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What organisms are holobionts? According to modern scientists, organisms are holobionts, and life is sympoietic. The term “holobiont” refers to the scientific conclusion that organisms are integrated consortia of a host organism plus numerous species of other symbiotic organisms. With few (if any) exceptions, animals and plants are holobionts, federated partnerships of numerous species functioning together to generate a healthy organism. For example: 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♀️In the adult human body, microbes account for approximately half of cells, and these bacteria, fungi, protists, and archaea are critical for healthy physiology, development, and immunity. 🐄 Cows are herbivores, but there are no genes in their bovine nuclei that encode grass-digesting enzymes, and these cellulose-digesting enzymes come from the set of microbes living within the rumen of the cattle’s guts. 🪸 In coral, most of the animal’s carbon resources are derived from the photosynthetic reactions of its algal symbionts. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

Why are moiré patterns important for materials science? The so-called moiré patterns are motifs that emerge when two repetitive structures are overlaid. This phenomenon is well known from computer or TV screens: when looking at a finely striped pattern, e.g. on a shirt, the stripes do not look evenly spaced and seem to bend in some areas. While undesirable in this case, the moiré effect can indeed be surprisingly useful. Two atomically thin materials can be overlapped to create a new material, in which the atomic structures of the two produce a moiré pattern. Some of these moiré materials exhibit astonishing properties, drastically different from those of their components, which may be applied in science, e.g. in novel nano-electronic devices. The term originates from a French word “moiré”, a type of textile, traditionally made of silk but now also made of cotton or synthetic fiber, with a rippled or "watered" appearance, by pressing two layers of the textile when wet. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

How to collect energy from raindrops? 💦 Raindrops falling from the sky can produce a small amount of energy that can be harvested and turned into electricity. Researchers have recently proposed several different devices for harvesting such dispersed hydropower. One of the last inventions is a superhydrophobic magnetoelectric generator (MSMEG)⬆️. It consists of 5️⃣ parts: 📍a superhydrophobic magnetic material-based film (SMMF) 📍a coil 📍a NdFeB magnet 📍an acrylic housing 📍an expandable polystyrene (EPS) base. According to scientists, the MSMEG can quickly charge a commercial capacitor with 2.7 V/1 F to 1.18 V within 200 seconds and power diverse electronic devices, e.g. LEDs and fans. The authors of this study believe that such an MSMEG may provide a promising strategy for efficiently harvesting dispersed raindrop energy. However, there are also opinions that such technologies are difficult to develop on a large scale and have limited practical application. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

How many people live in cities today? 🏙Today, about 4.6 billion or 57% of the more than 8 billion people worldwide live in urban areas, according to different sources. 🌇 By 2050 this proportion is expected to increase to 68%, adding another 2.5 billion people to urban areas. 🏙 Today, the most urbanized regions include Northern America (with 82% of its population living in urban areas in 2018), Latin America and the Caribbean (81%), Europe (74%) and Oceania (68%). 🌇A UN report notes that future increases in the size of the world’s urban population are expected to be highly concentrated in just a few countries. Together, India, China and Nigeria will account for 35% of the projected growth of the world’s urban population between 2018 and 2050, adding respectively 416, 255 and 189 million urban dwellers. 🏙 At present there are 3️⃣4️⃣ cities worldwide with more than 10 million inhabitants. 🎉⬆️World Cities Day, designated by the UN, is celebrated annually on 31 October. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

What is the minimum of light required for plants to grow? 🌿☀️ Plants can grow with much less light than previously thought, according to a new study. ✅ Researchers lowered light sensors into Arctic water to a depth of 50 metres (164 feet) to test how low light levels must become before plant life ceases to exist and found that tiny water-based organisms called microalgae were able to perform photosynthesis with very little light ⬆️. ✅ The microalgae carry out this process at the lowest light levels ever recorded – just 0.04 micromoles of photons. ✅ This isn’t very far from what computer simulations predict to be the lowest light possible in any circumstances – 0.01 micromoles of photons. ✅ Typical light conditions outside on a clear day are between 1,500-2,000 micromoles of photons – more than 37,000-50,000 times the amount of light required by those microalgae. ℹ️ This research can potentially make it easier to grow plants in areas with little sunlight and even in space. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

Do migratory birds save energy escaping winter? ✔️ Scientists have long surmised that birds migrate during winters to save energy: far away from the biting cold, birds would need to expend less energy to keep themselves warm. ✔️A new study has shown that migratory lifestyle carries no added overall energy cost. ✔️ Scientists have found partially migratory Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula)⬆️ migrating to warmer regions in winter didn’t save more energy compared to members of the same species that stayed behind. ✔️ To measure the birds’ heart rate and body temperature over the course of the winter, researchers used surgically implanted biologgers. ✔️ It was also found that migrating birds started saving energy for migration by lowering their heart rate and body temperature almost a month before their departure. ✔️ The research raises important questions on why birds migrate if there’s no energy benefit, and where the unaccounted energy is being used instead. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

