Author Archives: Dan Bonness

Why the conFusion?

Nuclear fusion is a promising technology that always seems to be 20 years away. Money has poured into Research and Development over the past few decades with no real results. In 1989, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann claimed to discover a means of facilitating nuclear fusion at room temperature, termed cold fusion. No one was able to consistently or reliably replicate their results and cold fusion became pathological science, science produced by wishful thinking. However, fusion undoubtedly exists and releases an enormous amount of energy. Nuclear fusion is the energy source for the sun, all active stars, and the most powerful bomb on earth.  Though fusion is not a reliable or cost-effective means of generating energy, it is possible to produce controlled, but not self-sustaining, fusion reactions inside magnetic fields. Scientists at the University of Washington and a space-propulsion company called MSNW are working on fusion propulsion for travel to other planets.

According to John Slough, a University of Washington research associate professor, existing rocket fuels provide little potential for exploration beyond earth. It’s estimated that a roundtrip manned mission to Mars would last 500 days or nearly a year and a half. Slough, the president of MSNW, determined that a fusion powered rocket would make it possible to travel to Mars in 90 or even 30 days. The fusion propulsion development program is currently being funded by NASA and received renewed funding in March. Previous NASA studies indicate that a Mars expedition would take two years to complete and could cost $12 billion dollars in fuel alone.

The specific method for the fusion propulsion of a rocket it tricky, and though John Slough and his team have successfully completed isolated tests, they have yet to produce fusion. Lab tests suggest that nuclear fusion could occur by compressing a special type of plasma to high pressure with a magnetic field. The energy contained in an amount of plasma the size of a grain of sand is roughly equivalent to the energy in current rocket fuel. A powerful magnetic field could collapse lithium rings around the plasma and create fusion for a few microseconds. The hot, ionized metal ring would then be jettisoned out of the rocket nozzle at high speed. By repeating this process nearly every minute, Slough expects that nuclear fusion could propel a spacecraft to Mars in only 30 days.

With fusion, breakthroughs are never a certainty. I don’t expect 30 day trips to Mars any time soon. Maybe one day though, fusion propulsion will enable interplanetary travel, which would be pretty awesome.

Fusion Propulsion: Future or Fantasy?

Nanocellulose

Breakthroughs in material science rarely receive national attention, but the creation of “super-materials” could lead to incredible technologies. Graphene, isolated by two scientists who received a Nobel Prize for their work in 2010, is an atom-thick sheet of carbon molecules, arranged in a hexagonal lattice. It conducts electricity a million times better than copper, is more transparent than any other known conductor, and is exceptionally strong and stretchable. A new material called nanocellulose is being hailed as the next super-material for its fascinating properties. Heralded as a “wonder material” by scientists involved in developing it, nanocellulose was demonstrated last week at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society:

“If we can complete the final steps, we will have accomplished one of the most important potential agricultural transformations ever. We will have plants that produce nanocellulose abundantly and inexpensively.”

Cellulose, as an organic compound, is exceedingly abundant in nature. Tree bark, fiber, and plant cell walls are all made of cellulose. At the subatomic level, cellulose behaves very differently. If the structure of nanocellulose is adjusted correctly, by being chained into long polymers or crystalized, it has many astounding capabilities which may lead to extremely light body armor, biofuel, thin displays, aerogels, or replacement organs for transplants.

At first, nanocellulose required large breeding tanks of bacteria which consumed large amounts of food. However, recent breeding techniques have produced blue-green algae capable of making nanocellulose through photosynthesis. These algae colonies could produce nanocellulose while consuming greenhouse gasses, thought to be the primary cause of global warming. The operations are being taken from laboratory samples to outdoor vats, in order to achieve large-scale production. Nanocellulose is an exciting breakthrough in material science that hopes to change the world. Will this material see widespread implementation? Future or Fantasy?

Algae Biofuel

Scientific research is often conducted in an expensive laboratory with high-tech equipment, but a 17-year-old high school senior, Sara Volz, has been conducting scientific experiments in her room.  Working under her loft bed, Volz has been attempting to solve the energy crisis and reduce dependence on fossil fuels by creating a new strain of algae.

