Hey readers, the coverage in this 37th issue of the White Pill — the local supercluster’s most powerful newsletter covering the frontiers of tech, physics, engineering, and AI — is banger after banger. In our section on space, we discuss two enormous, theoretically impossible structures in distant space that appear to actually exist, explain lasers and how they’re going to be used to clean up space debris, and more; in our medicine section we have yet more AI breakthroughs, plus nanobots that cure cancer, among other items; in the engineering section, a robot exoskeleton, nuclear battery (maybe), and a patent for neutrino based communication. As always, this issue includes the White Pill Investment Index, and fun stuff at the end. Enjoy.

P.S. Please don’t forget, White Pill has a Twitter account. Follow, like, share, retweet, even quote tweet if you please.

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Space

Big Ring in the Sky discovered. University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) Ph.D. student Alexia Lopez discovered an enormous cosmological structure she’s calling the Big Ring in the Sky that’s difficult to explain using current theories about the universe. One, the thing “[exceeds] the size limit of what is considered theoretically viable” (😳), two, it harasses — contradicts, even — the Cosmological Principle, which is downstream of the Big Bang, basically says that if you zoom out far enough, the universe is essentially homogeneous. Here’s Lopez, as quoted by Phys.org:

From current cosmological theories we didn't think structures on this scale were possible. We could expect maybe one exceedingly large structure in all our observable universe. Yet, the Big Ring and the Giant Arc [a separate structure so big it shouldn’t exist] are two huge structures and are even cosmological neighbors, which is extraordinarily fascinating.

The Big Ring’s circumference is about four billion light years, meaning if you shot a laser (goes at light speed) that was able to travel its circumference, it would take the amount of time it took life on Earth to go from anaerobic prokaryotes like bacteria to flora and fauna we see around us today for the laser to completely circle the ring.

Who cares? My first guess would be people who believe the Big Bang happened (fyi not all people believe it happened), who I presume will find the Big Ring annoying. The Big Ring can’t exist if the Big Bang happened in the way we currently conceive of the Big Bang. In the literal fractions of a second after the bang, Big Bang theorists say the universe underwent a rapid exponential expansion, which smoothed out any initial irregularities and inhomogeneities in the density of matter and energy. This is supported by, for example, the observed remarkable uniformity of cosmic microwave background radiation. But it is very clearly not supported by the incredibly massive ring of stuff Lopez just discovered in the distant cosmos. 🤷 (Phys.org)

Laser space debris cleanup. It’s fair to say that Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, or laser technology, is one of this era’s foundational technologies. If you’re reading this on your phone, for example, lasers etched the chips responsible for every one of its functions: the CPU (your phone’s ‘brain’), GPU (responsible for rendering images, videos, animations), RAM (data storage), connectivity (cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, Apple Pay), camera, and quite a bit more. If you’re on WiFi, lasers encoded your request to open this email in binary light signal, which traveled — at near light speed — through fiber optic cables that ultimately connect to data centers where a server processed your request and, again with lasers, sent a light-based binary response back to your device (roughly). If you’re in a relatively new car, it’s highly likely that super precise lasers were used to weld, drill, engrave, and shape core components of the vehicle.

Many such examples.

Laser technology is principally based on the laws of quantum mechanics, meaning — for our purposes — it’s unusual and unintuitive. Basically, energy is ‘pumped’ into a medium such as a gas, causing its electrons to ‘uplevel’ to a higher energy state. High energy states are inherently unstable; electrons ‘want’ to move back down to a lower energy state. A group of high energy state electrons will transition to a lower energy state and produce a photon in the process — albeit randomly from a temporal perspective — and this, reader, is when the laser starts to happen. The photon created by downleveling produces a cascading effect, in which it encourages more electron downleveling, themselves creating photons which, and this is absolutely crucial, are coherent with their incoming photons — they have the same phase, energy, and direction. The chain reaction continues as more photons downlevel more electrons, each of which creates a photon as it transitions, which amplifies the light. Mirrors in the laser device then reflect these photons back and forth through the medium, compounding the chain reaction, and eventually, some of this light escapes through a partially reflective mirror as a concentrated beam of monochromatic light — the laser beam!

