A quick look at everything that tickled my fancy over the last week:
SABRE Engine
One of my favorite topics to write about are new modes of transportation and this latest idea is a real doozy: a new rocket design with the potential to revolutionize society.
According to Futurism, “The Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) runs partially on oxygen collected from the atmosphere rather than relying on heavy fuel. That means serious weight savings, according to the European Space Agency — such that a payload could be delivered to orbit at ‘half the vehicle mass of current launchers.’”
Weight savings that could be used to transport passengers from London to Sydney, Australia in just four hours! Making near instantaneous worldwide travel a real possibility.
Horizontal Skyscrapers
I always imagined that cities of the future would resemble The Jetsons with impossibly tall skyscrapers rising about the clouds to escape smog smothered landscapes. China though had other ideas, deciding to flip the script on its side. Literally. By building a horizontal skyscraper.
According to Fast Company, “China is nearing completion of a new architectural landmark. The building is actually four distinct skyscrapers rising above the city of Chongqing. But what makes the project truly impressive is a 1,000 foot steel and glass sky bridge that connects them all, filled with trees, lagoons, observation decks, shops, and restaurants. Its developers call it ‘The Crystal.’”
And while it sounds like something you’d find in a movie starring the The Rock’s it’s entirely possible that The Crystal paves the way for even more horizontal skyscrapers in the future.
Night Vision
Humans may be one step closer to obtaining night vision and other super powers thanks to a new breakthrough recently tested on mice.
According to Futurism, “In the new research, described in a paper published in the journal Cell today, the researchers injected ‘ocular injectable photoreceptor-binding up conversion nanoparticles’ into the eyes of mice.
The stunning result: after the injection, the mice were able to see normally invisible near-infrared light — both humans and mice are normally unable to perceive light with wavelengths longer than 700 nanometers — effectively extending ‘mammalian vision,’ according to the paper.”
This is exciting research that could one day pave the way for enhancing human capabilities.
Synthetic Brain
In the future it may be possible to create an artificial human brain or at least a brain that resembles a human one in the way that connections are formed and memories are stored.
According to Futurism, “Gimzewski and his team found that a grid of tightly-packed copper posts, when treated with silver nitrate, grew nanowires out in seemingly random directions that mirror the branching, interconnect neurons found in a brain. On the atomic scale, the connections among the silver nanowires resemble synapses, which are the junctions at which two neurons meet up and transmit signals among with each other. The way that the nanowires organized themselves mirrors the sort of structures that would pop up during an MRI of a brain as it stores memories, according to ZDNet.”
Squid Teeth New Material
I’m a huge fan of materials science and especially of biomimicry but this next idea has me feeling a little bit squeamish.
As Science Focus explains, “A newly-discovered material made from squid teeth could one day replace man-made fibers like nylon and polyester, according to a review by scientists at Pennsylvania State University. This would help to reduce microplastic pollution in the oceans, as well as paving the way for new possibilities such as self-repairing safety clothing, or garments with built-in, flexible screens.
The smart materials in question are made from a material found in the suckers on a squid’s tentacles. In some species, these suckers have a ring of ‘teeth’ to help the squid grip onto a surface. These are known as SRTs – squid ring teeth – and it’s the proteins they’re made of that have scientists excited.”
Are any of these the Greatest Idea Ever?
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