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In blockchain development, there is a rule of thumb that only two of scalability, security, and decentralization are valid simultaneously. However, the mathematical expression of that rule was still a work in progress. Researchers discovered a mathematical expression for the blockchain trilemma. In the formula for Proof of Work-based blockchains, including Bitcoin, the product of the three terms--scalability, security, and decentralization--is 1.

The majority of rare diseases have a genetic cause. The underlying genetic alteration can be found more and more easily, for example by means of exome sequencing (ES), leading to a molecular genetic diagnosis. ES is an examination of all sections of our genetic material (DNA) that code for proteins.

When water is split electrolytically, the result is typically hydrogen -- and 'useless' oxygen. Instead of oxygen, you can also produce hydrogen peroxide, which is required for many branches of industry. This, however, requires certain reaction conditions.

Hand rehabilitation research has markedly benefited from the introduction of soft actuators in gloves. However, existing soft rehabilitation glove designs have several limitations in finger movements. In this regard, researchers recently succeeded in adding finger straightening or extension to soft rehabilitation gloves through a novel foldable pouch actuator without compromising the already existing functionality of finger bending or flexion. Their findings represent a significant leap in comprehensive hand rehabilitation.

Large language models may pass medical exams with flying colors but using them for diagnoses would currently be grossly negligent. Medical chatbots make hasty diagnoses, do not adhere to guidelines, and would put patients' lives at risk. A team has systematically investigated whether this form of artificial intelligence (AI) would be suitable for everyday clinical practice. Despite the current shortcomings, the researchers see potential in the technology. They have published a method that can be used to test the reliability of future medical chatbots.

Switching from a gas stove to an electric induction stove can reduce indoor nitrogen dioxide air pollution, a known health hazard, by more than 50 percent according to new research.

Scientists are bioprinting 3D structures with a material that is a close match for human tissue, paving the way for true biomanufacturing.

Aluminum scandium nitride thin films could pave the way for the next generation of ferroelectric memory devices, according to a new study. Compared to existing ferroelectric materials, these films maintain their ferroelectric properties and crystal structure even after heat treatment at temperatures up to 600 C in both hydrogen and argon atmospheres. This high stability makes them ideal for high-temperature manufacturing processes under the H2-included atmosphere used in fabricating advanced memory devices.

Aluminum scandium nitride thin films could pave the way for the next generation of ferroelectric memory devices, according to a new study. Compared to existing ferroelectric materials, these films maintain their ferroelectric properties and crystal structure even after heat treatment at temperatures up to 600 C in both hydrogen and argon atmospheres. This high stability makes them ideal for high-temperature manufacturing processes under the H2-included atmosphere used in fabricating advanced memory devices.

An international team of researchers has embedded gold nanorods in hydrogels that can be processed through 3D printing to create structures that contract when exposed to light -- and expand again when the light is removed. Because this expansion and contraction can be performed repeatedly, the 3D-printed structures can serve as remotely controlled actuators.

An international team of researchers has embedded gold nanorods in hydrogels that can be processed through 3D printing to create structures that contract when exposed to light -- and expand again when the light is removed. Because this expansion and contraction can be performed repeatedly, the 3D-printed structures can serve as remotely controlled actuators.

Researchers have developed a new model that combines generative AI and satellite data to accurately forecast wildfire spread.

The tempo of the songs released by artists changes as they age, according to a study of more than 200 musicians with careers spanning over 20 years

There may be ways to work with your body’s natural daily and monthly cycles to get the maximum benefits from workouts and avoid injury

A virtual reality training series being developed for medical students and physicians teaches them about implicit bias in their communications with their patients who are people of color and how that affects race-based health care disparities.

This video, professionally made and showing Kiri Tamihere-Waititi doing what can only be called ranting about her oppression and that of the Māori people, and then winding up by calling for the overthrow of the New Zealand, has caused a stir in that country.  I am told that Tamihere-Waititi is a powerful member of  Te Pati Māori (The Māori Party). which holds six seats out of about 120 in the country’s unicameral parliament. The second video below identifies her as the Party’s “chief of staff,” and she is the wife of the current party co-leader Rawiri Waititi as well as the daughter of John Tamihere, long-standing Māori activist and now president of The Māori Party.

I was sent this video by an anonymous (of course) New Zealander, who added that “This video outlines [Tamihere-Waititi’s] position as a major leader quite specifically, and was broadcast as part of the official content of a programme produced by the state television broadcaster, Television New Zealand.  It leaves the viewer in no doubt that she is a major ’embedded’ leader of the party.” As the broadcasters below say, whether what she says should worry New Zealanders depends on how widespread her views are, and that we just don’t know.

