Biked up Mt. Washington last weekend and fear I may never forget the horror of being passed by a unicycle. Very, very, slooowly.

-Steve

Join The Convo for weekly briefings on the coolest STEM news!

Umbrella Orbit

A giant space umbrella will reveal our forests' efficiency. The European Space Agency's (ESA) Biomass mission seeks to quantify trees' affect on carbon emissions.

• "Space umbrella" = 39' x 49' reflector antenna

• Uses special P-band radar to see through forest canopies

• Will unfurl ~400 miles above Earth

Biomass will also quantify the carbon dioxide released when trees die. This will more accurately define the climate impact of deforestation. No news on how they'll avoid the notorious "inside-out" umbrella on windy days.

Umbrella-ella-ella (eh, eh, eh)

Shifty Wood

Printers could replace carpenters in future home décor. Researchers at Hebrew University of Jerusalem figured out how to 3D print shapeshifting wood.

• “Ink” is made of wood waste (aka “wood flour”)

• Objects are printed flat

• As moisture evaporates, prints warp into a pre-determined form

Researchers choose the final shape by adjusting the speed and orientation of printing. They hope to scale up production to larger objects that could transform in response to humidity. A 3D printed forest would be soo meta.

How much wood would a woodchuck print…

Lungless

Salamanders seemingly misplaced their breathing organs. We now know a bit more about why plethodontids stop growing traditional lungs after the embryonic stage.

• Plethodontid embryos show similar lung growth to axolotls (lunged cousins)

• Prior to hatching, these lungs die due to lack of regulatory signals

• Development tissue was injected to trigger continued lung growth

Lung-like structures developed in test subjects, proving plethodontids still have capacity to grow them. Scientists believe lung starter signals trigger other organs, like the heart. Understanding how organ origins interrelate could help other evolutionary research.

Lungless salamanders’ mucus helps them breathe through their skin: cool or ew?

Clickables

• Webbs-eye view of Jupiter’s auroras and rings

• Curious seal pup snuck into a home

• See our moon like never before (including red spots)

• How to eat a t-rex: be a megalodon

• Slow-mo beetle flight looks like they just want a hug

st3v on site

Counting Trees

The prototype forest scanner was actually st3v...manually counting.

Thank you for reading!

Missed last week’s Convo?

Catch-up here: When Pigs Eye | Aquanaut | Necrogenomics - The Convo Kit #62

What would improve this email for you?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Reach out on Twitter @_steveburgess or reply to this email.