Algae fuel production has long been touted as the next step in reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Large oil companies have pumped money into research and development, hoping to be the first to provide cheap reliable algae energy. So far they’ve been unsuccessful and Rex Tillerson, chief executive of ExxonMobil Corp, said he believes that it will be at least 25 years before algae biofuel becomes feasible on a large scale, which according to XKCD means it won’t happen:

Researcher Translation

The primary problem with algae fuel production is that no strain of algae repeatedly produces enough oil to make the process financially viable. Volz is tackling this problem by producing high-yield strains of algae with artificial selection. She kills off algae with low levels of acetyle-CoA carboxylase, an enzyme vital to lipid synthesis. The remaining strains of algae have significantly increased lipid production, moving algae biofuel into the realm of reality. Unfortunately, other problems, beyond oil yield, exist with bringing algae biofuel to the mass market. Fossil fuels are still the most abundant source of cheap energy, but with this breakthrough, algae biofuel is beginning to become more economically feasible. Algae biofuel is particularly appealing because it can fuel diesel engines, meaning that gas infrastructure and car engines wouldn’t have to change for it to be implemented on a large scale. Volz won the 2013 National Intel Science Talent Search, and received a $100,000 scholarship. Way to make me feel terrible Volz. I’ve done nothing with my life. Algae biofuel: future or fantasy?

Hands Off

In the past few decades, computers have improved exponentially, in accordance with Moore’s law, but the way we interact with them has changed relatively little. Ball tracking in mouses has been replaced by lasers for greater sensitivity and new stylish keyboards, which can quickly change their layout and are fully customizable, have begun to replace the generic plastic keyboards we’ve been using since the late 1970s. Despite the invention of wireless technology, the way we use our increasingly powerful machines hasn’t changed…until now. LEAP has developed a motion sensing hand tracker that replaces the conventional keyboard and mouse setup.

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The Leap Motion sensor, a USB enabled device, controls a computer with hand movement in real time. While this is not a new concept, the Leap is a revolutionary product. Other devices attempting to utilize hand controls have emerged in recent years and none of them have gained any real traction in the computer market. These devices have been clunky, expensive, and frustratingly inaccurate. Leap is hoping to succeed where others have failed by providing increased accuracy, low cost, and intuitive controls. In contrast to the Microsoft Kinect, which has been hailed for its incredible 3D tracking, the LEAP can detect 10 fingers at once and is 200 more times precise. It can detect subtle hand movements such as swipes, pokes, reaches and grabs, allowing the user to control a computer with great precision and accuracy.

Leap Motion is creating a new app store to accompany the device, with an emphasis on free and cheap apps. Many of the games which have become favorites on the Apple app store will be available for the Leap. However, it can also perform more complicated computer tasks such as internet browsing and PC gaming. The Leap is compatible with Mac and PC and will be available at Best Buy for $80 beginning in May of this year.  I’m really excited about this technology, especially because it looks like something out of Minority report. Do you want one? I’m about to click the pre-order button on their website. Check it out below.

Color Glasses

Color blindness is a common condition which affects 1 out of 10 men worldwide. Though it is not an extremely dangerous or life-changing genetic disorder, color blindness can complicate everyday tasks, such as dressing, and make it difficult to decipher color codes. Color blindness can also complicate driving; many people with color blindness are unable to distinguish between red and green, which means they cannot rely on their peripheral vision near traffic lights. Sometimes, revolutionary new technology is nothing more than a fancy pair of glasses. Scientist Mark Changizi created glasses which allows color-blind people to distinguish between red and green.

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Changizi proposed that color vision, rather than allowing people to identify edible food, allows people to notice subtle changes in skin color. In general, color vision is found in primates with exposed skin and not mammals with fur, such as dogs. It allows us to see the subtle variations in blood flow associated with feelings and emotions. Changizi’s glasses, called Oxy-Isos, were originally designed to isolate these subtle changes and heighten visual sensitivity to them. However, an unintended benefit of the Oxy-Isos is that they allow people with red-green color blindness to distinguish between the two. A pair of colored glasses alone can enable color-blind individuals to enjoy the benefits of color vision.

Oxy-Isos have applications far beyond color blindness, however, and they are beginning to gain traction in the medical profession. ER doctors were able to identify areas of acute bruising after a car accident because the glasses amplify the eye’s ability to see blood flow. Competitive poker players have also utilized the vision enhancing elements of Oxy-Isos, which allow them to more easily identify tells and bluffs. This technology can even be used as a light filter, which eliminates the need for wearing the glasses. Is this exciting technology and would you buy Oxy-Isos for yourself? I’d be tempted to purchase a pair if it meant I could always win at Texas Hold ’em and they look pretty awesome.

Combat Lasers

Ever since Star Wars hit the big screen in the 1970s people have dreamed of interstellar travel, laser guns, and light sabers. Now that dream is one step closer to becoming a reality with the military’s implementation of combat lasers. The US Navy and Air Force are planning to install liquid-cooled, solid-state lasers in combat airplanes. The laser turrets will be designed to defend the planes from incoming threats such as surface-to-air missiles and rockets. Integration is planned for later this year and firing tests are projected to begin in 2014. The Air Forces has been experimenting with airborne lasers in recent years and created the successful but discontinued Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser Testbed. Previous experimentation involved a large megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser designed to destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles which was carried by a 747. The new solid-state lasers will lighter and installed in bombers and fighter jets. These lasers will be part of an aircraft defense system designed to destroy anti-air defenses such as surface-to-air missiles and rockets.

