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Virgin Galactic uses space tech to create new supersonic jet
The space tourism company Virgin Galactic teams up with Rolls Royce to create a new Mach 3 supersonic aircraft.
04 August, 2020
Credit: Virgin Galactic
- Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic has announced a partnership with Rolls Royce.
- The space tourism company will create a new supersonic jet for super-fast travel on Earth.
- The aircraft will travel at Mach 3 – three times the speed of sound.
<p>Virgin Galactic made the hearts of all speed enthusiasts beat faster by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/virgin-galactics-early-supersonic-aircraft-design-partnering-with-rolls-royce.html" target="_blank">announcing a new agreement</a> with Rolls-Royce to create a supersonic passenger jet.</p><p>The space tourism company founded by billionaire <a href="https://bigthink.com/u/richardbranson" target="_blank">Richard Branson</a> revealed an enticing look at the aircraft's design, which would not be taking people to the edge of space but between points on Earth. The move allows the company to leverage its space technology for super-fast travel across the planet. Crucially, the craft would utilize sustainable, next-generation fuel.</p><p>The concept for the supersonic jet, which can potentially disrupt commercial airline travel, has undergone a NASA review. Next, the company is planning to work with the FAA to create a framework for certifying the new aircraft for flight. </p>
<p>Virgin's Galactic's partner in this venture, the British company Rolls-Royce, is, of course, no stranger to supersonic aircraft-making, having built engines for the famous Concordes.</p><p>The first aircraft built will be targeted the speed of Mach 3, which is three times the speed of sound. In other words – a blazing 2300 mph. The plane will be able to carry from 9 to 19 people, cruising at an altitude of over 60,000 feet.</p><p>Virgin Galactic's chief space officer George Whitesides was bullish on the company's achievement:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"We have made great progress so far, and we look forward to opening up a new frontier in high speed travel," he said in a statement.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMTYzMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzUzMTY5MX0.urCCKO2cZVFdYvvclbVCpHRpDcQUcPmIEqvEuKHjIKw/img.jpg?width=980" id="ff710" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cf70b9c2a00580f353d152a36d4d2b1e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="jet rendering" />
Credit: Virgin Galactic
<p>The company has also made great strides in the development of its spacecraft. Check out the recently-released interior of its SpaceShipTwo Unity cabin:</p>
Virgin Galactic Spaceship Cabin Design Reveal
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ddd43e235d02118d76558a106aa99361"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LC286Dnq4M4?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
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COVID-19 lockdown is unleashing people's creativity
Armed with today's advanced digital tools and itching to express ourselves, "boredom" is bringing out the best in us.
02 August, 2020
Shutterstock
- While staying at home, many are exploring their creative sides to unprecedented levels, sharing their creations with the world in similarly novel, and sometimes collaborative, ways.
- People are finding amazing ways to create and to share from the safety of their homes using apps designed to promote expression and not simply distract users.
- Creative professionals are also stuck at home, facing unemployment, and a lack of access to their usual creative outlets.
<div>In the mess of bad news surrounding COVID-19, it can be hard to see a silver lining. There have, however, been some positive outcomes. People are <a href="https://www.bigthinkedge.com/?_ga=2.55029675.1244862290.1595264330-1156672020.1595264329" target="_blank">learning new skills</a>, bonding with family, helping once-anonymous neighbors, and connecting with their wider communities.<br></div><p>While millions are stuck at home during lockdown, many are also exploring their creative sides to unprecedented levels – and are sharing their creations with the world in similarly novel, and sometimes collaborative, ways. </p><p>So what is it about forced isolation that brings out people's creative sides? Apparently, boredom has a lot to do with it, at least according to science. </p>
The inspiration of boredom
<p>Pandemic-related lockdowns and social distancing restrictions have led to millions of people around the world being shut in, isolated and increasingly bored. But might that actually be a good thing?</p><p><a href="https://www.uclan.ac.uk/staff_profiles/sandi_mann.php" target="_blank">Sandi Mann</a>, a senior psychology lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire and author of the books "The Upside of Downtime" and "The Science of Boredom," is researching how boredom can be a creative force. </p><p>In fact, being bored during this time is unleashing a veritable global creative renaissance. Of course, for many impacted by the virus, boredom is a luxury. Millions are out of work, including many creative professionals, and others are too busy dealing with working from home or job loss, homeschooling children without an end in sight, or are tragically coping with the virus itself. </p><p>However, for many, boredom has become a common theme in this new normal – and that might not be the worst thing. <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/07/health/boredom-benefits-quarantine-wellness/index.html" target="_blank">Mann advises</a> her audience to "Harness your boredom by getting bored," explaining that when you really let yourself be bored without distraction, you are forced to let your mind wander and find new ways to occupy itself.</p><p>"That means real boredom, which is where you have to let your mind wander," she says. "This is the real key. Daydreaming and mind wandering. Don't turn to the internet or try to scroll your boredom away."</p><p>While scrolling away might not fuel creativity, people are finding amazing ways to create and to share from the safety of their homes using apps designed to promote expression and not simply distract users. In one <a href="https://www.lightricks.com/blog-posts/how-is-covid-19-impacting-creativity-at-home" target="_blank">survey from Lightricks</a>, a software company that specializes in mobile tools for creative expression, over 70 percent of respondents said that using a creativity app helped them overcome anxiety and more than 90 percent responded that they use creativity apps to combat boredom. </p>What are people doing to get creative under quarantine?
