Scientists at the University of Córdoba in Spain have come up with a way of incorporating hemoglobin – the key component of red blood cells – into a battery‚ creating a prototype that kept working for between 20 and 30 days.Zinc-air batteries are one of the most sustainable alternatives we have to the ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries that already power everything from laptops to electric vehicles. They work via a chemical reaction called the oxygen reduction reaction. As air is pulled into the battery‚ oxygen is reduced to water at the cathode (the positive end)‚ releasing electrodes that oxidize zinc at the anode (negative end). To keep that reaction going‚ you need a good catalyst‚ with some very specific properties. Properties‚ the researchers realized‚ that hemoglobin certainly has. “To be a good catalyst in the oxygen reduction reaction‚ the catalyst has to have two properties: it needs to quickly absorb oxygen molecules‚ and form water molecules relatively easily‚” explained senior author Manuel Cano Luna in a statement. “And hemoglobin met those requirements.”This diagram illustrates how the battery works.Image credit: García-Caballero et al.‚ Energy &; Fuels‚ 2023 (CC BY 4.0)Hemoglobin is the protein that gives red blood cells both their characteristic hue and their oxygen-carrying ability. It’s fundamental to how our bodies work‚ and it turned out to be pretty impressive in the battery as well: just 0.165 milligrams of hemoglobin kept it alive for 20-30 days.The researchers say that using a biocompatible catalyst like this could be key if these batteries are to be used in devices that are implanted inside the body‚ such as pacemakers. The battery works at pH 7.4‚ which is very similar to the pH of blood. The possibilities could extend beyond humans too‚ since hemoglobin analogs are present in many mammals.There are still some things to perfect‚ however. The biggest issue at the moment is that the prototype is not rechargeable‚ so the team is searching for a protein that might be able to transform water back into oxygen and start the reaction cycle again from the beginning. The fact it needs oxygen at all is another limitation‚ meaning these sorts of batteries won’t be usable for applications in space. But it’s still a fascinating possibility. Energy storage remains a major hurdle in humanity’s quest to move towards a more sustainable future. Batteries are improving all the time. While lithium-ion batteries are undoubtedly an important part of that story‚ issues around mining enough lithium and the waste they generate mean that there’s room for other options. A biocompatible hemoglobin-based battery might just be one of them.The study is published in the journal Energy &; Fuels.  

Supermassive black holes can certainly be messy eaters. They are not exactly plugholes that devour every last drop. In fact‚ they are more like toddlers. Sure‚ they might be gluttons and try to get a lot of food in their mouths‚ but they will also make a mess. So imagine finding a mess even when the toddler has only a snack in front of them. This is what researchers have found looking at the supermassive black hole inside galaxy Markarian 817.The mess in black holes occurs because the gas that approaches them settles in an accretion disk before being eaten. The enormous gravity and the interactions in the disk release a lot of energy‚ which in turn pushes some material away in powerful galaxy-size winds.The most active black holes do that very well. But the one in Markarian 817‚ located 430 million light years from us‚ is a modest black hole in a regular galaxy. Despite the apparent tranquility‚ observations are showing the same powerful winds. These winds released over the accretion disk lasted for several hundred days and moved at a few percent of the speed of light.“You might expect very fast winds if a fan was turned on to its highest setting. In the galaxy we studied‚ called Markarian 817‚ the fan was turned on at a lower power setting‚ but there were still incredibly energetic winds being generated‚” lead author Miranda Zak‚ an undergraduate researcher at the University of Michigan‚ said in a statement.Hubble's view of Markarian 817Image credit: NASA‚ ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO TeamThe previously unseen behavior could explain features in galaxies that have been noticed for a while. Objects like our own Milky Way have few new stars forming in their central region‚ the area around their supermassive black holes. Maybe ultra-fast winds from a little snack are responsible for that scarcity.“It is very uncommon to observe ultra-fast winds‚ and even less common to detect winds that have enough energy to alter the character of their host galaxy. The fact that Markarian 817 produced these winds for around a year‚ while not being in a particularly active state‚ suggests that black holes may reshape their host galaxies much more than previously thought‚” added co-author Elias Kammoun‚ an astronomer at the Roma Tre University‚ Italy.The crucial observations came from the European Space Agency XMM-Newton telescope. It saw how the winds were blocking the X-rays emitted in the immediate surroundings of the black hole. The measurements were then backed up by NASA’s NuSTAR telescope.The study is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Did Alzheimer’s ail the elderly in antiquity? With dementia cases on the rise in modern times‚ it’s an intriguing question and‚ thankfully‚ a new study has some answers.Dementia‚ of which Alzheimer’s is the most common type‚ is not a specific disease‚ but rather a term used to describe symptoms related to memory loss. Today‚ it occurs at epidemic levels and is becoming increasingly more common. An estimated 55 million people worldwide were living with dementia in 2020‚ and that figure is predicted to double every 20 years‚ rising to 139 million by 2050.But‚ according to the new research‚ this hasn’t always been the case. