Get smarter, faster. Subscribe to our daily newsletter.
Why cities are critical to achieving a carbon-neutral world
In May 2018, the city of Paris set an ambition to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
25 February, 2021
Photo by Rodrigo Kugnharski on Unsplash
- Countries, governments and companies are aligning on a need for net-zero - and this is an opportunity to rethink decarbonizing our cities.
- There is no "one-size-fits-all" solution – each city's needs must be at the heart of developing integrated energy solutions.
- A city can only decarbonize through collaboration between government, the private sector, and local communities.
<p>The world is at a critical juncture. Never has there been a moment where businesses, energy consumers and governments – from Canada to China – are aligning on a common vision like this: a road to net-zero emissions.</p><p>In the years ahead the role played by cities will be under greater scrutiny than ever before. Cities are, after all, the beating heart of business, commerce, trade and society. They cover 3% of the earth's land surface yet they are responsible for <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">more than 70%</a> of all carbon emissions. Cities are where the need for integrated energy solutions, backed up by ambitious policy and urban planning, will be critical if the world is to move towards net-zero emissions in the years ahead.</p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p>The private sector has a role to play. Over the past few years, companies and industries have begun to ask how they can play their part. Many in the energy sector are on a mission to help customers decarbonize within their own sectors, businesses, communities and homes. But how could that work for cities?</p>
<h3>Co-visioning</h3><p>While every city has unique needs, five are common to building sustainable and smarter cities of the future. These are mobility, energy, environment, urban planning and living. And it is a mix of these elements that is required to develop integrated solutions. To better understand the different needs, convening a diverse set of city stakeholders is key. This I would like to describe as co-visioning.</p><p>For example, in May 2018 the city of Paris set an ambition to be carbon-neutral by 2050. This ambition is not without challenges. Rising levels of income and wealth inequality, transport emissions and older and energy-inefficient building stock are among the challenges standing in the way of that goal.</p><p>In 2019, Shell, alongside <a href="https://leonard.vinci.com/en/" target="_blank">Leonard</a> (a foresight and innovation platform) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (<a href="https://www.oecd.org/" target="_blank">OECD</a>), hosted a City Scenarios workshop in Paris. This event brought together 45 key stakeholders from across both public and private sectors and the wider community, who discussed how to collectively address and meet the objectives of the Paris Climate Action Plan, which aims to make Paris a carbon-neutral city by 2050.</p><p>The outcomes of this workshop led to a <a href="http://www.shell.com/parissketch" target="_blank">sketch that explores three scenarios</a>. Each describes different visions of the future for the Paris Metropole, while illustrating a pathway to 2050 and describes progress, or lack thereof, towards the goals of the Paris Climate Action Plan. A short description of each scenario is described in the visual below.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/the-energy-future/scenarios/scenario-sketches/sketch-paris-metropole-becoming-carbon-neutral.html#vanity-aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2hlbGwuY29tL3Bhcmlzc2tldGNoLmh0bWw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img alt="Three scenarios for the future of Paris" src="https://assets.weforum.org/editor/fikEqXUoihJyeI5QAOk5cFJ_lIVcKVXWz-21d0r2SJQ.png"></a>Three scenarios for the future of Paris (Image: Shell)</p><p>The purpose of this exploration was to guide the wisest possible choices and actions that should be taken now, to achieve the shared ambitions for the Paris region. Far from being a regular commercial opportunity, this instead looked to envision future scenarios and what customers' needs in the future could look like. This work has enabled us to better integrate solutions in the years ahead.</p>
<h3>Integrated solutions</h3><p>After understanding the needs, one approach to co-innovate solutions is to adopt a 'Living Lab' concept. In Singapore, we launched a <a href="https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/the-energy-future/future-cities/shell-city-solutions.html#vanity-aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2hlbGwuY29tL2NpdHlzb2x1dGlvbnMuaHRtbA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">City Solutions Living Lab</a> to co-create and experiment with city stakeholders' innovative concepts, scenarios, technologies and business models in actual living environments.</p><p>The island city-state is forward thinking in its approach to energy transition. It has set ambitious targets to increase renewables, and announced that it plans to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040. With this shared vision, Shell partnered Singapore's Energy Market Authority (EMA) to jointly work on spurring the adoption of energy storage systems to support the deployment of more solar in Singapore. One ongoing project is to work with local enterprises to develop smart energy-management system solutions that integrate solar and storage to provide fast charging for electric vehicles at Shell service stations.</p><p>There is no one-size fits all solution. Starting from each city's needs, integrated solutions need to be innovated and delivered. This will require unprecedented collaboration between government, industry and society. But the urgency has never been greater. After all, making cities sustainable places to live and work for future generations will be imperative if the world is to meet the broader goals of the Paris Agreement and move closer to a net-zero emissions world.</p><p><em>To learn more, please visit the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/projects/systemic-efficiency" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">programme webpage</a> and see the recent report <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Net_Zero_Carbon_Cities_An_Integrated_Approach_2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Net Zero Carbon Cities: An Integrated Approach</a>.</em></p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/cities-are-at-the-heart-of-our-journey-to-net-zero/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="">original article</a>.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Here's what happened when AI and humans met in a strawberry-growing contest
Do they really need the human touch?
