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🧪 Cooling Off with More Clouds

This week, researchers found that cloud “engineering” could be more effective for climate cooling than previously thought — plus much more from the exciting world of science.

Hey there. Hope you didn’t burn out your eyes by looking directly at last week’s eclipse. If you can read this right now, that’s probably a good sign. And in case you didn’t find yourself in the path of totality, don’t worry – NASA has you covered. Check out their in-depth coverage (and awesome photos) here.

Meanwhile, back down here on Earth, there were plenty of other amazing discoveries made and cool research published:

ENGINEERING

A new window coating can block heat without blocking your view

Wait Goodbye GIF by Silicon Valley

Gif by siliconvalleyhbo on Giphy

Windows are great for welcoming light into interior spaces, but they also bring in unwanted heat. Now, a new window coating can block heat-generating ultraviolet and infrared light while still letting visible light through, regardless of the sun’s angle.

How’d they make it?

Engineers stacked ultra-thin layers of silica, alumina and titanium oxide on a glass base. Together, the layers reflect thermal radiation, giving the glass its cooling power. But the trick was determining the order of the layers — so the team turned to quantum computing to determine the ideal stack.

What’s the impact?

The result was a transparent coating that reduced temperature by 5.4 to 7.2 degrees Celsius in a model room, even with light shone in at different angles. It can be incorporated onto existing windows and has been shown to reduce air-conditioning costs by more than one-third in hot climates.

BIOLOGY

Scientists have extracted useful proteins from beer-brewing leftovers

Researchers have created a method that extracts over 80% of the available protein in grain leftovers from brewing beer, commonly known as brewers’ spent grain (BSG). BSG is the biggest byproduct of the brewing industry — globally, about 36.4 million tons is produced every year, and most of it ends up in landfills.

What did the researchers do?

As the old saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Scientists extracted protein from the spent grain through fermentation, using a food-grade fungus commonly used to ferment soybeans. Once fermented, the BSG is dried, ground into a powder, and spun in a centrifuge to separate the protein.

But what’s the big deal?

It’s not only about reducing waste. These BSG proteins can be used as dietary supplements, added to foods to boost their nutritional value, or combined with cosmetic products to boost their moisturizing and antioxidant properties.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Cloud “engineering” might be an effective solution for climate cooling

Cloud “engineering” could be more effective for climate cooling than experts previously thought. New research has found that marine cloud engineering has the potential to not only alter clouds, but increase total cloud coverage â€” producing a 60-90% cooling effect.

But how do you “engineer” clouds?

The process works by spraying tiny particles, or aerosols, into the atmosphere where they mix with clouds — this produces a brightening effect, which increases the amount of sunlight reflected back into space. This happens naturally during geological events like volcanic eruptions.

Did researchers actually spray stuff into the sky?

Well, not exactly. Recently, scientists created a “natural experiment” by observing the eruption of the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii and studying the interactions between the volcanic aerosols, clouds, and the climate. They found that cloud cover increased by up to 50% during the periods of volcanic activity, producing a significant local cooling effect.

GENETICS

African mammals are facing genetic problems because of fences and roads

The annual migration of 1.3 million wildebeest through Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Masai Mara is iconic — and it’s also important for local ecosystems. But in some areas, roads, fences, and farms are interfering the migratory routes of wildebeest herds. A new study has shown that the genetic health of wildebeest has suffered as a consequence.

How does migration affect genetics?

Researchers analyzed the whole genomes of 121 wildebeest and found evidence of low genetic diversity. Without the ability to migrate, many wildebeest are not interacting with other herds and are gradually becoming more inbred. And scientists say that if climate changes continue to occur, there won’t enough genetic variation for them to adapt, which could ultimately threaten their survival.

TECHNOLOGY

A new AI model can help identify uncertainties in medical images

Oh No Omg GIF by Paramount+

Gif by paramountplus on Giphy

In the medical world, segmentation is the practice of annotating pixels in an image, such as an X-ray or CT scan, to analyze it and mark things that stand out. Artificial intelligence models can help clinicians by highlighting pixels that show signs of a certain disease or anomaly — but typically, these models only provide one answer. In medicine, it’s important to have options.

So what’s new?

Researchers have introduced a new AI tool that can capture the uncertainty in a medical image. Known as Tyche (named after the Greek divinity of chance), the system provides multiple segmentations that each highlight slightly different areas of an image. And in addition, Tyche doesn’t have to be retrained over time — so it could be easier for clinicians and researchers to use. The team hopes this system could improve diagnoses or aid in research by calling attention to things that human eyes or other AI tools might miss.

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