What are some examples of the smallest 3D-printed items? 🛳 The smallest boat ever sailed is a 11.5-micrometer-long – 0.0004-inch, about one-third of the thickness of a human hair – and is 3D-printed ⬆️. This tiny ship, named for a popular 3D-printing test "3DBenchy", was made by a team at Leiden University, the Netherlands in 2020. The scientists created the boat in a bid to enrich their research on microswimmers, or small particles that move in liquid. 🪧 The smallest 3D-printed billboard is 1.424 square millimetres (0.002 square inches), and was made by Kao Commercial, in Shanghai, China, in December 2021 ⬆️. 🗺 Scientists have created an accurate 3D map of the Earth that is so small that one-thousand of them could fit on one grain of salt. Patterns of the Earth’s continents were created using an incredibly sharp silicon knife to carve features as small as 15 nanometres on a polymer substrate measuring only 22 by 11 micrometres ⬆️. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

What are some examples of the largest 3D-printed objects? 🛳The largest 3D printed boat is 11.980 m and was achieved by Abu Dhabi Maritime and Al Seer Marine (both UAE), in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on 6 Nov 2023 ⬆️. ⬛️ The largest 3D-printed structure (volume) is a wall with an outer shell and an inner filling that consists of 11.07 m³ of 3D-printed material and was achieved by Dubai Municipality (UAE), in Dubai, on 16 Oct 2019. ⚙️ The largest functional object to be 3D-printed in metal is a key jet engine component called a turbofan, measuring 1.5 m in diameter, printed in sections by Rolls-Royce and tested in July 2014. 🏠 The largest 3D printed villa is 303.42868 sq m (3266.079 sq ft) and was achieved by 3DXB Group, Dubai Municipality and Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment (all UAE) in Dubai, UAE, on 7 Dec 2023. 🏳️ The largest 3D-printed flag measures 16.2688 m² (175 ft² 11 in²), and was achieved by Anmar Gabra (KSA) in Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on 18 Aug 2024. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

When was 3D printing invented? 📌The 1980s were a dynamic period in the history of 3D printing. 📌In 1981, a Japanese inventor Dr. Hideo Kodama paved the way for 3D printing technologies. He laid the foundation for additive manufacturing and developed a system for creating three-dimensional objects through a layer-by-layer approach using photosensitive resins. 📌In 1984, a US inventor Charles (Chuck) Hull patented filed the first patent for 3D printing – the Stereolithography process, the first commercial 3D printing technology and introduced the concept of layer-by-layer fabrication, which is fundamental to modern 3D printers. 📌Before emerging in a laboratory, 3D printing was described in science fiction: ✍️in 1945, in his “Things Pass By” Murray Leinster envisaged a constructor that used “magnetronic plastics” for fabricating articles from scanned drawings ✍️in 1950, Raymond F. Jones introduced the idea of a “molecular spray” to create items in his “Tools of the Trade”. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

What are the largest galaxy-made structures in the Universe? ℹ️Astrophysical jets are collimated streams of magnetized plasma produced by compact accreting objects, e.g. neutron stars or black holes. When sustained for megayears (such long-lived coherence being yet unknown), these jets from supermassive black (SMBHs) holes become the largest galaxy-made structures in the Universe. Named Porphyrion, after the king of giants in Greek mythology, the jets: 🌌stretch for around 23 million light-years – as long as 140 Milky Way galaxies 🌠are born at the heart of a galaxy located around 7.5 billion light-years away and are seen as they were when the 13.8 billion-year-old universe was just 6.3 billion years old 🔥put out trillions of times more energy per second than our sun does. 🌐 In terrestrial dimensions, this SMBH would have the size of 0.2 millimeters and the jets – the size of the Earth: an amoeba that generates a powerful fountain of energy the size of the entire planet! Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

Is there a battery that can last for decades? ☢️🔋 A nuclear battery powered by radioactive decay can last for decades. Researchers have wanted to use radioactive atoms to build exceptionally long-lasting and damage-resistant batteries since the 1900s. But all prototypes were not very efficient. Chinese scientists have improved the efficiency of a nuclear battery design by a factor of 8000. The researchers used americium that is usually considered to be nuclear waste and radiates energy in the form of alpha particles, which carry lots of energy but quickly lose it to their surroundings. They embedded americium into a polymer crystal that converted this energy into a sustained and stable green glow. Although americium has a half-life of 7380 years, this micronuclear battery ⬆️ should run for several decades, because the components surrounding the sample will eventually be destroyed by the radiation. The battery may be used for deep-sea exploration and space missions. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow

How many main types of batteries are there? There are 2️⃣ main types of batteries: 🔋Primary batteries, also known as non-rechargeable batteries, are designed and manufactured in the charged state for single use. Once their energy is depleted, they need to be replaced. Notable examples are alkaline batteries and lithium metal batteries. 🔋Secondary batteries, also known as rechargeable batteries or accumulators, can be recharged after being discharged by reversing the flow of current through the battery and are usually assembled in the discharged state. They can be reused until the end of their useful life and their materials can be recycled. Secondary batteries are therefore more environmentally friendly and cost-effective than primary batteries. Examples are nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, lead–acid batteries, Li–ion batteries and solid-state batteries. ℹ️✍️ Any device that can transform its chemical energy into electrical energy can be called a battery. Subscribe- t.me/askmenow