#2,409 – Auto Aiming Bow

Last week during my tribute to biomimicry I touched on several ideas with roots in comic books such as seeing through walls like Superman or a new smart chain mail that acts like Batman’s cape.  And now we can add one more to the list of innovations that tie into comics with a new auto aiming bow that even Hawkeye would be jealous of.

Futurism explains:

“YouTuber Shane Wighton from the channel ‘Stuff Made Here’ has created a terrifying bow that aims itself and never misses.

The bow is so sophisticated that Wighton doesn’t even have to look at the target — he demonstrates with an apple perched on top of a Styrofoam apple — to hit a bullseye.

It’s an amazing invention, but perhaps also a sobering reminder of what technology is capable of.

Wighton has brought us a number of delightful inventions, from a bullet-powered baseball bat that can hit insanely far home runs to a basketball hoop backboard that makes sure every single shot goes in.

His latest invention, a heavily modified bow, allows Wighton to pull back the string and let the bow contraption strapped to his torso take care of the rest. Trackable sensors and code make sure an automatic positioning system points at just the right spot. When the bow is aligned perfectly, the string gets released.

The results are astonishing. The arrows can even hit flying targets, as Wighton demonstrates in his evil lair, or sorry, his basement. It’s so accurate, in fact, that it’s capable of hitting a Lego ‘apple’ placed on top of an unsuspecting Lego man’s head.”

But I don’t feel so bad for Hawkeye even if he does become obsolete.  After all, he gets to hang out with Scar Jo as a consolation prize.

Is an Auto Aiming Bow the Greatest Idea Ever?

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#2,408 – Bio Week: Seeing Through Walls

This week I’ve written about a lot of designs inspired by Mother Nature.  But soon we may have a new technology inspired in a way by a comic book superhero.  Thanks to newly created reverse radar that would let us see through walls with microwaves like Superman.

Popular Science explains:

“We’ve had radar for nearly a century. An understated piece in humanity’s technological toolbox, radar is elegant and simple in concept: You send off radio waves, pick up their reflections with a receiver, and study the waves to discern where and how far away things are. 

Today, designers have been able to create elaborate radar systems using multiple receivers. When a single device, like your mobile phone, for instance, pings multiple receivers, it can then be triangulated with incredible precision.

Now, researchers at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created a new radar scanning system that uses the opposite configuration, with one receiver and many transmitters. This new radio setup can create real-time images and video, even when objects are hidden behind walls or moving at hypersonic speeds. 

The technology could potentially allow first responders to more easily find people in smoke-filled burning buildings, or to track speeding debris up in space.”

No word yet on when we’ll be able to shoot lasers out of our eyes.

Is seeing through walls the Greatest Idea Ever?

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#2,407 – Bio Week: Nature Inspired Pesticides

We may soon have a new way of keeping insects away from our crops without causing any collateral damage to the environment thanks to inspiration taken from Ladybugs.

Science Alert explains:

“While no one enjoys seeing carefully nurtured crops destroyed by hordes of hungry insects, the most common way to prevent it – the use of insecticides – is causing massive ecological problems.

Some are wreaking havoc on bee populations globally, killing birds and piling onto the challenges already faced by endangered species. Thankfully, insecticides are generally only in our food at low levels, but they do harm humans who are highly exposed to them too, like the workers growing our crops. 

They also destroy predatory insect populations, which just makes the problem of crop pests worse in the long term – with fewer pest enemies around to keep their numbers in check.

One alternative that researchers and farmers have been putting to the test is the use of predatory insects to control the problematic plant eaters. However, this approach, known as biological control, has its own challenges.

While insecticides can target multiple pest species, this is a lot harder to achieve when relying on natural predators. Releasing multiple predators could just lead to them preying on each other, or competing with each other for the same pest, as predators may not always target their intended species.

The predators are also very reliant on environmental conditions – temperature and day length can alter their behavior so they may only be effective during certain seasons. This, along with the fact that some pests are invasive and have no native predators means some pesticides may still need to be used, which can then also impact the predators.

So insect ecologists Jessica Kansman and Sara Hermann are looking into ways of tweaking the use of pest species’ natural enemies to make it more practical. They presented results of their progress at this week’s meeting of the American Chemical Society.