24 February, 2021
Photo by Marc Fulgar on Unsplash
- In Pinduoduo's Smart Agriculture Competition, four technology teams competed with traditional farmers over four months to grow strawberries.
- Data analysis, intelligent sensors and greenhouse automation helped the scientists win.
- Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as AI are forecast to deliver huge productivity gains – but need the right governance, according to the Global Technology Governance Report 2021.
<p>Strawberries can be easy to grow – especially, it seems, if you're an algorithm.</p><p>When farmers in China competed to grow the fruit with technology including machine learning and artificial intelligence, the machines won, by some margin.</p><p>Data scientists produced 196% more strawberries by weight on average compared with traditional farmers.</p><p>The technologists also outperformed farmers in terms of return on investment by an average of 75.5%</p><p>The inaugural <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/12/16/2145844/0/en/Technology-beats-humans-at-growing-strawberries-in-Pinduoduo-smart-agriculture-competition.html#:~:text=16%2C%202020%20(GLOBE%20NEWSWIRE),Competition%20organized%20by%20Pinduoduo%20Inc.&text=The%20technologists%20also%20outperformed%20farmers,according%20to%20the%20competition%20organizers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Smart Agriculture Competition</a> was co-organized by<a href="https://en.pinduoduo.com/company" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Pinduoduo</a>, China's largest agri-focused technology platform, and the<a href="https://en.cau.edu.cn/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> China Agricultural University</a>, with the<a href="http://www.fao.org/home/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations</a> as a technical adviser.</p><p>Teams of data scientists competed over four months to <a href="https://smartagricompetition.com/en/information" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">grow strawberries remotely</a> using Internet of Things technology coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning-driven algorithms.</p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p>In the competition, the technology teams had the advantage of being able to control temperature and humidity through greenhouse automation, the organizers said. Using technology such as intelligent sensors, they were also more precise at controlling the use of water and nutrients. The traditional farmers had to achieve the same tasks by hand and experience.</p>
<p>One of the teams, Zhi Duo Mei, set up a company to provide its technology to farming cooperatives after it generated a lot of interest during the competition.</p><p>The contest helped the traditional farmers and the data scientists better understand each other's work and how they could collaborate to everyone's advantage, the leader of the Zhi Duo Mei team, Cheng Biao, said.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY4NDQ0Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTE4NjA1N30.EUA7Kk7ZEgU2l97MBqYrqaMoXDVcpuQ-MPtmXqClcQE/img.jpg?width=980" id="1fe99" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="906ab8e55b2310e5c1b1b5317e869864" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Artificial intelligence growing strawberries at Pinduoduo" data-width="600" data-height="400" />
Pinduoduo
<h3>Growing potential</h3><p>Numerous studies show the potential for Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies like AI to boost economic growth and productivity.</p><p>By 2035, labour productivity in developed countries could rise by 40% due to the influence of AI, according to<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/12/ai-productivity-automation-artificial-intelligence-countries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> analysis from Accenture and Frontier Economics</a>.</p><p>Sweden, the US and Japan are expected to see the highest productivity increases.</p><p>In its<a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020/digest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Future of Jobs Report 2020</a>, the World Economic Forum estimates that by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by a shift in the division of labour between humans and machines, while 97 million new roles may emerge that are more adapted to the new division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms.</p><p>Emerging technologies including AI and drones will also play a vital role in helping the world recover from COVID-19, according to a separate Forum report compiled with professional services firm Deloitte.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-technology-governance-report-2021" target="_blank">Global Technology Governance Report 2021</a> considers some of the most important applications for these technologies – and the governance challenges that should be addressed for these technologies to reach their full potential.</p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/pinduoduo-agriculture-competition-farmers-technology/" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
How tiny bioelectronic implants may someday replace pharmaceutical drugs
Scientists are using bioelectronic medicine to treat inflammatory diseases, an approach that capitalizes on the ancient "hardwiring" of the nervous system.
24 February, 2021
Left: The vagus nerve, the body's longest cranial nerve. Right: Vagus nerve stimulation implant by SetPoint Medical.
Credit: Adobe Stock / SetPoint Medical
- Bioelectronic medicine is an emerging field that focuses on manipulating the nervous system to treat diseases.
