NASA to Study a $700 Quintillion ‘Goldmine’ Asteroid | Yahoo (01:36)

• Psyche 16, a totally metal asteroid that Bloomberg says is worth $700 quintillion. 
  • At least $140 quintillion, according to a study published in The Planetary Science Journal, the researchers say the data shows Psyche 16 is at least 20% metal. 

• According to NASA, what makes the asteroid Psyche unique is that it appears to be the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet, one of the building blocks of our solar system.

• Metal asteroids are relatively rare in the solar system, and scientists believe this one could be a rare opportunity to look inside a planet.

•  NASA plans to send a probe to the asteroid in 2022, which would arrive in 2026.

• The NASA probe only aims to collect more data from the asteroid.
  • Measurements of its gravity
  • Potential electromagnetic fields
  • And figure out if it is indeed the core of a planet-sized object.

• List of NASA’s Objectives for the mission:
  • Determine whether Psyche is a core, or if it is unmelted material.
  • Determine the relative ages of regions of Psyche’s surface.
  • Determine whether small metal bodies incorporate the same light elements as are expected in the Earth’s high-pressure core.
  • Determine whether Psyche was formed under conditions more oxidizing or more reducing than Earth’s core.
  • Characterize Psyche’s topography.

Soft robot chameleon changes color in real-time to match background | TechXplore (08:07)

• A team of researchers working at Seoul National University has developed a soft robot chameleon that can change its colors in real-time to match its background.

• To create their robot, the researchers started with a skin layer made of liquid ink that could be made to change color by applying a small amount of heat
  • Different amounts of heat created structures of different sizes, allowing for displaying virtually any desired color. 
  • Video of the robot changing colors: here

• The robot did not simply change color all at once; instead, it changed only the color of the skin over the colored section—as it crawled, it looked as if it were slowly filling up with different colored ink.

• The researchers suggest their robot could be used for more than just military applications in the study they suggest, “Besides military applications, artificial camouflage receives broad attention from architecture, art and fashion, and a number of consumer products for hunting and outdoor activities.”

Newly Designed ‘Smart’ Insulin Could Majorly Improve Type 1 Diabetes Treatment | Science Alert (12:59)

• Life with type 1 diabetes is a juggling act of diet, exercise, and insulin therapy to maintain normal blood sugar levels. 
  • Approximately 5-10% of people with diabetes have type 1.

• A promising new approach to make diabetics’ lives easier focus on the insulin itself.

• Researchers at Indiana University modified the Insulin molecular structure to respond to the presence of a simple carbohydrate, with the aim of reconnecting the activation of insulin with internal levels of blood sugars.
  • Meaning, the newly designed Insulin only opens in the presence of a ‘key’, such as a simple sugar molecule.

• More a proof of concept than a proven therapy, the idea would theoretically work the same for insulin that’s shaped to instead activate in the presence of glucose.

• Michael Weiss, who was a part of the research, discusses what this could mean for future diabetes treatment:
  • “The promise of this kind of ‘smart’ insulin is that it would transform diabetes care, so people wouldn’t have to worry anymore.”

• Transforming the insulin molecule into a biochemical sensor itself could weave in a fail-safe mechanism that makes the hormone ineffective when blood sugar drops below a certain point.
  • As a result of overloading your body with insulin.

• A lot needs to happen between now and then. While effective in theory, the modified hormone would need to be smart enough to recognize a very specific threshold of glucose.

Singapore’s High-Tech Plants Can Treat Up to 237M Gallons of Wastewater a Day | Interesting Engineering (18:48)

• For some countries, water is already a problem, and the city-state Singapore with its 5.7 million population is one of them.
  • Singapore doesn’t have enough natural water resources, to begin with.

• For the longest time, the city-state had to rely on Malaysia to deal with its water problems; however, this is no longer the case.

• According to a press release on Phys.org, The government has developed a sophisticated sewage treatment system involving a network of tunnels and high-tech plants and can transform sewage into safe drinkable water.

