Show Notes:

SpaceX Launched Its First Crew of Private Citizens to Space | Interesting Engineering (01:25)

• We are in the next phase of the second space age as SpaceX launched four civilians aboard its Dragon Capsule atop its Falcon 9 rocket at 8:02 PM EDT on Wednesday Sept 15th.
  • SpaceX’s first all-civilian space mission
• The mission, called Inspiration 4, saw four people blast to an altitude 360 miles (580 km) above the surface of Earth, 
  • Farther away than the International Space Station (173 miles to 286 miles)
• The Falcon 9 first stage successfully landed on a SpaceX drone ship after descending through Earth’s atmosphere, roughly 9 minutes and 30 seconds after launch.
• Something I didn’t know about this all civilian trek, is that it was raising money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. 
  • A trained pilot and Chief Executive of Shift4 Payments, Jared Isaacman said he gave $100 million to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (One Crew Member)
  • Other 3 were chosen at random from people who donated at least $10 to St. Jude.
• This mission will witness the Earth through two windows, in addition to a glass dome recently slapped on the top of the capsule 
  • In place of the docking door used by the last capsule to link with the ISS
• If you want to see the first picture of this historic flight, the images were released this past Friday (Sep 17th).
  • See the Image Here
• The images appear to be video stills that show the four private astronauts smiling inside the capsule while enjoying stunning views from a huge new dome window 

Lucid shares EPA range for Air models including 520 miles on the Dream Edition Range | Electrek (6:28)

• In an official press release, Lucid revealed the EPA estimated range for two versions of the upcoming Dream Edition Air, as well as the Grand Touring. 
  • Both of these trims provide a range of at least 450 miles.
• This past August, Lucid shared that the first trim of its Air sedan, the Dream Edition, would be available in two versions:
  • The Dream Edition Range promising over 500 miles on a single charge
  • The Dream Edition Performance promising over 1,000 horsepower.
• The automaker has shared a staggering EPA range of 520 miles for its Lucid Air Dream Edition Range when fitted with 19″ wheels.
  • Making the Air the longest range EV rated by the EPA to date. 
• CEO and CTO of Lucid Group, Peter Rawlinson spoke to this report:
  • “I’m delighted that our Lucid Air Dream Edition Range has been officially accredited with a range of 520 miles by the EPA, a number I believe to be a new record for any EV. Crucially, this landmark has been achieved by Lucid’s world-leading in-house EV technology, not by simply installing an oversize battery pack … The next generation EV has truly arrived!”
• The next available trim for the Air, the Grand Touring, loses quite a bit of power relative to the Dream Edition since 800 horsepower is still quite powerful.
  • This trim offers an EPA estimated 516 miles of range on a single charge, with 19″ wheels.
• The Dream Edition version of the Air sedan is scheduled to arrive sometime in the second half of this year, and with the new EPA range made official, the Air Grand Touring will be the next variation of Lucid’s flagship EV to follow.

A ‘Gene Silencing’ Injection Was Approved for Use in Humans  | Interesting Engineering (12:29)

• According to a Press Release, The United Kingdom’s NHS approved a new cholesterol-reducing shot that will be provided to 300,000 people throughout the next three years.
  • The first use for a novel new therapeutic called “gene silencing”
  • Called inclisiran and it is the first of its kind to treat people for a more common health problem, and on an unprecedented scale.
• The new drug will be injected twice yearly, will be primarily used for specific patients
  • People suffering from a genetic condition linked to high cholesterol, 
  • People who’ve had a stroke or heart attack
  • People who have negative or underwhelming reactions to cholesterol-reducing drugs.
• This emerging therapeutic technique specifically targets the underlying causes of disease, instead of the symptoms one experiences when it takes effect. 
  • Working by selecting a specific gene and stopping it from producing the protein responsible for the illness.
• The new cholesterol jab employs gene silencing via a protein known as PCSK9, which it degrades.
  • Regulates cholesterol in the human body, but it exists with excess frequency in people experiencing high levels of LDL (bad kind)
  • By stopping this protein from production, cholesterol levels will naturally drop.
• While promising, these gene silencing techniques must prove effective in forthcoming trials, before they may be applied on even wider scales.

AugLimb: A compact robotic limb to support humans during everyday activities | TechXPlore (18:18)

• Researchers at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and University of Tokyo recently developed AugLimb, a compact robotic limb that could support humans as they complete a variety of tasks.
  • Extends up to 250 mm and grasp different objects 
• It is highly compact and easy to store unlike existing wearable robotic arms which are typically based on bulky hardware and wearing them can be uncomfortable for users.
  •  This AugLimb is lightweight and comfortable to wear. 
• AugLimb essentially serves as a third arm, thus it could be particularly useful in situations where humans complete tasks that involve a significant amount of object manipulation, such as cooking or cleaning.
  • Professional Applications: Surgeons, construction workers and other professionals who complete manual tasks on a daily basis.
  • Still at a prototype stage.
• The team plans to continue testing it and improving its capabilities, to make it increasingly effective and commercially viable.
  • With hopes of controlling this arm in the future with, “biological information, such as electromyography (EMG) signals from muscles or electroencephalogram (EEG) techniques that detect brain waves.”
• The researchers,  “believe that AugLimb will be as popular as smart watches in the near future, as anyone from an elder to a child can comfortably wear it for the whole day.”

Research reveals drug targets for memory enhancement | MedicalXPress (23:56)

• Bristol-led research has identified specific drug targets within the neural circuits that encode memories, paving the way for significant advances in the treatment of brain disorders.
  • Collaboration between University of Bristol & international biopharmaceutical company Sosei Heptares
• Current treatment options for memory loss are very limited and the search for safe and effective drug therapies has, until now, had limited success.
• The findings identify specific receptors for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine that re-route information flowing through memory circuits in the hippocampus. 
  • Treatment as of now only acts to broadly boost acetylcholine. Leading to multiple side effects
• This discovery of specific receptor targeting has the potential to provide the positive effects whilst avoiding the negative ones is promising.
• Lead author, Professor Jack Mellor, speaks on the findings:
  • “These findings are about the fundamental processes that occur in the brain during the encoding of memory and how they may be regulated by brain state or drugs targeting specific receptor proteins. In the long-term, the discovery of these specific targets opens up avenues and opportunities for the development of new treatments for the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions with prominent cognitive impairments.”
• Dr. Miles Congreve, Chief Scientific Officer at Sosei Heptares, added: 
  • “These important studies have helped us to design and select new, exquisitely targeted therapeutic agents that mimic the effects of acetylcholine at specific muscarinic receptors, without triggering the unwanted side effects of earlier and less-well targeted treatments. This approach has the exciting potential to improve memory and cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.”