- Clinical studies show that using electronic devices to stimulate the vagus nerve is effective at treating inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
- Although it's not yet approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, vagus nerve stimulation may also prove effective at treating other diseases like cancer, diabetes and depression.
<p>Could a tiny electronic device treat some diseases more safely and effectively than pharmaceutical medicines?</p><p>For Kelly Owens, the answer was clear. She spent more than a decade suffering from Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that left her with severe arthritis in her joints. The pain forced her to use a cane, sometimes a wheelchair. She tried more than 20 medications and racked up more than $1 million in medical bills, but her condition didn't improve.</p><p>A physician told Owens and her husband that they shouldn't have children, and that she'd have to take steroids for life.</p><p>Then Owens turned to bioelectronic medicine. She reached out to Dr. Kevin Tracey, a pioneer in the field and president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York. Soon after, Owens and her husband moved to Amsterdam to participate in a clinical trial involving a relatively new bioelectronic approach to treat inflammation.</p><p>Doctors implanted a small electronic device in her chest that stimulated her vagus nerve, the body's longest cranial nerve. After two weeks, Owens didn't need the cane or wheelchair. Soon she was jogging on a treadmill.</p><p>A growing body of research within bioelectronic medicine shows it's possible to treat diseases by manipulating the nervous system. The field is essentially a fusion of neuroscience, molecular biology and neurotechnology. Dr. Tracey and his colleagues think the field may someday replace or supplement many pharmaceutical drugs used to treat major diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer's.</p><p>But how? The answer centers on how the nervous system controls molecular processes in the body.</p>
<blockquote>...the most revolutionary aspect of bioelectronic medicine, according to Dr. Tracey, is that approaches like vagus nerve stimulation wouldn't come with harmful and potentially deadly side effects, as many pharmaceutical drugs currently do.</blockquote>
The nervous system’s ancient reflexes
<p>You accidentally place your hand on a hot stove. Almost instantaneously, your hand withdraws.</p><p>What triggered your hand to move? The answer is <em>not</em> that you consciously decided the stove was hot and you should move your hand. Rather, it was a reflex: Skin receptors on your hand sent nerve impulses to the spinal cord, which ultimately sent back motor neurons that caused your hand to move away. This all occurred before your "conscious brain" realized what happened.</p><p>Similarly, the nervous system has reflexes that protect individual cells in the body.</p><p>"The nervous system evolved because we need to respond to stimuli in the environment," said Dr. Tracey. "Neural signals don't come from the brain down first. Instead, when something happens in the environment, our peripheral nervous system senses it and sends a signal to the central nervous system, which comprises the brain and spinal cord. And then the nervous system responds to correct the problem."</p><p>So, what if scientists could "hack" into the nervous system, manipulating the electrical activity in the nervous system to control molecular processes and produce desirable outcomes? That's the chief goal of bioelectronic medicine.</p><p>"There are billions of neurons in the body that interact with almost every cell in the body, and at each of those nerve endings, molecular signals control molecular mechanisms that can be defined and mapped, and potentially put under control," Dr. Tracey said in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJH9KsMKi5M" target="_blank">TED Talk</a>.</p><p>"Many of these mechanisms are also involved in important diseases, like cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, hypertension and shock. It's very plausible that finding neural signals to control those mechanisms will hold promises for devices replacing some of today's medication for those diseases."</p><p>How can scientists hack the nervous system? For years, researchers in the field of bioelectronic medicine have zeroed in on the longest cranial nerve in the body: the vagus nerve.</p><blockquote>What's more, clinical trials show that vagus nerve stimulation not only "shuts off" inflammation, but also triggers the production of cells that promote healing.</blockquote>
The vagus nerve
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYyOTM5OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NTIwNzk0NX0.UCy-3UNpomb3DQZMhyOw_SQG4ThwACXW_rMnc9mLAe8/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0&height=700" id="09add" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f38dbfbbfe470ad85a3b023dd5083557" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1245" data-height="700" />Electrical signals, seen here in a synapse, travel along the vagus nerve to trigger an inflammatory response.