US Military Will Install Laser Turrets on Bombers and Fighter Jets

official concept image by DARPA

            The military is currently developing two types of airborne lasers. Hellads, a laser capable of delivering 150kW of energy and weighing nearly 750 kg, will be installed in tactical aircraft such as B-1 bombers. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has demonstrated a single and two-unit system capable of producing 34kW that can be further developed to meet the desired 150kW specifications. Hellads should be capable of destroying threats faced by tactical planes and General Atomics is working with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to integrate the defense system this year and being real-world testing in 2014.

Additionally, Lockheed Martin and DARPA are developing the Aero-Adaptive/Aero-Optic Beam Control. The goal is to create an automatic laser turret capable of taking down missile threats from any direction and DARPA has successfully addressed previous problems with engine turbulence by using flow control and adaptive optics to eliminate distortion. The Beam Control lasers will be installed in high speed fighter jets. Full-scale wind-tunnel tests have already been successful and the next phase of development involves installing a sub-scale laser turret in an actual plane.

Regardless of its effectiveness, this technology is awesome. Do you think it will work or is the military just showing off? What Star Wars technology do you want next?

Superintelligence

The technological singularity is nearly upon us! Ok, it’s not going to happen any time soon, but a neuroscience endeavor taking place in Europe, called the Human Brain Project (HBP), is receiving 1.5 billion dollars in funding to create an accurate simulation of the brain. More than 80 research institutions are working together to construct a complete human brain simulation that they hope will revolutionize neuroscience, medicine, and technology. If successful, this project could be the catalyst for incredible new technologies and could propel us into an age of innovation.

The project is focusing on three areas of research, the first of which is neuroscience. Modern neuroscience has been very productive in analyzing and understanding the brain, but it has been impossible to systematically study the brain because of its incredible complexity. Neither physical nor theoretical aspects of neuroscience can fully describe the brain, which is composed of 100 billion neurons connected by 100 trillion synapses. The human brain is the most complex machine on earth and one of the least understood. An accurate simulation of the brain would create a multi-level view of the brain, help us understand the chain of events leading from genes to cognition, and contribute greatly to our understanding of the mind.

Brain disease awareness has steadily grown over the past few decades and brain disease treatment has become an incredible burden on hospitals around the globe. In Europe, the treatment of brain diseases costs more than that of heart diseases, cancer, and diabetes combined. The HBP hopes to work closely with hospitals and use their brain simulation as a means for better treatment and diagnosis of brain diseases. Brain diseases are barely understood and the HBP would reveal the gene mutation process which leads to different brain diseases. An accurate simulation of the brain would also enable drug testing without the need for animal or human trials.

The HBP’s last area of focus is in computing. Limited computing power is the most obvious challenge facing the HBP, and the project will require super-computers one thousand times more powerful than the computers of today. The project hopes to create neuromorphic computers which will “combine the power of microelectronics with the flexibility of human intelligence.” The HBP hopes to physically model the human brain on computer chips in order to create computers that can adapt to new situations and change their behavior like a real brain.

If the HBP is successful, I don’t think it’s any exaggeration to say that it would completely revolutionize technology. Sentient androids would leave the realm of science fiction and enter the world of reality. Robot butlers would be pretty sweet and you could have an actual conversation with Siri if you were bored. I’m pretty amazed that our brains are only one thousand times more powerful than current computing power, and if Moore’s law holds true, which it has for the last century, this could become a reality. A complete simulation of the human brain seems like something that is always 20 years away. It’s impossible to tell at this point whether or not this is feasible, but we’re definitely going to need John Connor if Google gets ahold of this technology.

Bioprinting

In two previous blogs, I talked about the growing impact of 3D printing and a technique which enabled adult stem cells to be transformed back into embryonic stem cells. 3D printing technology is already changing the world of manufacturing and now its revolutionizing biotechnology as well. Researchers at Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University developed a system for printing human embryonic stem cells. The technology could improve human drug testing and potentially create purpose-built replacement organs.

A team from Heriot-Watt’s Biomedical Microengineering group successfully printed human embryonic stem cells in a laboratory using a valve-based technique. The embryonic stem cells, which were stored in two separate reservoirs within the printer, were printed using pneumatic pressure. The stem cells were deposited onto a plate in a pre-programmed uniform pattern via the opening and closing of a micro valve and the number of cells dispensed was precisely controlled by adjusting nozzle diameter, air pressure, and opening time of the valve.

The human embyonic stem cells printed using the new valve-based technique developed at Her...