• Singapore can address 40% of the city-state’s water demand with recycled wastewater.
  • The water agency responsible system estimates that that percentage will rise to 55% by 2060.

• The majority of recycled water will be used for industrial purposes, while some are added to water supplies in reservoirs.

• The system helps reduce maritime pollution, as only a small amount of the treated water is discharged into the sea.

• The Changi Water Reclamation Plant, located on the city’s eastern coast, is at the heart of the recycling efforts.
  • Partially underground
  • Sections reaching depths of up to 25 stories

• How does it work?
  • Wastewater that flows through a huge, 30-mile (48-km) tunnel connected to sewers feeds the facility.
  • The plant undergoes an initial filtering process before powerful pumps send it flowing to facilities above ground for further treatment.
  • Then the water is filtered and disinfected with UV rays
    • Impurities like bacteria and viruses are removed through advanced filtration processes

• The end product, dubbed “NEWater”, is mainly used in microchip manufacturing plants and for cooling systems in buildings.

• Singapore is expanding its recycling system and intends to spend $7.4 billion in water treatment infrastructure upgrades.

• With plans to add an extra underground tunnel and construct a large water reclamation plant by 2025.

New blood test improves prostate cancer screening | MedicalXPress  (26:00)

• The same researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, which I mentioned in Episode 65, who reported that MRIs could reduce overdiagnosis and improve prostate cancer screening now have another breakthrough in prostate screening.

• They found the addition of a novel blood test, the Stockholm3 test, can reduce the number of MRIs performed by a third while further preventing the detection of minor, low-risk tumors.

• Tobias Nordström, who was responsible for that MRI study, provides thoughts on this discovery:
  • “Overall, our studies show that we have identified the tools needed to be able to carry out effective and safe screening for prostate cancer. After many years of debate and research, it feels fantastic to be able to present knowledge that can improve healthcare for men.”

• According to the researchers, the blood test is a great compliment to the MRI techniques published back on July 9th.

• The blood test uses an algorithm to analyze a combination of protein markers, genetic markers, and clinical data to make a determination as to whether or not an MRI is required.

• Martin Eklund, a researcher on both studies, provides numbers as to how the blood test can improve efficiency:
  • “We now show that a novel blood test as adjunct to MRI can reduce the number of MRIs performed by a third. Compared with traditional screening, overdiagnosis is reduced by as much as 69 percent. At the same time, the number of biopsies is halved, while we can find just as many clinically significant tumors.”

• Reducing the number of MRIs required due to the blood test is a great way to reduce costs to the patient.  

Scientists’ ‘holy grail’ battery discovery could make future computers faster and longer-lasting | Independent (30:06)

• Scientists claim to have found the “holy grail” of quantum mechanics which could usher in the next generation of sensors, switches, and computers.

• The development, published in Nature, is based on the discovery of a ‘topological axion insulator’, a unique state of quantum matter that had only been predicted in theory – but has now been achieved practically.

• This material conducts electricity while the overall structure itself insulates it – meaning that it can act as a conductor and insulator simultaneously.
  • Two-dimensional crystalline structure made up of manganese bismuth telluride

• This breakthrough could lead to the development of a new kind of electronic device – called spintronics – which relies on manipulating quantum structures through the ways electrons spin.

• Arun Bansil, who led a team of researchers, discusses spintronics and what it could theoretically do:
  • “Researchers have proposed spintronics as the way to solve a number of problems with today’s electronics, including issues of power consumption and operational speed in computers and other devices that rely on charge.”

• Currently, most electronics are dependent on chemical batteries, but future spintronic devices could use magnetic energy from special materials without needing a chemical reaction.
  • Resulting in a more efficient process

• Bansil ends off with discussing the future of this type of technology:
  • “There is no question the next generation of electronics will need to have low-power consumption … When you discover new materials like this, that opens up the possibilities. These newer kinds of materials can help usher in entirely new technologies.”