Alright cool. The news item here — a long walk in the desert, maybe — is that Japanese fusion company EX-Fusion is spinning out an application for its lasers: using them to track and then remove space junk less than four inches in size. The idea is to fire the ground based laser at the pieces of debris in the opposite direction to their orbit, causing them to slow and reenter Earth’s atmosphere where they’ll burn up harmlessly. Lasers, what can’t they do? (Interesting Engineering) (@ExploreCosmos_)

More:

• Above is a simulated, but accurate representation of data captured by the Cassini spacecraft — showing an epic gravity wave in Saturn’s rings caused by its moon Daphnis as it travels “inside the 40 km-wide Keeler Gap near the outer edge of the A ring.” (The Keeler Gap is a 26-mile-wide (42 km) gap located within Saturn's A ring, the outermost ring.) (@JPMajor)

• These are images of the surface of a comet called 67P, taken in 2014 by the European Space Agency lander Philae on its Rosetta mission, showing smooth plains, sharp cliffs, and areas of dust and gas emission. So uncanny. (@postjawline)

• JAXA’s SLIM lunar craft made a soft landing on the moon yesterday, though “there are reasons to believe the lander rolled” over on impact, and given that the craft is supposed to be upright, this would be a suboptimal outcome. Story is still developing as I write this. (CNBC)

• On Thursday, SpaceX launched Axiom Space’s third astronaut mission to the ISS, sending four people on a three day journey to the space station. Watch the livestream of the launch here; at around an hour and two minutes, it's T-minus one minute to launch. Above is a screencap at T+ 00:44, interesting and funny to see these guys grinning all the way up through the atmosphere (I would not be grinning).

• NASA has finally managed to get the lid off the container containing precious samples of the asteroid Bennu, dropped off by the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft three and a half months ago. Now the samples can be distributed to labs around the world for study. (Science Alert)

• Find a quick recap and pics of the spacecraft’s re-entry on the White Pill Twitter account.
  

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Engineering

Nuclear batteries finally (almost) here. A company in China says it’s developed “miniaturized atomic energy batteries” about the size of a coin that could keep your phone running for 50 years. They use radioactive Nickel 63 to produce 3V of electricity, in the range generally required for a lot of small consumer electronics. They expect to first roll out a 1V battery in 2025, but multiple batteries can by used together, powering everything from smartphones and drones, to medical implants and small satellites. “Such unlimited power could provide drones that fly continuously, phones that run constantly, and electric cars that don’t require recharging,” says TechRadar. Big if true. (TechRadar)

Neutrino communications. High-powered surfacer of interesting physics and engineering stuff Andrew Cote posted the patent for a neutrino communications system, which would theoretically be able to transmit data through (for example) the earth’s core. To back up real quick, neutrinos are subatomic particles that are incredibly elusive due to their weak interaction with matter (bad), but they can pass through almost any material without being absorbed or scattered (good). Applications of this theoretical technology are numerous: neutrino communication could be used to communicate with spacecraft in deep space, where traditional electromagnetic signals can be obstructed or weakened; as above, neutrinos could be used to send messages through the Earth's crust or under water, which could be valuable for communicating with submarines or in underground facilities. Read the fun thread here.

Roaring 20s? Behold the insanity-level feat of engineering that is the Icon of the Seas, a cruise-ship that features: “23 restaurants, 22 bars / clubs, seven full-sized pools, nine hot tubs, a full waterpark, a rock climbing wall, an ice skating rink, surf simulator, a golf course, a basketball court, [and] rooms for 7,600 people. Wow. (@mrexits) (Ignore the weird negativity of the person posting, don’t worry the comments are roasting him for it.)

Exoskeleton for the outdoors. Kickstarter projects are often great places to look for new and exciting technological toys, and the Hypershell Omega —a wearable set of “AI-driven robo legs promising to give man the power of a horse” does not disappoint. Unlike most exoskeletons that are designed to help with everyday tasks at home or a jobsite, this one has been designed specifically for use in the unpredictable environment of the great outdoors. While the product hasn’t made it to market yet, the latest version was demonstrated at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (New Atlas)

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The White Pill Investment Index

The White Pill Investment Index tracks investments in companies developing interesting, exciting, forward-thinking products. Deals are sourced using a combination of Pitchbook and reach outs to each company.

• Facial recognition for cats — Carelogy, a Japan-based startup developing an app that uses AI to detect a cat’s pain based on its facial expression, raises an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Quantum Leap Ventures

• Smarter propellers for boats — Sharrow Marine, a company developing boat propellers that employ a “looped” design that can prevent the inefficient tip vortices that traditional propellers suffer from, raises $1.07 million from undisclosed investors

• Warehouse picker robots — Accio Robotics, a company developing warehouse robots that can pick products from shelves 2.5x faster than humans can (and without breaks for food or sleep), raises $1.8 million of venture funding in a deal led by Unisync Angels, Daniel Fitzgerald and BIG Capital

• Robotic crutch — NextStep Robotics, a company developing a robotic device that can help prevent “foot drop” in patients (that’s when you can’t raise your foot high enough to walk safely), raises $2.25 million of venture funding from Fort Capital Partners, The Abell Foundation and TEDCO

