A Jellyfish-Robot That Can Clean The Ocean Floor

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have created a jellyfish-like robot that can swim underwater and collect waste from the ocean floor. The robot is almost silent and can capture objects without touching them, making it suitable for sensitive environments like coral reefs. The robot uses electro hydraulic actuators as artificial muscles to propel itself and create currents under its body. The researchers hope that swarms of these robots could one day help clean up the world's oceans. Press release here. Paper here. Video here.

Science News Episode

Check out my newest episode of science news here.  

Today we talk about Schrödinger’s cat, mind reading with artificial intelligence, a new theory for the origin of life, how many arms the Milky Way has, a design for a new space station, a 3D printed building, 3D ink that conducts electricity, a security system that uses light flashes, and of course, the telephone will ring.

What Physics Tells Us About the The Reality of Time

Yes, I know this is a somewhat clunky heading, but I think it’s a little more descriptive than “Einstein’s Afterlife”. I swear that in this interview I didn’t actually talk about Einstein’s Afterlife, but rather about what Einstein’s theories of space and time tell us about the immortality of information. Big Think did an amazing job with the animations in this video!

Sex in Space

As spaceflight opens up for tourists, scientists begin to wonder exactly what space tourists will do when locked in close quarters for extended amounts of time. It does not take a huge amount of imagination that one or the other child will be conceived in orbit if things go as planned. The organisation SpaceBorn United, based in the Netherlands, has now published a green paper that summarises our slim knowledge about the working of the mammalian reproductive system in zero gravity. I admit I had hoped for a more, shall we say, positional statement.

What’s next for AI?

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the recent AI craze and of course my brain immediately wants to extrapolate to the future. In this week’s video I tell you about some apps I have found (including one that simulates my voice almost perfectly) and what I think the next developments will be. The video cover image by the way was created by the AI-powered image generator midjourney. Which is why, if you look closely, you’ll notice that the face has three lips…

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