Mo's moderately interesting sci/tech thread

[Warren]

Biodegrading in 4-6 weeks? Seems a little short for a lot of applications.

If it's food-safe then that's a perfect timeframe for a lot of packaging. Likewise plastic straws and other high-volume single uses. It's not going to solve all the problems, but it will solve a lot of them.

I RTFA my understanding is it doesn't degrade until you compost it.

[Hugh Akston]

Biodegrading in 4-6 weeks? Seems a little short for a lot of applications.

If it's food-safe then that's a perfect timeframe for a lot of packaging. Likewise plastic straws and other high-volume single uses. It's not going to solve all the problems, but it will solve a lot of them.

I RTFA my understanding is it doesn't degrade until you compost it.

That was my read too, which is even better.

[Aresen]

Biodegrading in 4-6 weeks? Seems a little short for a lot of applications.

If it's food-safe then that's a perfect timeframe for a lot of packaging. Likewise plastic straws and other high-volume single uses. It's not going to solve all the problems, but it will solve a lot of them.

I RTFA my understanding is it doesn't degrade until you compost it.

Does 'composting' = 'somewhere way in the back of my fridge'?

[thoreau]

OK, if it only degrades in 4-6 weeks under specific conditions, and otherwise is stable, I think this is an amazing invention.

[Warren]

MarinaTex is unique for multiple reasons. Compared to its main competitor plastic, MarinaTex can fully biodegrade in home food recycling bins or home composts without leaching toxic chemicals into the environment. Another competitor is PLA bioplastics. These bioplastics can only be composted in specialised industrial facilities and have been contaminating mainstream facilities resulting in compostable waste being sent to landfill. MarinaTex will not contaminate these facilities due to different chemical structure.

[Hugh Akston]

No wait it's the opposite:

It biodegrades on its own in four to six weeks, which gives it a major sustainability advantage over traditional bioplastics, most of which require industrial composters to break down.

But with the volume of plastic lids and straws that the fast food industry goes through, 4-6 weeks is plenty of time.

[Eric the .5b]

OK, if it only degrades in 4-6 weeks under specific conditions, and otherwise is stable, I think this is an amazing invention.

And if it can actually be manufactured at scale at competitive prices, etc. But it is cool.

[Warren]

No wait it's the opposite:

It biodegrades on its own in four to six weeks, which gives it a major sustainability advantage over traditional bioplastics, most of which require industrial composters to break down.

But with the volume of plastic lids and straws that the fast food industry goes through, 4-6 weeks is plenty of time.

I don't know that it can be made ridged for those applications. It looks too pliable.

[dbcooper]

How to recognize AI snake oil:

https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~arvindn/t ... akeoil.pdf

[JasonL]

How to recognize AI snake oil:

https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~arvindn/t ... akeoil.pdf

That’s really cool thanks!

[JasonL]

And, I’ve said this for years, but the reason HR is gullible is because they in most roles across the public sphere can’t predict success through any mechanism other than “has already succeeded at this role”. They still use educational signals because they are something. They have success stories from all walks of life but can’t tell who is who prospectively.

[Jasper]

Re: biodegradabiity - yes, the term in industry-speak means hitting certain targets in standardized tests. You basically take the material, mix it with bioactive sludge (basically composting) and then measure the CO2 given off by the microbes as they eat the material, and convert the readings into a "percent biodegradable" over standard time frames. 28 and 56 days are standard 'check points' during the test.

Newer 16-section SDS will sometimes have biodegradability data in the environmental impact section, and will say something like '83% at 28 days'.

This is a very interesting discovery, which hits close to some of the work I've been doing lately.

[JD]

Biologist manages to reproduce results that had been published in a paper 100 years ago and subsequently dismissed, showing that even single-celled organisms display more complex behavior than usually thought: https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opin ... ions-66818

[thoreau]

Bone marrow transplant recipients have DNA from their donors and it matters in criminal investigations.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/us/d ... ur2qSHTd0V

[Aresen]

Bone marrow transplant recipients have DNA from their donors and it matters in criminal investigations.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/us/d ... ur2qSHTd0V

The really curious part is the DNA in his semen.

[JD]

Researchers test children's ability to communicate concepts without speech, using improvised sign language, and discover that purely symbolic communication and grammar both occur very naturally even to small children.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/12 ... -language/

[JasonL]

No blank slate yo

[Aresen]

Researchers test children's ability to communicate concepts without speech, using improvised sign language, and discover that purely symbolic communication and grammar both occur very naturally even to small children.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/12 ... -language/

Their first clue was the extended middle finger one infant gave them when they didn't change her diaper.

[Aresen]

Researchers directly measure 'Cheerios effect' forces for the first time

In case you ever wondered why the Cheerios get together.

[Hugh Akston]

Bacterial building bricks

To build the living concrete, the researchers first tried putting cyanobacteria in a mixture of warm water, sand and nutrients. The microbes eagerly absorbed light and began producing calcium carbonate, gradually cementing the sand particles together.

The researchers bought Knox brand gelatin at a local supermarket and dissolved it in the solution with the bacteria. When they poured the mixture into molds and cooled it in a refrigerator, the gelatin formed its bonds — “just like when you make Jell-O,” Dr. Srubar said. The gelatin provided more structure, and worked with the bacteria to help the living concrete grow stronger and faster.

After about a day, the mixture formed concrete blocks in the shape of whatever molds the group used, including two-inch cubes, shoe box-size blocks and truss pieces with struts and cutouts. Individual two-inch cubes were strong enough for a person to stand on, although the material is weak compared to most conventional concretes. Blocks about the size of a shoe box showed potential for doing real construction.

[JD]

Researchers develop "anti-solar" panels, which work in the dark. Unfortunately the article is fairly short on details. I get how you can radiate heat, but I'm not sure how you get power out of that. The quoted statement does not provide much more information.

"A regular solar cell generates power by absorbing sunlight, which causes a voltage to appear across the device and for current to flow. In these new devices, light is instead emitted and the current and voltage go in the opposite direction, but you still generate power," Munday said in a statement. "You have to use different materials, but the physics is the same."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/us/solar ... index.html

[Hugh Akston]

[Warren]

Ha ha ha ha ha
yeah
no

[D.A. Ridgely]

Researchers develop "anti-solar" panels, which work in the dark. Unfortunately the article is fairly short on details. I get how you can radiate heat, but I'm not sure how you get power out of that. The quoted statement does not provide much more information.

"A regular solar cell generates power by absorbing sunlight, which causes a voltage to appear across the device and for current to flow. In these new devices, light is instead emitted and the current and voltage go in the opposite direction, but you still generate power," Munday said in a statement. "You have to use different materials, but the physics is the same."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/us/solar ... index.html

So obviously all we have to do is point the solar cells toward the anti-solar cells and, voila!, perpetual energy! Take that, evil fiziks types!

[Aresen]

Researchers develop "anti-solar" panels, which work in the dark. Unfortunately the article is fairly short on details. I get how you can radiate heat, but I'm not sure how you get power out of that. The quoted statement does not provide much more information.

"A regular solar cell generates power by absorbing sunlight, which causes a voltage to appear across the device and for current to flow. In these new devices, light is instead emitted and the current and voltage go in the opposite direction, but you still generate power," Munday said in a statement. "You have to use different materials, but the physics is the same."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/us/solar ... index.html

So obviously all we have to do is point the solar cells toward the anti-solar cells and, voila!, perpetual energy! Take that, evil fiziks types!

So, we'll have perpetual motion before we have fusion.