• Cool satellite antennas — Oxford Space Systems, a company that develops complex, foldable antennas for satellites (their offset reflector design folds like a portable swimming pool), raises $3.96 million in venture funding from Future Planet Capital, UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, and other undisclosed investors

• Real-time satellite data for ships — Piersight, a company that offers satellite data to the maritime industry with a temporal resolution of 30 minutes or less, raises a $6 million seed led by Elevation Capital and Alpha Wave Global

• Battery-powered airliner — Elysian Aircraft, the developers of the E9X electric airliner that can carry up to 120 passengers over 500 miles (they say this range covers half of all existing commercial flights), raises $10 million of venture funding from Caravelle Group and Panta Holdings

• Self-driving boats — Sea Machines, a company developing self-piloting technology for watercraft that can be used for both fully autonomous boats or to augment the capabilities of ship captains, raises $14.08 million of venture funding from undisclosed investors

• Stem cell therapy for pets — Gallant, a startup that works with pet owners to store their pet’s stem cells in liquid nitrogen for later use in stem cell therapies (they do this when a pet is spayed or neutered), raises an estimated $15 million Series A venture led by Bold Capital Partners

• Tom Cruise deepfakes — Metaphysic, the company responsible for creating those stunning Tom Cruise deepfakes you’ve probably seen on social, raises $17.68 million of venture funding from Tectonic Ventures, Rakuten Capital, and undisclosed investors

• Text-to-3D — Luma AI, a startup that is pioneering generative AI for text-to-3D (try it out here, it’s free and pretty stunning), raises a $43 million Series B from Remote First Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and other undisclosed investors

• Humanoid robots — 1X, makers of the EVE wheeled android that’s designed to help out in industrial settings such as warehouses (one human operator can control a fleet of 15 EVEs), raises a $100 million of Series B led by EQT Ventures on January 11, 2024. Sandwater, Skagerak Capital, Samsung NEXT Ventures, and Nistad group

• Electric surfboards — Radinn, makers of electric surfboards that can reach 37 mph (the battery can support up to 45 minutes of surfing), was acquired for an undisclosed amount on January 10, 2024
  

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Medicine

Ever-increasing progress with diabetes. There really seems to be a lot of progress towards treating, or even curing, diabetes recently. New research uses already FDA-approved drugs to coax a different type of pancreatic cell to take on functions of insulin sensing and producing, similar to β-cells, which are normally responsible for producing and secreting insulin. From Science Alert:

Crucially, the new cells can sense glucose levels and adjust insulin production accordingly – just like β-cells. In type 1 diabetes, which the study focuses on, the original β-cells are mistakenly destroyed by the body's immune system, which then means blood glucose and insulin must be managed with regular injections.

Even better, it took just two days of treatment for insulin production to start, and it appears to work in both children and older adults. (Science Alert)

MoreAI+MD Ws. In another breakthrough for the marriage of AI and medical research, an autonomous lab directed by AI engineered “enzymes without any input from humans — save for the occasional hardware fix.” This “set it and forget it” program spent half a year grinding away at redesigning enzymes to work at higher temperatures, freeing humans from the monotonous but important work to focus on other aspects of protein engineering. Protein engineering like this has a wide range of applications in medicine, such as in the development of new drugs or therapeutic treatments, and in various industries like biotechnology, agriculture, and chemical manufacturing. 👍 (Nature)

Also, University of Cambridge researchers recently developed a new AI-assisted drug R&D platform that combines “automated experiments with AI to predict how chemicals will react with one another, which could accelerate the design process for new drugs.” The largely trial-and-error process of predicting chemical reactions could be sped up by this new approach. (Phys.org)

More:

• Nanobots, or “nanoparticles endowed with the ability to self-propel within the body,” were used to treat bladder cancer in mice, delivering cancer drugs directly to the tumors, reducing their size by 90% after a single dose. Even better, the nanobots were able to propel themselves forward to their target by using the enzyme urease, which reacts with urine, very conveniently found in the bladder. (Phys.org)

• Researchers have discovered a genetic variant present in about 1% of people of European descent that seems to offer some protection against Parkinson’s Disease. Among those with the variation, cases of Parkinson’s are only about half that found in the rest of the population. It’s not a cure, but it opens a door to search for one. (Science Alert)
  

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Finally, the fun stuff

• Awhile ago, Owen wrote about bioluminescent plants and animals — now if you want you can order a bag of glowing dinoflagellates, a species of microalgae that glows. Intriguing. (PyroFarms)

• Did the Romans invent plastic — only for the invention to be lost to the sands of time — several thousand years ago? Pliny the Elder, contemporaneous with the stoic Seneca and Emperor Nero, among others, recorded an account of it in his Natural History, and it has a Wikipedia page, so… maybe… (??). (ht @ZyMazza)

Touch grass this weekend.

-Brandon Gorrell