Credit: Adobe Stock via solvod
<p>The vagus nerve ("vagus" meaning "wandering" in Latin) comprises two nerve branches that stretch from the brainstem down to the chest and abdomen, where nerve fibers connect to organs. Electrical signals constantly travel up and down the vagus nerve, facilitating communication between the brain and other parts of the body.</p><p>One aspect of this back-and-forth communication is inflammation. When the immune system detects injury or attack, it automatically triggers an inflammatory response, which helps heal injuries and fend off invaders. But when not deployed properly, inflammation can become excessive, exacerbating the original problem and potentially contributing to diseases.</p><p>In 2002, Dr. Tracey and his colleagues discovered that the nervous system plays a key role in monitoring and modifying inflammation. This occurs through a process called the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature01321" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inflammatory reflex</a>. In simple terms, it works like this: When the nervous system detects inflammatory stimuli, it reflexively (and subconsciously) deploys electrical signals through the vagus nerve that trigger anti-inflammatory molecular processes.</p><p>In rodent experiments, Dr. Tracey and his colleagues observed that electrical signals traveling through the vagus nerve control TNF, a protein that, in excess, causes inflammation. These electrical signals travel through the vagus nerve to the spleen. There, electrical signals are converted to chemical signals, triggering a molecular process that ultimately makes TNF, which exacerbates conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.</p><p>The incredible chain reaction of the inflammatory reflex was observed by Dr. Tracey and his colleagues in greater detail through rodent experiments. When inflammatory stimuli are detected, the nervous system sends electrical signals that travel through the vagus nerve to the spleen. There, the electrical signals are converted to chemical signals, which trigger the spleen to create a white blood cell called a T cell, which then creates a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. The acetylcholine interacts with macrophages, which are a specific type of white blood cell that creates TNF, a protein that, in excess, causes inflammation. At that point, the acetylcholine triggers the macrophages to stop overproducing TNF – or inflammation.</p><p>Experiments showed that when a specific part of the body is inflamed, specific fibers within the vagus nerve start firing. Dr. Tracey and his colleagues were able to map these relationships. More importantly, they were able to stimulate specific parts of the vagus nerve to "shut off" inflammation.</p><p>What's more, clinical trials show that vagus nerve stimulation not only "shuts off" inflammation, but also triggers the production of cells that promote healing.</p><p>"In animal experiments, we understand how this works," Dr. Tracey said. "And now we have clinical trials showing that the human response is what's predicted by the lab experiments. Many scientific thresholds have been crossed in the clinic and the lab. We're literally at the point of regulatory steps and stages, and then marketing and distribution before this idea takes off."<br></p>The future of bioelectronic medicine
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYxMDYxMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjQwOTExNH0.uBY1TnEs_kv9Dal7zmA_i9L7T0wnIuf9gGtdRXcNNxo/img.jpg?width=980" id="8b5b2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c005e615e5f23c2817483862354d2cc4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="2000" data-height="1125" />Vagus nerve stimulation can already treat Crohn's disease and other inflammatory diseases. In the future, it may also be used to treat cancer, diabetes, and depression.
Credit: Adobe Stock via Maridav
<p>Vagus nerve stimulation is currently awaiting approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, but so far, it's proven safe and effective in clinical trials on humans. Dr. Tracey said vagus nerve stimulation could become a common treatment for a wide range of diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, hypertension, shock, depression and diabetes.</p><p>"To the extent that inflammation is the problem in the disease, then stopping inflammation or suppressing the inflammation with vagus nerve stimulation or bioelectronic approaches will be beneficial and therapeutic," he said.</p><p>Receiving vagus nerve stimulation would require having an electronic device, about the size of lima bean, surgically implanted in your neck during a 30-minute procedure. A couple of weeks later, you'd visit, say, your rheumatologist, who would activate the device and determine the right dosage. The stimulation would take a few minutes each day, and it'd likely be unnoticeable.</p><p>But the most revolutionary aspect of bioelectronic medicine, according to Dr. Tracey, is that approaches like vagus nerve stimulation wouldn't come with harmful and potentially deadly side effects, as many pharmaceutical drugs currently do.</p><p>"A device on a nerve is not going to have systemic side effects on the body like taking a steroid does," Dr. Tracey said. "It's a powerful concept that, frankly, scientists are quite accepting of—it's actually quite amazing. But the idea of adopting this into practice is going to take another 10 or 20 years, because it's hard for physicians, who've spent their lives writing prescriptions for pills or injections, that a computer chip can replace the drug."</p><p>But patients could also play a role in advancing bioelectronic medicine.</p><p>"There's a huge demand in this patient cohort for something better than they're taking now," Dr. Tracey said. "Patients don't want to take a drug with a black-box warning, costs $100,000 a year and works half the time."</p><p>Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, elaborated:</p><p>"Why would patients pursue a drug regimen when they could opt for a few electronic pulses? Is it possible that treatments like this, pulses through electronic devices, could replace some drugs in the coming years as preferred treatments? Tracey believes it is, and that is perhaps why the pharmaceutical industry closely follows his work."</p><p>Over the long term, bioelectronic approaches are unlikely to completely replace pharmaceutical drugs, but they could replace many, or at least be used as supplemental treatments.</p><p>Dr. Tracey is optimistic about the future of the field.</p><p>"It's going to spawn a huge new industry that will rival the pharmaceutical industry in the next 50 years," he said. "This is no longer just a startup industry. [...] It's going to be very interesting to see the explosive growth that's going to occur."</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Could playing video games be linked to lower depression rates in kids?
