Show Notes:

Blue Origin announces plans for a commercial space station | Engadget (01:06)

• Last Monday, Oct 25th, Blue Origin announced a plan to create its own space station. 
  • Called Orbital Reef
• The company promises this space station to be a commercial and industrial hub.
  • Hopes of start operating the second half of this decade
• This comes a week after the announcement of the joint venture building StarLab, with Lockheed Martin building & operating the space station. (Covered on Episode 80)
• The Orbital Reef, will be developed, owned and operated in partnership with Sierra Space, a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation. 
  • Backed by space industry leaders & teammates, Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University.
  • Hope to use Boeings‘ Starliner, and  Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser to ferry cargo & passengers to the station
• In their press release Blue Origin talks about their goal to build a business park in space:
  • “This unique destination will offer research, industrial, international, and commercial customers the cost competitive end-to-end services they need including space transportation and logistics, space habitation, equipment accommodation, and operations including onboard crew.”
• Some Specs mentioned:
  • Habitable for up to 10 people
  • Multiple Ports for spacecrafts and modules
  • Open system, enabling any customer or nation to use it
  • Goal to scale the station over time
• Brent Sherwood, Senior Vice President of Advanced Development Programs for Blue Origin, provides more context to their goals:
  • “For over sixty years, NASA and other space agencies have developed orbital space flight and space habitation, setting us up for commercial business to take off in this decade … We will expand access, lower the cost, and provide all the services and amenities needed to normalize space flight. A vibrant business ecosystem will grow in low Earth orbit, generating new discoveries, new products, new entertainments, and global awareness.”

Amazon’s broadband satellite venture Kuiper teams up with Verizon to expand 5G coverage | The Verge (07:52)

• Continuing with the Amazon theme of the day, Amazon is teaming up with Verizon on a satellite venture, called Kuiper.
  • Goal is to expand 4G/LTE & 5G coverage to remote areas of the globe
• The program is a $10 billion initiative to launch a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit providing broadband internet.
  • Sound familiar?
• During prototype testing of the satellites, the company claims, their system can produce throughput speeds of up to 400Mbps.
  • Verizon through this partnership would be able to build cellular towers in remote areas to easily provide cellular access to those regions. 
    • All without digging trenches for fiber cable
• Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, talks on this venture in a statement:
  • “There are billions of people without reliable broadband access, and no single company will close the digital divide on its own … Verizon is a leader in wireless technology and infrastructure, and we’re proud to be working together to explore bringing fast, reliable broadband to the customers and communities who need it most.”
• Their major competition in this space would be Starlink, a SpaceX project. 
  • They are a little behind though since there are already 1,700 satellites in orbit, and have already been testing their beta program. 
  • Hopes to phase out of beta by this October, but no word as of yet.
• Other competition
  • OneWeb, launched 358 out of proposed 648 satellites
  • Telesat, launched 300 satellites

Essential Amino Acid Supplements Could Prevent Dementia | SciTechDaily (13:17)

• Dementia—a condition involving the extreme loss of cognitive function—is caused by a variety of disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Covered many times on the podcast
  • According to the WHO, approximately 10 million people worldwide develop dementia per year.
• Could that number be reduced down to zero one day? We can hope!
• Japanese researchers may have that answer, in a recent study, showcasing the effect of a diet & a supplement could have on brain degeneration.
• First the researchers looked at a low protein diet’s effect on mice.
  • Found neurodegeneration and abnormal protein aggregates in the brain.
    • “Tau” Protein aggregation is sign of Alzheimer’s
  • Additionally found accelerated brain degeneration, and poor neural connectivity
• Second they looked at a supplement of Amino LP7, which interestingly reversed the low protein diet effects.
  • Amino LP7 is the name for the combination of seven specific amino acids
• What did they find when this supplement was introduced?
  • Reduced brain inflammation and prevented an inflammation inducer, kynurenine, from entering the brain.
  • Improved neuronal connectivity and improved brain function
  • Suppressed neuronal death, and reduced brain degeneration, even with the Tau protein aggregation remaining.
• According to Dr. Akihiko Kitamura, who also led this study, talks on this finding:
  • “Tau plaques in the brain are characteristic of Alzheimer’s and most treatments target them. However, we have shown that it is possible to overcome this Tau deposition and prevent brain atrophy via supplementation with Amino LP7.”
• We’ll end off with a quote from Dr. Hideaki Sato and Dr. Yuhei Takado, both of whom majorly contributed to the study, on what this study could mean:
  • “These results suggest that essential amino acids can help maintain balance in the brain and prevent brain deterioration. Our study is the first to report that specific amino acids can hinder the development of dementia … Although our study was performed in mice, it brings hope that amino acid intake could also modify the development of dementia in humans, including Alzheimer’s disease.”

Detector advance could lead to cheaper, easier medical scans | Phys.org (20:24)

• Researchers in the U.S. and Japan have demonstrated the first experimental cross-sectional medical image that doesn’t require tomography.
  • Tomography: a mathematical process used to reconstruct images in CT and PET scans .
• The advance was made possible by development of new, ultrafast photon detectors, said Simon Cherry, senior author on the paper
• Process of tomography
  • Mathematically reconstruct cross-sectional images from X-ray or gamma ray data
  • PET scans a radioactive isotope is injected and taken up by organs emitting positrons
  • The device sends electrons through the body, which collide with the positrons, which destroy each other creating two photons. The machine tracks the trajectory of the photons making a theoretical image.
  • This was done with reconstruction because the detectors were too slow to precisely track the photons.
• The researchers were able to create a technique that could track the annihilation photons with a precision of 4.8 millimeters. 
  • Create cross-sectional images without use tomography
  • Image created more quickly than a PET scan
• Why does this matter though?
  • Because PET scans are expensive, and this discovery is compact with the equipment setup could lead to an inexpensive, easy and accurate scans of the human body.

ICON and Lennar reveal the world’s largest 3D-printed community, designed by BIG | ArchPaper (24:21)

• On Tuesday, Oct 26th, Austin-based robotics and advanced materials startup ICON, and homebuilding company Lennar, and architecture firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group announced their partnership.
  • According to a press release, they plan to break ground in 2022 on a 100-home community all built with ICON’s Vulcan printer.
    • Print concrete structures of up to 3,000 square feet
• This comes just after ICON completed the largest 3D-printed building in North America for the Texas Military Department in the form of a 72-person barracks back in August.
• Once complete, this community could become the largest 3D-printed community in the world. 
• Martin Voelkle, a partner at BIG, said in the announcement:
  • “Additive manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize the built environment as it gets adopted by the industry at scale … By partnering with ICON and Lennar, we are able to see this new technology roll out to the widest possible audience. The 3D-printed architecture and the photovoltaic roofs are innovations that are significant steps towards reducing waste in the construction process, as well as towards making our homes more resilient, sustainable, and energy self-sufficient.”
• Through the renderings, it looks like they will be going for a suburban feel with rowed houses with segmented yards.
• All the homes will be printed to International Building Code structural standards.
• The teams promise similar or greater longevity than homes built with standard concrete masonry units. 
• No estimated completion date or specific area in Austin has been given for the new neighborhood yet.