Human Hibernation, Ink that changes color on demand and Artificial Skin with a sense of touch
June 1
This week we look at a new method that may allow humans to hibernate. This capability may be very useful on long space flights in the future. We also discover an ink that can change color on demand and show changing words and images. We investigate an artificial skin that has a sense of touch and finally we examine a method for collecting our DNA from the air around us.
Human Hibernation
The premise of many a space travel movie is a bunch of humans safely hibernating when one of the accidentally wakes up early or an alien attacks the hibernating humans etc.. Science is now starting to catch up with fiction. If we want to be able to travel to the stars we will most likely need to hibernate for some or all of the journey. To date we have not been able to induce a state of hibernation in humans. Thanks to a team from Washington University in St Louis that might one day change.
The researchers found that they could induce an artificial state of hibernation in rodents using ultrasonic pulses. They first identified a specific group of neurons in the hypothalamus preoptic area which are involved in regulating body temperature and metabolism during animal hibernation. The team then artificially activated those neurons using ultrasound waves delivered via a helmet.
When stimulated the mice had a drop in body temperature of 3C for about an hour. Their metabolism shifted from using both carbohydrates and fat for energy to only fat (a key feature of hibernation) and their heart rates fell by 47%. This all happened at room temperature. A closed loop system delivered further ultrasound pulses if the mice showed any signs of waking up.
The mice were kept asleep in the hibernation like state for 24 hours. When the ultrasound system was turned off they woke up. The same system worked in rats. The team will now start to test the system on larger animals.
If the system can be developed for humans there are several potential applications in addition to space travel. Slowing down a patients’ metabolism in cases of heart attack and stroke may give more time for treatment. Wearable ultrasound devices, such as a helmet, may have applications in emergency situations.
Ink that can change Color on Demand
Octopi and Squid have the ability to change color on demand. They do this by using organs called chromatophores which are tiny sacs of pigment that can expand or contract at will. The colored pigments in the sacs can also be hidden or visible at any given time. This gives the animals skin a specific color or pattern.
Teams at the University of Hong Kong, Xiamen University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have used the animals’ ability to inspire a new color-changing ink. The ink is made of micro beads mixed together in equal amounts. Each bead represents a different primary color. The different colors will rise or sink in response to different wavelengths of light. By adjusting the wavelengths and intensity of light, the surface can change into different colors producing patterns and images.
The micro beads contain titanium dioxide which reacts to light by sending the beads in different directions. Each dye color responds to different wavelengths of light. If a green light is shone on the beads the yellow and cyan (the color between green and blue) beads will come to the surface to make it look green. The magenta (a reddish purple) beads will sink to the bottom.
It is still very early days however applications in fashion, electronic displays and active camouflage come to mind. Imagine a jacket that changes color or patterns or images based upon the situation or your mood. Add in a neural link and we might even be able to display what we are thinking.
Artificial Skin that mimics our Sense of Touch
Human skin contains mechanoreceptors that can sense the weight of a butterfly, the heat of a flame or the cold of ice, understand if a hand is raised in a fist or making signs with the fingers. Various soft flexible materials have been developed to mimic one of each of those senses. Now a team at Stanford University have developed a single sheet of skin like materials that can mimic all of the senses of skin and talk directly to the brain.
The team developed a soft integrated circuit that converted sense pressure or temperature into electrical signals which are similar to nerve impulses which communicate with the brain. A link to the brain will allow a sense of touch for a prosthetic limb (a Cochlea implant does this for hearing). One day those electrical signals might able to be sent via a wireless communication chip in the peripheral nerves which may allow an amputee to control a prosthetic limb.
The tri layer dielectric structure helped increase the mobility of the electrical charge carriers by 30 times compared to single layer dielectrics. This allows the circuits to operate at a much lower voltage. The end product is about the same thickness as the outer layer of human skin.
The next steps are to add wireless functionality and to develop ways to interface with the brain and the peripheral parts of the body.
DNA from Air
Wildlife researchers have developed techniques for recovering DNA from the environment (known as eDNA). These are the trace genetic material that all living things leave behind. This is a cheap but powerful tool used by ecologists to detect invasive species before they take over new areas, to track vulnerable or secretive wildlife populations and in some cases to rediscover species thought to be extinct as they had not been seen. We also use eDNA to monitor wastewater for covid and other viruses.
A team from the University of Florida have used this readily available and affordable technology to see how much information they could obtain from human DNA left in the environment. They sampled a range of places including beaches, outdoor waterways and the air inside buildings.
Human DNA is everywhere. The DNA collected was of high quality and the team was able to identify mutations associated with diseases and determine the genetic ancestry of the population that had used the area. Genetic information was also matched to individual participants that volunteered to be part of the program.
With the right genetic database police will be able to identify individuals that have been at the scene of a crime. A person’s breath is enough to leave behind evidence of our attendance at a particular place.
The law is usually slow to catch up with technological developments. Will the law in the future allow sampling of DNA from the environment without consent or will consent need to be obtained and consent from who? Will private companies be able to develop genetic databases and use them to track individuals (a marketers dream is to know who you are, where you go and what you do there)?
Paying it Forward
If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.
If you have any questions or comments please comment below.
I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.
Till next week.
Give you a daisy a day for that plan (2001). What could go wrong with hibernation.