In a series of trials the researchers let collard-snacking aphids (Myzus persicae) choose between the scent of leaves with predatory ladybugs (Harmonia axyridis) on them or the smell of leaves with no ladybug.

They found exposure to the ladybug scent impacted the aphids’ plant choices and even reduced their reproductive rate.

‘Our early work has shown that these fear-based responses can change insect behaviors in ways that reduce their damage on these crop plants,’ Hermann said in a media briefing.

Aphids are present in almost every crop humans grow worldwide, causing billions of dollars in damage. They have an immense reproductive capacity and they also carry and spread plant diseases much like mosquitoes do in humans. A lot of insecticide use is specifically for the management of aphids, but they are growing resistant.

Bottling the scent of aphids’ ladybug nightmares may provide farmers and gardeners with a safer and more sustainable way to manage them.”

Thanks to this ladybug inspired breakthrough maybe Rodney Dangerfield will finally get the respect he deserves!

Is a nature inspired pesticide the Greatest Idea Ever?

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#2,406 – Bio Week: Glowing Bandages

We may soon have a new way to check if patients still have infections without having to remove their bandages to find out.

New Atlas explains:

“Bandaged wounds need to be checked for infection, yet removing the bandage to check the wound can delay its healing. Australian scientists may have a fix for this paradox, in the form of a dressing that glows if the wound is infected.

Currently being developed at RMIT University, the material incorporates nanosheets of magnesium hydroxide that are embedded onto the nanofibers of a standard cotton bandage. Once applied to a wound – particularly a chronic wound, such as a diabetic ulcer – the biocompatible magnesium hydroxide proceeds to help in the healing process by killing harmful bacteria and reducing inflammation.

If an infection still does occur, the wound site will switch from being slightly acidic – like healthy skin – to being somewhat alkaline. This change in pH will in turn cause the magnesium hydroxide to fluoresce brightly when exposed to ultraviolet light.

As a result, physicians could check for infections simply by shining a UV light on a patient’s bandage, without having to remove it. Likewise, if a wound was already known to be infected, the UV light could indicate that the infection had cleared up, if it no longer caused the magnesium hydroxide to fluoresce.”

Thanks to these new bandages we can now light the way to quicker recoveries.

Is a Glowing Bandage the Greatest Idea Ever?

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#2,405 – Bio Week: Barnacle Glue

We may soon have a new way to seal wounds thanks to inspiration taking from notoriously sticky barnacles.

Wired explains:

“About 1.9 million people die every year from blood loss, sometimes from trauma, sometimes on the operating table. Bleeding bodies are wet, prone to infection, and need urgent care. Yet it’s hard to create a seal on wet tissue, and most commercial products used to stop dangerous bleeding rely on coagulants which take minutes to work. Some people don’t have minutes.

For the last seven years, Yuk’s team has been developing an entirely different approach to stopping bleeding: glue. More specifically, glue inspired by barnacles. Yuk says barnacles hold an evolutionary solution to the problem of sticking to surfaces that are resistant to getting stuck. In a study published this month in Nature Biomedical Engineering, his team demonstrated how this arthropod-like glue can stop bleeding in seconds.

In the experiment, Yuk treated rats with bleeding heart and liver injuries with products typically used by surgeons. No dice—the bleeding continued. On others, he squeezed on the lab’s oily paste. ‘Exactly the same injury could be sealed in just 10 seconds or so,’ he says.

The rats survived thanks to the glue, and so did pigs that were tested by Yuk’s collaborators at the Mayo Clinic. Their evidence, although still preliminary, bodes particularly well for human surgical patients with blood, heart, and liver disorders. ‘My overall impression of this material is that it’s incredible,’ says Hanjay Wang, a resident in Stanford University’s Cardiothoracic Surgery Department who was not involved in the study. “It definitely fills a need, especially in the emergency setting, when you need to just get control.”

The team of engineers knew they might find inspiration in the animal world. ‘The driving force for nature’s evolution is survival,’ Yuk says. If you want to solve a problem, you can probably find an animal that’s already evolved to solve it. Barnacles caught their attention, he says, because they are annoyingly sticky: ‘It’s sticking on rock, sticking on rusted steel, it’s sticking on slimy surfaces like whales and turtles.”

