lot of problems with that.” – T. G.
©Thinkstock
Agricultural Engineering
Growth Spurt
The amount of arable land on Earth is decreasing, but the world’s population is rapidly growing. What to do? Well, scientists worldwide are working on new technologies that could greatly improve farming efficiency. For instance: Researchers at the UK’s John Innes Center, working with colleagues at two leading Australian universities, have updated a decade-old NASA technology that uses intense, day-long lighting regimes inside greenhouses to speed-grow crops. The researchers were able to achieve wheat generation from seed to seed in a mere eight weeks. The new version of the technology uses low-cost LED lights tuned to emit light at specific wavelengths to boost photosynthesis. The researchers were able to grow six generations of wheat, chickpea, and barley plants in a year, compared with two or three generations in a normal greenhouse or a single generation in a field. The technology can be easily scaled up to industrial levels, and the resulting crops are actually more robust that those grown in regular greenhouses. Meanwhile, researchers at Iowa State University, led by Liang Dong, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, have come up with a low-cost sensor on tape that can measure how much time it takes for plants to move water from their roots to their leaves. That’s a measurement that could help farmers water plants more efficiently. The “plant tattoo sensor,” as it’s called, uses graphene, the one-atom-thick material that’s a superconductor of electricity and heat. The sensor is the result of a fabrication method Dong’s team invented that leaves behind an intricate pattern of graphene on a tiny piece of tape that can be stuck to plant leaves. Water vapor changes the conductivity of the sensor, a metric that can be used to accurately calculate transpiration, or the release of water vapor from a leaf. – T. G.
©Liang Dong
Autonomous Vehicles
Undersea Sleuths
Robots are being deployed to solve two very different mysteries. Last month, the Norwegian research ship Seabed Constructor was set to arrive in a remote area of the Indian Ocean to renew the hunt for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which vanished nearly four years ago. A previous three-year search by Dutch company Fugro found nothing after searching 46,300 square miles of ocean, the Economist reports. But Fugro used just one drone sub that could dive only to around 13,100 feet, so it rarely got close to the ocean floor. Seabed Constructor’s eight autonomous submarines can dive to about 19,700 feet. Working in tandem, they should be able to scour 9,650 square miles of new territory—which takes into account wreckage that has since washed up on several African coasts—in roughly three weeks. Meanwhile, a fleet of seven sub robots developed by the University of Washington has begun exploring the murky waters beneath Antarctica’s ice shelves. As Scientific American points out, the region’s inaccessibility makes it hard for researchers to predict the pace of polar melting. The drones will measure temperature, pressure, water chemistry and turbulence. Assuming they survive the hard, frozen, shoreline, the subs will seek safe areas to surface every few weeks to upload data to an orbiting satellite. – T. G.
©SwireSeabed
Water Quality
Saline Drip
Is winter to blame for exacerbating one of engineering’s grand challenges—providing clean water? That’s the hard-to-escape finding of a new National Science Foundation-funded study that examined 50 years of data from 232 U.S. Geological Survey river-monitoring sites across North America. The analysis, conducted by a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers led by the University of Maryland, revealed the continent’s freshwater supplies—including the Mississippi, Hudson, Potomac, Canadian, and Chattahoochee rivers—are becoming not only salty, but also more alkaline as a result. The culprit: indirect release of salt into waterways from road deicers, fertilizers, and other salty compounds. Thankfully, there are some ready countermeasures. For instance, using lesser amounts of brine can deice roads as effectively as granulated salt. Pre-treating roads ahead of anticipated snowy or icy conditions reduces salt usage, too. And many American cities are using outdated, inefficient salt-spreading equipment that could be upgraded. Other remedies include building further away from waterways and improving the design of stormwater drainage systems. Meanwhile, the researchers say more must be done to better monitor and replace old water pipes across the country that already are affected by corrosion and scaling and could release toxic compounds due to high salinity. – T. G.
©Thinkstock