This new valve-based printing system was able to maintain high stem cell viability, and accurately produced spheroids of uniform size. More importantly, printed cells maintained their pluripotency, meaning they could still transform into any other type of cell.

3D stem cell printing has the potential to revolutionize modern biotechnology. Drug discovery primarily focuses on targeting human disease, so human tissues are vital in drug testing. Stem cell printing will allow the creation of accurate human tissue models, necessary for drug development and toxicity-testing.

Additionally, the technology could be used to create artificial organs and tissues. By incorporating a patient’s own stem cells, it could drastically reduce the risk of organ rejection and the need for immune suppression. 3D printed organs would also help solve the global organ shortage, which has inflated the price of black market kidneys above $150,000. Breakthroughs in stem-cell research, primarily the process of turning adult stem cells into embryonic stem cells, could eliminate ethical objections to the process. The group at Heriot-Watt has already teamed up with Roslin Cellab in an effort to commercialize 3D stem cell printing and change the biotechnology industry forever.

Is this technology exciting or do you think it will have little effect on stem cell / drug research? Would you be comfortable getting a printed organ transplant?

Anything plants can do we can do better

Who says we need more trees? Worldwide deforestation has had devastating effects on the environment and is thought to be rapidly accelerating the process of global warming. Panasonic is hoping to combat increasing carbon dioxide levels with a new process called artificial photosynthesis.

Artificial photosynthesis is a technology that uses sunlight to produce oxygen and organic substances from water and carbon dioxide. It is currently receiving global attention because it has the potential to solve global warming and provide renewable energy. The process has recently attained an efficiency of .2%, which is roughly equivalent to the efficiency of real plants used in biomass energy.

In artificial photosynthesis, a photo-electrode is filled with water and then illuminated, either by the sun or bright LEDs. The light causes the water molecules to react, producing oxygen gas, electrons, and hydrogen ions. Wires carry the electrons produced during the reaction to a catalyst electrode, where they react with carbon dioxide and hydrogen ions to produce organic substances. Currently, the reduction reaction produces primarily formic acid (HCOOH) but Panasonic hopes that in the future they will be able to produce a variety of other organic compounds.

2H2O + light → 2H+ + O2 + 2e

2H+ + 2e + CO2 → HCOOH

In order for the reaction to take place, electrons must be excited to a high energy-state. Panasonic is experimenting with nitride semiconductor LED lamps and sunlight as a means for exciting the electrons so that they will react with CO2. Additionally, by altering the material used for the metal catalyst, it is possible to change the organic substances produced in the reaction, so that it can produce more useful compounds than formic acid.

Panasonic would like to reach a level of efficiency similar to that of plants used in ethanol production before it begins implementing this technology on a large scale. The ultimate goal of the technology is the creation of artificial photosynthesis plants which would absorb CO2 from factories and produce ethanol.

Is this exciting technology or do you think that the efficiency is too low to make it a viable option? Will this “Pan” out?

Bluetooth is Back

For most people, Bluetooth was a fad that didn’t develop into anything that significantly changed how we communicate or interact with our devices. It’s a bad memory of the days when everyone who wanted to be relevant needed a Bluetooth headset. However, Bluetooth technology has changed and it’s poised to make a comeback as a powerful means for collecting information and communicating with conventionally unconnected technology.

The enormous capability increase from standard Bluetooth 2.0 to Bluetooth 4.0 has resulted in several start-ups and existing companies attempting to take advantage of the improved technology. Bluetooth 4.0 builds upon the speed increase of Bluetooth 3.0 which brought the maximum data transfer rate from 3.0 Mbit/s to 24 Mbit/s. It also utilizes a low-energy technology which drastically reduces the power consumption of a Bluetooth 4.0 device.

Tethercell

A start-up in Southern California, called Teathercell, is hoping to change the way that we interact with Bluetooth and bring it back to the forefront of innovation. Specifically Tethercell is integrating Bluetooth 4.0 into batteries. Their device, also called Tethercell, is a plastic case the size of an AA battery that utilizes Bluetooth 4.0 and is powered by an AAA battery that fits inside a plastic case. The Bluetooth-enabled battery then syncs with a smartphone app that allows the user to power a device on and off, set a timer, and monitor the remaining power in the battery. They demonstrated it using portable lights and foresee its use in apartments. A landlord can remotely determine when batteries are dead and replace the batteries before they become an issue.

Tethercell CAD

This technology may seem like old news but it has incredible applications. As technology becomes increasingly portable, less and less devices are being connected to the grid. There are already apps that allow you to turn off the lights in your home but they require expensive add-ons and must be connected to a power source. Batteries are only the first step and the idea is that pretty soon everything will be able to communicate. The possibilities are limitless and it’s already being used in the personal fitness and health market.

Cool? Stupid? What do you think?