Can playing video games really curb the risk of depression? Experts weigh in.
23 February, 2021
Previous studies have concluded there are some mental health benefits to playing video games.
Credit: TheVisualsYouNeed on Adobe Stock
Technology & Innovation
- A new study published by a UCL researcher has demonstrated how different types of screen time can positively (or negatively) influence young people's mental health.
- Young boys who played video games daily had lower depression scores at age 14 compared to those who played less than once per month or never.
- The study also noted that more frequent video game use was consistently associated with fewer depressive symptoms in boys with lower physical activity, but not in those with high physical activity levels.
<p><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/abs/prospective-relationships-of-adolescents-screenbased-sedentary-behaviour-with-depressive-symptoms-the-millennium-cohort-study/1DE7A90DFF566E36742B141724673B47" target="_blank">A new study</a> published by a UCL researcher has demonstrated how different types of screen time can positively (or negatively) influence young people's mental health. The study suggests that boys who play video games frequently in early adolescence (around age 11) are less likely to develop depressive symptoms throughout the following years. Additional findings in this study suggest that girls who spend more time on social media appear to develop more depressive symptoms.</p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul>
How do video games and social media impact young kids?
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY3NDY2Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjM5OTQwMn0.FUGlBVN0uGa9jYXpbSjHssFpcdJGcpM-hsA8vJb1mJc/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C488%2C0%2C111&height=700" id="d4200" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6a1be92721c981f409d8c9efb574fe45" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="two kids sitting on the couch playing video games together" data-width="1245" data-height="700" />The study gained interesting insight into the link between depression rates at age 14 and video game usage a few years earlier.
Credit: Pixel-Shot on Adobe Stock
<p>The study's lead author, Ph.D. student Aaron Kandola, explains to <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/ucl-bwp021721.php" target="_blank">Eurekalert</a>: "Screens allow us to engage in a wide range of activities. Guidelines and recommendations about screen time should be based on our understanding of how these different activities might influence mental health and whether that influence is meaningful."</p><p><strong>How this study was conducted: </strong></p><ul><li>These findings come as part of the Millennium Cohort Study, where over 11,000 (n = 11,341) adolescents were surveyed. </li><li>Depressive symptoms were measured with a Moods and Feelings Questionnaire (age 14). </li><li>"Exposures" were listed as the frequency of video games, social media, and internet usage (age 11). </li><li>Physical activity was also accounted for on a self-reporting basis. </li></ul><p><strong>When comparing young boys (age 11) who played video games to those who don't, the study showed interesting results: </strong></p><ul><li>Boys who played video games <strong>daily</strong> had 24.3 percent lower depression scores at age 14 (compared to those who played less than once per month or never). </li><li>Boys who played video games <strong>at least once per week</strong> had 25.1 percent lower depression scores at age 14 (compared to those who played less than once per month or never). </li><li>BOoys who played video games <strong>at least once per month</strong> had 31.2 percent lower depression scored at age 14 (compared to those who played less than once per month or never). </li></ul><p><strong>When comparing how depression impacted young girls based on their social media usage, the researchers found that:</strong></p><ul><li>Compared with less than once per month/never social media usage, using social media most days at age 11 was associated with a 13% higher depression score at age 14. </li></ul>Can playing video games actually be beneficial?