<p> Every day people are going deep with amazing art projects and finding ingenious ways to stay occupied. The trend is, in part, inspired by the need to keep kids busy and engaged, but the wave of creativity goes way beyond this motivation. </p><p> Instead of shutting down and switching off, people have become creators of content rather than just passive consumers. </p><ul> <li>Early on in the pandemic, families and friends found ways to keep busy and have fun with creative TikTok dance videos. This trend has only picked up as the months have wore on, with COVID-19 related hashtags like #quarantine and #happyathome connecting users across the globe.</li> </ul><blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@tommy_bracco/video/6806044372379929862" data-video-id="6806044372379929862" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;" id="v64928368834841060"> <iframe name="__tt_embed__v64928368834841060" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6806044372379929862?lang=en-US" style="width: 100%; height: 897px; display: block; visibility: unset;"></iframe></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><ul><li>Pinterest is another tech platform that is helping people get creative at home. With <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/pinterest-accelerates-tech-projects-as-pandemic-boosts-user-engagement-11591194991" target="_blank">searches up 60 percent</a> from this time last year and over 30 million new users joining the platform from January to June, DIY and craft projects are some of the most popular pins.</li><li>With public places becoming breeding grounds for coronavirus infection, classes and clubs for art forms like parkour and capoeira have <a href="https://www.candybar.co/blog/merchant-stories-move-academy-shie-boon/" target="_blank">moved to virtual spaces</a>, with different modes of movement.</li><li>New apps are also offering a digital space to be creative and maintain social networks, support others, and maintain mental health. One such app is Quickart. In a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200708005658/en/Lightricks-Launches-%E2%80%9CQuickart%E2%80%9D-Turn-Images-Photos-Digital" target="_blank">press release</a>, the creators of the app explained that the pandemic has "accelerated consumer appetite for powerful, easy-to-use creative tools that empower users to unleash their artistic expression while offering them an escape." With filters like Split Colours (below) and AI-enhanced animation tools, this app is blowing users away and putting the power of advanced editing in the hand of every person – no professional skills required.</li></ul><p> <br> </p><div> </div><blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@tommy_bracco/video/6806044372379929862" data-video-id="6806044372379929862" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;" id="v42403778904227576"> </blockquote><script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyODU2My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDI4MDM0MH0.MOaHTbEVwtNc53oit0cIxP1mVXMqP6O6R-b6_ut25Mc/img.png?width=980" id="1ba6f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="81de082824b5291c18d9be8457d7fdb7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
@sereiadosuburbio via Instagram
<ul><li>In one incredible project, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles tweeted a challenge for people to <a href="https://www.instyle.com/news/getty-museum-art-recreations" target="_blank">recreate famous works of art</a> at home. This unleashed an amazing display of creativity as people everywhere reached for everyday objects to reimagine masterpieces. </li><li>Using an app called <a href="https://mudeo.app/#/" target="_blank">Mudeo</a>, people are recording themselves singing, or playing instruments, and then layering additional tracks on top of themselves to create <a href="https://mudeo.app/song/k8mep9XaMy" target="_blank">rich self-accompanied arrangements</a> on the fly.</li></ul>Creative professionals are getting in on the fun
<p> Creative professionals are also stuck at home, facing unemployment and a lack of access to their usual creative outlets. </p><p> With amazing resilience, this sector is rising to the occasion in amazing ways that, thanks to technology, are inspiring millions of people around the world. </p><ul> <li>Professional musicians and <a href="https://www.pscp.tv/questlove/1lPKqLAVXaMxb" target="_blank">DJs</a> are playing free-access <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidalm/2020/03/31/when-in-quarantine-create/" target="_blank">online concerts and dance parties</a>. Collaborating from their homes in Brooklyn and Paris, for example, one rock school recorded a "family jam" of "With a Little Help From My Friends" by the Beatles, captioned with the words: "Created Under Confinement."</li> </ul><div> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zrP7YqaMry0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> </div><ul> <li>The <a href="https://forgefiction.com/quarantine-fiction/" target="_blank">#QuarantineFiction </a>campaign encourages authors (and aspiring authors) to write and share their stories, whether it's a memoir or a work of fiction. People can even compose together, and the best stories will be compiled in a book and made accessible all over the world.