Barnacles cling thanks to a cement of proteins secreted from glands along each animal’s “forehead.” But the secret sauce—well, more of an oil—is a cocktail of lipids that first sweep contaminants away from surfaces so the proteins can do their thing. ‘So basically they are terraforming the target substrate,’ Yuk says, priming it for a fast, strong seal.”

Terraforming their targets?! That’s so cool! Barnacle glue is definitely my new favorite biomimicry inspired idea now. A ranking that I think will stick.

Is Barnacle Glue the Greatest Idea Ever?

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#2,404 – Bio Week: Gut Bacteria Thinness

There may soon be a quick and easy way to lose weight thanks to a new discovery that shows that a new kind of bacteria is only present in the guts of healthy people. It’s not clear yet if this new bacteria is the cause of a healthy body or the result of living in one but if it’s the former it could be game-changing.

Dmarge explains:

“While we’re always told that changing our diet and exercising are the two most effective ways to shed fat, either by putting ourselves into a calorie deficit, or even doing some strength training to increase muscle mass – which aids in the fight against fat loss – at the end of the day, it can be difficult to stick to a routine and summon the motivation or dedication.

This is why health food stores and supermarket shelves are often stocked with products all promising to help you lose weight, simply by taking a pill or drinking a ‘specially formulated’ milkshake. However, these products seldom provide lasting change and can often be subject to some genius (read: manipulative) marketing campaigns. And after all, we live in a society where convenience is king, so if we can take a pill over running 10km everyday to lose weight claims to offer the same results, it’s no wonder the weight loss product industry is a booming business…

So, what if there was a naturally produced gut bacteria that could help you burn fat? It sounds almost too good to be true (and in reality, it probably is), but a new study has got tongues wagging all about it.

Health-hacker Dave Asprey recently shared the study, conducted by The Science Times, to Instagram. The study found the bacteria, known as Subdoligranulum, was ‘nearly absent in obese and diabetic people while found in healthy individuals.’

‘This new research is groundbreaking because people who are fat or prediabetic (like I used to be) don’t have this newly discovered type of bacteria called dysosmobacter welbionis,’ Asprey writes.

‘What’s cool about it is that in addition to making butyrate, it causes your body to grow new mitochondria. That’s huge!’

‘It’s not available in supplement form, so for now, your best bet is a heavy make-out session with someone who’s really healthy so they can share bacteria with you.’

Asprey then wonders ‘if this is why fecal transplants work?’

The findings came as a result of a research study conducted by Patrice Cani of the  University of Louvain in Belgium, who concluded that this ‘bacterium is the only cultivated strain of this bacterial family that exists, the only identified member of a large family.’

It was called Dysosmobacter welbionis, and after studying its effects in mice at great lengths, researchers found ‘the bacteria increased the number of mitochondria, and thus, decreased weight and sugar levels, on top of exerting strong anti-inflammatory effects.'”

Sounds good! So do any healthy people want to make out with me?!

Can gut bacteria make us thin?!

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#2,403 – Bio Week: Spider Venom Heart Attack Drug

In addition to being deathly afraid of snakes I’m also deathly afraid of spiders. Which is also ironic since they too may one day save my life.

The Washington Post explains:

“Scientists in Australia, home to some of the most poisonous creatures on Earth, have made a discovery about spider venom that they hope could lead to a new class of drugs to help heart attack victims.

Spiders use their venom to immobilize or kill their prey. Researchers from the University of Queensland and Sydney’s Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute are working on a potential drug candidate derived from spider venom that blocks the “death signal” sent from the heart in the wake of a heart attack that causes heart cells to die. There are no drugs in clinical use that prevent the damage caused by heart attacks, the researchers said.

The protein, called Hi1a, originally identified in the venom of the Fraser Island funnel-web spider, could also eventually be used to treat donor hearts, increasing how far they can be transported and improving the likelihood of a successful transplant, the researchers said.”

Good job spiders! Now just stay away from me while I’m sleeping.

Is using spider venom to help against heart attacks the Greatest Idea Ever?

