Fire Raft | Hecho en Bolivia | Particle Parity - The Convo Kit #47

I just arrived in San Francisco! Taking time off to bike across Golden Gate bridge and maybe hug a Redwood tree. So this week we’re looking at my five favorite recent stories.

For fresh news, check out the “Convo 2 Go” section below.

-Steve

Join The Convo for weekly briefings on science, space, and tech news!

Fire Raft

In the most stressful game of Twister ever, fire ants link together to survive flooding. If Antony doesn’t get “right mandible, red” quick enough, the whole colony could drown.

• Flash floods prompt fire ants to build living rafts in under 100 seconds

• No communication or hierarchy is involved, they just build it

• “Treadmilling” allows some ants to patrol atop their friends

Being literally alive, the rafts can adapt and generate branches in search of land. Researchers at Georgia Tech are studying this coordination in hopes of passing on ant-logic to swarm robotics.

More on the ants dance

Hecho en Bolivia

Bolivia’s Quantum Motors sells an EV that charges via ordinary wall socket. The “E4” is a small electric car with big dreams of building a rare homegrown brand.

• Seats 1, or 3 if you reeeally squeeze

• Range: 34 miles (at 34mph top speed)

• Price: ~$6,000

Cars are built by hand over 5 days. Most parts are sourced locally, but batteries and electrical components are from China. Quantum aims to use Bolivian-sourced lithium batteries soon, as they pave the way for domestic manufacturing.

Great longer read (with pics!) by "rest of world"

Chien-Shiung Wu

Chien-Shiung Wu was an accomplished experimental physicist. She contributed the first evidence that, in particle physics, parity is not conserved for weak interactions.

• Born: 5/29/1912, Lihue, Jiangsu province, China

• School: National Central University, China and UC Berkeley

• Received the National Medal of Science in 1975

Wu’s parity-defying proof lead to a Nobel Prize in 1957, for her fellow male colleagues. She was presumably excluded for being a woman. Wu helped pave the way for future discoveries even though for her, parity may not have existed.

Listen to Wu’s grandaughter tell her story

OURtochondria

Faulty mitochondria can lead to diseased organs due to a lack of cellular energy. Fortunately, ETH Zurich scientists found a new way to transplant our microscopic powerhouses.

• Mitochondria are transplanted using a special nanosyringe

• Proven promising in animal studies

• 80%: Recipient cell survival rate

Transplanted mitochondria begin working with their new cell within 20 minutes. Scientists hope this technique will one day treat diseased organs and could potentially be used for anti-aging treatment.

MYtochondria es YOURtochondria

Invisibility Shield

It may actually be possible to hide in plain sight. Invisibility Shield, by aptly named Invisibility Shield Company, helps you disappear without using any power.

• Works by reflecting light away horizontally

• 37.4” x 25.6”

• Price: $394 on Kickstarter

The shield’s reflective trick completely hides anything directly behind it with a blurry image of the background. If attempting to cheat in hide-and-go-seek, it works best in front of uniform backgrounds and 2D worlds.

Watch people disappear

Convo 2 Go

• NASA’s Inegenuity, from “hope it works” to Martian scout

• Finally, an exoskeleton to help change lighbulbs

• Garbage picking, robo ticking, Hong Kong phenomenon

• Using RNA to trigger heart attack repair

• Sweeeet! Sea suger, aka seagrass sucrose

1 More Thing

16 Psyche-ologists

Thank you for reading!

Missed last week’s Convo?

Catch-up here: Rock Hunting | Origin Story | 3D(NA) - The Convo Kit #46

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