<p>There has been a lot of speculation in the past two decades about screen-time, social media, and video games. Whether it's <a href="https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2003/10/anderson" target="_blank">linking video games to violence</a> and obesity or <a href="https://childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/#:~:text=In%20several%20recent%20studies%2C%20teenage,who%20spent%20the%20least%20time." target="_blank">linking social media to depression and anxiety</a> — this seems to be a controversial question. According to the research, the answer to this question is yes, video games can be beneficial in moderation when paired with physical activity and real-life application.</p><p><strong>Adding in some physical activity could be the difference between beneficial and harmful.</strong></p><p>The above-mentioned study also noted that more frequent video game use was consistently associated with fewer depressive symptoms in boys with lower physical activity, but not in those with high physical activity levels. </p><p><strong>Previous studies have concluded there are some mental health benefits to playing video games. </strong></p><p><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/16/health/video-games-mental-health-study-wellness-scli-intl/index.html#:~:text=It%20found%20that%20time%20spent,reporting%20that%20they%20felt%20happier.&text=%22In%20fact%2C%20play%20can%20be,withhold%20those%20benefits%20from%20players.%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A 2020 study</a> by the University of Oxford analyzed the impacts of playing two extremely popular games at the time: Nintendo's "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" and Electronic Arts' "Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville." The study used data and survey responses from over 3000 players in total — the games' developers shared anonymous data about people's playing habits, and the researchers surveyed those gamers separately about their well-being. </p><p><strong>Results of this study found that time spent playing these games was associated with players reporting that they felt happier. </strong></p><p>Additionally, previous studies (such as <a href="https://it.arizona.edu/blog/can-playing-video-games-make-you-smarter" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this University of Arizona study</a>) have linked video game usage with new learning opportunities: <em>"</em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">Games like Minecraft are being used in more and more classrooms around the country. MinecraftEdu (recently purchased by Microsoft), allows teachers to structure a sandbox-style play environment around any curriculum. Students can work together to learn the scientific method, build farms, or take advantage of turtle robots to learn basic programming. Not only do these activities improve team-building skills, but they give students the chance to develop and practice technological literacy."</p><p><strong>"Everything in moderation" is an important factor in determining whether video game use is beneficial or harmful. </strong></p><p>While there can be some positive impacts from playing video games, research (such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6676913/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this study conducted in 2013</a>) has also shown that people who spend a predominant part of their day gaming are at risk of showing lower educational and career attainment in addition to problems with peers and lower social skills. </p>
Keep reading
Show less
U.S. Navy controls inventions that claim to change "fabric of reality"
Inventions with revolutionary potential made by a mysterious aerospace engineer for the U.S. Navy come to light.
06 February, 2021
U.S. Navy ships
Credit: Getty Images
Surprising Science
- U.S. Navy holds patents for enigmatic inventions by aerospace engineer Dr. Salvatore Pais.
- Pais came up with technology that can "engineer" reality, devising an ultrafast craft, a fusion reactor, and more.
- While mostly theoretical at this point, the inventions could transform energy, space, and military sectors.
<p>The U.S. Navy controls patents for some futuristic and outlandish technologies, some of which, dubbed "the UFO patents," came to life recently. Of particular note are inventions by the somewhat mysterious Dr. Salvatore Cezar Pais, whose tech claims to be able to "engineer reality." His slate of highly-ambitious, borderline sci-fi designs meant for use by the U.S. government range from gravitational wave generators and compact fusion reactors to next-gen hybrid aerospace-underwater crafts with revolutionary propulsion systems, and beyond.</p><p>Of course, the existence of patents does not mean these technologies have actually been created, but there is evidence that some demonstrations of operability have been successfully carried out. As investigated and <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/28729/docs-show-navy-got-ufo-patent-granted-by-warning-of-similar-chinese-tech-advances" target="_blank">reported by The War Zone,</a> a possible reason why some of the patents may have been taken on by the Navy is that the Chinese military may also be developing similar advanced gadgets. </p>
<p>Among Dr. Pais's patents are <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US10144532B2/en?inventor=Salvatore+Pais&oq=inventor:(Salvatore+Pais)" target="_blank">designs</a>, approved in 2018, for an aerospace-underwater craft of incredible speed and maneuverability. This <span style="background-color: initial;">cone-shaped vehicle </span>can potentially fly just as well anywhere it may be, whether air, water or space, without leaving any heat signatures. It can achieve this by creating a <strong>quantum vacuum</strong> around itself with a very dense polarized energy field. This vacuum would allow it to repel any molecule the craft comes in contact with, no matter the medium. Manipulating "quantum field fluctuations in the local vacuum energy state," would help reduce the craft's inertia. The polarized vacuum would dramatically decrease any elemental resistance and lead to "extreme speeds," claims the paper.</p><p>Not only that, if the vacuum-creating technology can be engineered, we'd also be able to "engineer the fabric of our reality at the most fundamental level," states the patent. This would lead to major advancements in aerospace propulsion and generating power. Not to mention other reality-changing outcomes that come to mind.</p><p>Among Pais's other patents are inventions that stem from similar thinking, outlining pieces of technology necessary to make his creations come to fruition. His paper presented in 2019, titled "<a href="https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2019-0869" target="_blank">Room Temperature Superconducting System for Use on a Hybrid Aerospace Undersea Craft</a>," proposes a system that can achieve superconductivity at room temperatures. This would become "a highly disruptive technology, capable of a total paradigm change in Science and Technology," conveys Pais.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYxNTYzOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MzQyMTc1NX0.DjUIV4oQHo6CA_6pykx0yqqsDqSJwc8Mm2VIFkC3Ooo/img.jpg?width=980" id="657b0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dc0f815c2cdfc13d140197ed7733e879" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1049" data-height="798" />
High frequency gravitational wave generator.
