Best of Last Week—Destroying 'forever chemicals,' a jumping unicycle robot, metformin as an early COVID treatment
It was a good week for the biological sciences as a small team of researchers from Harvard University, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science and the University of Alberta, found evidence of 60 million years of climate change driving the evolution and diversity of reptiles—resulting in the development of one of the most successful and diverse animal groups the world has ever seen. Also, a small international team of oceanographers found that even small changes in the position of the continents could lead to a collapse of the circulation of oxygen and nutrients in the world's oceans, killing off most of the creatures that live there. And a team of researchers at Northwestern University developed an inexpensive, low-temperature way to destroy "forever chemicals," and in so doing, may reduce the problem of PFAS chemicals in the environment.
In technology news, a team at MIT made a new semiconductor discovery—they become stiffer when exposed to light. And the effect is reversible as the light is turned off. Also, a combined team from RWTH Aachen University and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems designed and built a symmetric unicycle with jumping reaction wheels—called the Wheelbot, the team suggests their design could represent the beginning of a new kind of robot. And an international team of researchers designed and built a small neuromorphic chip for AI applications that requires just a small fraction of the energy of those now in use. Also, a team with members from the University of California, Los Angeles and Irvine, made advances in hydrogen fuel cell design that exceed the DOE-set targets for fuel cell performance and durability.
In other news, a large team of researchers from across the U.S. has found that an intranasal vaccination produces potent systemic immunity against HIV and SARS-CoV-2 in animal models. Also, a team at the University of Cambridge's Department of Archaeology found that medieval friars were "riddled with parasites" despite living a more sanitary life than others of the time. And finally, an effort led by researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School and School of Public Health found during a trial that the diabetes drug metformin was effective at reducing the odds of a serious outcome for COVID-19 patients seeking early treatment.
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