On April 26th 2016, astronomers working with the Hubble Space Telescope released a photo of the dwarf planet Makemake and its tiny moon. The dwarf planet is believed to be the second largest object in the Kuiper Belt, with Pluto being the largest. It was recognized as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union in July 2008, after being first discovered in March of 2005.
Makemake has a diameter of 1,434 kilometers and takes 309.9 years to orbit the sun. It's moon, nicknamed MK2 was discovered in a Hubble Wide Field Camera image taken in April of 2015. MK2 has an estimated diameter of 100 miles and orbits Makemake at a distance of 13,000 miles. MK2 was difficult to detect because it appears as 1,300 times fainter than Makemake.
Since the tiny moon appears to be orbiting edge on relative to earth, astronomer Alex Parker from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder CO. said, "That means that often when you look at the system you are going to miss the moon because it gets lost in the glare of Makemake. The discovery of MK2 now gives Makemake more similarities with Pluto as both of them are covered with frozen methane.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
New Release!
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Solar Panels That Can Make Electricity From Raindrops
On April 11th 2016, it was reported that a team of researchers in China had created a new solar panel that can not only make electricity from the sun, but can also make electricity from the falling rain. Scientists from the Yunnan Normal University and Ocean University of China wrote in journal Angewandte Chemie, that they had produced an all weather solar cell through the use of graphene.
The team, led by Qunwei Tang developed a dye-sensitive solar cell. They did this by coating the cells with a thin layer of graphene film. Graphene is a two dimensional form of carbon whose atoms are arranged into a honeycomb pattern. Graphene has unusual electronic properties that allow it to conduct electricity. It's rich in electrons that freely flow across its entire surface.
Graphene can bind positively charged ions with its own electrons. This characteristic inspired Qunwei Tang and his research team to use graphene electrodes to get power from the impact of raindrops. Raindrops contain salts that dissociate into positive and negative ions. Sodium, calcium, and ammonium ions are positively charged and can bind with the surface of the graphene.
When the raindrops and the graphene connect, the water becomes enriched in positive ions and the graphene becomes enriched with delocalized electrons. This produces what is known as a pseudocapcitator and results in the production of current and voltage. The new solar cells are capable of producing a solar conversion efficiency of 6.53% from sunlight and hundreds of micro-volts via stimulation by raindrops.
Tang and his team feel that this is a positive step and that, "All weather solar cells are promising in solving the energy crisis."
The team, led by Qunwei Tang developed a dye-sensitive solar cell. They did this by coating the cells with a thin layer of graphene film. Graphene is a two dimensional form of carbon whose atoms are arranged into a honeycomb pattern. Graphene has unusual electronic properties that allow it to conduct electricity. It's rich in electrons that freely flow across its entire surface.
Graphene can bind positively charged ions with its own electrons. This characteristic inspired Qunwei Tang and his research team to use graphene electrodes to get power from the impact of raindrops. Raindrops contain salts that dissociate into positive and negative ions. Sodium, calcium, and ammonium ions are positively charged and can bind with the surface of the graphene.
When the raindrops and the graphene connect, the water becomes enriched in positive ions and the graphene becomes enriched with delocalized electrons. This produces what is known as a pseudocapcitator and results in the production of current and voltage. The new solar cells are capable of producing a solar conversion efficiency of 6.53% from sunlight and hundreds of micro-volts via stimulation by raindrops.
Tang and his team feel that this is a positive step and that, "All weather solar cells are promising in solving the energy crisis."
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Artificial Skin Is Grown In The Lab
On April 1st 2016, it was announced in the journal Science Advances, that researchers have successfully grown skin in the lab. Scientists at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Japan say that using the stem cells of mice, they've been able to build artificial skin that has hair follicles and sweat glands.
Takashi Tsuji, leader of the research team said, "Up until now, artificial skin development has been hampered by the fact that the skin lacked the important organs, such as hair follicles and exocrine glands, which allow the skin to play its role in regulation. He said that the skin was made by extracting cells from the gums of mice. These cells were then converted into a specialized type of stem cell.
Those cells were genetically modified to glow florescent green for easy identification, and were then transplanted into hairless mice, which caused them to grow into complex skin. Next, the researchers took that skin and implanted it into other mice. From there the tissue successfully connected it self to nerves and muscles. The skin not only had the important glands, but it also had the three layers that normal skin should have.
Takashi and his team feel that they are at least five to ten years away from reproducing this same procedure in humans. They also believe that their procedure could revolutionize skin grafts, which currently use skin from other parts of the body
Takashi Tsuji, leader of the research team said, "Up until now, artificial skin development has been hampered by the fact that the skin lacked the important organs, such as hair follicles and exocrine glands, which allow the skin to play its role in regulation. He said that the skin was made by extracting cells from the gums of mice. These cells were then converted into a specialized type of stem cell.
Those cells were genetically modified to glow florescent green for easy identification, and were then transplanted into hairless mice, which caused them to grow into complex skin. Next, the researchers took that skin and implanted it into other mice. From there the tissue successfully connected it self to nerves and muscles. The skin not only had the important glands, but it also had the three layers that normal skin should have.
Takashi and his team feel that they are at least five to ten years away from reproducing this same procedure in humans. They also believe that their procedure could revolutionize skin grafts, which currently use skin from other parts of the body
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