Digest of sci-fi news for the week, about which we did not write anything
and / or write an article in the “Sandbox” and send me a link.
And today I will again go over the news of the outgoing week, which our editors should have covered in more detail, but it didn’t work out, because we don’t have superpowers.
Chemistry that corrodes the ozone layer, inexplicably returns to the atmosphere, despite the ban
In this image taken in September 2006, the Antarctic ozone hole is 29.5 million km2
Chemicals banned after they blew a hole in the Earth’s ozone layer are still accumulating in our atmosphere at an alarming rate, according to
published in the journal Nature Geoscience. These chemicals were once widely used in air conditioning and refrigeration systems but were due to be phased out worldwide by 2010.
Scientists were surprised to find that concentrations of several types of these chemicals have risen since then, reaching record highs by 2020. The culprit could be alternative refrigerants that were meant to replace ozone-depleting substances, a new study suggests. Researchers cannot find where the chemicals are leaking from.
Over the past few decades, the ozone layer has managed to achieve a significant recovery. However, if emissions continue to rise, it could reverse some of the progress made and exacerbate climate change.
Scientists have learned to monitor mitochondria
A collaboration of physicists, chemists and biologists has taught nanoparticles to “see” mitochondria – the cell’s energy factories – using giant Raman scattering. A reproducible and sensitive approach will help in the development of sensors for diagnosing diseases at an early stage. Job published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine.
Failures in the work of mitochondria can cause a large number of pathologies. For example, disorders of the nervous and cardiovascular systems, metabolic and oncological diseases. A lot of research has been done on this topic. But so far there has not been an accurate method that allows you to “scan” the work of intact mitochondria. There was no way to understand whether the electron transfer was correct and how the state of individual electron carriers was related to the production of cellular energy and the triggering of pathologies.
Using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (GRS, or SERS)*, one can obtain information about the structure of individual molecules deposited on a nanoparticle substrate. But to use this method in biomedical diagnostics, it is important to learn how to receive an intense signal from molecules or groups of molecules located inside intact organelles or cells.
A group of researchers led by Nadezhda Brazhe from Moscow State University, together with colleagues from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, developed a new approach based on the SERS method for studying cytochrome C in mitochondria. Scientists have noticed that with a certain configuration of the substrate of silver nanoparticles, a high-intensity SERS signal can be obtained from cytochrome C located inside the mitochondria. So they were able to see the electron carrier protein inside the mitochondria.
How the plot of “Terminator” can be repeated in real life
Evolution by natural selection could lead to “selfish behavior” of artificial intelligence as it too strives to survive, argues Dan Hendrix, author, researcher and director of the US Center for AI Security, in a new paper titled “Natural selection prefers artificial intelligence to humans“.
“We argue that natural selection creates incentives for AI agents to act contrary to human interests. Our argument is based on two observations. First, natural selection could become the dominant force in the development of AI. Second, evolution by natural selection tends to produce selfish behavior,” Hendrix said.
Microsoft is 48 years old
In 1975, two men created a new technology company in a rather unusual location. One of the founders was only 19 years old and dropped out of Harvard University. Another founder actually convinced his friend to drop out of Harvard, just as he had dropped out of Washington State University. The two men moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and started their new business.
These two people were Bill Gates and the late Paul Allen. On April 4, 1975, they officially created Micro-Soft. None of them probably even suspected that their company would become one of the largest and most influential companies in the world.
April 4 was the 48th birthday of Microsoft. The company does not celebrate this event in a big way, but celebrates this day on its official Twitter page with a retro-styled logo.
Engineers have developed batteries based on water
Researchers at Texas A&M University have increased the electrode capacity of metal-free water-based batteries by 1000%.
These batteries are different from lithium-ion batteries containing cobalt. An American team of scientists is investigating metal-free batteries to better control the domestic supply chain, as cobalt and lithium are sourced from other countries. In addition, the use of water, as a safer substance, will prevent the batteries from catching fire.
Professor of Chemical Engineering Dr. Jody Lutkenhaus and Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Daniel Tabor published their findings on lithium-free batteries in the journal Nature Materials.
“There will be no more fires due to batteries because they will be water-based,” Lutkenhaus said. “In the future, due to the shortage of materials, the price of lithium-ion batteries will increase dramatically. If we have an alternative battery, we can switch to it – the supply of necessary substances will be more stable, because we can produce them here in the USA, and the materials for making them are here.
A person’s memories are no longer reliable within seconds of being formed.
Scientists who study our ability to remember the shapes of things say that people can be wrong within seconds of forming a memory, a phenomenon they call the “short-term memory illusion.”
“Even in the short term, our memory may not be entirely reliable,” says Dr. Marthe Otten, lead author of the study from the University of Amsterdam. “Especially when we have strong expectations about what the world should be like, when our memory starts to fade a little – even after one and a half, two, three seconds – then we start filling it in based on our expectations.”
Writing in the journal Plos One, Otten and colleagues note that previous research has shown that when people are presented with a rotated or mirrored letter, they often report seeing it in the correct orientation.
