Squirrel!

Image: Squirrel!, you can licence this image on EyeEm.

#282

Friday, September 24, 2021

In This Edition:
Glow in the dark plants, flying microchips, infectious music, watch TV from past decades, & ASMR tortoise eating!

Glow In The Dark Plants

Image: MIT

Scientists at MIT have successfully injected nanoparticles into plants to give them glow in the dark properties, for the second time. The strontium aluminate nanoparticles are coated in silica so as not to damage the plant. Just 10 seconds of exposure to LED or sunlight cause the plants to glow green for up to an hour, at a brightness ten times more than the previous experiment. The plan is to be able to use these glowing plants as passive lighting in outdoor areas, thus reducing the need for street lighting.

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Flying Microchip

Image: Northwestern University

Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a flying microchip sensor device. The microfliers are modelled on how maple trees spread their seed and fly in a slow stable rotation when moving through the air. The tiny devices include sensors, a power source, data storage and antennae for wireless communication. The goal is to be able to use the microfliers to sense the environment for contamination monitoring, population surveillance, or disease tracking. The team has also developed transient electronics to be used in the microfliers, which biodegrade in water over time.

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Infectious Music

Image: Phys.org, DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2021.0457

Mathematicians at the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind in Canada studied the download patterns of music from MixRadio and found that their spread matches the patterns seen in the spread of infectious diseases. Interestingly, they found that metal and dance music is not infectious and electronica is the most infectious.

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Watch TV From Past Decades

Image: my80stv.com

Joey Cato has created a set of websites that allow you to flick through TV content from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s.

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ASMR Tortoise Eating

Image: ASMR Animal

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About Found This Week

Found This Week is a curated blog of interesting posts, articles, links and stories in the world of technology, science and life in general.
Each edition is curated by Daryl Feehely every Friday and highlights cool stuff found each week.
The first 104 editions were published on Medium before this site was created, check out the archive here.

Daryl Feehely

I’m a web consultant, contract web developer, technical project manager & photographer originally from Cork, now based in London. I offer my clients strategy, planning & technical delivery services, remotely & in person. I also offer freelance CTO services to companies in need of technical bootstrapping or reinvention. If you think I can help you in your business, check out my details on http://darylfeehely.com

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