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias were seemingly quite rare some 2‚500 years ago.“The ancient Greeks had very‚ very few – but we found them – mentions of something that would be like mild cognitive impairment‚” first author Caleb Finch‚ a University Professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology‚ said in a statement. “When we got to the Romans‚ and we uncovered at least four statements that suggest rare cases of advanced dementia – we can’t tell if it’s Alzheimer’s. So‚ there was a progression going from the ancient Greeks to the Romans.”Searching Greco-Roman medical texts from between the eighth century BCE and the third century CE‚ Finch and colleagues were on the lookout for mention of memory loss and dementia. However‚ they found nothing that could be considered akin to modern accounts.“The modern ‘epidemic level’ of advanced dementias was not described among ancient Greco-Roman elderly‚” they write in their study. In fact‚ they add‚ the “ancient Greeks and Romans expected intellectual competence beyond age 60.”While some mild memory loss was recognized by the ancient Greeks‚ severe impairment that might represent Alzheimer’s was not. Ancient writings by Hippocrates and his followers‚ for example‚ documented deafness‚ dizziness‚ and digestive disorders as things that plagued the elderly but made no mention of memory loss.In Rome‚ centuries later‚ there were a handful of accounts‚ but still very few when compared to today. Descriptions of difficulty learning new things and people forgetting their own names crop up in works by philosophers Galen and Pliny the Elder‚ while Cicero remarked that “elderly silliness … is characteristic of irresponsible old men‚ but not of all old men.”To explain this apparent uptick in cognitive impairment‚ the study authors suggest it could be a symptom of ancient metropolitan life.“The possible emergence of advanced [Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias] in the Roman era may be associated with environmental factors of air pollution and increased exposure to lead‚” they write. According to Finch‚ lead cooking vessels‚ water pipes‚ and even lead-laced wine were all commonly used by Roman aristocrats.As for the boom in dementia cases we are seeing today‚ these findings could offer some insight‚ perhaps hinting that our modern lifestyles and environments‚ with sedentary behavior and exposure to air pollution‚ may be at fault‚ just as in Roman times.The study is published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

A potentially hazardous asteroid the size of a stadium is set to make a flyby of Earth tomorrow at a distance of around 2‚850‚000 kilometers (1‚770‚000 miles). Space rock fans can view a live stream of the asteroid‚ courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project.Asteroid 2008 OS7‚ as the name suggests‚ was first seen during the Catalina Sky Survey on July 30‚ 2008. The asteroid‚ which orbits the Sun every 2.64 years‚ is about 284.8 meters (934.4 feet) in diameter according to NASA‚ or around 194 Danny DeVitos (158 Arnold Schwarzeneggers) across.There is nothing to worry about from the asteroid‚ which is set to pass at less than 0.05 astronomical units (AU) from the Earth. Though this may not sound far‚ one AU is the distance between the Earth and the Sun‚ and the asteroid will pass by harmlessly at around 7.4 times the average lunar distance."We don't need to worry about it too much as this asteroid will not enter Earth's atmosphere‚ while this will still approach close to the Earth‚" Dr Minjae Kim‚ Research Fellow at the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick added to PA. You can watch it miss us on the Virtual Telescope Project website‚ with the closest approach taking place at 14:41 UTC on February 2‚ 2024.    NASA and other observatories track the orbits of objects discovered in the Solar System‚ keeping a particular eye on "near Earth objects" 140 meters (460 feet) and larger that could cause devastation if they were to cross paths with our planet. So far‚ astronomers have been able to predict the orbits of known objects up to about 100 years in the future. The good news is that "no known asteroid larger than 140 meters in size has a significant chance to hit Earth for the next 100 years‚" according to NASA.Though we are discovering new objects all the time – sometimes just before they hit – another method has found that we should be safe for the next 1‚000 years from the objects we do know about."Assessing the impact risk over longer time scales is a challenge since orbital uncertainties grow. To overcome this limitation we analyze the evolution of the Minimum Orbit Intersection Distance (MOID)‚ which bounds the closest possible encounters between the asteroid and the Earth‚" the team behind the study explained in their paper last year. "The evolution of the MOID highlights NEOs that are in the vicinity of the Earth for longer periods of time‚ and we propose a method to estimate the probability of a deep Earth encounter during these periods."The probability of being hit before the year 3000 is looking pretty low according to the team‚ with the most likely object to hit us – 7482 (1994 PC1) – having only a 0.00151 percent chance of a close encounter‚ approaching the Earth closer than the orbit of the Moon.