</li> <li>A <a href="https://www.voidprojects.org/#/home-muralfest-1-2020/" target="_blank">home mural festival</a> featuring artists from around the world, giving them the opportunity to come together and find a creative outlet together. One of the artists involved in the mural project, Jacoba Niepoort, told <a href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/05/home-muralfest/" target="_blank">This Is Colossal</a>: "Being cooped up has presented an opportunity to come together in new ways, both as coordinators and as artists. To share visuals of the space and time we're standing in now, created in solitude, but with the solidarity and simultaneousness being an important value-factor."</li></ul><div></div><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyODU2Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTExMTU1Nn0.xK_oq-wLrtQColmO-HNwZk21M9Fh5_iPZSM-3_DVTWI/img.png?width=980" id="9bbdc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e22ffd957a60b4736019c5afd828191b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="window ink mural of birds" />
@daviddelamano_ via Instagram
<p>Adapting creativity to suit the strange circumstances has born inspiring fruit with many otherwise disconnected aspiring artists finding connection, community and opportunities to create and distribute their work.</p><p>This, in turn, is helping to ease the anxiety, loneliness and boredom of lockdown. Of course, all of this creativity is propelled by the ability to share it with an unlimited audience online. </p>Locked down and spreading wings
<p>In 1665, the Great Plague raged across Europe, and Isaac Newton was sent home from his post at Cambridge. Confined indefinitely to his home, Newton got creative and invented calculus.</p><p>COVID-19 is another pandemic proving the creative force of adversity and boredom to inspire ingenuity and art. With agility and perseverance, people will find new ways to cultivate creativity and express themselves. With fun and jaw-dropping tools available on any phone, people everywhere are using their devices to create content and share it with the world, to inspire and be inspired. </p>
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All the storage you'll ever need to back up your data for under $100
Degoo's secure backups are available at a great price.
01 August, 2020
- 140,000 hard drives crash in America every week.
- 93 percent of businesses that suffer data loss for over 10 days file for bankruptcy within 12 months.
- Four million data records are stolen or lost every single day.
<script async="true" src="https://widgets.stackcommerce.com/js-deal-feed/0.1/widget.js" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Data loss is an expensive problem. The enormous amount of data that is lost due to hard drive crashes creates financial headaches as well as emotional pain. There's nothing worse than losing years of photos, videos, or music because you forgot to back up your data. But sadly, it happens more often than you think, with 140,000 hard drives crashing in America weekly and four million data records stolen or lost daily.<br></p><p>Degoo offers a world-class cloud storage service to ensure your precious data is always backed up and secure. Founded in Sweden in 2012, Degoo is built with Swedish engineering and entrepreneurship with a global team. Right now, a <strong><a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/degoo-premium-lifetime-backup-plans-10tb?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=degoo-premium-lifetime-backup-plans-10tb&utm_term=scsf-414966&utm_content=a0x1P000004slpLQAQ&scsonar=1" target="_blank">lifetime 10TB backup plan</a></strong> is on sale for only $99.99.</p><p>Degoo allows for high-speed transfers from a database that offers more backup space than Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive combined. Plus, all your data is protected with ultra-secure 256-bit AES encryption. </p><p>Degoo's automatic file change detection AI means you don't have to worry about updating your connection every time you change a word in a document. And unlike many data storage plans, Degoo backs up all of your devices.</p><p>You can also share uploaded photos in real-time with friends and family. Even better, Degoo's u<span style="font-size: calc(0.875rem + 0.0625 * ((100vw - 30rem) / 45));">nlimited file size guarantees no quality reduction. The average user uploads their first file within three minutes of signing up.</span></p><p>Degoo averages a 4.5 out of 5-star rating based on over 100 reviews. As one fan writes, "Degoo Cloud gives me the freedom to access my data anywhere, which is essential to me. I use it mainly for storing data that I need occasionally. I believe it is more useful than external hard drives, especially when traveling."</p><p><a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/degoo-premium-lifetime-backup-plans-10tb?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=degoo-premium-lifetime-backup-plans-10tb&utm_term=scsf-414966&utm_content=a0x1P000004slpLQAQ&scsonar=1" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>Degoo Premium: Lifetime 10TB Backup Plan</strong></a> is on sale now for just $99.99, a 97% discount from the original price. 1 TB ($49.99), 2 TB ($59.99), and 3 TB ($69.99) plans are also available.</p><p><em>Price subject to change.</em></p><script type="text/javascript"> (function (s,o,n,a,r,i,z,e){s['StackSonarObject']=r;s[r]=s[r]||function(){
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ESA's 'interplanetary cargo ship' to carry Mars rocks to Earth in 2031
The Earth Return Orbiter is part of a long-term mission to search for ancient alien life on Mars.