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#2,402 – Bio Week: Snake Venom Super Glue

I’m deathly afraid of snakes which is ironic since they may one day save my life.

Science Alert explains:

“Venom’s usually the stuff of nightmares. Animals that wield it send instinctive shivers down our spines.

But scientists are teasing out useful purposes for these powerful substances that (sometimes incidentally) can cause us so much pain and damage. Recently we’ve seen developments from several types of venoms, from bee venom as a cancer treatment to using platypus venom for diabetes.

A team of researchers has developed the next venom-based medical advancement: a fast-acting ‘super glue’ that stops bleeding in under a minute.

While synthetic adhesives can be easier to manipulate, their degradation can potentially be toxic. Meanwhile, natural bioadhesives are more likely to ‘have excellent biocompatibility’, explained the authors in their new paper, but limited overall integrity and adhesion.

To remedy those failings, researchers crafted a bioadhesive gel that includes the venom of the common lancehead pit viper (Bothrops atrox).

One of the most venomous snakes in the region, the common lancehead pit viper stalks tropical lowlands of South America for small mammals, birds, and reptiles, which it takes down with venom that destroys their vascular systems.

The venom causes excessive clotting until the prey’s body exhausts its capacity to form any clots at all and ends up bleeding excessively instead, a process called consumption coagulopathy.

Scientists extracted the molecule reptilase (or batroxobin) responsible for the blood clotting. This enzyme is already used in laboratory diagnostic tests to measure fibrinogen levels – a molecule produced in our livers that our bodies convert for use in blood clots.

Building on past research, the team added reptilase into a methacrylated gelatin to develop it into a fast-acting tissue adhesive. The gelatin previously showed promise in the way it can be controlled and set using light but was not able to stick well in the presence of blood. The addition of reptilase sorted that out quickly.

‘During trauma, injury, and emergency bleeding, this ‘super glue’ can be applied by simply squeezing the tube and shining a visible light, such as a laser pointer, over it for a few seconds. Even a smartphone flashlight will do the job,’ said Western University bioengineer and one of the study’s authors Kibret Mequanint.

By rapidly converting fibrinogen into the clot-forming fibrin, reptilase could seal wounds in only 45 seconds, half the time of the current best option in the field called fibrin glue.”

Maybe snakes aren’t so bad after all. Then again…

Is Snake Venom Super Glue the Greatest Idea Ever?

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#2,401 – Bio Week: Human Potato

If you eat a potato made from human genes is it cannibalism?  An interesting question right? But this is no ordinary thought experiment.  For we may soon be doing just that.  In order to increase our crop yields.

Futurism explains:

“A team of scientists found an unusual trick for growing bigger, heartier crops: inserting a human gene related to obesity and fat mass into plants to supersize their harvest.

Augmenting potatoes with the human gene that encodes a fat-regulating protein called FTO, which essentially alters the genetic code to rapidly mass-produce proteins, made otherwise identical potato plants grow crops that were 50 percent larger, Smithsonian Magazine reports. By growing more food without taking up more space for agriculture, the scientists say their work could help fight global hunger — without adding to its climate impact.”

It’s too bad we just thought of this now or Matt Damon could have had more to eat while living on Mars.

Is a human potato the Greatest Idea Ever?

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#2,400 – Bio Week: Dog Poop DNA Testing

Living near a park it’s always bothered me whenever I see that someone didn’t pick up after their dog.  This is a public space people not a mine field! Butt unless you catch the perpetrator in the act there isn’t much you can dodo.  Until now that is.  At least if you live in Israel.  Thanks to a new plan to use DNA testing to find guilty parties.

As The Times of Israel puts it:

“Tel Aviv has found an innovative way of dealing with dog owners who don’t clean up after their pets in the city streets — testing the excrement’s DNA and sending a fine to the owner by mail.

The city council on Monday approved a motion setting up a DNA database and stating that dog owners will be required to submit their pets’ genetic details to authorities upon receiving or renewing a license, Hebrew-language media reported.

The validity of current dog licenses will expire six months after the new ruling takes effect, and new licenses won’t be approved unless owners give over the DNA details, the reports said.”

It’s a shitty job but somebody’s got to do it.

Is DNA testing dog poop the Greatest Idea Ever?

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