This week’s Top 5 engineering technology articles are cover a pretty wide spectrum from ancient Egypt to the House of Mouse working with my alma mater.
- New Artificial Material Mimics Photosynthesis To Create Clean, Self-Sustaining Energy Source
- Secret Passage Found In Pyramid: Thermal Scans Show Strange Heat Spots And Hidden Chambers
- Design Tool For 3-D Printable Robots From Disney Research
- Scientists Genetically Engineer Algae That Can Kill Cancer Cells While Leaving The Rest Of The Body Unharmed
- EM-Sense: Touch Recognition of Uninstrumented Electrical And Electromechanical Objects
New Artificial Material Mimics Photosynthesis To Create Clean, Self-Sustaining Energy Source
Science Alert
To have energy created from light ala plant photosynthesis would give new meaning to the phrase “green energy.” And now a U.S. research team may have found a way to do exactly that. Using manganese oxide to capture the sunlight and create an oxidation reaction breaking down water and separating hydrogen and oxygen.
It would be possible in the future to use this process to paint the roof of your house and use a combination of the sun and rain water to power everything inside. While working on the process, they found that a single layer of the manganese oxide was able to trap light using a direct band gap.
This single layer method also means reduced cost in terms of installing and subsequently gathering the light for transformation into energy. Though there’s no word on commercial production just yet, the possibilities for this application are literally endless.
Secret Passage Found In Pyramid: Thermal Scans Show Strange Heat Spots And Hidden Chambers
Express
The pyramids have always held a great power over the human imagination and now science is giving people an inside glance to some of the anomalies within. Technical experts have been using thermal scans of the pyramids throughout all periods of the day to build a signature of the materials used for building.
They’ve begun to notice differences in some of the stones at the bottom of the pyramid. Theories that there may be secret passages or open space behind the wall have Egyptologists giddy with possibilities. Any expert in the field has an open invitation to join the team to help solve the mystery.
Design Tool For 3-D Printable Robots From Disney Research
Make
Disney Research facilities and their partnership with Carnegie Mellon University is beginning to turn out some incredible discoveries. Chief among them are these amazing 3-D printable robots.
Using a variable amount of legs, motors, gaits, etc. you can fully develop the robot within the program for eventual printing. Though the program speeds you through some of the more complex areas to help you to the end goal, it gives you quite a bit of freedom in a number of areas to help shape your robot.
Again, another project that isn’t quite ready for primetime, but definitely something to keep an eye on in the future.
Scientists Genetically Engineer Algae That Can Kill Cancer Cells While Leaving The Rest Of The Body Unharmed
Independent
And speaking of the future, mankind’s might have just gotten a lot brighter. Cancer is one of those polarizing words that means something different to everyone who hears it. And, if you’ve never had a loved one affected by this disease, count your lucky stars and move on to the next article.
For those of you that are left, a team of scientists from Australia and Germany believe they have managed to genetically engineer algae that will kill cancer cells while leaving normal healthy cells unharmed.
Today’s cancer treatments can be brutal on the body destroying as many healthy cells as diseased ones. By genetically engineering algae, there are a number of advantages gained. In addition to leaving healthy cells unscathed, algae is far cheaper to develop and grow than typical cancer drugs. It also means possibilities for treatments that don’t currently exist.
EM-Sense: Touch Recognition of Uninstrumented Electrical And Electromechanical Objects
YouTube
Another collaboration from Disney and Carnegie Mellon, shows us human conductivity within Electromagnetic Noise and how that can be applied to everyday life. I’ll let you watch the video to see for yourself how being a human antenna can be used to your advantage in everyday tasks. I think that I would give some serious consideration to making this product part of my everyday life. Not only does it have the cool bells and whistles of high end electronics, it’s pretty useful as well.
That’s it for me this week. Keep your eyes wide open to the world around you and you never know what might present itself for you to enjoy.
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