Meet Maggie‚ a charming Shih-Tzu bursting with personality‚ who lives with her loving family on Long Island. Her human sister‚ Eunice‚ can’t help but gush about her‚ saying‚ “She is the cutest! She has quite a personality. She loves to cuddle but is also a yapper at times. She’s very mischievous!” This mischievous nature of... The post Dad searches for missing dentures and loses it when he looks over at his dog appeared first on Animal Channel.

It was too good to be true -- and sure enough‚ it wasn't. Joe Scarborough began a segment about illegal immigrants being released the day after they viciously beat two NYC cops by calling the outraged reaction a "bipartisan issue." But when all was said and done‚ Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski couldn't resist turning the "bipartisan" issue into a highly partisan one‚ by blaming--you guessed it--Donald Trump. The segment started out well‚ with Scarborough blasting the fact that: "You have illegal immigrants in New York‚ who beat the hell out of cops. They get sent to jail. They get released the next day." Bonus points to Scarborough for actually describing them as "illegal immigrants." The approved woke terminology of course being‚ "undocumented migrants‚" or simply‚ "migrants." As the woke crowd reminds us: there's no such thing as an illegal person -- so we must let the countless millions -- billions! -- of people who would like to enter the US do so without impediment! Mike Barnicle described them as "illegal citizens"—though it's unclear whether that was an aspirational notion‚ or if poor Mike was simply confused. Scarborough rejected the notion that it's racist to want such thugs locked up‚ and he mocked politicians who say otherwise.  But then came the end of the segment‚ in which Scarborough claimed that there is‚ in fact‚ a "solution" to this problem‚ in the form of the highly-controversial "border security" bill‚ that wouldn't close the border until there are thousands of encounters in a single day. Wailed Scarborough: "You've got House Republicans stopping it."  Mika then interjected: "Because of Donald Trump." Concluded Scarborough: "So we're going to keep seeing chaos like this because of Donald Trump." So much for being bipartisan‚ Joe! Note: Although Scarborough did condemn the release of the thugs‚ he didn't provide the details of just how that happened. Prepare for your blood to boil. From the New York Post [emphasis added]: The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office did not ask for bail for any of the five defendants who have been arrested so far.  “Your Honor‚ we take violence against police officers very seriously‚” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Zachary Kotin insisted in court Wednesday evening.  “The NYPD arrested four individuals involved in this incident over the weekend‚ and the defendant was the fifth person arrested in connection with this incident‚” he said.  “Those individuals‚ who are between the ages of 19 and 24‚ were released without bail to allow us to continue to investigate‚ and we are similarly requesting he be released on his own recognizance… as this defendant has no criminal history‚” Kotin told Judge Barbara Brown. The thugs were released without bail to "allow [the DA's office] to continue to investigate??"  Which scenario would facilitate investigation? Having the suspects in jail and subject to interrogation—or allowing them to roam free on the streets‚ potentially committing more crimes? What are the odds these thugs turn up for any future court dates? Note: The "Manhattan DA" in question is Alvin Bragg -- the far-left‚ soft-on-crime guy who has charged Trump on a far-fetched felony theory in connection with the payment to Stormy Daniels. Here's the transcript. MSNBC Morning Joe 2/1/24 6:02 am ET JOE SCARBOROUGH: I will say also‚ talk about a bipartisan issue‚ this is a crazy New York story‚ Mike Barnicle. You have illegal immigrants in New York‚ who beat the hell out of cops. They get sent to jail. They get released the next day. MIKE BARNICLE: Oh‚ yeah. SCARBOROUGH: The next day. And by the way‚ by the way‚ politicians say‚ "I don't understand. Why do people think crime is out of control? I don't understand." And you've got leaders in Washington going‚ "Well‚ you know‚ I don't think we can arrest people and incarcerate them. I don't think that's the way to safer streets." All while they're‚ all while they're passing legislation that says‚ "steal what you want to steal up to $1‚000.We're cool with it." BARNICLE: You know‚ for people who are not familiar with what you're talking about here‚ there were two police officers over the weekend in Times Square‚ very busy Times Square‚ and they began trying to arrest someone who was disrupting the peace. And they were attacked by eight to ten‚ perhaps 12‚ other people‚ young men‚ migrants‚ illegal citizens‚ they're here illegally. They jumped all over the cops‚ kicked them‚ beat them.  