30 July, 2020
ESA
- On July 30, NASA is set to launch the Perseverance rover toward Mars on a mission to search for biosignatures of ancient life within the planet's Jerezo Crater.
- The soil samples collected by the rover would then be launched from the Martian surface into orbit, where a European-made "cargo ship" will intercept the container.
- The cargo ship — a satellite called the Earth Return Orbiter — could return the samples to Earth for further study by 2031.
<p>Was Mars ever home to alien life? If so, scientists believe astrobiological evidence may lie in the ancient rocks and soil of the planet's Jezero Crater, where a lake existed 3.5 billion years ago.</p><p>Over the next decade, NASA and European space agencies plan to collect samples from the Jezero Crater and return them to Earth. The mission began at 7:50 a.m. EDT on Thursday, July 30, with the launch of NASA's Perseverance rover, which will embark on a seven-month journey to Mars.</p><p>The six-wheeled rover is set to descend to the Martian surface in February 2021. It will then start collecting rock and soil samples that could contain biosignatures of ancient microorganisms — a project that the European Space agency <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2019/05/Earth_Return_Orbiter" target="_blank">likens to an "interplanetary treasure hunt."</a> Perseverance, previously named the Mars 2020 rover, will store its samples in protective tubes, which it will leave behind for a smaller "fetch rover" to pick up on a future mission.</p><p>If all goes well, the fetch rover will transport the samples to a craft called the Mars Ascent Vehicle, which will launch a rocket containing the samples (protected inside of a basketball-sized container) into orbit. A satellite will then intercept the container. To do this, the satellite — an Airbus-France spacecraft dubbed <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2019/05/Earth_Return_Orbiter" target="_blank">Earth Return Orbiter</a> (ERO) — must carefully position itself to catch the container at the right moment. </p><p><a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/25147/mission-overview-nasas-perseverance-mars-rover/" target="_blank">In 2031, the ERO will return to Earth</a>, where it will drop the container through our atmosphere to a landing site in North America.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyMjEyNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTg0NTQ5N30.yU7GOgl1yKVBQrIsnJCtXei1w3amkenWi9L8dsET8Pc/img.jpg?width=980" id="81efb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ba603b226216e7cc81ba632aa29adcc3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="\u200bJerezo Crater" />
Jerezo Crater landing site
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS/University of Arizona via Wikimedia Commons
<p>It would be the first mission to return Martian matter to Earth.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"This is not just twice as difficult as any typical Mars mission; it's twice squared — when you think about the complexity involved," Dr. David Parker, the director of human and robotic exploration at the European Space Agency (ESA), told <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/science-environment-53575353" target="_blank">BBC News</a>.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"And this satellite that Airbus will build - I like to call it 'the first interplanetary cargo ship', because that's what it will be doing. It's designed to carry cargo between Mars and Earth."</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyMjEyNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTUyNzI3OX0.hJzI77izzkBGaIv5bH_4a4h8gkhd4yhyqESqpiEWB0o/img.png?width=980" id="fce37" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="63c261cffd70b358796f6b4c3109ac41" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="ESA\u2019s Earth Return Orbiter" />
ESA's Earth Return Orbiter
ESA
<p>Finding signs of alien life isn't the rover's only function. The 2,300-pound Perseverance will be equipped with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a small 4-pound drone designed to help scientists learn more about the feasibility of achieving flight on Mars, a planet with an atmosphere that's <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/6-things-to-know-about-nasas-ingenuity-mars-helicopter/" target="_blank">99 percent less dense than Earth's</a>.</p><p>Perseverance will also carry technology designed to analyze the chemical composition of the Martian surface, study weather, take images of the Martian subsurface, and produce oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide — a proof-of-concept method that could someday allow astronauts to produce oxygen for rocket propellant or breathing.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyMjEyMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzIwOTIyMn0.74R7zZ_2P9DM3zKfe0rjecE0HaH1xJJ9-m6jUXt57wo/img.jpg?width=980" id="c030c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d7a5fd865bf823e03a110357f65696cc" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Illustration of the Mars Ascent Vehicle" />
