Space Trees | Brrrain Freeze | Cancer Peas

Typing in my cast is getting better, and weirder.

My left hand is a seasoned typing pro. The right looks like it’s seeing a keyboard for the first time. 🤣 

Bonus: st3v made a guest appearance in Unnatural Selection below!

-Steve

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Space Trees

Trees will soon be orbiting Earth. LignoSat, a satellite built primarily from wood, will test sustainable alternatives to traditional satellites that often leave metallic particles in our atmosphere.

• Size: 4” per side

• Made of magnolia wood

• September launch to ISS

LignoSat will then launch into a ~6 month orbit before burning to biodegradable ash upon reentry. Understanding wood’s durability in space could lead to more sustainable space exploration. Now hiring: Space Carpenter!

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s a, magnolia?

Brrrain Freeze

Brain freezing can help it last longer. Scientists developed a chemical mixture, MEDY, to maintain brain tissue function after 18 months on ice.

• MEDY = methyl cellulose, ethylene glycol, DMSO, and Y27632

• Traditional freezing damages cells with ice crystals

• Treated brain organoids matched control groups after thawing

MEDY also preserved actual human brain tissue donated from an epilepsy patient. Extending tissue shelf life could lead to breakthroughs in neural research and other tissue preservation. Finally a use-case for drinking slushies quickly.

Ice ice brainy

Cancer Peas

Plant viruses are doing their part to fight cancer. Researchers observed cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) suppressing tumor growth in mice.

• CPMV can’t infect animals

• Its foreign nature triggers strong immune responses

• Effective against breast, colon, ovarian cancers

Rather than directly targeting the cancer, CPMV acts like an immunotherapy to boost natural responses. Further studies will test compatibility for clinical trials in hopes of giving us another tool to fight cancer. Fun-fact: Cowpeas = black-eyed peas.

I gotta feeling, woo hooo, that this gonna be a good fight

Unnatural Selection

Last week: “Would you listen to AI medical advice?”

PSA: st3v would like to remind everyone to think critically when receiving advice. Especially when Google’s AI tells you to add glue to your pizza…

st3v on site

Magnolia Luna

Launching wood into orbit would be a lot cheaper from the moon. Now we just need a space botanist…paging Dr. Watney!

Where’s st3v? We’re having some fun with AI art until I can draw again when my broken wrist heals.

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