The cops managed‚ God bless the cops‚ they managed to arrest two or three. WILLIE GEIST: Four. BARNICLE: Hold on to them. Four of them. And yet -- SCARBOROUGH: Here's the security camera showing the assault of the police officers in New York. BARNICLE: Times Square. And they were just bounced. SCARBOROUGH: They‚ they go in‚ and‚ again‚ because somebody's idea of‚ of reform is letting people who beat the hell out of cops out of jail the next day -- MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Hmm‚ sounds -- SCARBOROUGH: There's‚ there's‚ I'm sorry‚ there's nothing racist about‚ you know‚ when people say‚ "Oh‚ it's racist to have this‚ to bail this‚ or bail that."  Rev‚ you‚ you hear it. I hear it. You hear it wherever you go. There's no -- revolving doors aren't a solution! Letting somebody beat the hell out of a New Yorker one day‚ and be walking on the street the next? I mean‚ that's a recipe for chaos. . . .  And the biggest problem right now‚ Mika‚ is there is a solution. There is a solution. And the solution's waiting for Republicans to‚ to‚ to sign onto and to have it signed into law. It's called‚ by Republicans‚ the toughest border security law ever. And‚ and right now‚ you've got House Republicans stopping it.  MIKA: Because of Donald Trump. SCARBOROUGH: So we're going to keep seeing chaos like this because of Donald Trump.

Editor's note: We're facing an unprecedented moment in American history. Our government and multinational tech monopolies are making it clear that we‚ the people‚ are the target of the monstrous surveillance state they've constructed. The deep state is attempting to jail people who share memes‚ Blaze Media journalists‚ and even the leading presidential candidate. It's time we take back control over our privacy and digital communications‚ and this guide will provide you with the tools to do that. This is an excerpt from a larger guide. Use a virtual private network This may sound difficult‚ but it is pretty simple to set up. You create an account‚ download it to your computer and phone‚ and you are ready to go. You can get your VPN going in less than half an hour. What is a VPN‚ and what does it do? When you use the internet‚ your computer has an internet protocol address that is trackable and traceable. Using a virtual private network masks your computer's address so it cannot be traced as easily. VPNs are essential when using a public network like those at a coffee shop or airport. These wireless networks can easily be hacked. Sometimes‚ you cannot tell if you are using the coffee shop's actual network or if a hacker set one up with the store's name to fool you. A hacker can set up a wireless account with a fake name — such as the name of the coffee shop you are in. And you‚ thinking it is safe‚ access the internet through the wireless network of the hacker‚ who then takes your data. VPNs are also crucial at home. While you probably don't need to worry about hackers tricking you‚ it doesn't mean your online activity is private. Your internet service provider‚ like Comcast or AT&;T‚ can collect your searches and online activities and use or sell your data to advertisers. So even if you are using a good browser‚ search engine‚ and mail service that respects your privacy‚ you still want to use a VPN at home. Finally‚ you'll want to use a VPN on all your devices‚ including phones and tablets. Anything that connects to the internet should be through a VPN. There are more advantages to a VPN than I can mention here. Here are some articles on how a VPN works and why to use one. What is a VPN? How to Choose a Good VPN Why You Need a VPN‚ and How to Choose the Right One Several companies provide the service. Express VPN Proton VPN I have used Express VPN and Proton. You can get Express VPN for about $12 a month or Proton for $8 (+$4 for email). The big thing is to get one and try it out. You can set up Express or Proton in several minutes. I promise. If you don't like the first one you try‚ you can always cancel and get another one. If you are like me‚ you may hesitate because you are trying to find the perfect solution. Don't do that. I can't tell you how many hours I've wasted doing that.

Between Command and Conquer‚ Cities Skylines 2‚ and Civilization‚ what I like in city builders and strategy games is that everyone‚ basically‚ does anything I tell them to do. Run a scouting mission deep into enemy territory‚ even though we’re just three basic infantry units on 25% HP? No problem. Spend the last of our budget building ten new fountains to try and boost citizen morale? You got it‚ boss. But a new survival-driven strategy roguelike‚ published by Payday 3 creator Starbreeze‚ flips that formula on its head. The world is dark and dangerous‚ and resources are scant. But you also need to contend with the strong personalities and individual wills of your people. They won’t just do as they’re told - you have to be more subtle. Brutal and occasionally bleak‚ Starbreeze’s new strategy game will also be available to try for free at the soon-to-arrive Steam Next Fest. Continue reading Payday 3 maker Starbreeze has a new strategy game you can try for free MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best grand strategy games‚ Best strategy games‚ Best roguelikes