Credit: Dr. Salvatore Pais
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">Another <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US10135366B2/" target="_blank">invention</a> devised by Pais is an electromagnetic field generator that could generate </span><span style="background-color: initial;">"an impenetrable defensive shield to sea and land as well as space-based military and civilian assets." This shield could protect from threats like anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles that evade radar, coronal mass ejections, military satellites, and even asteroids.</span></p><p>Dr. Pais's ideas center around the phenomenon he dubbed <strong>"The Pais Effect".</strong> He referred to it in his writings as the "controlled motion of electrically charged matter (from solid to plasma) via accelerated spin and/or accelerated vibration under rapid (yet smooth) acceleration-deceleration-acceleration transients." In less jargon-heavy terms, Pais claims to have figured out how to spin electromagnetic fields in order to contain a fusion reaction – an accomplishment that would lead to a tremendous change in power consumption and an abundance of energy. </p>
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">According to <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8871349/authors#authors" target="_blank">his bio</a> in a recently published paper on a new Plasma Compression Fusion Device, which could transform energy production, Dr. Pais is a mechanical and aerospace engineer </span><span style="background-color: initial;">working at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (<a href="https://www.navair.navy.mil/nawcad/" target="_blank">NAWCAD</a>), which is headquartered in Patuxent River, Maryland. Holding a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Pais was a NASA Research Fellow and worked with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. His current Department of Defense work involves his "</span><span style="background-color: initial;">advanced knowledge of theory, analysis, and modern experimental and computational methods in aerodynamics, along with an understanding of air-vehicle and missile design, especially in the domain of hypersonic power plant and vehicle design." He also has expert knowledge of electrooptics, emerging quantum technologies (laser power generation in particular), high-energy electromagnetic field generation, and the "breakthrough field of room temperature superconductivity, as related to advanced field propulsion."</span></p><p>Suffice it to say, with such a list of research credentials that would make Nikola Tesla proud, Dr. Pais seems well-positioned to carry out groundbreaking work. </p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYxNjAyMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNTk4NDUyN30.O7QI7OIlHSFKbhO1ffXJQ426ecpfY0fBL2CHazRKpPQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="c520c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4599ab1b40956bc964ea257ed751d72a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="902" data-height="546" />
A craft using an inertial mass reduction device.
Credit: Salvatore Pais
<p>The patents won't necessarily lead to these technologies ever seeing the light of day. The research has its share of detractors and nonbelievers among other scientists, who think the amount of energy required for the fields described by Pais and his ideas on electromagnetic propulsions are well beyond the scope of current tech and are nearly impossible. Yet investigators at <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/28729/docs-show-navy-got-ufo-patent-granted-by-warning-of-similar-chinese-tech-advances" target="_blank">The War Zone</a> found comments from Navy officials that indicate the inventions are being looked at seriously enough, and some tests are taking place.</p><p>If you'd like to read through Pais's patents yourself, <a href="https://patents.google.com/?inventor=Salvatore+Pais&oq=inventor:(Salvatore+Pais)" target="_blank">check them out here.</a></p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTYxNTY0MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MjQ3MDc3MH0.92OR5IFrGK9AFgUoBdLR4hR8VAH2Wrk5HChM48kLO_M/img.jpg?width=980" id="8b942" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f9e62ccd4ff2a94d966980936e4878fd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1252" data-height="1006" />
Laser Augmented Turbojet Propulsion System
Credit: Dr. Salvatore Pais
Keep reading
Show less
NASA will pay $500,000 for your innovative ideas about food production in space
Introducing the Deep Space Food Challenge.
04 February, 2021
European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano handling food packages aboard the International Space Station.
<ul class="ee-ul"></ul>
<p>NASA has big plans for the coming decades. The agency's <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/" target="_blank">Artemis program</a> has set its sights on returning to the Moon after an absence of nearly 50 years. Once there, the first woman and next man to walk the lunar surface will begin <a href="https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/nasa-artemis-program?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">establishing a base camp</a>, laying the foundation for the sustained exploration and economization of <a href="https://www.space.com/19275-moon-formation.html#:~:text=The%20prevailing%20theory%20supported%20by,object%20smashed%20into%20early%20Earth.&text=Known%20as%20Theia%2C%20the%20Mars,young%20planet's%20crust%20into%20space." target="_blank">Earth's solar sibling</a>. Then it's off to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars/overview" target="_blank">Mars</a>.</p><p>But a journey to the ruddy planet, a distance of roughly 114 million miles, will require NASA to solve a myriad of logistical and engineering problems. Chief among them is the problem of food.</p><p>Although humans have maintained a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-counts-down-to-twenty-years-of-continuous-human-presence-on-international-space-station" target="_blank">continuous presence in space for 20 years</a> aboard the International Space Station (ISS), food hasn't proven an issue as the station orbits a mere 220 miles above our terrestrial home. NASA and other space agencies can easily send astronauts care packages containing fresh fruit and veggies alongside shelf staples.</p><p>Mars-faring astronauts, however, will not have it so easy. The time and distance required for the expedition will make regular resupply infeasible. Astronauts will need to bring all their food with them, alongside the means of producing that food, and keep those supplies within the volume constraints of the spacecraft.</p><p>It's a problem with no obvious solution. That's why NASA is challenging entrepreneurs, college students, hobbyist investors, and you, if you're up for it, to help them devise one.</p>
The way to an astronaut's heart
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU5Mjg4My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTkwODAwOH0.5z68HGX5Zup_y_PZfTfTnlibo3B2jKha-gjAT6jF9-w/img.jpg?width=980" id="7a63a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="98e1e8efc2a98052faa9678a62d5f0fe" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="520" data-height="402" />An image showing the different challenges a viable space-food system solution must overcome.
