Sometimes scientists make discoveries or invent things that seem impossible. In this tech parade, you will learn: how a fly’s brain can fit 149 m of nerve “wires”, whether there were rings around the Earth, whether Parkinson’s disease can be cured with electrodes, and how to “bend” laser radiation.
Earth’s Rings
In the past, our planet experienced periods completely unlike the world we are accustomed to. At different times, it was covered by molten magma and a thick layer of snow and ice.
According to the results of a recent work by Australian scientists, about 466 million years ago, rings like Saturn’s could have orbited the Earth. Some astronomers use their presence to explain the anomalous number of impact craters that date back to that distant time. Having localized 21 traces of collisions with celestial bodies, the authors “rewound” the movement of continental plates and discovered that at that moment, all the craters were located no further than 30° from the equator. Although there was very little land in these areas at that time.
Modeling confirmed that such traces could have been left by a ring of rocky debris falling onto the planet’s surface. Perhaps they were the remains of a large celestial body accidentally captured and destroyed by Earth’s gravity.
According to the researchers, the ring around the planet’s equator could have shielded a significant portion of solar radiation. And they’ve become one of the causes of global glaciation between 460 and 420 million years ago.
Eternal Memory
British scientists have presented a new type of memory. Silicon crystals capable of storing data without degradation for billions of years. The unique material can withstand extremely low temperatures and heating up to 1000 °C, pressure up to 10 t/cm^2 and high levels of radiation. Information is recorded in the form of a three-dimensional array of microscopic cavities with a diameter of about 20 nm, which are formed using lasers.
To demonstrate the technology, the authors “engraved” the entire human genome on such a crystal. The new carrier has already been placed in the “Memory of Humanity”. It is a data archive that is being accumulated in a salt cave in Australia for any future occasion.
Galaxy Spear
A relativistic jet ejected by a supermassive black hole stretches for an astonishing 23 million light years. It is 140 times larger than the entire Milky Way. Fortunately, the Porphyrion galaxy, at the center of which the hole is located, is located even further from us, a whole 7.5 billion light years.
Actively absorbing matter, the black hole strongly heats and accelerates the matter in its vicinity. It is swirling it and throwing out narrow streams from the poles, accelerated to near-light speeds. Today, astronomers know of more than 10 thousand such objects. But the one coming from Porphyrion is the most extensive. However, scientists believe that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Probably, distant galaxies that existed in the early epochs of the Universe can create even more impressive jets.
Thoughts of a Fly
The brain of a fruit fly is ridiculously small, no larger than a poppy seed, and contains less than 140 thousand nerve cells. Despite this, it provides amazingly complex behavior. This includes the search for food and a partner for mating. A total of 149 m of neural wires are “packed” into this tiny volume, with individual neurons making more than 54.5 million contacts with each other.
Only recently have scientists managed to disassemble this entire system into its parts and present the first connectome – a complete description of the connections between neurons in the fruit fly brain. The model is available online. It opens up completely new horizons for studying the nervous system. It once again reminds us how much more difficult it will be to decipher the connectome of a human. As the latter’s brain contains more than 80 billion neurons.
Foggy Fireworks
In Chinese chronicles in 1181, the appearance of a new luminary in the constellation Cassiopeia is noted – as we now know, it was a supernova. Today, it is associated with the star J005311, located 7,500 light years from the Sun. The explosion did not completely destroy the star, and the cloud surrounding it looks completely unusual. Either like a dandelion or like a festive fireworks display.
Astronomers suggest that the outburst was a rare type Ia supernova. It is formed by the merger of two dense white dwarfs, and an even rarer subtype Iax. They explosion leaves behind a “zombie” star that arose from the merger of the remains of the two original stars. This version is supported by both observations and calculations.
Judging by the radius (3 light years) and expansion speed (1100 km/s) of the “dandelion”, it began to grow just about 1000 years ago. Its rays are unexpectedly rich in sulfur, which was formed during the outburst. But why it appeared in such quantities and why the nebula got this strange shape is unknown.
Bent Beam
Physicists from the University of Glasgow have proposed a new method that allows “bending” laser radiation without fiber optics. According to the authors of the development, they themselves are shocked that no one has ever thought of this before, because a similar effect is sometimes observed in clouds and is well known.
When the sun shines through a high rain cloud, its upper part appears bright white, since microparticles of water reflect and scatter the radiation. Very little light reaches the lower layers, so they look much darker, although they are made of the same droplets. To simulate this effect, scientists used a white translucent material with an empty “tunnel” for light inside. Using a 3D printer, they printed out various geometric shapes, showing how the beam can be bent in one or another predetermined direction.
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The technology is much less efficient than conventional fiber optics, but it is much cheaper and can be used where fiber optics are not suitable, for example, in some medical devices.
In 2022, LG demonstrated a flexible screen that can deform and stretch by 20%: a transparent organic material in which electrodes and MicroLEDs with 40 micron pixel sizes are integrated.
In 2024, the device’s capabilities became even more impressive: in the new version, the 12-inch screen can turn into an 18-inch one, that is, it can be extended by as much as 50%, and do this up to 10 thousand times without degradation of brightness and performance.
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