Travelers of life: DNA cassettes for recording data and spare parts from the lunar soil

In Russia, scientists have "baked" parts for machinery from the lunar soil, and designers have developed an ultra-impassable all-terrain vehicle. At the same time, "pills" from cosmic radiation were tested on the Bion-M satellite No. 2. They will preserve the health of astronauts on flights to other planets. These and other events from the world of science can be found in the weekly Izvestia collection.

The radiation protection drug was tested on the Bion-M satellite No. 2

The descent module of the Bion-M biosatellite No. 2 landed on September 19. This device performed a space flight with living organisms on board for a month. During this time, more than 30 scientific experiments were conducted.

During one of them, specialists from the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the parent organization of the project, tested a drug with the help of laboratory mice, which scientists assume will be able to protect the body of mammals, including humans, from the effects of cosmic radiation. In the future, the medicine will be in demand during long-term interplanetary flights of people and during their stay on other planets.

Photo: vk.com/Роскосмос

It is noteworthy that on board the Bion-M No. 2 there were fruit flies, whose seventh-generation ancestors were born on the ISS. These insects produced two more generations on the biosatellite, and in a few weeks their descendants will go back to the ISS, where another generation or two of extraterrestrial flies will be born.

With this genetic line, scientists will be able to assess how weightlessness factors accumulate in the genome and whether this leads to the formation of a new species. Experts have also tested a number of tools that help flies ensure the safety of their genetic material.

Bion to help: scientists have tested a remedy for cosmic radiation on a biosatellite

How will the drug help to overcome the conditions of an aggressive space environment during long trips to the Moon and Mars

Russian super rover will rescue crews of marine stations

Engineers from the Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University named after R.E. Alekseev have patented a new type of heavy-duty machinery. The development combines the principles of motion of a hovercraft, sleds and an auger. Such vehicles are designed to move in conditions where no other equipment can operate.

"The idea of creating an ultra—impassable combined all—terrain vehicle was born when solving the problem of evacuating people from a burning Arctic drilling platform, which is located in the ocean surrounded by ice," Nadezhda Kalinina, head of the Department of Shipbuilding and Aviation Engineering, told Izvestia.

Photo: Provided by the press service of the R. E. Alekseev NSTU.

The developers believe that in the first mode, the vehicle will cross relatively flat terrain. The second method involves sliding on snow and ice. The third mode involves movement using two spiral screws that rotate parallel to the surface of the earth. This method is suitable for working in difficult conditions. For example, to overcome quicksand, mud, hummocks, loose snow and loose snow.

Parts for machinery on the Moon will be "baked" from local soil

Russian scientists have tested laser sintering technology for printing complex products from lunar soil in terrestrial conditions. An imitation material was used as its analogue, which was made on the basis of ash and ash from the Tolbachik volcano in Kamchatka. The research was conducted by the staff of the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry and the Scientific Research Institute of Advanced Materials and Technologies.

— Among terrestrial rocks, volcanic ash is the closest to the regolith (lunar soil) in terms of chemical and mineral compositions. At the same time, Tolbachik rocks have a low degree of weathering, they are easy to extract, and they are convenient for transportation. The material is also distinguished by the presence of an amorphous (non—crystalline) phase in it, which is not always present in other simulators," Ivan Agapkin, a junior researcher at the Laboratory of Geochemistry of the Moon and Planets of the GEOHR RAS, told Izvestia.

Photo: Global Look Press/Icon/Big

As a result of the experiment, 5*15 cm samples were obtained, which, according to their parameters, satisfy the tasks of application in lunar conditions. In the future, experts believe, the method will make it possible to create small—sized structures in lunar conditions - fasteners and spare parts for machinery. However, the method requires the consumption of a large amount of energy. Therefore, it will be in demand when a developed energy sector appears on the satellite.

Dusty job: spare parts for lunar equipment will be made directly on the Earth's satellite

Technology for creating complex parts from a regolith analog has been tested in Russia.

Quantum computing will accelerate multidimensional entangled light

Engineers from the Kazan Quantum Center of KNRTU-KAI have learned how to control the state of light particles (photons), which are entangled (connected to each other at a distance) in two quantum states at once. Firstly, according to the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation (frequency of vibrations), and secondly, according to several types of polarization (direction of vibrations). This was reported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

— Last year, our group introduced a method for generating biphotons. The result of the new study is a way that takes this connection to a new level. We are talking about correlation in several directions of polarization at once. This is a significant difference compared to previously known methods," Maxim Smirnov, a researcher at KAI—KVANT and associate professor at the Department of EXPI at KNRTU-KAI, explained to Izvestia.

Photo: Getty Images/picture alliance/Contributor

According to him, the resulting multifunctional "entangled" light is an important resource for quantum computing, information encryption, and research in quantum optics. The method brings the introduction of high-density quantum computers closer. The development also opens up new opportunities for the development of quantum cryptography systems — the exchange of secure data.

Scientists have created a memory of the future in the form of a genetic code

Researchers from the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen (China) have presented a prototype of a DNA cassette, an artificial memory device where data is stored as a sequence of the genetic code.

As an information carrier, scientists have made a long kilometer-long ribbon made of polyester and nylon. Several million tiny sections have been placed in rows on it, in which data is recorded as a sequence of amino acids according to the same principle as in a DNA molecule.

Photo: Global Look Press

During the demonstration, the system successfully saved and reproduced a 156.6 KB image. The cycle of recording, extracting, and re-recording lasted about 2.5 hours. In the future, the authors of the study pointed out, the storage capacity limit may be about 362 PB per kilometer, and the data storage period may be about 350 years at room temperature.