Well, I can’t vouch for that, but the video does express the anger held by some Māori about their being “minoritized”, and I was startled not just by the anger and sedition, but also by the profanity, so I should add this:

TRIGGER WARNING: If profuse profanity offends you, don’t watch. But we’ve all heard such language.

There’s a transcript, too, but it leaves out the cuss words.

It’s only 6½ minutes long, and will give you an idea of some of the anger behind the attempt to indigenize New Zealand. (I won’t translate the Māori words.) You can see, given this woman’s position, why it’s gotten wide circulation. I suspect it will be taken down soon, so watch it now.  Its explicit call for the Māori to overthrow New Zealand’s government is something I haven’t encountered before.

Below is a 7½-minute video response on The Platform, a self-described “independent” radio station that’s not government-run or government-funded. The broadcaster shown here is Chris Trotter. The suggestion that New Zealand adopt a constitution is a good one, as right now the governing document of New Zealand is the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.

Water purification is a big business on Earth. Companies offer everything from desalination to providing just the right pH level for drinking water. But on the Moon, there won’t be a similar technical infrastructure to support the astronauts attempting to make a permanent base there. And there’s one particular material that will make water purification even harder – Moon dust. 

We’ve reported plenty of times about the health problems caused by the lunar regolith, so it seems apparent that you don’t want to drink it. Even more so, the abrasive dust can cause issues with seals, such as those used in electrolyzers to create rocket fuel out of in-situ water resources. It can even adversely affect water purification equipment itself. 

Unfortunately, this contamination is inevitable. Lunar dust is far too adhesive and electrostatically charged to be kept completely separate from the machinery that would recycle or purify the water. So, a group of researchers from DLR in Germany decided to test what would happen if you intentionally dissolved lunar regolith.

Fraser interviews Dr. Kevin Cannon, an expert in lunar dust mitigation.

The short answer is, unsurprisingly, nothing good. Dissolved lunar regolith causes pH, turbidity, and aluminum concentrations all exceed World Health Organization benchmarks for safe drinking water. This happened even with short exposure times (2 minutes) and static pH values, as they used a 5.5 pH buffer in part of the experiments. 

They didn’t use actual lunar dust for these experiments, but a simulant modeled on the regolith returned during the Apollo 16 mission. It mimics the regolith that is thought to be most similar to the Artemis landing sites. In addition to the pH changes and the amount of exposure time (which went up to 72 hours), the authors also varied the amount of dissolved oxygen in the system and the particle size of the simulant.

Those negative results occurred for every test variation, no matter what combination of the four control variables was used. Ultimately, that means engineers will have to devise a system to filter the water from these deposits before it can be recycled into the overall water system.

After taking the first boot print photo, astronaut Buzz Aldrin moved closer to the little rock and took this second shot. His boot was already completely covered in adhesive dust.
Credit: NASA

The paper explored some potential solutions for that water purification system. Each of the limits that were violated requires its purification methodology. In the author’s estimation, lowering the turbidity is the first requirement. To do so, they suggest doing standard filtration or allowing the dust particles to settle. 

Removing aluminum is next in importance, with another experiment showing that plants that grew in lunar soil showed signs of aluminum toxicity. Additional ions, including calcium, iron, and manganese, also need to be removed, as they were above acceptable levels in some test batches but not all. Removing these ions would require a reverse osmosis process or ion exchange. Ion removal is vital to a fully functional electrolyzer system as well. 

The authors seemed to be ultimately going after a platform to test and validate water purification processes for future lunar exploration missions. Given the results from their experimentation, there will undoubtedly be future rounds of testing and plenty of technology development to work on solving these technical challenges. Ultimately, astronauts will have to drink water on the Moon – and it won’t be coming just from bottles from Earth.

Learn More:
Freer, Pesch, & Zabel – Experimental study to characterize water contaminated by lunar dust
UT – The Moon Is Toxic
UT – Astronauts Will Be Tracking Dust Into the Lunar Gateway. Is This a Problem?
UT – Lunar Dust is Still One of The Biggest Challenges Facing Moon Exploration

Lead Image:
Turbidity samples of some of the dissolved regolith.
Credit – Freer, Pesch, & Zabel

The post Moon Dust Could Contaminate Lunar Explorers’ Water Supply appeared first on Universe Today.

A weather and climate model that fuses artificial intelligence and physics simulations can match state-of-the-art performance while slashing the required computer power, say Google researchers

A better understanding of what happens to our bodies when we get fitter can unlock ways to speed up the journey – and it might be simpler than you think

Sea-floor nodules raise oxygen levels in the deep ocean, suggesting they may have a valuable role in ecosystems and adding to concerns about the impact of deep-sea mining