<p>In a paper written for <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/150/9/2242/5870322" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Journal of Nutrition</a>, Grace Douglas, NASA's lead scientist for advanced food technology at Johnson Space Center in Houston, outlined the necessities for food technologies in long-term space exploration. The most critical being, of course, survival.</p><p>"In the history of humankind, explorers set off to see what was over the horizon, and literally millions did not return because of food and nutrition failures," Douglas and her co-authors wrote.</p><p>The difficulty is that the processes we rely on to cook meals on Earth—such as boiling water, hot surfaces, and food preparation—work as they do because they are bound to an environment with gravity, atmosphere, atmospheric pressure, and even certain microbes. Spaceflight replaces that environment with one of microgravity, scarce resources, cabin pressure fluctuation, and unmitigated radiation, each adding their own variable to the cooking calculus.</p><p>To date, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stem-on-station/ditl_eating" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">space food</a> preparation has been limited to adding water or heating pre-packaged foods. When supplemented with fresh produce from Earth, the system works fine. But as mentioned, such a system would be infeasible for the more than two-year roundtrip to Mars and back.</p><p>Douglas and her coauthors conclude that any viable solution must provide safe, stable, palatable, and reliable food, while also overcoming environmental constraints, using minimal resources, and producing minimal waste. It would also need to provide all the micro- and macronutrients a spacefaring astronaut needs.</p><p>That alone is a tall order, but there is another wrinkle engineers must consider: the astronauts' mental wellbeing. Douglas and her co-authors note that it's a "common misperception" that astronauts will eat anything to complete the mission. While astronauts are high-performing individuals, they still require moments to revitalize their wellbeing against the stress, workload, and isolation inherent in such a mission. </p><p>Delicious, nutritious meals can provide such moments of mental reprieve, but they also must have variety. Even the tastiest meal in the finest of restaurants would become a mental chore if eaten day-in, day-out for two whole years. Substitute that with a tasteless, yet nutrient-dense food paste in the vacuum of space, and even the highest performers will develop a case of cosmic cabin fever.</p>One tough space nut to crack
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="52d1849f3d676f8f2781e077fbf33978"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pVDnGdlIMmA?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>To meet these challenges, NASA is crowdsourcing solutions through its <a href="https://www.deepspacefoodchallenge.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deep Space Food Challenge</a>. In collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency, NASA is offering a $500,000 prize purse for solutions that add some flavor to extended spaceflight.</p><p>"NASA has knowledge and capabilities in this area, but we know that technologies and ideas exist outside of the agency," Douglas told <a href="https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2021/02/01/NASA-will-pay-500000-for-good-ideas-on-food-production-in-space/8681611859130/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UPI in an interview</a>. "Raising awareness will help us reach people in a variety of disciplines that may hold the key to developing these new technologies."</p><p>The agency hopes the winning technologies will also bolster food production on Earth. If a system can offer tasty meals with minimal resources in space, the reasoning goes, then it may be modified for deployment to disaster areas and food-insecure regions, as well. The challenge is open to all U.S. citizens and closes on July 30, 2021. Information on the Canadian Space Agency's challenge is <a href="https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/sciences/food-production/deep-space-food-challenge.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">available on its website</a>.</p><p>If food isn't your forte but you've got engineering chops, you can still help NASA solve the many other engineering and logistical problems facing the future of space exploration. Through the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/solve/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA Solve</a> initiative, the agency is seeking ideas for breaking lunar ice, shrinking payload sizes, and developing new means of energy distribution. </p><p>And even if engineering isn't for you, you can still <a href="https://www.planetary.org/advocacy/call-congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">call your Congressional representative</a> to request they support NASA and <a href="https://www.planetary.org/advocacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">restore funding from budget cuts</a>. We can all play a small, yet important, role in the future of space exploration and the advancing of scientific knowledge.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Popular