Illustration of the Mars Ascent Vehicle
NASA
<p>But Perseverance's main mission is to find signs of alien life. If it does, that would suggest that life may be relatively common throughout the universe, as Kenneth Farley, the project scientist for Perseverance and a professor at the California Institute of Technology, told <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/28/21307109/nasa-mars-rover-perseverance-launch-date-alien-life" target="_blank" style="">The Verge</a>:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"The central question of 'Is there life on other planets?' — it really comes down to: is the origination of life some kind of magic spark that happens only incredibly rarely, or alternatively, is it the kind of thing that is inevitable?" Farley said. "What we can do is we can go to such place in our own solar system on Mars and ask the question, 'Is life ubiquitous?'"</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6559e0323765ea9dd1bfe735f78a74c9"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RNnJBKR9lqY?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>You can watch the Perseverance launch on <a href="https://youtu.be/21X5lGlDOfg" target="_blank">NASA's YouTube channel</a> at 7:50 a.m. EDT on Thursday, July 30.</p>
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Discovery of metal-breathing bacteria can change electronics
Researchers find an unusual property of a bacteria that can breathe in metal.
29 July, 2020
Credit: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Scientists discover Shewanella oneidensis bacterium can "breathe in" certain metals and compounds.
- The bacteria produces a material that can be used to transfer electrons.
- Applications of the finding range from medical devices to new generation of sensors.
<p>Researchers discovered an unusual property of a bacteria that can "breathe" in some metal and sulfur compounds and create materials that can improve electronics, energy storage, and medical devices.</p><p>Specifically, the anaerobic <strong>Shewanella oneidensis bacterium</strong> can produce <em>molybdenum disulfide</em>, a material that can transfer electronics as well as graphene, explains the <a href="https://avs.scitation.org/doi/10.1116/6.0000199" target="_blank">press release</a> from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, whose team of engineers carried out the research. </p>
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">Engineering professor <strong>Shayla Sawyer</strong> thinks their accomplishment </span><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span><span style="background-color: initial;">has some serious potential" once the scientists fully investigate the process involved and learn to control it.</span></p><p>One of the possible applications of this finding could be in developing a new generation of nutrient sensors to be used on lakes and other bodies of water to examine the health of their ecosystems. A bacterial biofilm, a collective of the microorganisms, could track excess nutrients in real-time, helping address harmful algae growth and other water issues.</p>
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<p>Postdoctorate researcher <strong>James Rees</strong>, who led the study, commented on the implications of their work:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"We find bacteria that are adapted to specific geochemical or biochemical environments can create, in some cases, very interesting and novel materials," Rees <a href="https://news.rpi.edu/content/2020/07/28/metal-breathing-bacteria-could-transform-electronics-biosensors-and-more" target="_blank">shared</a>. "We are trying to bring that into the electrical engineering world."</p><p><span></span><span style="background-color: initial;">What's unusual about </span><span style="background-color: initial;"><em>Shewanella oneidensis </em>is that it can create nanowires for transferring electrons, a fact that</span> <span style="background-color: initial;">"lends itself to connecting to electronic devices that have already been made," Sawyer <a href="https://news.rpi.edu/content/2020/07/28/metal-breathing-bacteria-could-transform-electronics-biosensors-and-more" target="_blank">elaborated</a>, calling it "the interface between the living world and the manmade world that is fascinating."</span></p><p>Check out the new study, which also involved <strong>Yuri Gorby</strong> as the paper's third author, in <a href="https://avs.scitation.org/doi/10.1116/6.0000199" target="_blank">Biointerphases</a>.</p>
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